Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was among the first international leaders on Monday to extend their congratulations to the 47th President of the United States, 78-year-old Donald Trump.
Heartfelt congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on being sworn in as the 47th President of the United States. Greece is committed to our strong strategic partnership and looks forward to working with your administration to advance security, stability, and shared prosperity.
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) January 20, 2025
While Greece’s diplomacy and the political leadership reiterate that Greek-American relations are “strategic in nature” it is not a secret that the new Trump era seems to be moving in uncharted waters for most of the European governments.
The first moves of Trump, the dozens of executive orders he signed right after his inauguration on Monday, show that he is determined to materialize some of his promises to voters and to move outside the traditional box of the US policies, a fact that is strengthened by the people he chose for his cabinet top positions.
One important issue that is a cause of concern for European states is Trump’s intention to impose tariffs not only to Canada and Mexico – 25% – but also to imports from EU countries.
According to Greek analysts, for the Greek government, there are three areas of interest.
The first concerns a broader socio-political field, related to Donald Trump’s policies on major issues, from the climate crisis to the woke agenda, with an impact not only on American society, but with a reach that reaches Europe and the creation of social relationships.
The second reflects on the economy, where the decisions of the new American president in relation to, for example, the imposition of tariffs on China and Europe, in the logic of strengthening the American economy, will affect the course of the European economy as a whole.
The third area of interest is the foreign policy that the State Department will implement on the major open fronts, such as the war in Ukraine and the Middle East and, obviously, in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the Greek-Turkish relations.
Greek-Turkish relations may remain one of the critical chapters in Athens, however, but they are not the major concern of American diplomacy in the wider region. It is obvious that Athens is waiting to see the American stance in practice, without foreseeing, however, spectacular changes. Athens considers the new Secretary of State, Mark Rubio, as a moderate politician, a “key” figure with whom it would easily establish a channel of communication.
Like all European governments, Greece is keeping a stand-by position awaiting Tump’s moves especially in the economy that may have a domino effect for the currently fragile European finances.