The Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, met today, Tuesday, September 8, 2026, with his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto at the Italian Ministry of Defense, in Rome.
In the presence of the two Ministers, the Implementing Regulation between the Hellenic Republic and the Italian Republic was signed after their meeting, which activates the program for the acquisition of two Italian frigates of the FREMM type (Bergamini class).
Specifically, the Implementing Regulation was signed by the Director General of Defense Armaments and Investments (GDDIA) of the Ministry of National Defense, Major General Ioannis Bouras, and the Director of Armaments of Italy, Vice Admiral Giacinto Ottaviani.
The signing of the Implementing Regulation, in implementation of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoU) and the Declaration of Intent for the acquisition of the Italian frigates t. FREMM, signed on September 29, 2025, in La Spezia, Italy, during the meeting between Mr. Dendias and Mr. Crosetto, was also attended by the Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, General Dimitris Choupis, the Chief of the Italian Defense Staff, General Luciano Portolano, the Chief of the Hellenic Navy General Staff, Vice Admiral Dimitrios-Eleftherios Kataras, the Chief of the Italian Navy General Staff, Admiral Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto and the Ambassador of Greece to Italy, Eleni Sourani.
Mr. Dendias, in joint statements with the Minister of Defense of Italy, pointed out:
«Signore e Signori,
È per me un particolare onore essere oggi a Roma, a quasi un anno da La Spezia, per la firma dell’Accordo Attuativo che conferisce un contenuto al programma di acquisizione delle fregate FREMM.
(Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a special honor for me to be in Rome today, almost a year after La Spezia, for the signing of the Implementing Regulation that gives substance to the program for the acquisition of the FREMM frigates.)
On September 29, 2025, in La Spezia, with the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation and the Declaration of Intent, we reflected the common will of Greece and Italy for a strategic and operational footprint cooperation. And today we are building on these foundations.
The first FREMM Frigate, the “Carlo Bergamini” is expected to be transferred to Greece in the first half of ’28 and the “Fasan” in the first half of ’29. But the issue for Greece and Italy is not only the transfer of two frigates.
It is the close cooperation, it is the upgrading of the deterrent power. It is the Italian cooperation in adapting the Greek Navy to the requirements of the new era.
FREMM are high-end units and with the changes we will make, and we are already discussing with the company that has built them – Fincantieri – we will make them powerful.
Together with FDI, together with MEKO, it will be the core of power of the Greek Fleet in the new era.
But in general, as you know, I am here to discuss the wider cooperation with Italy.
First of all, the possibility of acquiring two more FREMM units, but also the common view of things. Greece and Italy are maritime nations. They share the same vital marine space in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. Together we have about 90% of the European merchant fleet. Therefore, the common geography also creates a common responsibility for the safety of the sea routes, for the freedom of navigation, for the protection of energy and trade flows and for the stability of our wider region.
Today’s agreement also serves a perception that we have and concerns the involvement of Greek shipyards and the Greek defense industry, the Greek defense ecosystem, in the adaptation of the new systems that our country acquires.
This dimension is an organic element of the “2030 Agenda”, so that the know-how remains in the country and creates Greek national productive capital.
So, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to conclude by saying that today’s agreement is part of a consistent course of strategic convergence between Greece and Italy.
It is a consistent course. In 2020 we demarcated our maritime zones, consolidating our relationship in International Law and International Law on the Law of the Sea, in UNCLOS. I was very proud to have signed this agreement then as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
And in 2025, together with the dear Minister, Guido Crosetto, in La Spezia, we formed the framework of our new strategic cooperation at the level of Defense. Today, here in Rome, we are giving substance to this agreement that we made in La Spezia.
Signor Ministro, caro Guido,
La ringrazio per la fiducia, la serietà e la coerenza che hanno contraddistinto questo percorso.
Da La Spezia a Roma, abbiamo onorato la parola data.
Oggi quella parola diventa un impegno concreto.
Grazie.
(Mr. Minister, dear Guido,
Thank you for the trust, seriousness and consistency that have characterized this journey.
From La Spezia to Rome, we honored the word we gave.
Today this discourse becomes a concrete commitment.
Thank you)”.
(*Photo Credits: Directorate of Information/Ministry of National Defense/Evangelos Karaiskos)