Evangelos Mytilineos Receives 2018 Hellenic Capital Link Leadership Award

Mytilenos chairman and chief executive officer Evangelos Mytilineos was awarded with the 2018 Hellenic Capital Link Leadership Award for his outstanding contribution to the Greek economy as part of the Capital Link’s 20th investment forum for Capital Link held in New York.

“It is with a feeling of pride and appreciation that I am receiving this 2018 Hellenic Capital Link Leadership Award. I wish to express to you my most sincere thanks for selecting Mytilineos to receive such a prestigious award. Allow me at the outset to state that I consider this award as a recognition of the hard work of those thousands of people working directly or indirectly for Mytilineos, who have made this distinction possible,” he said.

Capital Link Forum, is an annual event where distinguished people not only from politics, business and media and not only from the United States and Greece, gather in N.Y. to talk about the progress of the Greek economy and the Greek society in general.

“Greece is not any more the focus of world attention, which I think is basically good news. No doubt, the interest of this particular Forum is Greece. But before we get there, we have to look at what is happening in the world, and assess the European as well as the global environment, because it is in this environment that our country will have to re-invent its role and come back from the cold years of the crisis, to the normality and prosperity it deserves,” he underlined and added:

“If we want to find the solution to the Greek case, we need to zoom out first. There is no more our and their world. We need to be able to read the global challenges in order to understand both our place in the world and its responsibilities.”

Mytilineos said that we have already entered the post-globalization era. “The international order that has seen the world prosper after World War II and the technological breakthrough, at an unprecedented pace, is coming to an end.”

“U.S. under President Donald Trump and the America First philosophy is sending shivers to its allies around the world and creates a power vacuum, so fearful for us Europeans. At the same time, China is slowly but steadily asserting itself, exporting goods but also authoritarianism around the world. The US-China trade and other conflicts, have without any doubt, re-directed the American focus from the Atlantic and Europe, to the Pacific, China and other Asian countries,” he explained.

Moreover, he said, Russia, having emerged from the perils of communism, is back as a big energy and military power, still a small economic force, compared to the U.S., China and Europe.

Regarding the EU, he said: “Germany is fragmented politically and looks like the Far Right is re-appearing after 70 years. France, which never decided if it wants to be the leader of the South or the equal partner of Germany in an un-officially (yet uneven) European directorate, to play either role as it lacks social cohesiveness as we are so sadly finding out these days.”

On the U.K., the once mighty global and European leader, “it has yet to decide if it wants to stay in the European project or go its own – uncharted – future as a small player in the global scene.”

Referring to Italy, with its 2 – trillion euro debt, its huge north – south divide, a problematic political system, and without any light at the end of the tunnel, he noted.

Dependent on the East for its Energy needs, on the west for military protection, Mytilineos wondered where the emerging new state of things leave Europe. And how difficult is the navigation for smaller and poorer countries? (like Greece).

“The decisions Europeans will take for their future will directly affect Greece and its post-crisis evolution,” he said.

“Therefore, in order to address this dual challenge, Europe must:

– Decrease its energy dependence on Russia, by pursuing renewable power, multiply its gas-import routes, enhance its US-origin LNG supplies.

– Decrease military dependence on the U.S. by creating a powerful European Army, that will be an honest and equal partner to the U.S., not a second rate, low budget military dwarf.

These things will take a long time to materialize, Mytilineos said.

(with information from the Athens News Agency)