ATHENS — "We do not want to have a vision of a Europe surrounded by walls and fences, but at the same time we must ensure that our national borders are adequately protected," National Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said from Austria where he paid a two-day visit.

Panagiotopoulos participated together with his Austrian counterpart, Klaudia Tanner, in a special briefing on the management of the border crossing in Eisenstadt.

"At the peaceful borders of Austria and Hungary," Panagiotopoulos said, "we witnessed an excellent and very effective demonstration of the border control capabilities of the Austrian Armed Forces in cooperation with the Austrian Police."

Referring to the bilateral contacts with his Austrian counterpart, Panagiotopoulos noted that they exchanged views on security issues in the wider region while discussing the future of Europe and bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

"We also had the opportunity to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for a better and more extensive cooperation between our countries in the field of defence", the Greek minister said and added: "Austria and Greece are two countries that have a very friendly and close relationship as we share the same views and values on security and defence issues and in general on stability in our region and elsewhere."