Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the usual post with the weekly report on government work.
The Prime Minister begins by referring to the passing of the marriage equality bill, speaking of a historic arrangement that proves that “we are a government of all Greek men and women, that cares not only for the many, but also for the few” .
Then and in view of the large rally of farmers in Athens, Mr. Mitsotakis highlighted again the measures announced by the government putting a brake on any additional provision: “We will certainly continue to stand firmly by their side, but always taking into account the budgetary endurance of the country. We cannot jeopardize what we have achieved.”
In addition, special mention is made of juvenile violence with the preparation of a National Prevention and Response Strategy as well as the reinforcement of Traffic on the streets of Athens and Thessaloniki.
Finally, the Prime Minister refers to the government’s moves to strengthen the National Social Security System, but also to the changes concerning Justice, with the bill for the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The Prime Minister’s post in detail:
“Good morning! You may have noticed that last week one topic dominated the news: the vote on civil marriage equality. And it makes sense. With that I’ll start today’s review, but hopefully I’ll be able to hold your interest and hopefully convince you to read about everything else that happened during the week, especially since they’ve probably been overshadowed, and they deserve some – even!- attention. No government can have a “one-issue” agenda, obviously. But I hope that those of you who follow our work, those of you who read these posts in particular, have perhaps appreciated the fact that we fight many battles on many different levels, with the same tenacity. Today, for example, I have to tell you about issues related to Health, Civil Protection, Security, support to our farmers and Culture.
But I’ll start with marriage equality. I know, I also said it in Parliament, that with the historic regulation on marriage equality that was solemnly voted on Thursday in Parliament, we are not solving a problem that concerns the majority of society, but a minority of it. And from this perspective, some may still wonder why we insist on considering it so important. But precisely because we prove in practice that we are indeed a government of all Greek men and women, that cares not only for the many, but also for the few – primarily for the most vulnerable such as children – by granting rights, justice and freedom, to a portion of our fellow citizens who until today were deprived of them.
The arrangement was hailed by all EU member states through their embassies in Athens, highlighted positively by all the major Western media as a “landmark victory for human rights” and mostly confirms what the Economist’s Democracy Index finds: that after 16 years Greece ranks among the 20 most mature democracies in the world, it is five places higher than last year but also higher than countries such as France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, the USA and Belgium. This is the best answer to those who systematically, inside and outside the borders, criticize and slander our country. This is how we will continue, making institutional improvements wherever needed. Because we believe that the fight for a better Democracy is permanent.
I’m changing subject. Last Tuesday I met with a large delegation of farmers from all over Greece. We had a sober dialogue, I listened carefully to their reasonable concerns and announced two additional measures to support them – cheaper electricity for all producers within the limits of the cost of electricity production for a decade and an advance payment of the 40 million euro tax return at the end of March together with a commitment to change for the fairer based on production volumes the return from 2025. Rewarding and supporting the consistent and real producers who fight every day in the field is a priority for us. Because this is how we support both the primary sector from the field to the shelf and also the consumer with better prices.
In addition, the Commission is promoting a regulation that foresees the partial exemption of European farmers – and therefore Greeks – from the rule of land use for fallow land. The regulation has already entered into force, it will be applied retroactively from 1/1 to 31/12/2024. It was also our proposal, while socialist governments of the EU opposed it. I won’t repeat here what we have done in total since 2019 for the world of primary production. The problems are many and complex. We will certainly continue to stand firmly by their side, but always taking into account the country’s fiscal capacity. We cannot jeopardize what we have achieved.
I will move on to the health sector, where we had important developments during the week. We established the National Registry of Neoplasms and for the first time in our country there will now be an accurate recording of real data in order to provide optimal health services for patients with neoplastic diseases. And one more thing that concerns this category of patients: the process for the construction of the new Radiotherapy-Chemotherapy Center and the renovation of clinics at Sotiria Hospital is starting. Smaller but necessary are also the projects for the energy upgrade/renovation of the Trikala Hospital, the Multipurpose Regional Clinic and 6 Health Centers in Thessaly and Central Greece. This week the relevant contract was signed. And by the opportunity, I should add that an extension was given to the employment program for 4,000 long-term unemployed in the public health sector, in positions of scientific and nursing staff, as well as in other neuralgic specialties of the NHS, with a total budget of 48 million euros.
We now go to Justice, because the bill for the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure has been submitted to the Parliament for discussion and voting. The goal of the changes is to deal with “small and medium” crime, with the main means being the imposition of sentences. This is intended to combat both the feeling of impunity and increase citizen security. Two illustrative examples: suspended sentence for misdemeanors is changing from the rule to the exception, and parole will be at the substantive discretion of the Judicial Council depending on the seriousness of the crime and the individual characteristics of the offender. The bill also introduces regulations to speed up the procedures and time of the criminal trial. Among other things, it foresees high monetary fines for the two-maniacs and those who, with fraudulent and unfounded lawsuits, unwittingly employ the justice system. Of particular importance are the new provisions for the further protection of minor victims of domestic violence.
I will stick to the more general – very serious – phenomenon of violence and delinquency with minor perpetrators and victims, which has shown an alarming intensity in recent years, especially after the period of restrictions due to the pandemic. We want to deal with it in a structured and multi-layered way, as the nature of the problem dictates. That is why we proceeded to set up a scientific committee to draw up a National Strategy for its Prevention and Treatment. It is made up of reputable Greek scientists, each and every one of them experts in the different aspects of the phenomenon, so that they can prepare the conclusion with their proposals within a specific time frame. This initiative of ours is not isolated. It is part of our policy package against gender and domestic violence and against bullying, to protect unaccompanied refugee children and of course alongside the very important national plan for people with disabilities. In fact, from March the digital platform for reporting incidents of bullying at school will be put into operation by the Ministry of Education, and a large awareness campaign for children, parents and teachers will be launched.
Another issue whose intensity we have experienced in recent years is the consequences of the climate crisis, and I will now turn to this. The climate crisis, which poses a threat to the entire planet with visible consequences in Greece as well, makes prevention measures and investment in Civil Protection a one-way street. We did it, we are doing it and we will continue to do it by allocating 2.1 billion for Fire and Civil Protection infrastructure. A recent example of our actions is the inclusion of 2 fire-fighting ships in the Fire Brigade. These two new ships were given the names of fire brigade officers, Fireman Savvas Savvaris and Second Lieutenant Aristidis Mouzakitis, who died in the line of duty. It is the least we can do to show respect and gratitude to these people. Because the truth is that no matter how much we strengthen our infrastructure, nothing can be done without the women and men of the Fire Department who 365 days a year offer their service for the good and safety of all of us.
I hope that residents and visitors to Athens and Thessaloniki have already noticed that the presence of the Traffic Police on the streets is more intense. If you saw this difference, let me inform you of what has happened: the Traffic Services in Attica were reinforced with 200 police officers and in Thessaloniki with 74, there emphasizing primarily the facilitation of traffic on the Fly Over. The plan of the Ministry of Citizen Protection “Improving Traffic – Reducing Traffic Accidents” includes other actions such as the use of 4 drones to control traffic in three key points of Attica, the formation of 25 new Traffic Accident Control and Prevention Teams that will they operate mainly at night to prevent impromptu speed races, dangerous driving behavior and drunk driving. It cannot be tolerated by any of us, and first of all by the state, that so many human lives are lost on the asphalt.
I will close with the new roof of the Archive and the Theater Library of the Theater Museum. The Central Council of Newer Monuments of the Ministry of Culture has given the “green light” to the definitive study for the restoration of the house of Alexandros Soutsos at 47 Stadiou Street to host a large part of our rich theatrical heritage so that it is accessible to everyone, the general public and to researchers. We are talking about thousands of tons of studies and plays, publications related to Greek and foreign theater dating back to 1736, rare manuscripts and digitized collections of primary material from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The project has a budget of 1.3 million euros and is financed by the Public Investment Program.
As I told you at the beginning of the post, it’s another busy week, and I hope I convinced you to read to the end. And for those of you still reading, thank you so much, and I’ll see you next week!
I hope you have a beautiful Sunday!”
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