By Chrysostomos Tsoufis

On October 3, we wrote from about the last-minute measure planned by the government and the statements of both the Minister of Finance to SKAI and Haris Theoharis in MEGA, they fully confirmed that the financial staff is planning an additional help to the weakest to strengthen them against the accuracy.

THE Kostis Hatzidakis he is in constant communication with Thanos Petralias, who has the …keys to the state’s treasury, and together they count every day if the…holes come out. Final decisions are expected before the submission of the final draft budget when a fuller picture of fiscal margins will be available.

The data so far speak of a boost to the standards of last year’s accuracy check which cost the budget €232m and was given just before Christmas. But it is doubtful whether the money will arrive and this will literally be decided at the last moment. Therefore, if they do not arrive, or the money will be less than €250/beneficiary, or the beneficiaries will be fewer. In the Ministry of Finance they would feel more comfortable if there had not been in the last month increased expenses for the needs of hospitals and DOUBLE.

In any case, the target of the primary surplus of 1.1% will be kept as the apple of an eye given that on December 1, Fitch will decide whether to give us the investment grade.

Last year, the Christmas Punctuality Check was received by:

-1 million pensioners with pensions up to €800
-35,000 uninsured senior citizens
-172,000 beneficiaries of disability allowance

Furthermore:

-225,000 beneficiaries received a double installment of the minimum guaranteed income
-800,000 beneficiaries received one and a half installments of child benefit

According to all the information, the perimeter of the beneficiaries will be the same but nothing has been clarified yet because there is still no accurate picture of the fiscal space.

Be that as it may, the punctuality check will come to complete the list of 6 more measures which the government will roll out in the next 50 days:

-Market Pass 2 which has already started to be paid
-Youth Pass the platform for which opens on November 9
-Heating allowance for which the platform will open in the middle of the month and the first installment will be paid first installment for applications submitted by December 8.
-The return of the EFK to agricultural oil
-The personal difference allowance for pensioners with a personal difference of more than €10
-The increase of guaranteed income by 8% for 250,000 vulnerable households.