Review of the week by Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Applications for “My House” start in March

With a long post on his personal facebook account, the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented the account of last week’s government work,

Mr. Mitsotakis spoke, among other things, about the “very positive economic developments”, but also about the housing policy program “My House” which concerns young people.

As he emphasized, “for us, it is our absolute priority to bring dynamic development to every corner of our country. I believe that we have the opportunity to change Greece. To modernize it and release the potential that we all know it has, and which always saddened us to see it unexploited. I want to hope that this week too we laid another small stone, we took another small step towards the Greece we want and deserve”.

Finally, he expressed his gratitude to those who took the time to read his post. “I hope you found it interesting!”, wrote the prime minister.

The Prime Minister’s post in detail:

“Good morning! Back to my new (but now favorite) habit of reviewing the week’s project. I want you to know that for me this way of communication is like a small break from the noise of politics, an opportunity to spend some time highlighting and explaining things that move us forward, that make a difference in people’s lives.
So for another week, I have quite a few things to write about, and I should probably leave enough out so as not to lose you readers!
I will start with some very positive economic developments.

This week the Commission approved the disbursement of the second installment from the Recovery and Resilience fund, amounting to 3.56 billion euros. Thanks to the even national plan we submitted in the spring of 2021, Greece secured the largest package of resources in Europe in proportion to its GDP, while thanks to its rapid implementation we are one of the 4 European countries that have disbursed the most money to date in the EU. This money supports our economy in this difficult economic situation internationally and at the same time changes Greece for everyone. It is wrong for the opposition to say that the recovery fund is for the few. With their resources, for example, we renovate 80 hospitals and over 150 health centers or cover the cost of preventive mammograms. We equip our schools with digital equipment, we do reforestation or preventive clearing of forests for their fire protection, we support the transition to electric mobility, we subsidize households to invest in energy saving systems and much more that does not fit here to mention. To date, however, 440 projects have been included, with a total budget of 13.7 billion euros, which make the lives of all of us better.

The de-escalation of inflation continues, and during the week it was announced that in December it fell to 7.2% from 8.5% in November – by comparison, let me just tell you that in the Eurozone inflation in December was measured at 9.2%. Of course, food inflation remains at higher levels – at 15.5% compared to last year’s prices. This also shows the value of the “Household Basket”, in which its product categories have fallen by 16%, thus “wiping out” the increases for those who use it.

We also had positive developments on the unemployment front, since it was announced that in November 2022 it fell to 11.4%, from 13.1% in November 2021. We are working to reduce this percentage even further, because there is no greater social injustice from the lack of opportunities for quality work and professional and social advancement. This is even more true especially for young people but also for women.
Female unemployment has fallen by 5.6 percentage points compared to 2019, recording the fourth largest increase in the EU in female employment. Youth unemployment has fallen by 4.6 percentage points in the 20-29 age group and 5.1 percentage points in the 15-29 age group – more than double the European average. We still have a long way to go, as youth unemployment remains high, but significant progress is being made.

Another good news for our young people is that the first two “My Home” housing policy programs have already passed the implementation stage. In March, the beneficiaries will start submitting applications and gradually the approval from the banks to grant the first low-interest or even interest-free loans for the acquisition of an affordable first home.

The second program is called “Coverage”, and to date 400 property owners have registered for participation. Our estimate is that the first homes will begin to be delivered to beneficiaries at the end of February – beginning of March. The goal of the “Coverage” Program is to utilize in the first phase at least 1,000 properties, where 2,500 beneficiaries aged 25-39, beneficiaries of the Minimum Guaranteed Income, will be housed.

Two very important new digital services were added this week. The first is the new DYPA Digital Card, which is available in the gov wallet for citizens who are looking for work and are registered in the Digital Register of the Public Employment Service. They can thus save it on their mobile for easy and immediate access to the benefits they are entitled to. On the first day alone, the app was downloaded more than 10,000 times.

The second is the establishment of a sole proprietorship by the gov – digitally and quickly. A procedure that used to take 5 visits is now done in just a few minutes. This is a great innovation. The job of someone who wants to venture is to venture, not to wear himself out constantly dealing with the often pointless obstacles thrown at him by bureaucracy. We want to change the citizen-state relationship (another cliché that I remember hearing for a lifetime but not seeing – until now!) and the gov is, I believe, the biggest proof that we can and it is possible.

The energy crisis has not stopped our plans to “green” our economy – especially in relation to transport. So last week, the online platform of the “Green Taxis” action was launched, where taxi owners can apply for a 40% subsidy, with the maximum amount reaching 22,500 euros, to proceed with the purchase or leasing of an electric vehicle. taxis but also to purchase a “smart” electric vehicle recharging point installation. Our goal is to replace 2,000 old and polluting vehicles with electric ones.

One of the emblematic projects we are planning is the new Archaeological Museum of Athens. Of course, it has a long way to go until implementation, but it has now taken shape. This week, the proposal of the architectural office of David Chipperfield Architects and Alexandros N. Tombazi SA was unanimously chosen by the members of the International Evaluation Committee. It is a proposal that creates a unique landmark in the city, upgrading the area and of course promoting the reach of this very important museum. In February we will present the proposal in detail to the public and I think you will be impressed as I was, but until then it is worth doing a quick search to see what the New Archaeological Museum will look like in the future.

I had announced last September at the TIF that we would correct a long-standing injustice, and grant the Fleet allowance to the officers of our Navy who serve more than 180 days at sea each year. During the week we announced that the funds have been secured and, depending on their rank, non-commissioned officers and officers will receive from 100-120 euros to 400-450 euros per month.

On Friday we presented the Holistic Development Plan for the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, a plan that follows those we have already presented in Thessaloniki, Patras and Tripoli. It is a plan of 360 projects with a total budget of 6.8 billion euros. The State owed it to these two areas, which had unfortunately remained stuck. Today, however, they are already transforming into energy hubs. And our goal is to upgrade them significantly, so that the Region of North Macedonia and Thrace becomes a supranational hub not only for energy but also for transport and trade, with strong primary production and new Health and Education structures for its residents.

There are many projects that we have planned and implemented and I am afraid that if I start to analyze them I will double the size of the post! But, especially for those of you who live in the area, it might be worth taking a quick look at the overall plan we’ve announced – you’ll find it here:

For us, it is our absolute priority to bring dynamic growth to every corner of our country. I believe that we have the opportunity to change Greece. To modernize it and release the potential that we all know it has, and which always saddened us to see it unexploited. I want to hope that this week too we put another small stone, we took another small step towards the Greece we want and deserve.

I’m closing here by expressing my gratitude for taking the time to read this post. I hope you found it interesting!”

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