Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis refers to the upcoming, third in a row, increase in the minimum wage, which will be formalized within the week, as well as to the investments that our country is attracting, in a post on Facebook, in the now established weekly report on the government’s work.

In detail, the post of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

“Happy Sunday to all! I know that almost all political news has focused on pre-election debate, but that is not for today’s text. I have promised you that we continue to use every moment to advance actions that make a difference in the lives of citizens. And I will talk to you about them until the last day of the government term.

Three weeks ago I wrote to you about our effort to eliminate ranches – this scourge – in our large hospitals, and how this action had begun with “Evangelism”. Today I want to tell you about the significant reduction of additional beds in “Attikon”, which had a very big problem with ranches. So on his last general duty, he received 1,074 cases, and only had to deploy 19 ranches – and yes, that’s a few for this particular hospital. Of course, our goal is for there not to be one, as was done in “Evangelism.” And I believe we will succeed. Because upgrading the NHS is our central political priority for the next four years as long as the citizens trust us.

Another intervention of great importance – but also necessary – is the upgrade of the Children’s Oncology Center “Marianna V. Vardinogianni – ELPIDA”. The bill under consultation foresees that the oncology unit will be strengthened and will deal exclusively with the treatment of childhood cancer. Almost 80% of the diagnosed cases of children with neoplasms come to this valuable unit for treatment. And that is precisely why it needs to become even more functional.

The new oncology takes the form of the NPID, remains in the public sector but will have more flexibility for the benefit of the patients to whom it provides free services. This change does not affect the status of workers at all, nor does it naturally burden citizens. Since I read some comments that I don’t want to repeat, I will only remind you of the following: during the SYRIZA government, a similar -much more expanded- intervention was made for the new pediatric cardiology center of Onassios, which placed it outside the narrow core of the public sector.

And while Greece continued this week humanitarian aid missions to the earthquake-stricken citizens of Turkey and Syria, we have not forgotten our own commitment to the areas of Greek territory that were hit by natural phenomena last year. That is why we voted in the Parliament for the exemption from ENFIA for 2023 of all properties located in areas affected by natural phenomena.

Perhaps it went unnoticed as news, but personally I find it extremely encouraging that the first 68 citizens of Korydallos received the certificates of attending the digital skills acquisition courses from the new Center launched last summer by the Municipality, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Governance. Citizens 30, 40 and even 80 years old took advantage of the “Open Digital School for All” and received free IT skills courses that will not only make everyday life easier but will also be resources for their professional development in the future.

I hope that in recent years, most of you have experienced at least one digital experience that pleasantly surprised you in relation to your contact with the public. And I hope you know that we continue to work to expand digital services, reduce queues, make citizens’ lives easier. Citizens in the Region of Crete also had the opportunity to see another small facility, where the possibility of issuing RF/QR payment codes for the payment of fees (permit and transfer) via web banking is now available. Fast, safe, without any queue. Small, but this is also added to the mosaic of small conveniences that slowly create an image of a public that does not suffer, but serves.

The gradual revision of the judicial map of the Administrative Justice is of course not something “small”. Is important. And it is moving forward, taking into account the country’s new economic, demographic and spatial data. The relevant bill has been submitted for a vote in the Parliament and aims at the faster and more qualitative provision of Justice. We aim to eliminate all the backlog of administrative justice cases by 2027 and bring the trial time close to the European average. The speed of administration of justice in our country is a perennial problem. Or rather, to put it more simply: the times of justice in Greece are, many times, absolutely unacceptable. This has to change. And that’s what we’re trying to do, step by step. This major reform is part of the “Greece 2.0” project, and is part of our effort to finally bring Greece closer to the rest of Europe.

But Greece has already made great strides in many areas and this is recognized. To give you an example: Amazon announced that it intends to use Greek insularity as an example of digital applications for other remote areas in the world, led by the island of Naxos.

Another vote of confidence in Greece came from Philip Morris International, which announced a new major investment of 200 million euros. It is an investment that will add 4 new production lines to the factory of its subsidiary, Papastratos, in Aspropyrgos, increasing its production capacity, and – most importantly – creating 300 new jobs.

The 2030 Plan for Thessaly serves the purpose of attracting investments and strengthening the competitiveness and extroversion of Greek businesses that will create new and good jobs. We presented it the day before yesterday in Larissa, as we did the previous period with the corresponding Development Plans in Thessaloniki, Patras, Tripoli, Komotini, Heraklion and Kozani.

The plan for Thessaly includes more than 570 projects, has a total budget of 4.5 billion and creates the conditions for the integrated development of Thessaly. It prescribes the upgrading of road, port and air connections, energy self-sufficiency by utilizing green energy, strengthening the primary sector by speeding up critical irrigation projects, strengthening employment and upgrading skills and creating modern education infrastructure and upgraded health services .

And a very important distinction for the thematic tourism of Thessaly. Alonissos and the famous wreck of Peristera took first place in National Geographic’s list entitled “A Diver’s Guide To The World”, with the 50 most impressive and quality diving destinations in the world. As stated in the guide, “Alonissos operates as a true siren for scuba divers” and it is no coincidence that since 2019 it has continuously shown an increase in its traffic!

The Ministries of Culture and Tourism are investing significant resources in marine antiquities in order to develop this type of thematic tourism. I left last the one subject that has probably received the most publicity in the past week, and it is none other than the market pass. 2 million applications have already been submitted for the aid, which I would like to remind you is financed by the taxation of corporate profits. I remind you that its logic is not to cover – obviously – the total purchase cost but to help cover the difference in the imported accuracy that we see in our purchases. It is a complementary measure to the “Household Basket” which is constantly enriched with new categories of products, and will also include fasting products until Holy Saturday.

For more than 4 months that the “Basket” has been operating, 91% of products have had stable or slightly reduced prices in an environment where imported accuracy has not declined. We have calculated that the benefit from the household basket for a family of four is over 60 euros per month, while together with the market pass, the support exceeds 110 euros per month.

The inflation crisis is an emergency situation and we are responding to it with emergency support measures. But the increases in the minimum wage – we expect the third rise soon – and the €7bn tax cuts are permanent. While without the strong development that Greece has achieved, and also without the digitization of the state, these extraordinary aids could not be given either so massively or so quickly.

And I close with the news of the week: Guns N’ Roses will come to Greece next summer. Especially for those of my age – but of course not only – it is a landmark band. And personally I was very happy with the news and wanted to share it!

This is where I’ll leave you, with a big thank you for taking the time to read the post. I want to wish you a very beautiful Sunday and an even more beautiful Clean Monday!

Blessed Lent!”.