The creation of a modern and efficient state at the service of the citizen, the income support of public administration staff and the strengthening of local self-government described as goals the new interior minister Niki Kerameos during the handover ceremony of the outgoing minister Kalliopi Spanou.

Ms. Kerameos, after thanking Ms. Spanou “for the flawless conduct of the two electoral contests”, she said that the priority is the completion of the projects that were started to be implemented by her predecessors, Takis Theodorikakos and Maki Voridis, such as the reform of the public sector recruitment system, the establishment of a new targeting system and evaluation, the institutionalization of an integrated system of multi-level governance, the implementation of an internal control system in the public sector, etc.

For the plans for the next four years, he talked about increasing wages in the public sector, implementing modern training programs, establishing a system of incentives and rewarding productivity, speeding up the recruitment process through ASEP, as well as defining and redistributing responsibilities between the central government, regions and municipalities .

For the local government, he noted that “important life projects” will be promoted, such as the strengthening of the administrative and technical capacity of the services, the digital transition, the reduced environmental footprint, energy autonomy, with the aim “to benefit every citizen, in every corner of country”.

Referring to the performance of citizenship, Ms. Kerameos said that he will continue in the direction of ensuring equality and compliance with the constitutional provisions, while he noted that innovative digitization projects of the services involved in the process are being promoted. For the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace, he noted that it has an important work to show to date and will continue to highlight the huge development prospects that Northern Greece has.

He did not fail to refer to the human resources of the public sector, addressing a “sincere invitation for cooperation” and stated that he was ready “to discuss ideas and proposals, to listen to concerns, to contribute to the continuous upgrading of the knowledge and skills of all executives in order to achieve the improving the functioning of the state and the services we provide to citizens”.

In conclusion, he emphasized that “every big bet is judged in practice, by the result. We start immediately without any delay to implement everything we have to do for the public administration, everything we owe to every Greek in every corner of our homeland”.

The outgoing minister for her part stated that she has completed the task assigned to her and thanked all those who contributed to the preparation and smooth conduct of the two electoral contests.

The new deputy minister of the interior, Thodoris Livanios, noted that it is the fourth time he is returning to this ministry, as he has been a special adviser, general secretary and deputy minister. Referring to the portfolio he assumes, he said that the local self-government is the institution that is closest to every citizen’s daily life and that is why it must be strong and have the required tools.

The Deputy Minister of Macedonia Thrace, Stathis Konstantinidis noted that he is assuming duties at a critical time for Northern Greece, while Vivi Charalambogianni, who was promoted from Secretary General, responsible for public administration matters to Deputy Minister, said that the fact that the Ministry of the Interior is now in fourth place in the order of ministries, it also indicates how important the prime minister considers the work that will be done here.