“The Government and the state apparatus must be and are ready. Beyond that there are several individual issues, which we must look at proactively. Because prevention is the key word for all these situations. As long as you can in advance, be prepared”, said the government representative Pavlos Marinakis about the heat.

“A very important part is that of the protection of workers. Some special instructions given by the Ministry of Labor and recommendations to employers and to all of us to avoid abusing some services. Understand that the conditions are special for some specific days, especially during lunch hours. Some very important recommendations from the Ministry of Health: our fellow citizens who belong to vulnerable groups and must realize themselves that they should not put themselves at risk and avoid unnecessary movements”, continued the government representative.

He added: “And beyond that, the inter-ministerial meeting held today at the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, which has to do with the increased risk in these weather conditions, the heat, for fire outbreaks, is very important. We have to say here that based on the official information from the ministry, the available means have also increased compared to the previous summer, which was much better in terms of handling compared to the previous summer, and we hope year after year to we prove in practice that we are even more ready. Always the enemy of the good is the best. No one will ever say that everything is perfect. We always have to become better every year, both in terms of readiness and experience and in terms of the means we have at our disposal. It is a given that difficult conditions and difficult summers with tragic consequences, not to mention the past, forced us to mature and this is our obligation to the citizens. It is important to prove that we are ready with our actions. Last summer it showed that this Government knows how to correct mistakes, failures and weaknesses of some choices and the state apparatus, and this is what we are called to do now and we will be judged in practice”.

Referring to the accuracy and prices of the ferry tickets, Mr. Marinakis told ERT that continuous meetings are held, which have to do with dealing with daily problems.

“There is no official announcement on the matter of the ferries. And the Government and personally the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has proven that he does not let anything, which seems to be aimed at the citizens – and in this case – the matter of accuracy, to fall down. And it intervenes, whenever it has to and in the way that a Government is allowed to intervene, always in favor of the citizens”, he noted.

And he emphasized: “History is recent. Greece has shown both in the matter of electricity and food that it was a pioneer in self-evident – but not so self-evident in other countries – movements for the protection of citizens, supporting them”.

On the topic of food, he said that although overall inflation is decreasing, but in food it persists and even though we are below the European average, significant support is provided, which all together reduce the consequences of this accuracy. “Even now, we have noticed that while there have been some increases in ferry tickets. For example, despite the reduction in the price of fuel, we do not have the corresponding reductions in prices. We do not remain indifferent. We will look at the issue, we will measure the problem, we will see to what percentage these increases are justified, I believe that they are no longer justified without wanting to be the expert drawing conclusions, there will also be a corresponding meeting in the afternoon. From there on, what we will do is the best possible, as we always do, for the benefit of the citizens. We are not one of those who promise magical solutions or solutions, which have a maximalist logic”, he added.

He added: “Overall, our policy for dealing with the imported inflationary crisis in any individual field is divided into three categories. The first and foremost are permanent interventions such as those that will be described in the economic bill, that is, wage increases and an increase in disposable income. The second field is the direct targeted interventions as was done in electricity with the tariffs, as was done with the market pass, the household basket, etc. The third area, as we see that inflation is decreasing, has to do with controls. There have been significant checks in previous years on our days but I think now is the time to intensify them even more. And this is because we see that in most individual fields, with the exception of some such as food inflation, we see that inflation is decreasing. Well, that’s why controls will be intensified. We will not let anything fall, we will observe daily and intervene whenever necessary.”

Regarding the Ministry of Finance bill, he underlined that what Kyriakos Mitsotakis says before the elections, he keeps after the elections.

“Essentially we have the implementation of the pre-election program of the New Democracy regarding the first year – 2024-. We start with the economy because we believe that it is more necessary than ever to further stimulate households, small and medium-sized enterprises, new parents, people who are most in need, pensioners, civil servants, who after 14 years will see increases. With specific interventions which include the element of emergency conditions. Like for example the extension of the market pass.

Our Government legislates based on our pre-election program, based on the needs of the country and with the aim of increasing the GDP of the country, increasing the income of all citizens. But also based on the situations experienced by the country in a specific given period of time. So we have an imported, inflationary crisis that in terms of food remains. Yes, as I said, at a lower rate than the European rate, but high. This bill has at its root, the philosophy of increasing incomes for all citizens.

We are referring, therefore, to the new salary list for civil servants, who will see approximately 1.5 salary increases each year, with an emphasis on positions of responsibility and families with children. A corresponding intervention is the increase in the tax-free allowance for families with children. It is the further reduction of ENFIA by 10%, in addition, in the cases of properties, which have been insured or will be insured for natural disasters, which if you add it to the already approximately 35% reduction of ENFIA, we reach almost half of ENFIA compared to before in 2019. We have the youth check.

We have a very important intervention, an 8% increase in benefits for people with disabilities. And I say it again, it is important to establish this culture of accountability and consistency and reliability, which for me is an important legacy left by Kyriakos Mitsotakis and continues and applies it day by day.

Gone are the days when, okay, kid, we said ten things before the election, one of them to be done – remember, we’ve heard this in previous years – this is not the case during the days of New Democracy and Kyriakos Mitsotakis. We do what we say and we will continue to do it,” he said.

In addition, regarding the vote of Greeks abroad, he emphasized that we are talking about facilitating the right to vote, which already exists.

“We are talking about people who are registered in the electoral rolls and have the right to vote. The Government does not grant any right to vote to anyone. Here we are discussing the facilitation of these people to vote from their place of residence, who are registered in the electoral rolls anyway. In 2019, therefore, a first attempt was made, a first legislative intervention, which because it needs, as you said, an increased majority of 200 seats, in which restrictions were placed on the part of the opposition in order to have the desired number of deputies.

The restrictions that were put in place were excessive and that is why we want them removed. We address a general call to the parliamentarians, the parties, we believe that it is not an issue that should divide but unite all Hellenism all over the world. The Minister of the Interior, in fact, will make a series of interventions to explain a very simple bill. Someone once said that he would abolish with a law and an article about ENFIA and finally increased it. We, with a law and an article, unite Greeks all over the world”, he noted.

Regarding the meeting of Kyriakos Mitsotakis with Tayip Etogan, he said that Greece is optimistic and loyal to its positions. “It has managed to be a much stronger country, after the manipulations and movements both inside and outside the borders of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Government of the New Democracy in the last four years. We consider the resumption of dialogue between the two countries to be an important positive development.

We have no inclination, obviously, to back down on our “red lines”. We have repeated in all tones that there is one difference, which we have to resolve with Turkey in the field of International Law, the determination of EEZ and continental shelf. Beyond that, we believe that the tensions – and I hope that this will be seen in practice and that the other side will also agree – did not and do not lead anywhere.

Dialogue is a necessary tool, even in cases where you disagree with someone, it is very important for peoples to be in agreement. We have two leaders with a fresh popular mandate, our positions are clear, they are clear and addressed to all Greek citizens, because they are represented and honored by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, it is a given that there is no mood for any case of retreat”, said the government official representative.