For the course of the economy and the forecasts of the Commission, for the emergency assistance to vulnerable citizens, the “Permanent Price Reduction” program and market controls, the upgrading of the TEPs of 9 hospitals, the National Action against Childhood Obesity, the new Judicial Piraeus Mansion, the “Renovate-Rent” program, the digital transformation of Consular Services, the conclusion on water management and flood protection in Thessaly and the progress of aid to those affected by the floods, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reports today, in the weekly report of government work.

In his lengthy post on Facebook, Mr. Mitsotakis points out, among other things, that “the answer to accuracy is not the measures of a temporary and subsidized nature”, stressing that “no one is above the law. We will protect citizens from those who think they will profit from them by taking advantage of the consequences of imported inflation.”

In detail, the post of the Prime Minister:

“I have the impression that most of the news I will talk to you about today has not received the attention it deserves in the political news. Perhaps this is the case every week, as small steps for the better do not attract as much interest as we would like. But I hope they are worth your attention and thank you for taking some time to read through the steps we took this week!
So today I will talk to you about the course of the economy and the Commission’s forecasts, about the emergency aid to our fellow citizens in December, the progress in the “Permanent Price Reduction” program and the controls in the market, the upgrading of the Emergency Departments of 9 hospitals, the National Action against Childhood Obesity, the new Piraeus Courthouse, the “Renovate-Rent” program, the digital transformation of Consular Services, the conclusion on water management and flood protection in Thessaly by the Dutch company HVA International, and of course the progress of helping our fellow citizens affected by the floods.
But let me start with some good news on the economic front. According to the Commission’s autumn forecasts, Greece presents the third best performance among the 27 in terms of the growth rate that will remain above the Eurozone average until 2025. The European Commission “sees” a gradual reduction of the deficit, an improvement of the surplus and further deleveraging. The Commission’s report also had other positive predictions: employment growth will continue, unemployment will fall below 10% and -in the issue that burns Greek households the most- inflation will begin to decline, even if only slowly, it will move however, at lower levels than the EU average.
Our fiscally balanced policy is paying off, as can be seen from the consistently good performance of the budget, and as I have promised, the growth surplus will return to society to support primarily the most vulnerable who are most affected by the high level of prices, mainly food.
So in December, 352 million euros will be given as an extraordinary social solidarity allowance, without deviating from the budget goals. A total of 2.3 million citizens (families with children and people with special needs – beneficiaries of OPECA benefits and low-income pensioners) will receive the extraordinary support, in addition to the interventions already announced for December, such as the increased by 8% minimum guaranteed income, the 150 euros for pensioners without personal difference, the heating allowance, the Youth Pass and the Market Pass in Thessaly and Evros.
I know that the answer to the accuracy is not the measures of a temporary and supplementary nature. But they are extremely useful and necessary, in conjunction with the rest of our interventions to contain prices on the shelves. Like the Permanent Price Reduction program which now includes 848 codes – almost 200 more than last Sunday – in 37 main product categories. At the same time, inspections by DIMEA continue – in the last few days alone, fines of 1.6 million euros were imposed on two multinational companies for unfair profiteering. No one is above the law. We will protect citizens from those who think they will profit from them by exploiting the consequences of imported inflation.

But we also protect the taxpayers’ money from the shrewd ones who think they can steal from Public Organizations. I congratulate the Greek Police for solving a criminal fraud, with over 71,000 illegal executions of prescriptions, resulting in a loss of over 8 million euros to EOPYY. I was informed that 227 companies are said to have participated in the “trick” and the case is now in the hands of the prosecutor.
Let’s go now to an important positive news regarding public health: last week, the contracts for the upgrade of the Emergency Departments and the infrastructure in 9 Hospitals of Northern Greece (Veria, Naoussa, Giannitsa, Edessa, Grevena) were signed , Kastoria, “Mamatseios” in Kozani, “Bodosakeios” in Ptolemaida and General Hospital of Thessaloniki “AGIOS PAULOS”). The modernization of hospital infrastructure is important because it will lead to an upgrade of services but also to better working conditions for the staff. Similar renovations will take place in Nursing institutions throughout Greece, a mammoth project financed by the Recovery and Resilience Fund. The upgrading of our hospitals’ technical equipment was after all one of our main pre-election commitments.

I stay in the health sector: yesterday we announced the launch of the National Action on Childhood Obesity, also funded by the Recovery and Resilience Fund. Why is this action important, you may be wondering. Let me give you just a few facts: today in Greece 37.5% of children aged 2-14 are overweight or obese. This has an impact on their health, with an increased risk of chronic diseases, but also on their quality of life. The aim of the program is to reduce this percentage from 37.5% to 24.5% by 2025. It includes actions at the level of pediatric care, but also school program interventions, learning healthy eating patterns, encouraging physical activity, free access to nutritionists , psychological support, information and awareness with an emphasis on prevention. The fight against childhood obesity is a matter of public health, but at the same time it is a step in the fight against social inequalities. Because unfortunately, childhood obesity is both a symptom and a cause of social inequalities. It is our duty to do all we can to give our children every provision for their future and for their good health.
I am leaving Health to tell you about another project which is being implemented with funds from the TAA and the Public Investment Program, amounting to 81.2 million euros. This is none other than the new Piraeus Courthouse, the first “green” public building in our country, with a total construction area of ​​approximately 36,000 sq.m. where all the courts and judicial services of Piraeus will be housed. It will be built through PPP, just 500 m from the METRO and ISAP line, with large green spaces and will have an energy consumption at least 20% lower than the thresholds set by national and European legislation! The signatures for the construction and purchase contract “fell” last Monday and it is expected to be delivered in 2025. It will be a safe, modern and functional Courthouse – as the Mayor of Piraeus said – worthy of the history and prestige of the Great Port of Piraeus, the Judicial and Legal world. And it won’t be the only one in the country.
All of you, I hope, have heard of the “My Home” program, the low-interest or interest-free mortgage loan program for young people and young couples. But this is only one arm of our housing policy. Another one is the “Renovate-Rent” program, through which the state will subsidize the cost of renovating closed houses/apartments up to 100 m2, provided that they have not been declared as a first residence and are located in a residential area. The subsidy will reach up to 4,000 euros, which is 40% of the maximum renovation amount. After the renovation, the owners will proceed to lease the property at a low rent for at least 3 years. So, old apartments are “revitalized” with state subsidy, enter the market, and contribute to the solution of the pressing problem of finding cheap but decent housing. The total expenditure will be 50 million euros from the Public Investment Program and, having already completed our planning, I can tell you that the invitation for the 12,500 beneficiaries will be issued by the end of December.

But let’s go abroad for a while, where many Greeks live, whose daily life we ​​must facilitate in any way we can. One way is through the Consular Services Digital Transformation program. On the websites of all consular authorities there will now be a Virtual Assistant, who will “speak” Greek, English and 17 other languages ​​and will answer citizens’ questions. In addition, from the end of November, the Digital Request Management Service is activated for 150 Consular Services that can be processed electronically or an appointment can be made when the presence of the citizen at the Consular Authority is needed. With digitization, we not only achieve the facilitation of the daily life of Greeks abroad, but also the decongestion of the Greek Consular Authorities and the reduction of their operating costs.
I come now to our Thessaly. The first conclusion of the expert opinion carried out in the area by the Dutch company HVA International, specialist in water management and flood protection, was handed over to the co-competent ministers. I wrote to you about her a few weeks ago. I will not list here one by one their remarks, I will do so next Wednesday in the Parliament. The bottom line of this conclusion, however, is that we as a state and citizens need to change our entire approach to water and flood management but also accept the fact that this redesign will take time and cost money. We will do so with the belief that the environmental and economic disaster suffered by the region of Thessaly will act as a springboard to organize again and better from scratch the water management, flood protection, crops, construction and critical infrastructure projects in the areas judged to be the now fragile and vulnerable to new flooding phenomena.
As for the compensation of the victims, we proceeded on Friday with the 17th payment of first aid to flood victims. A total of 108.1 million euros have been paid to 29,130 ​​applicants from Thessaly and regions of Central Greece. While ELGA also on Friday credited 104 million euros to the accounts of approximately 30,000 farmers.
Of course, we have not forgotten the workers of fire- and flood-affected businesses, whose employment contracts have been suspended. 2,497,896 euros have been paid so far as special purpose compensation for the months of July, August, September and October to 6,681 beneficiaries.
I will close today’s review with a piece of news that may not be related to government work, but it made me especially happy, as it shows the dynamism of Greek producers and the high quality of Greek products: white wine from a vineyard – a standard of western Macedonia was included in the most famous list of the world’s top 100 wines for 2023. The selection was made by experts who evaluate wineries, regions and vintages around the world. This small piece of news may reflect exactly the Greece we want and can create. A Greece that produces and exports quality products with unique characteristics, and indeed from regions in transition such as western Macedonia”.