At stake European elections her June 9th reported by Kozani the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakisspeaking at a gathering of citizens in Serbia, on the sidelines of his tour of Western Macedonia.

As he noted, “the great danger for Democracy is abstinence” and in this light he highlighted the importance of “repelling laxity and any temporary sorrows, to go to the elections organized and with absolute unity, to send a message of stability and continuity”.

“The last thing the country needs is political instability,” the prime minister emphasized, adding:

“We have three years ahead of us and I want on the evening of June 9 the message of the strength of the ND to be strong”, while he added that “stability is a condition for great leaps in the future”.

As he also said, “it is a great honor to be elected prime minister for the second time in an effort to restore the country” while at the same time he pointed out that “you have always respected the choices of local communities, we try to listen and cover your requests”

“If the finances of the country were not in the right direction, we would not have the financial tools that we put at the disposal of the local government for the problems of the citizens,” said the Prime Minister.

Visit of the Prime Minister to the agricultural cooperatives of Velvento

Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited them in the morning agricultural cooperatives ASOP “Dimitra” and ASEPOP at Velvedo Kozani and discussed with the administrations and the members about the production activity that they carry out with a peak of exports as well as the investment plans that they implement with a view to reducing production costs.

“We made a big effort to support cooperatives and cooperative schemes – you know that – on many levels. And I won’t get tired of saying that this is the concern and if you look at the data of how many farmers cooperate with us, cooperate in relation to Europe, we are very low, so we always want to highlight standards of good cooperation. And I think you show the way in this way as well, we cooperate very well”, pointed out the prime minister.

At the heart of the discussion with the members of the agricultural cooperatives were measures to reduce production costs. “We are doing everything we can to help with production costs, we have every reason to because we want our farmers and ranchers to be competitive. We made a rather brave move with PPC, with my own personal intervention, in order to be able to give long-term good electricity prices”, noted Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The effects of climate change on agricultural production, the active protection of crops from extreme weather events and the compensation granted by ELGA were also discussed. “For ELGA, what you need to know is that we put our hands deep in our pockets in the last four years from the State Budget, because apparently the contributions did not cover all the losses. We spent over 500 million extra to be able to compensate farmers from natural disasters.

And now, of course, a big challenge is the new ELGA Regulation, in order to be more adapted and to give a real feeling that insurance is a remunerative contribution and that you should be able to get what you pay for. And let’s pass a part of the responsibility and a little more to the producer himself”, said Mr. Mitsotakis.

For their part, the members of the cooperatives informed the prime minister about the investments they are making and the importance they attach to exports, which are mainly directed to Central Europe and amount to 50% of their total sales.

“Stable partnerships are the future and of course you know very well that customers have quality requirements. And to the extent that you have managed to build these partnerships, I think this is also the best investment for the future”, emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis, reaffirming the importance the government attaches to agricultural entrepreneurship and the extroversion of the agri-food sector.

Afterwards, the Prime Minister visited Velventou City Hall and had a meeting with Mayor Manolis Stergiou, during which issues of local interest were discussed.