By Penelope Galliou

Given that Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself ruled out any possibility of concessions in view of the TIF, as is traditionally customary during the prime minister’s keynote address, the government staff is conservatively preparing for the government plan that will be presented from September onwards, as well as for what it will include the 2025 draft budget.

“If you are talking about a package of benefits, I think I will probably disappoint those who expect that today there is fiscal space to come with a generous package, as an early Santa Claus to distribute money that the state does not have,” he said in Kyriakos Mitsotakis recent interview with SKAI and Kosioni Co. outlining his intentions. After all, the room for maneuver is narrow, with the benefits taking a back seat as the central goal is for the country not to send a signal of fiscal relaxation under any circumstances. “The commitment to the fiscal, I wouldn’t say discipline, but to the fiscal order which first and foremost we must impose on ourselves is a given for this government” the prime minister emphasized in the same interview.

However, this does not mean that the government abandons the already announced policies regarding those policies that will continuously improve the daily life of the citizen, which remains a key priority.

And this everyday life can also “hide” extraordinary events or situations that need to be dealt with immediately, such as the dangers hidden by the “hot” two months ahead of the country with an active risk of fires or disasters that may also require extraordinary expenses such as previous years.

Accordingly, the liquidity in the energy market with fluctuations in wholesale electricity prices is an unstable factor that the government, and the relevant ministries, cannot fail to take into account in the context of the relief sought for households and businesses. He has already left open the possibility of new subsidies if and when they are needed after August, the month in which it has been decided to support consumers from increased bills.

At the same time, a new punctuality check, as an extraordinary allowance, has already been announced to be given to the beneficiaries before Christmas and will probably be announced in detail by the Prime Minister, at its inauguration TEF. As he announced, however, this money will be found from the imposition of a temporary solidarity contribution of 33% on the excess profits of the refineries.

Essentially, it will be a one-time aid to the vulnerable groups, and especially to the low pensioners, who have not seen an increase in their pensions, due to the personal difference.

At the moment, however, the exact amount that will be allocated has not been calculated, but last year the corresponding extraordinary allowance was 100 to 200 euros for pensioners who had more than 10 euros of personal difference and total pensions of up to 1,600 euros. And the amount varied according to the amount of pension they received.

Alongside housing remains one of the biggest issues facing citizens due to rising rent prices and the difficulty of acquiring their own home, this issue has been placed high on the government’s agenda which has already progressed through a series of from programs that help citizens such as ‘My Home’, ‘Renovate-Rent’ and also the housing finding program. One such program is the “Coverage”, which was proposed by the government representative during the briefing of the political editors, for which the owners of houses located in the administrative boundaries of the Municipality of Athens can apply, after the relevant invitation of the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family.

The “COVERAGE” Program, has a budget of 21.5 million euros in total, is implemented in 44 Municipalities of the country, it concerns properties which are available to beneficiaries aged 25 to 39 who receive the Minimum Guaranteed Income from OPECA and do not own a home. In particular, beneficiaries of the Minimum Guaranteed Income are included, with additional points, in the Program:

– Three-child and large-child families,
– people with a disability of more than 67%,
– households under eviction from rental housing,
– single parent families,
– families with one or two children,
– unemployed registered with DYPA,
– women victims of domestic violence who are accommodated in hostels with or without their children,
– individuals or families receiving the Minimum Guaranteed Income.

Through the program, the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family undertakes to cover the rent for three years and in addition the cost of moving and transferring DEKO accounts.