A week of decisions is the next for the finalization of the announcements of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on the economic policy of the next period, from the stage of the Thessaloniki International Fair next Saturday, September 7.

In the financial staff they have taken out paper and pencil and are doing all the necessary simulations in order to establish that the exercise works, because in no case they do not want to undermine fiscal stability which the country has won with so much effort. At the Ministry of National Economy and Finance, they want to preserve it at all costs.

In this context, additional fiscal space is being sought in order to provide social benefits at a time that is extremely difficult for households, who have to deal with the high cost of living, whether this comes from the accuracy of supermarket items or from high rent prices which make the matter of the roof extremely difficult.

A large part of the measures that will be announced by the prime minister, which have not yet been finalized, have a clear orientation towards improving the everyday life of citizens.

The main axes on which the Prime Minister’s announcements will move are dealing with housing and demographic problems, upgrading public health and education services, as well as supporting vulnerable groups.

The government’s priority is to support households, with a particular emphasis on new families and the acquisition of housing. Support for pensioners also remains high on the government agenda, with the relevant ministries working out measures to improve their financial situation. The housing policy, the restructuring of social benefits and the strengthening of employment for young people and women have a central place.

According to the available information, the measures that will be announced, without being finalized, are:

A. Roof

1. “My Home II” program: Expanding the boundaries of the program to include more interested citizens. The program will reward bank lending for the next two years 20,000 beneficiaries with higher age limits (for beneficiaries aged 30-49), while expanded income criteria will also apply (up to 40,000 euros). The amount for those with many children will increase by 4,000 euros for each child, while interest rates on loans for the purchase of housing will be zero.

2. Interest rates granted: A formula is being sought in order to offer loans with lower interest rates for families with three children.

3. Short-term renting: Establish restrictions on short-term renting so that properties can be freed up and turned to long-term renting. Consideration is being given to establishing a maximum number of rentals on short-term leases during the year.

4. Closed apartments: Providing incentives and disincentives to open closed apartments, increasing supply. At the same time, residential energy upgrade programs will be promoted.

5. Social compensation: Promotion of the “Social Compensation” program for the construction of more than 2,500 houses for citizens up to 39 years of age. The support of large families from the “Social Compensation” program will also be important.

B. Demographics

Demography is also high on the government’s agenda, with the government seeking, through a series of interventions, to support the family and enable young couples to plan the next day with greater ease.

1. Benefits: Restructuring benefits with a further increase in child benefit, as well as reforming the rest. Benefits will be doubled for the second, third child and so on.

2. Care: Children’s access to more free pediatric examinations.

3. Tax reliefs: Granting tax reliefs for businesses that offer extra benefits to employees who have children.

4. Work: Extension of maternity benefits for workers with fixed-term contracts, as well as in education for hourly teachers.

C. Insurance-labour

Pension and employment are priorities for the government. Interventions are expected to focus on the following axes:

– Pensions: Increase in main pensions based on a new wage index, taking into account the evolution of wages from 1 January 2025. The increase of all main pensions is expected to amount to 2.5%-3%.

– Solidarity levy: Reducing the burden on pensioners from the solidarity levy, as increases in pensions are “gnawed away” by the levy.

– Personal difference: Possible granting of an extraordinary personal difference allowance to low pensioners, who will receive no or a small part of the increase 2.5%-3% in their salaries from January 1, 2025.

– Unemployment benefit: Changes in the method and amount of the benefit. It will be linked to employees’ earnings and years of insurance. It will also be unequal, i.e. more money at the beginning of unemployment and less at the end.

– Benefits: Increase in non-pension benefits (sickness benefits, etc.) of EFKA for the unemployed.

– Collective agreements: Reinforcement of sectoral and regional collective bargaining and further increase of the minimum wage. The aim is to increase collective bargaining through a range of interventions and incentives.

– Employment: Strengthening the employment of young people under 30, the employment of women and encouraging the employment of those over 55.

D. Extraordinary Allowance

The positive course of revenues between January and July 2024 leaves open the possibility of expanding the beneficiaries of the social allowance that will be granted at the end of the year, provided that the target for the primary surplus is not disturbed.

More than 2 million citizens, pensioners and vulnerable households are expected to receive the emergency allowance. This amount will result from the taxation of the refineries’ surplus profits, which amount to approximately 300 million euros.

Finally, the permanent measures will concern the further reduction of insurance contributions by half a percentage point.