“Europe has been deaf for a long time and is now faced with its inadequate policies,” said the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vassilis Kikilias, regarding immigration, in an interview he gave to the newspaper “Real” and to the journalist Spyros Mourelato, pointing out that ” the real “battle” will not be fought in Greece, but in the overall revision of European immigration policy”.

To a question about the former prime ministers and the Greek-Turkish issue, he replied: “I will repeat once more that in New Democracy, – a real and not pretentious, democratic party in power – former Presidents and Prime Ministers have always had the right to express their independent opinion . So, as you say, I consider the criticisms to be at least excessive. I see concerns and concerns, but these were always present in the resumption phases of the talks with the neighboring country. Being a member of this government, I am well aware that every move and every step of the Greek-Turkish dialogue is done with only the national interest in mind.”

Regarding the changes to the electoral law, he clarified that there is no such discussion in the government and emphasized that “in general and on principle, I am against the constant changes to the rules of the Republic. Therefore, I believe that the electoral law should be an institutional constant in the democratic acquis, and not a tool for tactical movements, as has happened several times in the post-political period. Even if some thoughts of change are correct, I believe that we should at some point attempt by a majority to approve an electoral law, which will not be changed easily or at all.”

Regarding the recent disasters in Valencia, Mr. Kikilias emphasized that this is a human tragedy, which confirms once again and in the most dramatic way that the climate crisis is here. He also noted that “the intensity of the flood phenomena, their rapidity, combined with anti-flood works that have been done in another era, make such situations very dangerous, as we have already seen in the recent floods in the Balkans, in the bad weather Boris in the north Europe and now in Spain. Unfortunately, it seems that the prevention measures, the early warning and the system of interaction and communication with the citizens did not work as it should have”.

“It turns out, then, that the usefulness of the messages from 112 is enormous, and it is so far the most effective way of early warning to citizens about extreme weather phenomena. Although we have been criticized by some for the use of 112, we will continue, following the recommendation of the EMY, the meteorologists and the Risk Assessment Committee, to send 112 messages to the citizens for their timely information and protection” the minister underlined, and added: We are not stopping but there. Having fully understood the importance of prevention, we legislated the upgrade of Civil Protection, including other preventive measures aimed at reducing the effects of extreme weather events. The preventive closure of schools, the provision of the possibility of teleworking, and even the preventive curfew in high-risk areas, are measures that are taken every time the competent scientific Risk Assessment Committee makes corresponding recommendations, and they contribute drastically to reducing the effects of natural disasters “.

As he pointed out, “now, the Ministry of Civil Protection has a toolbox of flexible and effective measures, so that it can respond to its mission and role. That is, to primarily respond to the timely information of the citizens and the state apparatus when there are forecasts for dangerous meteorological phenomena, and to the coordination of the involved bodies during the time of crisis”.