On the matter of the removal of the former prime minister Antonis Samaras the government representative was asked to respond Pavlos Marinakis during the usual briefing of political editors at noon on Monday.

As he said, “the statement I issued on Saturday already answers, but to be a little more specific I will say the following. Mr. Samaras’ answers in his Sunday interview cannot be compared with any answer from similar moments in the past and with any speech he gave. The former prime minister overstepped the bounds of criticizing and expressing a different opinion, as he has done many times in the past, and dozens of times since this step both I and many other government officials have refrained from commenting, respecting his institutional role.”

“Mr. Samaras essentially attacked the Greek prime minister and the president of the Republic of Cyprus in a blunt manner, talking about “charities”, at the moment when they had a conversation with two foreign leaders in the context of a very important international conference. And in fact, let’s emphasize this, 50 years later and in this way there is even an indirect recognition of the president of the Republic of Cyprus. Greece and Cyprus go together hand in hand to defend our common interests, and in fact the interests of our Nation, with a common line that I think is not at all nationally beneficial to be questioned and to put questions in total.”

At the same time, Mr. Marinakis insisted that Antonis Samaras essentially called the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, “a discounter”, adopting “a distortion that they had tried to make extreme in this country”.

“I had answered in detail, quoting the exact statement of Mr Gerapetritis, who had said the complete opposite. This means that Mr. Samaras carried out an unfair and completely aggressive deconstruction of government policy. Yes, it is extremely premature and insulting to the institution of the President of the Republic, not only to the person of Mrs. Sakellaropoulou, who serves her duties with great decency and dedication. You know, the government is not going to write off anyone for their contribution to the country, after all, I and the prime minister served Mr. Samaras from a different position and age. He was a prime minister who tried hard to keep Greece upright, one of those who faced the very hard face of populism. But it should now look to the future and 2024, not to go back to 1993”.

“Construction of a new wing at the Onassios Cardiac Surgery Center”

“Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19, the amendment of the donation contract for the construction of the new wing of the Onassios Cardiac Surgery Center. With this amendment, the amount of the donation increases to the amount of 82 million euros, out of the originally planned amount of 70 million, and the deadline for the delivery of the project is extended until 31.3.2025,” said Pavlos Marinakis in his introductory statement.

“Furthermore, procedural issues are regulated that are necessary for the smooth execution of the project, such as, for example, the connection with the Enterprises of Common Interest. Furthermore, the change of the name of the Private Law Legal Entity “ONASEIO CARDIAC SURGERY CENTER”, to ONASEIO HOSPITAL, is foreseen, in order to cover all of its activities in view of the imminent delivery of the New Wing and the operation of the ONASEIO CHILDREN’S and the ONASEIO NATIONAL TRANSPLANT CENTER. After all, his activity has largely already extended to the field of Cardiology.

In addition, an exemption from VAT is provided for all Foundation donations to ONASSEIO HOSPITAL. The exemption from VAT of donations for public benefit purposes for the sake of the public interest is already provided for in the VAT Code, however this provision is deemed necessary in order to facilitate the making of these donations to the “Alexandros Onassis” Foundation.

With the cooperation of the state and civil society, the continuous effort to improve the services provided in the National Health System is intensified even more,” he said.

He reminded that with resources from the Recovery and Resilience Fund, the largest renovation program of 80 Hospitals and 156 health centers throughout Greece is proceeding, which will contribute to the improvement of conditions, both for patients and for workers who overextend themselves every day.

He also noted that by decision of the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance, Nikos Papathanasis, the grant of the public employment service for the implementation of training programs, which will concern skills in high demand in Greece in cutting-edge sectors, is included in the Recovery and Resilience Fund, with a total public expenditure of 103,744. 000 euros.

“The thematic subjects of the targeted training programs will be selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based on the current framework, available data and relevant studies on the labor market, but also in collaboration with bodies representing cutting-edge industries, so that they respond to the needs and objectives of the proposed reform of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0”.

It is estimated that the potential beneficiaries will amount to 38,500, while in the framework of the implementation of the training programs there is a fee for the trainee, as well as the cost of training and certification providers,” he said.

Finally, he mentioned that at the United Nations conference on the climate crisis, the cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection of Greece was presented as a good practice, for the preventive protection of 50 archaeological sites from forest fires, as well as the structure and objectives of the digital platform of the Ministry of Culture for the assessment of climate risks for archaeological sites and monuments at territory level.

“The Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni, in the ministerial dialogue on the climate crisis in culture, noted that “our priority is preventive action to deal with the effects of climate change, on our cultural heritage” and insisted on the need for international collaborations to exchange experiences and of good practices.

The minister had a working meeting with Dana Firas, Princess of Jordan and President of the Petra National Trust, who noted that “Greece is a leader in culture and initiatives to protect cultural heritage from climate change”. With the aim of coordinating common actions for the climate crisis, a joint seminar will be held with the aim of exchanging know-how, as well as cooperation, both in cultural educational programs for children and young people, as well as in the field of preserving traditional forms of art and handicrafts,” he said.