“The State Budget for the fiscal year 2025 was passed yesterday by the Parliament,” said government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis, starting the briefing for political editors.

“Three main points: First, Greece continues on the path of responsibility. We are not mortgaging the future of the next generations. We will not return to the dark days of bankruptcy. Secondly, emphasis is placed on stimulating citizens’ incomes with reductions in 12 more taxes after the 60 that have already been carried out,” he said and cited examples. “Thirdly, the budget responds in the best possible way to fair requests of all citizens as well as specific professional and social groups” he added. And he specifically referred at this point to the new interventions for pensioners and uniformed workers as well as the response to the farmers’ demand for the return of the excise tax on agricultural oil by making permanent the mechanism for its return.

“The doctors’ request for an increase in their salaries is answered by the independent taxation of their on-call services at a rate of 22%. It responds to society’s great demand for housing with the new “My Home II” program, amounting to 2 billion. euros, the “Renovate-Rent” programs, the “I energetically renovate my house” program with the exemption for three years from income tax from property rentals up to 120 sq. of measures that will be leased for a long-term lease of at least three years,” emphasized Mr. Marinakis and referred to other announcements by the Prime Minister during his speech yesterday in the context of the Budget debate.

“Finally, the citizens’ request to deal with the issue of bank charges is answered with a series of measures in continuation of those that have been taken in the previous period”, noted Mr. Marinakis. And he listed again the Prime Minister’s announcements from the floor of the Plenary regarding the interventions for the Banks.

He emphasized that all this does not mean that the problems left behind by the crises have been solved. “We have in front of us many steps to take until we achieve an even greater improvement that will practically reach every citizen and can become a substantial bulwark against the increased prices due to the global upward trend of inflation,” which the Prime Minister himself emphasized in his speech yesterday. “Are we happy with this progress? Yes, if we consider that they are the foundations of a steady upward trend. And we are certainly not happy if these numerical data do not ultimately translate into a more comfortable everyday life for the Greek citizen, for the average Greek household. It will happen, it is already happening to a degree, because we are on a path where this macroeconomic progress, this cold statistic, is now translated into progress in real life,” he said.

He then underlined that “with the participation of more than 1,600 Greeks, who live permanently in Germany and are interested in returning to our country, the event of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and the Public Employment Service “Career Day” took place on Saturday in Dusseldorf. with the assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “Career Day” was organized for the second time after the first one that took place a few days ago in Amsterdam and is part of the wider framework of the “Rebrain Greece” program.

Concluding his introductory statement, Mr. Marinakis said that on Wednesday, December 18, the prime minister will travel to Ioannina for the signing of the contract for the Ioannina-Kakavia road axis of the Ionian Road.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis will then go to Brussels where on Wednesday he will participate in the work of the EU-Western Balkans Summit and on Thursday 19 December in the work of the European Council.