The Prime Minister referred to the ambitious, as he described it, bill of the Ministry of Defense for the housing of the Armed Forces executives Kyriakos Mitsotakisduring his suggestive placement at cabinet. The aim is that every member of the Armed Forces who is transferred away from his place of residence can have decent accommodation, the Prime Minister said.

He also pointed out that the government intervened with the hazard allowance to boost the income of enlisted men.

“Our eyes are on the future and the new generation” noted Mr. Mitsotakis referring to the two bills of the Ministry of Education, which will be discussed and approved today, among which is the introduction of the International Baccalaureate (IB) in public schools, which he said will enable admission to major universities abroad.

The International Baccalaureate introduced initially in a number of experimental high schools and gradually in all schools.

“All the children who want to, will be able to choose it,” said the prime minister and noted that the IB is a passport to major universities abroad.

The prime minister also referred to the relocation of the Korydallos prisons, saying that the project now falls under the code of forced expropriations, so that the construction of the new prisons outside the urban fabric can soon begin.

Mr. Mitsotakis also said that the plan will be discussed today to deal with a perennial problem, the Sewerage organizations of the municipalities, which as he said “we will modernize the many agencies” and incentives will be given for mergers that will improve their efficiency.

In closing, Mr. Mitsotakis said that on January 10 the next meeting of the cabinet will be held for the annual planning of government action, while he called on the members of the government to turn to the citizens during the holidays and especially to those who are most in need.

“Responsibility does not go on vacation. We don’t have the luxury of complacency,” he said, wishing everyone strength.

The prime minister expressed, among other things, his satisfaction with the government’s overall presence during the budget debate, where, as he said, the government’s priorities were clearly outlined and the project program was presented with specific timelines that will become reality.

Mitsotakis introductory statement

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues. We will aim for today’s meeting to be a little shorter and we will come back on January 10 with the rest of the Cabinet matters, also due to the days.

Let me first express my satisfaction with the conduct of the Budget debate and the overall presence of the government. I think that the government’s priorities for 2025 in terms of economic policy were very clearly captured, but I think it was also an opportunity for all Ministries to present their own priorities.

Priorities which are also recorded in the now familiar blue envelopes with the actions of each Ministry for 2025. It is a project program with specific timetables that we are called upon today to approve, but above all to make it a reality.

At such a juncture, our gaze is turned to the future and to the new generation, which is why I want to focus in particular on two bills of the Ministry of Education which we will have the opportunity to approve today.

I would like to make a special mention of the Public Onassia Schools, a new educational network which places special emphasis on the humanities, the positive sciences, and the fine arts, with the actions of this network being entirely covered by donations from the Onassis Foundation. It is a pioneering intervention that we are making in public education, which I think will be able to be a guide for actions that we would like to gradually extend to the whole range of our public schools.

The second bill provides for the introduction of the International Baccalaureate, the IB as we know it, into public education in practice, because it had been established for about 30 years, but the question is how we will be able to implement it in the first instance in a number of public experimental high schools. The international baccalaureate can be a “passport” to major universities abroad. It will no longer concern only some private schools that will offer it, but gradually all children who will want to choose it.

Today, also, the responsible Minister of Defense will present us with an ambitious plan for the housing program of the Armed Forces. Utilizing the significant real estate of the Department of National Defence, I think the goal is that every member of the Armed Forces who is transferred away from their permanent home can have a decent place to live. A measure which I remind you also follows the significant financial reinforcement of the commissions that we had the opportunity to announce during the Budget debate, recognizing in practice the dangerous nature of their operation.

A third topic that we will discuss today is the treatment of a perennial problem of water supply and sewerage services in Municipalities. We will proceed with a bold intervention, a modernization of the many agencies we have today. We do it in such a way as to give them incentives to merge, to redeploy in order to become more efficient, to increase their collectability as well, as we have very large variations depending on how diligent each DEYA is. The Minister of the Environment will make the relevant recommendations.

Allow me to refer to another decades-long pending matter, the relocation of the Korydallos prisons. After many adventures it enters the final stretch and the project is now subject to the code of forced expropriations so that the construction of the new prisons outside the urban fabric can soon begin. It was a request not only of the local community, but I think also a request that meets the needs of our time.

Finally, before moving on to the rest of the agenda, a few words as we are just before Christmas. It is always an opportunity for a short break and certainly a warmer contact with the citizens, to turn our gaze and our attention to our fellow citizens who need it most.

We obviously don’t have the luxury of complacency. We know very well that responsibility does not go on vacation. So we will meet again, as I said, right after that, on January 10th, to complete our annual planning.

In any case, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, happy holidays, health, joy in your families and of course good strength to you, to all of us, to your partners.

With that introduction I think we can start our meeting.”