For the decisive role of new technologies in crisis management, for the progress of the flagship program SHIELD which is coming to completion, but also for the obligation of politicians to always be “servants” of the citizens’ interests, respecting the public money and the vote of the Greek people, who trusted them in the supreme moment of democracy, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Politics spoke Protection, Vassilis Kikilias in an interview he gave to Open.

Regarding the bad weather that will develop in the country during the Christmas days, Mr. Kikilias emphasized that it is necessary for all drivers to have anti-skid chains/snow tires with them and of course to know how to “wear” them on their vehicles, as all meteorologists have warned of snowfall even in semi-mountainous areas.

“Unfortunately, it’s not a given that we have chains on the car. And if we have, it is not self-evident that we know how to put them on our tires if and when the need arises. I see that there are high occupancy in winter destination accommodation, I still believe that we live in the most beautiful country in the world and that we can enjoy beautiful times in both summer and winter. I would like this to be done safely and without any problems. That is, if it snows on a part of the national road, which is at an altitude, and a car does not have chains or a heavy vehicle “folds”, it will cause problems for kilometers. It would be good to have a family trip with our friends, but we need to be equipped with all of these and please especially for these days,” said the minister.

Speaking about the exercise of policy in critical areas, such as that of Civil Protection, he said:

“I believe that we must find what unites us, beyond the micro-political and partisan ones, which will always exist in the country, I understand that. There are different ideologies and different beliefs. However, I have been watching this toxicity of micropolitics for years, from the internet to the staged fights and the attempt to raise the tone in order to get the spotlight somewhere, I am indifferent to this. I don’t believe that, I don’t believe in micropolitics either. Never in any Ministry in which I had the honor to serve did I separate people, officials, collaborators based on where they belong ideologically and how they are positioned if you want politically. When you are appointed by the Prime Minister to a Ministry – critical as it is Civil Protection – these should be off the agenda. I feel that with the world and society, where there is honesty and an honest relationship over time, that is where value is determined. We are public servants, “servants” of the interests of our fellow citizens. We represent them. And our work must be visible and measurable. Words and communication are good, but in the works, you can see what everyone is doing.”

Finally, he made special reference to the upgrade of 112, in the context of the implementation of the AEGIS program:

“Just a few days ago we signed a new contract to upgrade 112, with completely different, much higher level services. First of all we have fellow citizens who are disabled. Shouldn’t 112 be compatible with their needs? There will be, therefore, a new service for these fellow citizens of ours. Secondly, there will be a distress code and a silence button in the event of a terrorist act or any situation that endangers a fellow citizen and cannot pick up and talk normally on the phone. Thirdly, it offers communication without a network, this is of great importance if you are somewhere and your phone does not pick up. Fourth, it gives interoperability to all security agencies and Armed Forces, everywhere across the country. In other words, through this service, we can, interactively, consult all together to protect our fellow citizens. And fifthly, it enables citizens to participate, to send a video, for example, if someone is in danger or a photo, they can also now receive information about crisis areas and events. So it is possible not to simply say that “there is a fire in such and such an area, evacuate and head there”, but also to give data and information interactively at the time of crisis to our fellow citizens, so that they can have a real picture of the events . Technology is running, the possibilities it gives are now on another level. A very big effort was made by many people, service agents, our partners, the co-competent ministries, such as the National Economy and Finance with the partners of Mr. Papathanasis, and all the regulatory authorities, and we managed to run 1.7 billion euros in tenders” said V. Kikilias.