Government Spokesman Giannis Oikonomou onTurkish provocations, the "household basket", and opposition tactics

Turkish provocations are now taking on an institutional character, with respect to the incident with Central Macedonia governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas. We must say that it does the authorities of the neighbouring country no credit that they adopt a policy of cheap tricks, which they later try to justify with even cheaper excuses. Apostolos Tzizikostas, like the entire Greek State, is trying to be part of the solution to the issues with Turkey, while Turkey insists through provocative and unacceptable actions on constantly being part of the problem.

Greece is becoming a beacon of education

Prime Minister was present at the SNFCC at the opening event of the "Pharos Summit 2022", organised by the Ministry of National Education and Religious Affairs, for the cooperation between Greece and the USA in terms of higher education. This event was attended by representatives of all Greek universities and representatives from 30 major American universities. Particularly important is the fact that yesterday New York’s Columbia University announced the establishment of the Columbia International Education Center in Athens. The Center is expected to welcome the first students in 2023. This is the culmination of an intensive and well-planned effort, which began at the end of 2019 as an initiative developed by the Greek Government, specifically the Minister of Education, Niki Kerameos, to strengthen the extroversion of the Greek Universities through their academic collaborations with important foreign institutions.

Our country, Greece, is becoming a beacon of education. It attracts high quality students, professors and researchers from all over the world. As it deserves. In this way research is strengthened, teaching is enriched and Greek universities are strengthened in terms of know-how and resources. At the same time, the high-quality research and teaching that takes place in Greek public universities is becoming even more well-known.

Regarding the “household basket”

The first results are being positively evaluated. The government is determined to exhaust all possible efforts to reduce the burden of high prices on the society and especially on more vulnerable households.

Inflation is currently the most serious problem in the entire world, the most serious social problem in the entire Euro area. Greece annual inflation is expected to have reached 10.7% in October 2022 according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, while in Germany inflation jumped to 11.6%. It is a global problem with adverse effects everywhere in the world. The "household basket" is another tool to contain prices on a range of products, which are absolutely necessary for every household.

This measure aims at: firstly, ensuring low prices for a group of consumer basic products. Secondly, the prices to be comparatively better and even better as a result of competition. People are supporting the measure buying the products included in the 'household basket' and as a result, the prices are starting to fall. Moreover, supermarkets have already added additional products to the "basket". 

In the coming days the Ministry of Development and Investments will issue a new ministerial decision on the “household basket“. The decision will provide for larger and clearly visible labels on the basket products and to ensure the adequacy of the products. At the same time, a meeting with the representatives of the food industries, has been announced, after receiving the results of the checks of the Interagency Market Control Unit (DIMEA). Mitigating soaring prices is not easy, not only in Greece, but anywhere in the world. However, we are determined to use every tool in order to limit its effects on the society. We will not stop this effort until we achieve it.

Regarding support measures gradually being implemented

At the moment - in addition to the "household basket" scheme - measures to support society, announced by the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, at the National Council of Ministers, are being implemented. Some measures are already being implemented and some will be implemented from January 1.

 Among others:

- In December, 2,300,000 of the most vulnerable fellow citizens will receive financial support. The amount of support will be 250 euros.

-Recipients of the minimum guaranteed income will receive another monthly payment, and recipients of child support – one and a half.

-Horizontal subsidy 0.25 euros on heating oil.

- The Special Solidarity Contribution taxis abolished forever and for everyone – public and private employees and pensioners.

-Increase in pensions after many years.

- The maternity allowance in the private sector is extended from 6 to 9 months

-Increase of housing allowance up to 2,000 euros for young people under certain conditions.

- A subsidy of approximately 150 million euros will be paid to farmers and producers until the end of November.

- All companies that convert part-time employee contracts to permanent ones will be exempted from 40% of the insurance contributions of those employees

- The temporary reduction of social insurance contributions by 3 percentage points now becomes permanent,

- The special payroll of the 20,000 doctors in Greece’s National Health Service (NHS) is reformed as of January 1, 2023, with an increase in the basic salary and also in special liability compensations. The increase will average at around 10% of their total salary.

- Allocation of an additional 180 million euros to cover the salary costs of emergency health personnel.

-Salary interventions to meet the demands of Armed Forces staff

In addition, the total amount of the heating allowance amounts to 300 million euros (from 174 million euros last year) and will be paid to more beneficiaries, approximately 1.3 million households, due to the expansion of the income and asset criteria. The amount of the subsidy will range from 100 to 800 euros, while the criteria are increased compared to last year (income and assets). At the same time, it should be noted that those who live in the coldest areas will receive an allowance increased by 25%, provided that it is not higher than 1,000 euros. For new beneficiaries and those who abandon natural gas the allowance doubles up to 1,600 euros.

 Regarding actions developed by the Government to deal with speculation phenomena

Many times, in such cases, apart from the external reasons for the price increase, the situation is getting worse due to profiteering, a practice that is illegal and unacceptable.

Therefore, I would like to remind, to citizens, to those who are thinking of profiteering and to the Opposition, our interventions to prevent and deal with profiteering. Among others:

- The government is setting a ceiling on the gross profit margin on products and services considered necessary for the health, food, transport and security of consumers

- Monitoring the stocks of companies active in the chain of production, distribution, marketing and storage of a series of items that are useful for households.

-Mechanism for redistributing surplus revenues and profits to support consumers, a mechanism that has already been adopted by other European countries, a mechanism that will become a European Regulation as well as taxation of 375 million euros according to the instructions of Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE).

-Imposing a maximum charge limit on the fixed monthly charges of electricity bills and the consumer is able to change provider without penalty.

--Intensification of controls by the Interagency for Market Control (DIMEA).

Market rules are a pillar for the proper functioning of a free economy. A free economy does not mean a “dirty” economy. In a modern liberal economy, fair play must be ensured so that competition works and oligopolies are not strengthened, especially under difficult circumstances. Let me remind you that on the one hand the Government is doing what I mentioned before, on the other hand with the changes to the criminal code made by the previous Government, the provision on obscene profit and the consequences brought about by this offense were abolished.

Regarding the wiretapping issue

On the latest press article concerning the wiretapping issue, published in the newspaper "Documento", this was long on assertions but short on evidence up to this time. [All this] must be thoroughly investigated by the competent authorities and Greek justice If they are proved correct those responsible must be prosecuted, while the same will happen if the reverse is true for those spreading such assertions.

We doubt the reliability of the claims, and as regards the purposes of the publisher of the newspaper, we positioned ourselves in detail in a written way. However, we need to approach with seriousness the wiretapping issue as well as its attempted instrumentalization.

This is what we have to deal with. And we will deal with them. Not influenced by threats. We will deal with them calmly, honestly and institutionally. This software was not purchased and not used by any public authority in our country. Greece's supreme court has called for an investigation into the wiretapping case that has rocked the country for months, following revelations that more political personalities were illegally wiretapped. At the same time, the government will proceed with the universal ban on the purchase [of spyware], a move that will make Greece the first country in Europe to ban the circulation of malicious software in its territory.

However, this story and the way it develops leaves open a number of other issues of political interest. I will make some comments, because the criminal, judicial dimension is the responsibility of specific authorities of the State, which we always completely trust. First of all, those who collected any material from any surveillance, seem to be distributing it in a specific way in specific directions. The targets are clear: the Government and the Prime Minister. The Government and the Prime Minister, who have created conditions of stability and security for Greece under the unprecedented conditions of successive global crises in recent years.  For this reason, several times in the past, several people did not hide that they would prefer a different Government, another, more convenient Government, and a Prime Minister, weak and controllable.

The second conclusion drawn from the methodology of the presentation of the wiretapping allegations has to do with the attitude of SYRIZA. In fact, SYRIZA and its leader, adopted the allegations without waiting for the presentation of the facts, without waiting for their evaluation by any public authority. This is a tragic institutional setback for an institutional party. Having essentially announced the content of Sunday's "Documento" - which it is reasonable to assume that he has been aware of it since a long time - Alexis Tsipras expressed his strong concern and raised for the first time in our post-political history, the issue of the reliability of the elections!

SYRIZA, adopting publications without the necessary documentation, which have not been investigated by any public authority, and making political judgments based on narratives, proves that it aims at political destabilization. In order to find a narrative to justify his looming electoral defeat, in the elections, it does not hesitate to support those who question the democratic function and put in question our democracy. SYRIZA does not have a political proposal for the major issues that concern society and citizens, it pursues great disturbance and it triggers it.

As it happened in the past, the Justice will also now give the answers. We call on the responsible and thoughtful citizens to reflect on what was done and what is being attempted to be done again in the dark. We call on society to disapprove, as it has done so far, of these methods. Our country, Greece, historically, nationally and socially, does not have the luxury of divisions, it does not have the luxury of disturbance Greece does not need national tragedies and the Government will ensure, as it has always done, that it will not let anyone to put the country in danger.