Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrapped up the debate on the 2025 budget in Parliament on Sunday, highlighting the fact that Greece was this year celebrating 50 years of smooth democratic operation and voting on its budget when countries such as France, Germany and Italy were finding it difficult to do so.
“I think this discussion was also an opportunity to evaluate our institutional maturity and appreciate the value of political stability, which is ultimately the condition for every kind of progress,” the premier said.
Mitsotakis said that he will be visiting Lebanon on Monday, noting that this confirmed Greece’s role in the wider region, with the government standing firm at the helm.
“When many powerful European countries are placed under surveillance, the Greek economy is being upgraded and its budget is approved by the European Commission,” he said.
He pointed out that taxes were being raised in many countries, whereas they are continuing to be lowered in Greece, that the unemployment rate is down to single digits and incomes are rising.
The prime minister said that the numbers were indisputable, talking about an increase in GDP, falling public debt, the creation of 500,000 jobs and growth rates that exceeded the European Union average.
“We are on a trajectory of a constant upgrading of the Greek economy,” he said, pointing to Greece’s ranking among the top three economies worldwide by ‘The Economist’ magazine and the fact that it was chosen for the construction of one of the first European AI Factories by the European Commission.
The prime minister then referred to the increase in incomes, predicting that the average wage will be more than 1,500 euros in 2027, while the basic wage will rise even more quickly to reach 950 euros in that year.
He reported that many young people that had left Greece during the crisis have expressed an interest in returning, having faith in the future of the country, while noting an increase in per capita GDP, as well as public-sector wages and pensions.
“Are we satisfied with this progress? Yes, if we consider that it is the foundation of a steady upward course. We are not happy if these numerical facts do not translate into a more comfortable daily life. This will happen. It is already happening to some extent. I have often heard the neat phrase that the numbers are prospering but the people fall short. What is certain, however, is that when the numbers fail, the people will certainly fail,” he said.
Without a thriving economy, there are no funds for a thriving society, Mitsotakis pointed out. He spoke of the hike in the cost of living in the last three years, as well as the crucial measures taken in critical sectors, such as electricity prices, with the taxation of windfall profits of companies.
He reported that average inflation, especially for food, was now “tending to zero” and pointed out that when prices stop going up, wages will continue to be raised and taxes reduced.
Regarding the issue of the banks, Mitsotakis said that the proposals made by the main opposition both contravened European regulations and “oozed with populism”, while the benefits would be minimal. He noted that there was a problem with bank charges and commissions, as well as the properties held by banks that were not put on the market, for which the government had prepared a series of measures.
“These are absolutely realistic measures. We have no reason to construct artificial enemies. There is one reasonable question – why are we intervening now? We had intervened before but judged that the initiatives taken by the banks were not satisfactory,” he said.
The prime minister said that all charges for bank account movements will be zero, that a cap of 0.5 euros will be placed on wire transfers of up to 5,000 euros and that ENFIA property taxes on real estate managed by banks and servicers will be doubled as of 2026. There will also be an end to older restrictions on the operation of Credit Supply Companies, and that 100,000 euros will be transferred from the financial system to be spent on the renovation or building of new schools under the “Marietta Giannakou” programme.
Mitsotakis said that the government economics team will analyse the measures on Monday and he also announced the end of “longstanding injustices” relating to low-income pensioners, who are to qualify for free medicines, and the military.
Concluding, he addressed the opposition parties and said that what he had heard were unsubstantiated protests alongside empty promises.
“In spite of the problems, only this government can leader the country out into the sunlight, holding the helm of the country steady in the troubled waters of geopolitical uncertainty. We have laid sound foundations for a progress that is already visible and it is up to us to speed it up in order to more quickly reach the tomorrow we want,” he said.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
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