The financial support programs for housing and the relevant initiatives of the government, the letter to the president of the Commission on the need to intervene in the way the electricity market operates and the changes in the new road traffic code was, among other things, the focus of today’s post by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Facebook. In his post, the Prime Minister initially referred to the new program “My Home 2”, amounting to 2 billion euros, through which – as he said – 20,000 citizens from 25 to 50 years old can acquire their own first home with a cheap loan.
Those interested can submit an application via gov.gr – the special platform opened on Wednesday – and address the banks with the same application. The prime minister said that 42,359 requests have already been registered “which obviously shows the need that exists but also the attractiveness of the program”. Mitsotakis spoke of the advantages of the specific program and emphasized: “The loan covers up to 90% of the value of the property, as stated in the purchase contract, while any remaining price will be covered by the buyer. In practice, this means that if the value of the property is 200,000 euros, the maximum loan amount will be 180,000 euros (90% of the value). The maximum loan amount granted is 190,000 euros, but in any case 50% will have a zero interest rate while the remaining 50% is charged with an interest rate that does not exceed the applicable limits of housing loans”.
Mitsotakis referred to another program, “Saving 2025”, where – as he said – applications have already exceeded 31,000. Also, from Monday, the submission of applications for the program “Change the Heating System and Water Heater” amounting to 223.2 million euros, of which it should be noted that the 44.6 million euros are directed to energy-vulnerable households (families with people with disabilities, large families, low-income households as well as those affected by natural disasters).
Mitsotakis emphasized in his post that last week he sent a new letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on energy issues, on the occasion of “the course in electricity prices that affected most EU countries in the second half of 2024, with result in the weighted average wholesale price in Europe being significantly higher than in 2019”.
The next topic of the Prime Minister’s post was the new modern “tap2ride” service, i.e. contactless payments in the capital’s Mass Transport (buses, trolleys, metro and trams) which includes Athens in the list of European metropolitan entities with “smart” practices cities. Mitsotakis noted that now, passengers can use a bank card – in physical form, on their mobile phone or smartwatch – as a ticket on buses, trolleys, metro and trams, while also having a financial benefit.
Mitsotakis called the matter that arose “with the unjustifiably large increases in the premiums of long-term health contracts” a “really serious issue”. He reminded that the government had pledged to intervene which he said had been done, and explained: “Following the government’s position, the insurance companies went ahead with voluntary discounts of 50% on long-term policies from 2025, recognizing that we need to take a hard look again at the factors that shape premium prices so that both the private health market and the insurance market operate competitively and without unfair practices. On Thursday, the Minister of Development submitted to Parliament an amendment that establishes greater transparency in fees in both sectors, as well as a new, more complex index, which will record market trends in a more objective way from 2026.
On the new road traffic code, Mitsotakis reminded that he had referred last Sunday to the stricter regulations of the new Road Traffic Code for the offending drivers who will be subject to penalties corresponding to the seriousness of each offense which are also categorised according to their risk, and the penalties will be escalated for those who frequently fall into violations and now, focus on the driver.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
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