The Cabinet meeting is currently underway at the Maximos Mansion, led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“We call for de-escalation in the Middle East. Greece is in dialogue with all sides and acts as a stabilizing force in the region. We will always fight for peace, which is a prerequisite for stability in the area. We urge all parties to de-escalate to avoid the worst-case scenario, which would be a large-scale war. We have developed an evacuation plan for Greeks in Lebanon,” Prime Minister Mitsotakis said at the beginning of his opening statement.

He then addressed economic issues, stating: “The medium-term fiscal outlook is very encouraging, as I also highlighted in meetings with investors in New York. It includes debt reduction, which creates fiscal space for citizen-oriented spending.”

“Greece is no longer one of the countries under an excessive deficit regime, which is the greatest proof of the nation’s and citizens’ success in leaving behind the era of fiscal deviations,” Mitsotakis said.

On Youth Violence

“I believe that our interventions in the Penal Code have shown strong reflexes, and the targeted changes toward stricter penalties for youth possession of weapons and pretrial detention for repeat offenders. The favorable treatment for those who return stolen property will end; it will only be considered a mitigating factor.

The state cannot replace the family as the primary unit of child upbringing. However, we can toughen penalties for child neglect. We will also need to address issues related to social media platforms and how bullying is taking on a digital dimension.

We are facing a global crisis, and I believe there will be a need for regulatory intervention to tackle this problem at its root. Until then, we have an obligation to protect our children. The major new initiative is the idea of a new ‘Safe Youth’ app, where children can report feeling unsafe to the police outside of school. We will be ready to present this new initiative soon,” Mitsotakis specifically noted.

Discussions will cover the medium-term fiscal plan, measures against youth violence, and nearly 20,000 hires planned for 2025.