The Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis‘, gave a comprehensive interview on ERT’s main news bulletin to journalist Apostolos Maggiriadis.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis was asked about the issue of protecting minors from addiction to social media and stated that on December 30, the government will present the national strategy. “We need parents as allies,” said Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in order to protect children without imposing strict blanket bans. The age for digital adulthood will be set at 15 years.

Referring to the measures for banks, Mr. Mitsotakis said that the government’s goal during the budget discussion was to send a message of stability. “I sought to position Greece within an overall geopolitical framework and convey the certainty of Greece in an uncertain environment. In other countries, they can’t even pass a budget, but we are not in that position. Regarding banks… These were not our first moves. We had already reduced fees. We had promoted the IRIS system, which citizens use. Now that banks are standing on solid ground, it’s an opportunity to unfold a bolder approach. We made a structured move that relieves citizens. PASOK’s proposal would have been pointless. With an extraordinary tax, the fees would not have been reduced.”

Regarding the opposition from PASOK, he noted: “They said three different things, presenting a confusing plan. Competition makes no sense here. What remains is that we made a decision that relieves Greeks, especially small and medium-sized businesses. If they have a good proposal, I have no issue adopting it. But, as a rule, that doesn’t happen. PASOK projects a sense of seriousness, but we often observe that their proposals are unsubstantiated and uncosted.”

Kyriakos Mitsotakis also referred to the tax reduction policy, stating that the government has reduced a total of 72 taxes.

When asked about Trump’s statements that Turkey holds the key to Syria, Mr. Mitsotakis said that it is too early to determine how this will play out.

Regarding the appointment of Guilfoyle in Athens, he noted that individuals outside the diplomatic corps are chosen by the U.S. for very important embassies.