Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made his usual Sunday post on the morning of February 9, referring extensively to the issue of earthquakes in Santorini and the Cyclades.

“The experts who are constantly monitoring the phenomenon – and I want to stress here that we have excellent scientists – give us reasons to be a little more optimistic as the days go by. No one can make predictions with absolute certainty, but there is cautious optimism that we will not be led to the bad scenario,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his statement.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ post

Good morning to all. Our thoughts these days are on Santorini and Amorgos which are being tested by an extremely complex and complicated geological phenomenon, as scientists have described it. The number alone – more than 7,700 earthquakes – justifies the fear and upheaval. I was in Santorini the day before yesterday and I would like to express from here too my support, and that of the whole government, for the people living in this difficult situation. We understand you and we are with you. I would like to ask you to remain calm. The experts who are constantly monitoring the phenomenon – and I want to stress here that we have excellent scientists – are giving us reasons to be a little more optimistic as the days go by. No one can make predictions with absolute certainty, but there is cautious optimism that we will not be led into the bad scenario.

It was the government’s responsibility – and we have done so – to take all the necessary precautionary measures quickly and in a coordinated manner to create a safety net for our islanders and to be ready to respond to any eventuality. This is required by the new culture of civil protection that we have been trying to build over the last five years, putting the protection of human life and the safety of our fellow citizens as a top priority.

We are monitoring the evolution of the phenomenon and there will be daily updates on new scientific data and on the actions that may need to be taken. As a precautionary measure, the MySafetyPlan application is available from Wednesday on the gov.gr platform. It is essentially a digital map showing for all of Greece, obviously including Santorini and Amorgos, where there are open spaces (e.g. stadiums or squares) where residents of the areas can take refuge in case of major earthquakes. A useful service that I hope will not be needed, but it is good to have it.

I start my review of government actions with a flagship intervention in the field of public health concerning the fight against cancer: we have officially launched the “National Registry of Neoplasmic Diseases”, a long-standing demand of the medical community and patients, for the improvement of oncological care in Greece. This Registry will provide accurate and complete data on oncological cases in our country, the types of cancer, the treatments administered and their effectiveness. Simply put, we are creating a valuable knowledge base based on real data from our country, instead of relying solely on epidemiological data from abroad. In the next few days, oncologists, but also doctors of other specialties, throughout Greece who are involved in the treatment of patients, will be invited to register on the EDIKA platform how many and what kind of cases they follow, so that very soon an extremely useful database concerning neoplastic diseases will be formed. In addition to the Registry, the implementation of 12 oncology and haematology treatment protocols nationwide will start by the end of February. Initially they will be piloted in three hospitals and gradually by the end of 2025 in all 12 hospitals that follow oncology patients. In addition, starting this year, biomarker testing necessary to determine appropriate drug therapy in patients with specific types of cancer will be reimbursed. And one more thing on the subject: we have included in the Recovery and Resilience Fund the implementation of preventive diagnostic mammography screening tests and through mobile units, with a budget of EUR 4 564 544 544. This will enable women from remote areas or vulnerable population groups who are unable for various reasons to go to a hospital for a mammogram to have access to the health system.

I am changing the subject and moving from health to the economy. The annual report of the ERGANI system for 2024 is yet another proof that our strategy for better wages, boosting employment and reducing the gender gap is paying off. I mentioned some figures in my post in the previous days, but let me also take stock of the most important numbers here: last December, the average salary reached €1,342, when in 2019 it was €1,046. Removing inflation, there was a net increase in incomes of 5 points in one year. In fact, the average full-time private sector salary was 1,478 euros, very close to 1,500. The number of full-time workers has also increased (almost 8 out of 10 now). This is the first time since wage data have been recorded in the ERGANI system that more than half of all workers are paid a salary of more than 1,000 euro. In 2024, 93,312 more workers were recorded than in 2023, while the number of workers aged 15 to 29 increased (+15 compared to 2019). Two other important figures from the report: the gap between male and female wage employment fell to 3.7 percentage points in 2024 (4.08 points in 2023 and 6.74 in 2019). What does all this show: that wages in Greece are rising. New jobs are being created. And citizens’ incomes are improving. But we know very well that we still have a long way to go to catch up with the EU average. That’s why we continue with stability and commitment to the target we have set: in 2027, the average wage should reach €1,500 and the minimum wage €950. And with today’s data, we know that this target is absolutely realistic.

One more thing from the employment sector. With the aim of creating 1,000 new full-time jobs in the areas affected by de-lignification, a special business grant program of 10,726,800.00 euros is being launched by the DFA. The program concerns businesses in the Region of Western Macedonia, in Megalopolis and in the neighbouring municipalities of Tripoli, Oichalia and Gortynia. The grant per job, depending on the category of unemployed, covers a percentage of 70% to 100%.

I continue with our new favorable interventions for the regulation of overdue debts, with special emphasis on borrowers middle-income earners. Already, we have made very significant progress in reducing private debt, with red loans to banks and servicers as a whole falling to €67 billion in Q3 2024, down from €92 billion in 2019. And this was helped by a number of our legislative initiatives that improved the functioning of the out-of-court mechanism, which already has over 30,000 successful settlements, with the amount of debts exceeding €10 billion. Indeed, in the last two years alone, settlements have increased by 81%. Judging from the measurable results, it is clear that the out-of-court mechanism is proving to be an important tool for freeing borrowers from the debt loop and is making a significant contribution to reducing private debt. But to our point: in order to shield and further facilitate debtors with a threshold of up to EUR 300,000, we are doubling the income and asset criteria for inclusion in the mandatory out-of-court mechanism, thus widening its scope for more citizens. At the same time, we are strengthening protection against the risk of property auction, while the interim program of state support for the first home of vulnerable households is extended by four months to allow its use by those interested until the establishment of the Real Estate Acquisition and Re-leasing Agency.

I mentioned to you in a previous review about a reform for Greek entrepreneurship, the new information system OpenBusiness, which is now in operation, combining the simplification of administrative procedures for the establishment of businesses and the start of their activity with the digitalization of all the necessary steps. Businesses and public administration bodies will now be able to complete the procedures required for the licensing of their economic activities in Greece through the https://openbusiness.mindev.gov.gr website. The new system covers 57 economic activities corresponding to approximately 2,390 SICs, while on the administrative side 850 entities (municipalities, regional units, public entities, etc.) have already joined the system. For the first time all useful information on licensing is gathered in one place, there is interoperability with a number of other digital systems of public authorities, such as Taxisnet, e-paravolo, GEMI, e-adeies, while a support desk helps stakeholders to navigate the platform. Even any errors in the supporting documents are digitally identified so that they can be corrected without wasting time for the entrepreneur. In essence, it is licensing “from the office” and easier for the administration to carry out checks. This new platform marks the beginning of a new era where starting and running a business is no longer an obstacle, but a simple, quick and organized process.

Another issue that I have referred to many times is the Judicial Charter, this crucial reform that we have made to the functioning of our courts. We’re going to look at the findings of the World Bank on the productivity of our courts in these first few months of its implementation, coupled with the transfer of court docket to lawyers and the new criminal procedure. The speeding up of trials and the streamlining of the system are already noticeable. Within a few months, since the transfer of court files to lawyers, more than 200,000 cases that would previously have been a burden on our judges have been successfully handled by lawyers. In the Civil Division of the Athens Court of First Instance, judges now have 19% more time to devote to their purely judicial work. Following the amendments to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, in the Athens Court of First Instance, which handles about one third of all cases in the whole country, the number of cases brought directly to the hearing increased by 47%, while thanks to the strengthening of the single-member court compositions, about 24% more cases were heard. This is, I repeat, a major reform and when the Judicial Charter is fully implemented in 2026, it will prove to be a catalytic contribution to upgrading and speeding up the administration of justice. Our goal is to go from the current 1,492 days for a final decision to the average of the Council of Europe countries, i.e. about 650 days, by the end of the four years.

Moving on to migration. Under the coordination of FRONTEX last Tuesday an operation took place concerning the repatriation of 10 Georgian nationals and 30 Pakistani nationals whose asylum applications had been finally rejected. The operation reflects our systematic effort to ensure that asylum is granted only to those who are entitled to it, while those who do not qualify are returned to their countries of origin. Greece ranks fourth in the EU in the return of those who are not entitled to international protection, demonstrating that our migration policy is strict but fair, based on the protection of our borders, which are also European borders, the swift and efficient examination of asylum applications and the intensification of returns. This approach is not only an option, but a necessity in the context of the strict implementation of the European and national framework for managing migration. Our position is clear: migration management cannot be the responsibility of the frontline countries alone. A common European strategy is needed to strengthen cooperation with both countries of origin and third countries, so that those who are not entitled to asylum can be repatriated quickly and in a coordinated manner.

I will conclude with an important cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and Piraeus Bank concerning the restoration and reuse of the Tsaousoglu industrial complex at 260 Piraeus Street. A space that for decades was a metal furniture factory and then became a reference point for the Athens Festival, is being transformed into a modern cultural center that will combine historical memory with 21st century innovation and creativity. Piraeus Bank will provide €1 million to carry out the necessary studies and, upon completion, the complex will host cultural organisations such as the Theater Museum, the Phoebos Anogeianakis Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments, and the Museum of the History of Greek Costume of the Lyceum of Hellenic Women. Of course, it will continue to function as a venue for the Athens-Epidavros Festival. All interventions, from the planting of the site, water management and flooring materials to the energy autonomy of the complex, will be done in a modern and sustainable way. It will be a dynamic addition to the urban fabric and the image of the capital city that will stimulate the cultural character of the Pireos Street axis.

I wish you a good Sunday and thank you for your time!