Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis focuses on current political issues and the government’s interventions in his regular Sunday Facebook post.

The prime minister even begins his post by congratulating Claudia on her success in Eurovision, stressing, among other things, that “she spoke about uprooting, and she did so with respect and strength.”

Referring to the economy, Mitsotakis focused on praise from Germany for Greece’s progress, while also referring to the promotion of innovation with the “bracelet” in hospital emergency rooms.

He also focuses on Laskaridis’ donation to the Armed Forces, mentions the agreements with the Italian government and digital transformation, and congratulates the Dean of Law for his immediate response after what happened at the self-managed “canteen”.

Universities belong to students and professors, not to minorities who think they can “mask” their criminal acts with ideologies of past decades, he stresses.

The Prime Minister’s text:

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Have a nice day. Join us with another review, with actions of the week that got the coveted “12”, to talk in Eurovision terms as well. Before we start, I would like to say a few words about Claudia, the talented girl who deservedly represented us at Eurovision and made us proud, touching our hearts with her talent, ethics, strength and quality of character. Klaydia proved, by winning the audience and the committees, that good music and Greek tradition have the power to unite people, without discounts, easy impressions and clichés. She spoke about uprooting, and she did so with respect and power. Today, on the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Pontian Genocide, her interpretation takes on even greater significance. It was a bow to the memory and endurance of a people. And a proof that art can unite, teach and heal. Congratulations to Claudia, her team and ERT for the excellent result!

I would also like to mention the important recognition that our country and our economy received last week from the German Government and the German public opinion. This is a positive assessment of our course in an international environment that, as we know, is not given away. And it takes on double value when it comes from the strongest European economy and at the same time from our harshest critics over the past decade. This recognition does not belong to specific individuals, it belongs to all the Greek people. We have indeed made significant progress since 2019 and even more since 2015. But I am well aware that this is not yet felt by everyone. I pledge that I will continue to fight with all my strength to ensure that the improvement in incomes reaches everywhere, in every corner of the country. After all, this is the only way to make sense of economic growth.

Picking up the thread from the “revolutionary obvious” of the previous review, another is the new system of digital tracking of those who attend the on-call services of public hospitals. But what does this mean? In essence, when a patient attends the Emergency Department of an on-call hospital, they will be given a “wristband” with a tracker, through which their progress in the Emergency Departments will be recorded. What tests did they have? How long did he wait? What diagnosis was given? How long did he stay in the hospital? This will help both doctors and patients, as well as hospital administrations and the Ministry of Health to see where problems and delays are being identified and act immediately. The aim is none other than to reduce the average waiting time for on-call consultations. It is one of the government’s major priorities and is rightly demanded by society.

This new electronic tracking system has already been piloted at “Evangelism”. By July it will be implemented in 14 major hospitals and by early 2026 everywhere. I remind you that in order to reduce the pressure in the ICUs and to serve patients faster, we have already integrated Health Centers into the on-call services in the basin and this has already given the system a breathing space. We are now proceeding with the reinforcement of the on-call services with 500 paramedics and we are considering, together with the Ministry of National Defence, that some serious cases from the EKAB should also be served by the military hospitals.

There are still many areas that need to be improved. But the NHS is changing day by day, with plan and consistency. With increased funding of 74% from 2019 and 120% especially in hospitals. With new, modern infrastructure and continuous recruitment of staff, with digital services, transparency in procurement, evening surgeries – there have already been 5,000, with the Personal Doctor and free preventive examinations.

And sticking to this last point, it is particularly encouraging that over 2.5 million citizens have already participated in the free screenings of the PRELAMBANO programme. Over 363,500 of our citizens have been referred for further testing, and over 65,000 have been detected early with findings – saving time and lives. And precisely because we believe and invest in prevention, since the middle of this month, the Mobile Health Teams (MHPs) have been stepping up their activities. In addition to home-based care for the elderly and people with disabilities, they are also moving forward with special prevention programmes for adults, the elderly and children in remote areas, namely in mountainous regions and on small and very small islands in the country. I may have said it many times, but I consider it my duty to repeat it: when the message comes to you, if you are a beneficiary of one of the prevention programmes we are implementing, do not neglect to take the test.

Remaining in the field of health with two other noteworthy issues: the first two kidney transplants from living donors to low-weight children were successfully carried out. Congratulations are due to the team of doctors at the Onassis Hospital, and to all the doctors from the Kidney Transplant Unit of the General Hospital. Laiko, the Panagiotis and Aglaia Kyriakou Children’s Hospital, and also from the United Kingdom who contributed to this great act.

The second issue concerns the strengthening of the fleet of the EKAB with the new ultra-modern Beechcraft King Air 360C, a sponsorship of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which we thank warmly for its continuous and practical support in our effort to serve every citizen, in every corner of the country. EKAB now has three airplanes and two helicopters, a very important infrastructure in a country with the geographical peculiarities of our homeland, so that we can make safe and fast air ambulances to larger hospitals from islands and mountainous areas.

However, another important donation is that of the Laskaridis Charitable Foundation. Two upgraded V-Bat Unmanned Systems joined our Armed Forces, which have a high degree of operational flexibility and autonomy, with multiple options for on-the-go handling. They can even operate under adverse weather conditions and in jamming environments, with low operational costs. They are intended for surveillance of the area of the North and South Aegean islands. Thank you very much for this donation. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that the Hellenic Centre for Defence Innovation has already announced four innovative drone development programmes and will announce two more by the end of the year.

I change the subject and move on to what we agreed on very important things in Rome during my recent visit. The agreements concern two main axes: the upgrading of the Greek railway network and the Greece-Italy electricity interconnection. As far as trains are concerned, our country will invest more than 400 million in the substantial modernisation of the network, the repair of the damage caused by Daniel and the installation of modern safety systems. The Italian side will invest €360 million to get modern trains as early as 2026, as well as new depots. With the second Greek-Italian agreement on electricity interconnection, our goal is to triple the interconnection capacity between the two countries, from 500 MW to 1,500 MW. This is an important development, both for the energy security of our country and for the integration of European energy networks.

Let us now turn to the legislative regulation that clarifies things in the construction sector with regard to the New Building Regulation and responds to the relevant decisions of the Plenary of the Council of State. The new regulation ensures the continuation of work on buildings legally started up to 11 December 2024, enhances the security of building permits, and provides for fair review procedures where required. At the same time and for the first time, the mechanism of environmental equivalence is introduced as a tool for compensation and sustainable upgrading of the residential environment. The regulation applies to all holders of building permits issued under the old building regulation who make use of the specific incentives and increments that were found to be unconstitutional. It also affects buyers, investors, developers and Building Services that have the authority to issue and review building permits.

Since summer is approaching, please be advised that on Friday, the submission of beneficiary applications for the DYPA’s “2025 Year 2025 Children’s Camp Residency Program” began. The platform will be open for applications through Wednesday, May 21, and 70,000 vouchers will be awarded for children ages 6-16. The program is being implemented from June 15 to September 10 for typically developing children and until September 20 for children with disabilities of 50% or more. Priority is given to vulnerable groups, as there is provision for a voucher for disabled people and single parents, while those who have not participated in the programme before and those who applied in the last 2 years but did not receive a voucher are still eligible. Those who are interested can apply at: https://www.gov.gr/…/kat…/programmata-kataskenoseon-oaed.

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I return to the issue of this year’s ferry ticket prices where, thanks to the efforts of the government and the relevant ministry, this week we have had more good news, as reductions of up to 32% compared to last year were announced by the market on tickets for fast ferries already using green fuel. The reductions announced apply to families and groups of 3 or more people. It is a major achievement for the government on the front of the price tag, supporting the many and boosting tourism as well as our islands.

On the digital part of the review now, the “digispect” application comes to ensure reliability, speed and transparency in recording damage to buildings after natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods under the state relief mechanism. Until now, the recording was done manually and often there were errors, delays or difficulty in knowing exactly where each building was. From now on, engineers will be able to do autopsies digitally from a mobile phone or tablet through this application and the data will be automatically stored in an online geospatial database. Thus, we will immediately know where and how many “red houses” there are, so that state assistance can be moved without delay. The engineers from the Natural Disaster Rehabilitation Directorates have already completed the first round of training in the operation of the system in real-life conditions and are ready to use the system when and if – hopefully not – needed.

Staying with digital transformation, the best response to the leveling criticism of the digital job card by some in opposition comes from real life. In March this year, in the tourism sector alone, there was a 637% jump in reported overtime in March compared to last year. Significant increases were seen in retail by 97%, manufacturing by 81% and catering by 55%. Transparency in the labour market, better control, protection of workers. These are the results of our policy. In practice, not in easy words.

Moving on to the next issue, I would like to congratulate the ELAS for the identification and arrest of the perpetrators of the bloody attack at the Law School, and for the evacuation of the school’s canteen, which was under occupation by a group of “self-management” of the premises. I would also like to congratulate the Rector for his immediate response. Today, only a few days later, the school premises do not resemble in any way the image that it presented during the period of the occupation. The battle with lawlessness in universities is ongoing and we have a lot of work to do. But the example of the Law School demonstrates that when there is will and cooperation between the Rectorate and the State, the image in our universities can be changed with perseverance, planning and hard work. We have recognised that the serious criminality that in many cases plagues some academic institutions needed stronger measures to deal with it and this will happen with the full cooperation of the Rectorial Authorities. Universities belong to students and professors, not to minorities who think they can “mask” their criminal acts with ideologies of decades past. This situation cannot, must not and will not be tolerated by anyone.

Let me come to the positive results recorded in the first year of implementation of community service as an alternative form of serving sentences, a measure that had been institutionalized in Greece since 1997 and remained inactive for 27 years. With the New Penal Code, the institution was reformed and put into practice, for the benefit of both Justice and citizens. Those convicted of minor misdemeanours and sentenced to sentences not exceeding two years can offer social work in hospitals, social services of municipalities, excavations of antiquities, etc. As of May 2024 to date, 742 convicted persons have joined the program upon their request. The institutions that have joined so far are 233 and offer 3,059 jobs in sectors such as cleaning, greenery and security. This is a fair, fair and proportionate sentence that contributes to preventing reoffending, to anti-crime policy and to social rehabilitation.

I will close on the occasion of today’s International Museum Day with a brief reference to what we have achieved since 2019 in this field, for the benefit of our citizens and the development dynamics of our country. In almost 6 years, the Ministry of Culture has delivered to Greek society 26 important new or fully renovated Museums, which highlight both our modern and ancient culture. These include the National Gallery and the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens, the Polycentric Museum of Aigai, the Archaeological Museums in Alexandroupolis and Samothrace, the Museums of Agios Nikolaos, Chania and Messara in Crete, the Archaeological Museum of Delos and the Archaeological Collection of Sami in Kefalonia. At the same time, projects are underway to establish and re-open 28 more museums, with phased deliveries from this year to 2028. These include the National Museum of Maritime Antiquities in Piraeus, the Museums in Tatoi, Chios, Trikala, Argostoli, Sparta, Argos, Komotini and Agathonisi. A highlight of our efforts is the process of preparing and maturing the study for the National Archaeological Museum. Culture is the soul of the country and the most stable bridge to the future. And in this field we are proceeding with a plan, with respect and determination.

So that’s all for today. In all that you have read, there is a common goal: to make progress measurable in the daily lives of all citizens. Not everything is solved, I know. But every week something changes, something advances. We continue. Happy Sunday to all and sundry.