Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced that the repayment scheme for old debts to the tax authority and social security funds will be extended from 72 to 120 instalments, alongside a new framework for servicers and additional fuel measures. Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, he said the diesel subsidy will rise to 15 cents per litre for the first fortnight of October, while the government aims to bring the price of heating oil below €1.75 per litre.

The Prime Minister described a “cascading storm” battering states, making clear that the government’s choice is to support society without undermining the economy’s resilience.

“The last thing we needed was a national crisis in the midst of a global one,” he said, adding that the government will not put at risk what has been achieved in recent years, nor endanger international confidence, which “is very hard to build but very easy to lose”.

He also took a swipe at the “inflation of promises put about by the opposition”.

Mitsotakis further announced that government interventions will now be reviewed every fortnight, alongside the measures already announced, with the aim of supporting disposable income and strengthening citizens’ ability to withstand prolonged price pressures.

120 instalments for debts up to the end of 2024

On the debt front, Mitsotakis announced that the 72-instalment scheme will be extended to 120, with a minimum payment of €30.

The new arrangement will cover debts to the tax authority and social security funds, and will apply to overdue liabilities up to the end of December 2024, rather than December 2023 as is currently the case.

People already in the 72-instalment scheme will also be able to move into the 120-instalment plan.

“In this difficult climate, we are giving more time and a smaller monthly burden,” the Prime Minister said, so that more citizens and businesses can return to compliance.

Tougher framework for servicers

Mitsotakis also announced stricter rules for servicers, aimed at protecting borrowers who keep up with their payments from auctions or seizures.

If a servicer breaches an agreed settlement, the action will be annulled, a fine of up to €500,000 will be imposed and the citizen will be credited with five instalments of the original agreement.

In addition, the current non-binding process of direct negotiation will become a defined framework, with rules, deadlines for servicers to respond and a documented settlement proposal.

The upfront payment will be capped at 15%, replacing the creditor’s free discretion that applies today.

Diesel subsidy rises to 15 cents

For diesel, the subsidy at the pump will increase from 10 to 15 cents per litre for the next 15 days.

Refinery discounts will be added to the state intervention and, as the Prime Minister said, with those discounts the total relief on diesel will reach 20 cents per litre.

The measure will apply for the first fortnight of October.

Heating oil below €1.75, with increased support for those most in need

Announcements on heating oil will be made in two weeks’ time, before sales begin on 15 October.

“Our goal is a price lower than €1.75,” Mitsotakis said, clarifying that the final level of the subsidy will result from a combined intervention by the government and the refineries and will depend on international prices, which change daily.

For that reason, he explained, the final announcements will be made as close as possible to 15 October.

At the same time, support for heating oil will be increased, which the Prime Minister described as a targeted intervention directed at those most in need, using either income or geographical criteria.

Letter to the Commission and Eurogroup seeking emergency flexibility

Mitsotakis announced that he has sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, copied to the President of the Eurogroup, asking for options to be examined that would give member states additional emergency flexibility in the face of the current crisis.

“It is time for joint and bold moves,” he said, going a step further and taking a swipe at what has been done so far at European level: “beyond the general exhortations we have heard until now from the European Commission on curbing energy consumption.”

“The measures are temporary and targeted”

The Prime Minister stressed that the interventions are made in line with the economy’s capacity and with a social focus, so that the most vulnerable benefit most.

“The measures are temporary and targeted,” he said, contrasting government policy with that of the opposition, which he accused of piecemeal copying of other states’ measures and of peddling “easy solutions to extremely complex problems”.

Messages to ministers and MPs

Closing his address on a political note, Mitsotakis sent a first message to the government’s own ranks, asking its members not to underestimate the problems citizens face.

After presenting the measures, he again addressed ministers, asking them not to limit their public presence to the issues in their own portfolios but to defend the government’s work as a whole.

The message complemented what he had said earlier, in his opening remarks, about the attitude of government officials towards the difficulties of everyday life and the way they engage in public debate.

“We must not deny the difficult reality of daily life, and we must defend with courage the fact that there are no easy solutions,” he said, stressing that “the only way to overcome international instability is through internal stability and support for society based on our real capacity”.

He insisted that “now more than ever, public debate must be serious”, that society should be properly informed “without being swept along by fake news”, and that politicians should be mature enough to meet the demands of the times, “first and foremost ourselves, the members of the government”.

“In the end, the citizens will judge us all”

On public confrontation, the Prime Minister noted that “style also creates impressions”, stressing that “our words must also be measured”.

He concluded: “In the end, the citizens will judge us all. But until then, it is my responsibility to assess the conduct of ministers and MPs.”

New step on the social media age ban

The Prime Minister made a separate reference to protecting minors on social media.

With the Kids Wallet already serving as an age-verification tool, the government is now moving to the next institutional step, with Mitsotakis noting that Greece is going a step beyond the European Commission’s proposals.

“We have a duty to protect our children from addictive behaviours” that keep them effectively “glued to a mobile phone screen”, he said, announcing that the government will seek broader cross-party agreement on the initiative.