Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis presented the government’s main priorities during the press conference at the 87th Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF).
Mitsotakis made it clear that he has absolutely no intention of carrying out a government reshuffle at this time. “We must learn from our mistakes. I have never said that we made no mistakes this summer, but this is not the time to talk about them in detail,” he said and added that we should focus on “what we need to improve to be more effective.”
Asked whether he thinks that the rotation in the government structure worked, he answered that “it is good at regular intervals for ministers to be tested in new portfolios.”
“We were called to manage two disasters. But I must say that we also acquired the investment grade status in three months. I had promised that we would get it in three months, and we got it.”
Referring to the consequences of the storm ‘Daniel’, he said that this was an unprecedented phenomenon and added that a model of compulsory property insurance will be implemented.
The prime minister described as a “lie” the claim “that the army delayed to intervene” pointing out that the helicopters flew as soon as it was safe to do so.
He also announced that the national meteorological service (EMY) and the National Observatory of Athens will be transferred to Civil Protection so that there is better coordination and use of meteorological models.
Asked about Greek-Turkish relations in view of his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York, Mitsotakis stated that “The Hague is still a long way off” and that “Greece has not changed its strategy towards Turkey.”
“My wish was that we talk with Turkey and that our issues be resolved based on international law, and that when we disagree things should not be escalated,” he pointed out. At the same time, he made it clear that issues of sovereignty are not going to be put on the negotiation table, nor issues concerning the islands of the eastern Aegean, and he himself is not willing to discuss them with Turkey.
Regarding the government’s “tools” against soaring prices, Mitsotakis said that the structural answer to the problem is the stable and permanent increase in income and he referred to the increase in wages and pensions.
Regarding the case of Himare mayor Fredi Beleri, Mitsotakis said that it overshadows the relations with Albania and hampers the progress achieved in the previous four years. “I am concerned over the imprisonment but also the fact that Albania denies the right to swear in a mayor. I have reported this to the leadership of Albania, and although I do not interfere in Albanian justice, this constitutes a violation of the rule of law and creates major problems in bilateral relations that will have wider implications for Albania’s attempt to approach the EU,” he said, adding: “I will not stop raising this issue at the European level and with Rama himself.”
