‘Banks went beyond limits and go around’
“Turkey’s reaction to maritime parks, in addition to being unfounded, also gives an immediate response to those who claim that the government is making retreats in its foreign policy. Only in the last four months we have had developments with the exploration of hydrocarbons south of Crete, the maritime spatial planning submitted to the EU and the parks. And we also have the demarcation of marine zones between Greece and Italy as well as with Egypt, issues that have been pending for a very long time. As well as the strengthening of the armed forces in both the air and the sea. So the government has a very specific foreign policy, with no voices and anarchis, but at the same time proceeding by reinforcing the country’s position in practice. “
This was pointed out by the Vice President of the Government Kostis Hatzidakisin an interview with the OPEN television station regarding the two new national maritime parks in southern Cyclades and Ionian, announced yesterday by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
“We,” he added, “We are sending an environmental message because our seas are part of natural wealth and we must protect them. It is our obligation to our conscience and our children. On the other hand, there are some islands east of Amorgos, which is obviously not disputed and Turkey considers them since the 1990s as gray zones. For us all this is not in negotiation. We only want to negotiate for the continental shelf and the sea zones. We believe in peaceful coexistence and the future of the two years passes through it, but we cannot sacrifice our national interests and our national pride. “
Greece, the Deputy Prime Minister noted, has been very dynamically, far from populism, in recent years, and has strengthened alliances in the wider area with Israel, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates. We seek peaceful coexistence with Turkey without discussing our sovereign rights on the other hand. “We do not represent, he said, the dog barking and does not bite. We have paid dearly populism in foreign policy, the government is defending national interests in practice. “
Responding to a question about banks, Mr Hatzidakis recalled that six basic bank supplies were reduced or abolished by legislative initiative by the government. “Then, on the occasion of the sale of some ATMs, the debt phenomenon appeared again and the government said very well that it did not accept such tricks. We are not populists to believe that the banks are responsible for all the suffering, but on the other hand they must also realize that there are some limits and that they cannot get out of the scratch fly. Banks went looking for and the government’s intervention was right and fair, ” he said.
Finally, on the issue of OPEKEPE, Mr. Hatzidakis emphasized that, as – rightly – the government took over its responsibilities and is controlled by the fact that OPECEPE’s problem was not resolved, respectively one would expect the opposition to take over its own. “I would expect someone to say that something was happening in their days. No one said it. And I wonder if this is the news you expect against the New Democracy. “
Addressing the OPEKEPE executives, AADE, who will now take on the management of subsidies and farmers, noted: “Everyone must know that from now on everything will be done with complete transparency and compliance with the rules of Union law. It may take a little more time to pay subsidies, but it is crucial to do everything right in order to avoid further complications with the European Union. “