“It is now the gateway for American natural gas to Europe and all that entails”
In a wide range of issues, the deputy minister was asked to take a position instead of the prime minister Thanasis Kontogeorgis, in an interview with ERT.
Regarding the energy agreements, for example, he said that it is “an important political decision that concerns the present and the future of our country – and we must work for them”. On the other hand, he continued, “systematic efforts were made both in the energy sector and in the exercise of the country’s sovereign rights”. And he added emphatically: “The country is firmly on the world energy map”, also “it is now the gateway for American natural gas to Europe with all that entails”.
According to the deputy minister in addition to the prime minister, this is a “very important development both in terms of energy and in terms of wider security”. While he added that “the exploratory drilling would not have been done if we had not announced the agreements with Italy on the Exclusive Economic Zone”.
Changing the subject, to that of the vendetta in Crete, “it is a situation that we must seriously try to stop. On the part of the government, there is the political will, I see positive moves by the official opposition in this direction”, was the first comment of Th. Kontogeorgis who repeated the three axes of the government’s policy, as presented first by the Minister of Citizen Protection and overall by the Prime Minister afterwards:
– stricter penalties
– administrative measures that may facilitate disarmament (sweeping checks will also be carried out, he suggested otherwise)
– cooperation with the Ministry of Education and local communities for culture change.
But beyond these, “we are willing to listen to other proposals”, he assured and emphasized: “The prime minister has shown that he is not afraid to take any political responsibility, even if it concerns his place of origin”. In any case, he added, “there must be consistency, persistence and timelessness in the actions, several people need to cooperate”.
While closing, he explained that “the law will be applied, as it is applied to the stadiums, and to the universities with the occupations”. His last comment was that this whole situation “does injustice to Crete”.
Regarding ELTA, he observed in general that “decisions that have a social impact need a very good explanation” and in this case that “it was an action that should have been better prepared in terms of communication”. In the meantime, the daily life of the residents of the region will not change, he pledged and explained that “the quarter was given in order to provide the best solutions”. Despite this, he clarified, “the need for consolidation remains”.
Finally, when asked about today’s interview with former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister gave the following answer: “I will not comment, Mr. Samaras has his views and the government has a lot of work ahead of it. We respect all opinions, but the government has 18 months ahead of it to deliver a project.” Also, “we are absolutely focused on our work and we will move in this direction”. While closing, Th. Kontogeorgis spoke of a “serious optimistic perspective for a changing homeland”.