“The government’s political decision to put an end to lawlessness” said the Prime Minister about OPEKEPE
Noting that we remember bygone eras “which we have thankfully left behind” because the cabinet had to be held via teleconference since he himself was diagnosed with coronavirus last night, the prime minister started Kyriakos Mitsotakis his introductory statement during today’s meeting of the Council of Ministers. “
For the sake of correct recommendations from the Ministry of Health, we decided that it is better to hold today’s Cabinet meeting by teleconference until the few symptoms I have have completely subsided,” he said.
“Let me start with an observation on the occasion of the National Anniversary celebrations, which ended yesterday: a very impressive parade, a lot of people, a positive atmosphere. I would say that it is probably the best response that is given by the citizens themselves, who I think actually turn their backs on the toxicity and misery that some insist on peddling. I think that’s the image we always want to hold for our country, the one we saw yesterday in the parades across the country.
Of course, at the same time, they expect more, faster and more tangible results from our government. Thus, two months before the end of the year, today’s meeting focuses primarily on everyday issues, with the priority being the improvement of the state, on the one hand expanding the front against the bureaucracy, in order for the public administration to become more and more reliable and citizen-friendly, and on the other hand giving convincing and above all realistic and applicable answers to current challenges, such as that of OPEKEPE”.
At this point, the Prime Minister wanted to refer to two bills which would be discussed at the beginning of today’s Ministerial agenda. “The first concerns a set of regulations, which will be proposed by the deputy prime minister, to further reduce the bureaucracy, which come to complement the many that the digital state has achieved so far: gov.gr, pensions that are issued in a much shorter period of time, line 1555 for labor issues, 1566 for health issues, the digital tracker, which – I was very happy to see the statistics from the Ministry of Health – has already significantly reduced the time of waiting in the emergency rooms of hospitals, the evaluation in the State with the aim of its continuous upgrading.
The proposals we will discuss will also move in this direction. There is still considerable scope for simplifying procedures, so that we can make the everyday life of the citizen simpler and easier. A number of unnecessary supporting documents which still exist are removed. The procedures in the “Mitos” National Registry are simplified. It is a choice that may sound technical, but I believe that it will have a real impact on the everyday life of the citizen.
Our second initiative, which we should surround with legislative provisions, concerns the integration of OPEKEPE into AADE. It is an initiative that we want to fundamentally solve a huge perennial problem, cleaning up through the absorption of an organization that is key to strengthening the national primary sector with European resources. We know that it is an extremely difficult exercise, we already know that from now on the new data require that every subsidy be preceded by a very thorough check. However, it was an initiative necessary to be able to make a fresh start.
You remember that some time before the results of the European Prosecutor’s investigation were announced, I spoke about the need to break the Gordian link, which could not be broken. And what has happened since then, I think, proves how imperative this intervention was: more than 20 million euros have already been pledged by the state, dozens of defendants have been brought to court, more cases are being solved, some of the defendants are already in custody.”
The prime minister emphasized that “this is the best proof that we absolutely mean what we said: that it is a political decision of the government to put an end to the lawlessness and make a new start in this very crucial area of the distribution of European aid to our farmers and breeders.
We knew very well that such a large reform, in fact in motion, at the time when payments had to be made at the same time as the negotiations we are doing with the European Union, such a reform would also cause failures and delays. Our priority always remains to speed up the payment of compensation to those who are truly entitled to it.
We have done in the last few days – to thank the Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance and the AADE – significant compensations have begun to be paid to the beneficiaries for the animal feed, for the damages of “Daniel”. 45 million was paid to almost 40,000 livestock farmers, for de minimis feed aid, due to smallpox and plague. And I want to believe that the overall situation will be normalized by the end of this year.
What will remain in the end, however, from this bold intervention, will be a new era of transparency and reliability in the management of European resources. The Independent Inland Revenue Authority has demonstrated that it has both the sophisticated digital means and the ability, quickly and in a timely manner, to check and cross-check and verify data. It is, therefore, a safe guarantee for the future”, underlined Mr. Mitsotakis.
“Finally, for the rest of the day’s agenda, let me take a moment to take stock of the fire season, not only to get a picture of last summer but to identify gaps so we can better prepare for the next one.
It is worth mentioning that the current year, 2025, was an absolutely disastrous year for the Mediterranean basin in terms of fires. More than 10 million hectares were burned in the EU, three times more, I emphasize, than the average statistics of the last twenty years.
We managed and met these very difficult conditions with losses, which were slightly below the twenty-year average, 477,000 acres. It’s not a little, it’s a lot, but it’s below the twenty-year average, at the same time that in Europe three times more land was burned than the average of the last 20 years.
We have made progress, especially in the rapid detection and first attack of fires. 97% of the fires succeeded and were contained while they were still very small in size and we can certainly take many positive messages from dealing with the fires this summer to better ourselves for the challenges of next summer.”
Concluding his introductory speech, the prime minister made two remarks regarding the national celebration from which he started. “This year, thanks to both the planning of the Traffic and the new Road Traffic Code, the fatal accidents in the four-day period – last year it was three days – were less than half compared to last year, a significant progress.
And I think that when we are given the opportunity to take stock of the statistics for the year with the relevant Deputy Minister, I believe that we will take strength from the fact that we are moving in the right direction, with a long way to go, but it is clear that something is changing in the area of road behavior and the reduction of fatal accidents.
Finally, except the very impressive military parade that we saw yesterday in Thessaloniki, where for the first time the citizens were able to see the new innovative weapons that have been added to the arsenal of the Armed ForcesI personally captured the image of the students the day before, marching in the rain, holding their flags, absolutely committed to their sense of duty, despite the weather difficulties they faced.
It is, perhaps, a good analogy of the way in which we too must proceed, despite the difficulties, despite the “powers” that may exist. We know what is the goal we want to reach and you can be absolutely sure and confident that nothing will derail us from our course”, concluded the Prime Minister.