With a well-prepared “political choreography” and major issues on the agenda, the next ten days the government seeks to overcome the obstacles of what has been revealed about OPEKEPE (on Wednesday Parliament votes on lifting immunity for 13 MPs), the aftermath of Makarios Lazaridis’s resignation from his position as Deputy Minister of Agricultural Development, and the pressure exerted by the opposition on the surveillance issue.
Read: Government: Moving forward with “Agenda 2030” and Constitutional Revision
This “choreography” unfolds in seven steps:
- Today, Monday, the New Democracy pre-congress will be held in Heraklion, on the path to the ruling party’s regular congress on May 15-17. The Crete pre-congress has the theme “Greece destination for all – Major projects and infrastructure” and is the fourth in series, with Kyriakos Mitsotakis participating in a discussion with the Mayor of Halki, the President of the Fodele Community, a tour operator and an Antiquities Supervisor. Earlier, at 4:30 PM, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting on measures to address water shortage, at the headquarters of the Region of Crete.
- On Wednesday the Prime Minister will attend the Delphi Forum, where shortly after 7 PM he will participate in a discussion with European Council President António Costa, coordinated by CNN journalist Frederik Pleitgen.
- On Thursday Kyriakos Mitsotakis will travel to Nicosia for the European Union Informal Summit, where he will have the opportunity to present the Greek government’s positions both on the Middle East crisis and on the need for the EU to take necessary steps to strengthen its competitiveness. The geopolitical environment and Europe’s response, and the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the period 2028-2034 are the two main topics on the agenda of the “27” in Cyprus.
- On Friday, the Prime Minister hosts Emmanuel Macron in Athens, in “a major step in deepening an already close relationship, which will incorporate new fields of cooperation reflecting the increased demands of the current situation,” as government sources emphasize for this meeting, which they note “places Greek-French cooperation at the core of discussions about Europe’s future and the European defense and security framework.” The French President’s visit is expected to seal the renewal of the Greek-French strategic cooperation agreement on security and defense, while simultaneously opening the path for further deepening cooperation in areas such as economy, civil protection and innovation. – Next Tuesday the Prime Minister will hold the regular meeting with President of the Republic Konstantinos Tasoulas, where he will have the opportunity to give the political stamp of the upcoming constitutional revision, having already hinted at major institutional changes that will mark “the restart of the Greek Republic.”
- The very next day, Wednesday that is, the cabinet will convene to define the reforms that must run with a summer horizon, as well as the milestones that must be achieved so that European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility resources are not lost.
- The ten-day period closes with the New Democracy Parliamentary Group meeting on Thursday, April 30, with the Prime Minister’s statement focusing on constitutional revision, for which ND will open the relevant discussion within May. This particular session, however, will also be a complex balancing exercise for the party leadership, amid reactions and complaints that have come to light – or have been expressed behind the scenes – in recent weeks, mainly against the backdrop of handling MPs and ministers, current and former, who appear in the OPEKEPE conversations.
