“We decided to extend the diesel subsidy for June as well, with a 15-cent per liter boost, so its price remains about 30 cents lower compared to March. At the end of the month, the emergency support of €150 for each child will also be paid, without any application required, with expanded income criteria covering over 80% of the country’s households,” emphasizes Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in his Sunday post. At the same time, referring to the increasing interest of major international energy groups in our country, he stated that “Greece is now treated as a country with serious energy prospects.”
“Chevron and HELLENiQ ENERGY submitted a request for the American energy giant’s participation in the concession of Block 10, off the Kyparissiakos Gulf, in the South Ionian,” he notes, reminding that “this particular consortium has signed lease contracts with the Hellenic Republic for four new marine areas south of Crete and the Peloponnese.”
“This development comes to add to a series of moves that confirm Greece is now treated as a country with serious energy prospects. It doesn’t prejudge any result, of course. However, it shows that international interest not only remains strong but is expanding, gradually strengthening our country’s position on the energy map of the Eastern Mediterranean,” Prime Minister Mitsotakis characteristically notes.
Full post by Kyriakos Mitsotakis
Days of university entrance exams and I want to start with a thought for the candidates. I know that these days everything seems to be judged by one written test, within a few hours. But it’s not like that. University entrance exams are an important milestone, not the only one. So enter the examination room with a clear mind, without burdening yourself with more anxiety than you already have. No result can measure the value, abilities or path of a young person. And certainly, life opens more paths than we can often see at this age. I wish all of you good luck and may the efforts you’ve made during this time be justified. As it’s completely natural to feel greater pressure or anxiety these days, the Ministry of Education has put into operation until June 30 the free telephone line 1550 for psychological support of candidates and their families, a nationwide network of psychologists from the Centers for Interdisciplinary Assessment, Counseling and Support. Don’t hesitate to use it if you feel you need it.
Let’s move on to government work. I’ll start with inflation, as the continuing developments in the Middle East lead to an extension of the energy crisis and, consequently, affect prices and citizens’ daily lives. That’s why we decided to extend the diesel subsidy for June as well, with a 15-cent per liter boost, so its price remains about 30 cents lower compared to March. At the end of the month, the emergency support of €150 for each child will also be paid, without any application required, with expanded income criteria covering over 80% of the country’s households, so that nearly one million families will benefit from this measure. I know that these emergency measures don’t solve the inflation problem on their own, which continues to pressure many households. However, they provide at least a small relief in a difficult situation.
I’ve referred several times recently to hydrocarbon exploration and the increasing interest of major international energy groups in our country. I return to this because each new step has its own significance. This time, Chevron and HELLENiQ ENERGY submitted a request for the American energy giant’s participation in the concession of Block 10, off the Kyparissiakos Gulf, in the South Ionian. This particular consortium, I remind you, has signed lease contracts with the Hellenic Republic for four new marine areas south of Crete and the Peloponnese. This development comes to add to a series of moves that confirm Greece is now treated as a country with serious energy prospects. It doesn’t prejudge any result, of course. However, it shows that international interest not only remains strong but is expanding, gradually strengthening our country’s position on the energy map of the Eastern Mediterranean.
I come to the Recovery Fund, where we’re now entering the final stretch for its completion. During the week our country submitted a double disbursement request, the 7th for the loans section and the 8th for the reforms and projects section, totaling €1.63 billion. For those wondering if the reform aspect of the program is progressing, the answer is affirmative: to date we have completed 86.15% of reform milestones that, in a measurable way, digitize state and economy, lead the country’s energy transition, simplify the business environment, reduce bureaucracy, upgrade public health and education and accelerate the administration of justice.
One of these reform milestones was also the Land Registry, the complete mapping of the country’s real estate property, a pending issue that had tormented the country for almost two centuries. Its completion is now very close, as the posting of cadastral data covers 99% of the territory. This means that citizens can now, through the digital map https://maps.ktimatologio.gr/?locale=el, see their property data consolidated, check it and, where needed, request corrections. This is a deep institutional reform that goes far beyond the limits of a simple administrative change. The Land Registry constitutes a foundation for legal security, investments, protection of citizens’ property and the country’s overall development path. Our goal is to definitively close this 200-year pending issue by the end of the year. And we will succeed.
However, the completion of the Recovery Fund doesn’t mean the end of our emblematic innovative policies. One such example is the “Prevent” program, which will continue in the coming years, as we have already secured funding of €300 million for the 2027-2030 period for free preventive examinations for breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, cardiovascular risk, obesity in adults and minors, and kidney dysfunction. Prevention was for decades the “poor relative” of the health system in our country. We chose to change this and the results are already visible. More than 317,000 of our fellow citizens detected some finding early and were able to receive appropriate medical care. That’s why preventive examination programs are now becoming a permanent part of our public health policy.
I remain in the health sector, as the NHS acquired another renovated Emergency Department, this time at the Anticancer Hospital of Piraeus “Metaxa”. For patients this means better conditions, shorter waits and higher quality care at a particularly difficult moment in their lives. The new spaces and modern medical equipment allow staff to manage emergency cases more effectively and provide better services. With the completion of the overall renovation of “Metaxa”, thanks to Allwyn’s donation, in three years we will be talking about an essentially new oncology hospital.
In labor issues, we’re bringing a new bill that takes another step toward a more just labor market, where the same work is compensated in the same way, regardless of gender. Although the principle of equal pay is already enshrined, in practice wage inequalities continue to exist, not only in Greece but throughout Europe. With the incorporation of the relevant European Directive, a comprehensive framework for wage transparency is introduced for the first time, both before hiring and during the employment relationship, and if a wage difference is detected without objective explanation, the employer will be obligated to proceed with corrective interventions and restructuring of the company’s wage structure, while judicial protection of workers is also significantly strengthened. Generally speaking about the bill, it’s worth noting that 65 proposals submitted by National Social Partners, representatives of workers and employers, have been incorporated into it so far. I also want to highlight another important provision: the inclusion of nurses, nursing assistants, rescuers and ambulance crews of EKAB in heavy and unhealthy work categories. A fair demand from people who are daily on the front line of the NHS and emergency care.
In 2019, when we were first elected, I had spoken to you about a state more friendly to citizens. A state that doesn’t torment them, that respects their time and puts an end to unnecessary bureaucracy. Seven years later, the steps we’ve taken in this direction are many. However, this doesn’t mean we stop. Because a modern state is judged not only by major reforms, but also by whether it solves small problems that daily torment citizens. One of these was that the State often asked citizens to provide documents and certificates that were already in some other public service. This is changing. Now the search for these documents will be done officially, without the citizen needing to seek and submit them again and again. For example, you won’t need to provide a marriage certificate, diploma copy, military discharge certificate, next of kin certificate, various cadastral certificates etc. again. We’re also setting clear deadlines for the administration. When a citizen is waiting for a decision from which financial benefit or compensation arises, the State must respond within three months. Of course, whoever tries to deceive the state with false declarations will face fines up to €50,000, as well as the prescribed criminal consequences.
Before closing, let me mention two important interventions in culture. Very significant and particularly honorary is the news that in Malia, Crete, the Minoan Palace Center now officially bears UNESCO’s seal as a World Heritage Monument, confirming the unique position of Minoan civilization in world cultural heritage. This recognition doesn’t only have symbolic value. UNESCO’s seal is an important international distinction, but our real responsibility is to keep these spaces alive and functional. That’s why we’re implementing projects worth €3.5 million that protect and upgrade the archaeological site, fortifying it against the effects of climate crisis. We’re doing the same in Rhodes, where work to restore the emblematic National Theatre, one of the island’s most important architectural landmarks, is progressing at intensive pace. When the project is completed, the city will regain a modern cultural space of international standards, worthy of its history and significance.
I close with a number that says a lot about our society and concerns sports. According to the annual report of e-Kouros for 2025, the digital system for recording the sports ecosystem that we established two years ago, 1 in 4 citizens of the country is directly or indirectly involved with amateur sports. The data also shows that the number of athletes increased by 4.05% within a year, while 1 in 3 middle school age children is registered in a sports club. This is a particularly optimistic picture that confirms the dynam
