The Press Spokesperson of the Hellenic Police, Theoni Koufonikola, appeared as a guest on Mega’s «Morning Point» show. During her discussion with representatives of other political parties, she addressed the issue of non-performing loans, social housing, and the government’s digital price-tracking platform PosoKanei. “No one can monitor where cartels exist,” she characteristically stated.
Koufonikola on PosoKanei: consumers have no visibility into producer pricing
Regarding the government’s new app “PosoKanei,” designed to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, Koufonikola commented that consumers are not given the ability to know what the producer’s price is or how it changes by the time it reaches the shelf.
“No one can monitor where cartels exist,” she stated, while also stressing that measures to combat rising prices must include, among other things, a reduction in VAT on essential food items, effective oversight through a price observatory tracking costs from producer to shelf, and comprehensive support for agricultural production.
“We are focused on mapping the full scope of the problems”
“What we are interested in is a holistic, unified mapping of the problems we face, so that measures and policy pillars can be proposed that are robust and yield concrete results. Beyond that, at every level — specifically on this issue — we have proposed the creation of a non-profit body for the social management of loans, starting from the most vulnerable, starting from primary residences, and of course the management of public properties,” she emphasized.
“A solid, substantive, well-structured solution would be what we propose: reducing VAT on the basic basket — which amounts to €1 billion on essential products — from 13% to 6%. Monitoring prices from the producer to the shelf through an observatory that also serves as a political tool. Strengthening the Competition Commission,” she added.
She also noted that a price cap on increases must be in place. “We crack down on cartels, we crack down on coordinated pricing practices, we boost contract farming, we strengthen energy communities and farmers, and we support productive transformation. We are talking about holistic, multi-faceted solutions,” she said.
