On Sunday morning (04/10), Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed, among other topics, the government’s ongoing interventions to tackle the energy crisis affecting thousands of citizens, in his regular social media post. Mr. Mitsotakis also made special reference to the severe weather that has caused widespread destruction across Crete in recent days, stressing that “the top priority is human life, and immediately after that, supporting those who have been affected.”
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What Kyriakos Mitsotakis said about the energy crisis
Here is the full text of the Prime Minister’s social media post:
“Good morning! October is already here, with autumn making its presence felt — unfortunately with particular intensity in Crete. My thoughts are with our fellow citizens who have been tested by this natural disaster, who have seen their properties flooded and their daily lives turned upside down. The Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection proactively activated its emergency response mechanism, placing Crete on high alert, convening meetings of the Risk Assessment Committee, and coordinating all relevant agencies.
Warnings were issued via the 112 emergency line and movement was restricted in dangerous areas. Following the heavy rainfall, our teams carried out rescue operations and interventions, while the Region and municipalities are working to restore access to the affected areas. On Monday, a government delegation will travel to the island to coordinate damage assessment and restoration procedures. I thank all those operating in the field. The top priority is human life, and immediately after that, supporting those who have been affected.
Turning to the major developments of the week, I pick up the thread from the support measures being introduced in response to the new energy pressures facing society. The prolonged tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz continue to generate new pressures, and I have no intention of hiding behind my finger on this. We are in a difficult moment. What matters most is that we do not allow a global crisis to become a national dead end for Greek households. We know we cannot solve the problem as if by magic, but we are trying to provide real relief.
To that end, for the next 15 days, we are increasing the pump subsidy for diesel fuel from 10 to 15 cents, which — together with the refinery discount — will ultimately reach 20 cents. At the same time, just before October 15th, we will announce our measures for heating oil, with the clear objective of keeping the price below €1.75 per litre, while we will also proceed with an across-the-board increase in the heating allowance, as I have already stated. We will monitor the situation every fortnight, moving within the limits of our capacity to support society.
I continue to insist, however, that this energy turbulence is a European problem and cannot be addressed with mere advice to reduce consumption. Urgent, bold, and common solutions are needed. That is precisely why Greece is calling on Europe for greater fiscal flexibility.
We are proposing that the additional VAT revenues generated by high prices be channelled directly into targeted support for households and businesses, without these temporary measures counting against the strict expenditure ceilings.
Europe’s rules and frameworks were built in different, calmer times, when energy was cheap. The landscape has now changed radically, and we must adapt to the new reality. I have already sent a letter to the President of the European Commission and the President of the Eurogroup, requesting that we take this necessary step.
In this pressing environment, we are also increasing the number of instalments for repaying overdue debts to the tax authorities and insurance funds from 72 to 120, with a minimum instalment of €30 and with the interest rate remaining low — at the level applied to the 24-instalment arrangement. At the same time, we are tightening the conditions placed on loan servicers, protecting compliant debtors from foreclosure or seizure. If a company violates an agreed settlement, the arrangement will be cancelled, a fine of up to €500,000 will be imposed, and the citizen will be credited with 5 instalments of the original agreement.
There will be a cap of 15% on advance payments, replacing the lender’s previous discretionary authority. And if a citizen does not receive a full picture of their debt within 45 days, interest will be frozen. Our goal is to create a safety net — as is already being done through the out-of-court mechanism for primary residences — so that citizens can have a genuine second chance.
Changing subject now, I come to a major milestone that was reached this week: we submitted the final two disbursement requests to the EU, completing — on time, as on every previous occasion — all the required milestones. This means we will absorb the full resources of the Recovery Fund, amounting to €36 billion, or close to 16% of GDP — the largest European support package proportional to the size of our economy. The European Commission itself acknowledged that Greece stood out among the 27 member states in its utilisation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.
To put it another way, in half the time of a typical ESPA programming period, we managed to absorb nearly double the amount of funding. How did we do it, and what did we achieve? Through an organised plan — “Greece 2.0” — grounded in the recommendations of the Pissarides Report, we managed to rebuild the economy after the heavy blow of a decade-long crisis. Real GDP rose by 11 percentage points, more than 550,000 new jobs were created, and investment surged by 60%, exceeding our initial projections.
But I want to highlight a few other figures that show how much the utilisation of the RRF has already changed the lives of Greeks:
– 9 million citizens use gov.gr.
– 7 million citizens have undergone free preventive health checks, with more than 300,000 referred for further treatment in a timely manner.
– 5.2 million citizens have already registered with their free personal doctor, and 165,000 children have their own free personal paediatrician.
– 2.5 million workers are protected by the digital work card, and more than 7.5 million overtime hours have been recorded and paid.
– 1.2 million insured individuals are using the digital health file.
– 410,000 students are benefiting from the free digital tutoring platform (which, I should mention, has just launched for the 2026–2027 school year).
– More than 180,000 households have benefited from energy efficiency, heating system replacement, and solar water heater programmes.
– 25,500 residents of mountainous and island communities have been examined by mobile health units.
– More than 23,000 households have acquired their first home through the “My Home 1 and 2” programmes.
– 20,000 fellow citizens have undergone surgery through free afternoon surgical sessions.
– 1,812 people with disabilities have been assigned their own personal assistant.
– 99% of the country now has publicly accessible land registry data.
Alongside the reforms that have improved state functioning and citizens’ daily lives, major infrastructure projects have also been delivered. Without in any way diminishing the importance of all these works and reforms, I firmly believe that the greatest legacy “Greece 2.0” leaves behind is not just the €36 billion, but the proof that the Greek state can deliver.
It can plan, it can execute, it can push through the rigidities of the past and move forward. This is our real achievement — we have shed the belief that “nothing ever changes here.” The challenge now is not whether we are capable of succeeding, but whether we will have the courage never to lower the bar again.
And precisely because we have proven that we can, it is important to answer the next question: what happens after the Recovery Fund? The answer is that the day after does not start from zero, nor does it rest on wishful thinking. The National Development Programme already exists, which will mobilise €23 billion in investment — €13 billion more than the previous programming period. There are also resources exceeding €8 billion from the Social Climate Fund, the Modernisation Fund, and the Just Transition Fund, while €19 billion from the 2021–2027 ESPA still remains.
Ahead of us lies the next major European negotiation, covering resources of more than €49 billion. And it is particularly significant that this negotiation is likely to take place during the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2027. This is why preparation for the Presidency is not a routine formality, but one of the 12 horizontal priorities of the government’s programme presented at the recent Cabinet meeting.
Because the issue is not just how much funding the country will have at its disposal — it is where that funding goes and what results it delivers. Our core objectives through to 2030 are clear: sustainable growth and higher incomes, stronger defence and international presence, a more effective state and faster justice, better education and healthcare services, safer transport, affordable energy, and protection of the natural environment.
On the labour market front, unemployment fell to 7.4% last August — the second lowest rate ever recorded in Greece — while August was the third month this year with unemployment below 8%. It is worth noting that improvements were recorded across all sub-categories: male unemployment stood at 4.9%, down from 6.9% in August last year; female unemployment fell to 10.3%, from 11.1%; and significant progress was made in youth unemployment, which dropped to 15.6%, from 21.8%. This progress does not happen on its own — it is the result of targeted policies focused precisely where room for improvement still exists.
I will give two examples: for women, who continue to face greater barriers in the labour market, we are expanding the enterprise subsidy programme for hiring 10,000 unemployed women — with an emphasis on mothers of minor children — and boosting it with 5,000 additional full-time positions. For young people, we are strengthening vocational education and training, linking it more closely to the real needs of businesses through DYPA offices embedded within companies, and we are supporting entrepreneurship programmes for those aged 18–29, so they can make their own professional start. We press on, so that this progress reaches even more of our fellow citizens.
The next development of the week I want to mention is the creation of the National Model Centre for Dementia. This is one of the most serious, most complex, and fastest-growing public health challenges in the world. Already in Greece, approximately 214,000 of our fellow citizens are living with a diagnosed form of dementia, while the mental and physical burden on their families is often immense.
The new centre will provide free, holistic care for people with early-stage dementia — including memory assessment, day care, home care, and telemedicine. It will also support and train carers, including informal carers, who often shoulder this burden without adequate guidance. It will also play a role in prevention, education, and research. The project is made possible through a donation of €4.49 million from the National Bank of Greece and the charitable foundations of “Initiative ’21,” in partnership with the Ministry of Health. This is an initiative that concerns not only health, but also the dignity of patients, their families, and all those who fight this difficult battle every day.
Now for regional news. ADMIE has brought into service the upgraded high-voltage interconnections between Zakynthos–Kefalonia and Kefalonia–Lefkada, replacing lines that had been in operation for decades. This means safer and more resilient electricity supply for the Ionian Islands — especially during the summer months, when tourist traffic significantly increases electricity demand. The next electrical interconnection to be completed will link Corfu to the mainland grid via Igoumenitsa, within 2027.
In Katerini, a new undergraduate programme in “Shipping and Intermodal Transport Management” is being launched by the International Hellenic University, adding another educational option outside the major university centres.
In the Peloponnese, we are allocating €3.5 million to enable people with disabilities and citizens over 65 facing poverty or social exclusion to participate in sports, cultural, and recreational activities.
In Boeotia, the new Emergency Department of Thebes Hospital and the renovated Health Centres of Distomo and Aliartos have been inaugurated.
In Kos and Syros, the South Aegean Region is allocating €2.8 million in European funds for two new Day Centres for Total Mental Health Care — one for people with dementia and Alzheimer’s in Kos, and one for individuals with autism and neurodevelopmental disorders in Syros.
In Megalopolis, a €3.5 million project has been approved for the bioclimatic upgrade of part of the road network, within the broader framework of the Just Transition Development.
In Corfu, after months of effort, funding of €21.1 million has been secured to advance the signing of the contract for the “Corfu City Water Supply from the EAN Chryseida” project — an intervention that addresses a chronic and very real problem for both residents and visitors to the island.
I close with yesterday, which was a special day for our Orthodox cultural heritage. Together with my friend, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, I attended the signing of the protocol for the return to Greece of religious relics that had been transferred to Sofia in 1917, during the First World War, as well as the handover to Bulgaria of the relics of Tsar Samuel, which were discovered in 1965 at the Basilica of Saint Achilles in Florina.
As for the Greek treasures, these are 48 relics from the Holy Monasteries of Panagia Eikosifoinissa and Timios Prodromos in Serres, as well as from the Holy Metropolis of Serres and Nigrita. They will be exhibited at the Museum of Byzantine Culture until November 5th, and will then return home. This is a first step — and certainly not the last — in the repatriation of all our relics, as part of the proactive cultural diplomacy we have been pursuing in recent years with tangible results.
Before I let you go, I would like to make a special mention of today, which marks the anniversary of the founding of New Democracy — an occasion we will celebrate tomorrow, Monday, at 18:00, at the old OSY depot. We are proud of our ideas, our values, and our journey, which began on this very day, October 4th, 1974. With its founding declaration, signed by Konstantinos Karamanlis, calling on us to serve the nation “beyond and above the old, misleading labels of left, right, and centre.”
Until next Sunday — have a wonderful rest of your day!”