ΕΞΑΓΓΕΛΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΡΩΘΥΠΟΥΡΓΟΥ
- 01 May 2023
- Politics
The increase in disability allowances for 200,000 citizens was announced by the Prime Minister during the conference on the Greek economy entitled "Resilience, Progress, Prospects", organized by the Ministry of Finance.
The prime minister said that nothing in 2023 resembles the over-indebted country of the memorandums, with a wounded and divided society.
"In the summer of 2019 we made a new beginning. Four years later we have covered losses in average income, we have soared our productivity, investments, exports. The national product is returning to 2010 levels and we are in the second strongest growth in the eurozone," he noted.
"We have proven the care for the most vulnerable and knowing that disability pensions increased, the truth is that OPECA benefits did not follow them. That is why, as the last symbolic act of the current parliamentary term, I decided on the immediate 8% increase in disability benefits, supporting 200,000 of our fellow citizens," he said.
Mr. Mitsotakis, opening his speech, said that "he who adapts to changes survives best. This sums up what happened in the last 4 years." He added that the Greek people managed to make "jumps in their steps to make up for lost time and for Greece to be today the pleasant surprise of Europe".
The prime minister also noted that there is optimism that the Greek economy will maintain the positive sign of growth, despite fears of international pressure. "However, the growth index is not an end in itself, it is a parameter of well-being," he said, recalling that over the last four years, 300,000 jobs were created, with employment increasing more among young people and women.
Indications of brain drain reversal
"We had the first signs of reversing the brain drain, the first signs that our policy is not only developmental, but also socially just," said Mr. Mitsotakis while referring to the 3 increases in the minimum wage that brought it to 780 euros, as and pension increases. "Society's most vulnerable were supported in an environment of international turmoil and aggressive behavior by its neighbours. The solutions were neither obvious nor easy. We were called to make difficult choices."
One step up from investment grade
The prime minister recalled that the Greek economy was upgraded 12 times in 4 years and expressed the belief that if a stable and strong government emerges from the elections, it will regain the investment grade within 2023.
1,500 digital services
Mr. Mitsotakis also made a special reference to the digital transformation, stressing that 1,500 digital services facilitate the daily life of citizens.
50 Taxes Reduced – We will generate a primary surplus
"We promised to reduce taxes and we reduced more than 50 taxes, de-escalating both employee and employer contributions," the prime minister noted, among other things. As he said, the tax cut also served as an incentive to stimulate innovation.
"We followed a flexible policy, but we did it with fiscal prudence," he emphasized, while addressing the president of the Eurogroup, he said: "In 2023, friend Pascal, the country will produce a primary surplus."
