Kostis Hatzidakis spoke about the wiretapping, as one of the persons on the list presented by Alexis Tsipras in Parliament. “It’s not nice, no doubt about it. I never imagined that there would be a motion of no confidence for the government and I would be the protagonist”, said the Minister of Labor.
Speaking on the ANT1 channel, the Minister of Labor is said to be among the people who were under surveillance and when asked about it, he replied that, “we all know how the EYP works over time. We know the pathogens. It is obvious to me that there were some ‘Inspectors Clouseau’ who exhausted their espionage interest on me.”
“A very rich government project is wronged by this story”
The Minister made it clear that he does not connect the Prime Minister to the surveillance, noting that, “the Prime Minister reacted immediately and we immediately had resignations and then they made sure to leak information to harm the government.”
“I remain who I was, my integrity has never been questioned. I want to know and punish those responsible. I don’t want to associate the Prime Minister with this. I would very much like the Judiciary to investigate this very quickly. From this story a very rich government project is wronged”, he said and in the comment that these are obviously legal connections, he said that “justice will judge whether or not there was an abuse of power”.
“I haveno penchant for positions, I’ve been a minister for eight years. What I know is that the prime minister surrounds me with his confidence. And today I feel vindicated both for the rescue of the PPC and for the reforms”, he pointed out.
On Christos Rammos
When asked about Christos Rammos, he said that “the government has positioned itself on Mr. Rammos, I have nothing else to add. I want everyone to recognize that I’m in one position and I don’t want to be seen as throwing the ball out of bounds.”
Concluding on the issue, he emphasized two things: “I am not linking the prime minister. I want the matter to be investigated.”
On pension increases
The Minister of Labor spoke about the pensions, which from today are increased and said that, “the Katrougalos law was corrected to a large extent by Yannis Vroutsis. We’ve had raises since 2020. About 1.7 million pensioners will get the full raise. Most will get raises that are closer to 7.7%. And there are also 900,000 who have a personal difference.”
“The pandemic and the energy crisis prevented the abolition of the personal difference measure. We would like to give more, but it doesn’t work out”, he said and accusing Alexis Tsipras, he mentioned that, “what Tsipras is offering is in the order of 12 billion euros and it is beyond what can be afforded”. “We don’t want to be the ‘give it all’ government. We will measure the fiscal space in February and then we will make decisions”, he noted and added that, “of the 910,000 who have the personal difference, 460,000 received support at Christmas and last Easter”.
Regarding the increase in the minimum wage, he said that “it will be a brave and significant increase. There are no workers without businesses, nor businesses without workers” and concluded that, “the Prime Minister said that they do not need to apply for the main pensions”.
Latest News
ETC Report: Greece 3rd Most Popular Destination for Europeans
Italy and Spain are tied as the top destinations, each attracting 8% of travelers
Greece Battles EC to Protect Rice Industry and Public Health
Together with several other EU countries, Greece successfully blocked the European Commission's proposal to increase allowable levels of a banned pesticide commonly found in rice imported from southeast Asia
Eurostat: 3.2% Annual Inflation in Greece in April
The data shows that Greece ranks seventh in overall inflation within the eurozone and second in food inflation
Intrum’s 2024 Report Unveils Greek Businesses Embrace Digitalization for Growth
Looking ahead, over 40% of businesses prioritize development for 2024, with 65% recognizing the potential of digital business models as sustainable investments
IOBE: Mild Drop in April Business Confidence Index (BCI) in Greece
The positive balance of expectations for employment witnessed a marginal decline, while the index for production forecasts also recorded a mild drop
Greek PM Mitsotakis Calls on EU to Intervene Over Multinationals’ Pricing Policy
Speaking about price fairness, the Prime Minister emphasized, "Europe should also mean similar or uniform prices for the products sold by our multinational corporations.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: 4% Decrease in EU, 0.3% Rise in Greece in Q4 2023
The EU's GDP remained stable with a marginal 0.2% increase in fourth quarter of 2023
HEREMA CEO: High Expectations from Natgas Exploration Off Crete
3D seismic surveys were conducted in the two offshore blocks west and southwest of Crete by a consortium comprised of ExxonMobil and HelleniQ Energy
EC Spring Forecast: Greek GDP at 2.2 in 2024, 2.3% in 2025
Besides Greek GDP inflation is expected to drop by a substantial 2.4% in 2024, settling at 2.8% from 4.2% in 2023 with 2025 recording a further decline to 2.1%
EBRD Raises Outlook for Greek GDP to 2.3% in 2024, 2.6% in 2025
Key downside risks remain, associated with possible delays in deploying Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds and weaknesses in key export markets and tourism source countries