Kyriakos Mitsotakis, through his customary Sunday post on Facebook, presents the week’s events with an emphasis on social interventions, economic programs and institutional changes, attempting to highlight progress in critical areas of citizens’ daily lives.

Highlights of his post

  • Start of universal implementation of the ntantades.gov.gr for infant care
  • Financial assistance up to 500€/month – extended income criteria
  • Possibility for grandparents/grandparents to participate as trustees without pension reduction
  • Programme “My House II”:
    • 13.461 approved loans (1.6 billion). €1.1 billion)
    • High absorption (84,1%)
    • Term of contracts until 2 June 2026
  • New framework for consumer loans:
    • Total repayment limit +30%-50%
    • Withdrawal option within 14 days
  • Permanent establishment of a 1.000€ to Panhellenic exam passers from rural families
  • Inclusion of single-parent fathers in large child allowances
  • Compensation of ~22.7 million. €222222.7 million to 849 farmers due to animal diseases
  • Tender for 1.000 road safety cameras and digital enforcement of fines
  • Creation of 40 Total Mental Health Care Units
  • New appointment facility via the myHealth app
  • Inauguration of a branch of the University of Nicosia in Athens (UNIC Athens)
  • Establishment of a public School of Film & Audiovisual Creation
  • Training of 386 Coast Guard officers to serve the disabled
  • Developments in Greek-Libyan relations:
    • Discussions on EEZ and continental shelf
    • Promoting cooperation and diplomatic contacts

The full post of the Prime Minister

Euroleague.

Now that I have your attention, and after saying good morning and wishing you a good month, let’s take a look at what happened this week.

In addition to the playoffs getting underway, the ntantades.gov.gr platform had a dynamic premiere, with over 13,500 visits on its very first day of operation. Now, the program is going universal and is expanding across Greece, offering an organized, safe and flexible care solution for infants and toddlers from 2 months to 2.5 years old. In its pilot phase, we saw how much it helped, serving over 2,200 families, meeting the care needs of 2,370 children by 1,209 certified caregivers. I want to emphasise something that I think is very important: family members, such as grandparents, can also be included in the network of guardians, who will receive the support without any deduction from their pension. The support is substantial, with EUR 500 per month for parents who work full-time or are self-employed, and EUR 300 for those who work part-time, are students or unemployed. The income criteria are broadened – €24,000 to the mother for the first child, €27,000 for the second and for the first time in childcare schemes the income criteria for three-parent families and above have been removed completely to cover the majority of families. Our aim is that childcare should not be an obstacle but a support for parents and especially for mothers who are the beneficiaries of the programme.

Another programme with a great social impact is “My House II”, for which, according to official data, 13,461 loans have been approved, worth a total of €1.617 billion, with an average loan amount of €120.15 thousand. The absorption of the total budget has thus reached 84.1% to date. If we take into account the approximately 9,000 houses acquired thanks to “My House I”, the total number of households (approximately 22,500) that have benefited from these programmes is close to the population of a city such as Pyrgos, Corfu or Kilkis. The average income of those who have acquired houses from the “My House II” programme is 20,800 euro and the greatest interest is found in the periphery – Eastern and Western Macedonia and Western Greece. For reasons related to the reallocation of the resources of the Recovery Fund, in order not to lose a single euro – in agreement with the European Commission – the deadline for the contracting of the “My House II” loans was set at 2 June 2026. Of course, those beneficiaries who will have signed the relevant loan contracts by then will not be affected, but the Ministry of Finance has asked the banks to complete the necessary procedures in time to get as many as possible into the programme. And of course, at stegasi.gov.gr interested parties can find information on our more than 40 affordable housing policies.

But staying on the subject of banks and our dealings with them, let me say that the Ministry of Development’s bill is ready that protects consumers from abusive behaviour with regard to loans up to 100,000 euros without collateral. As we had committed to, it puts an end to ‘fine print’, but also to irregular practices. A maximum amount that a consumer loan can reach when it is repaid is now set and will be between 30%-50% above the capital that the borrower borrowed from the bank, as is the average in other European countries. Furthermore, the possibility is given to cancel a loan within 14 days from the moment it is taken out. These are regulations that I believe create a clearer and fairer framework for everyone.

I also have some good news for our young people in the countryside: from this year, the cash awards programme for Panhellenic exam passers from rural families, from a pilot scheme last year, is now a permanent institution and is being extended throughout the country. A total of 2,106 children who succeeded in gaining admission to universities will receive a 1,000 euro reward. At the same time, we are also taking a step towards justice: now single fathers in rural areas are also included in the cash assistance programme for families with three or more children.

On Tuesday the first payment of compensation amounting to 22,757,594.65 euros was made to 849 farmers whose animals were killed due to smallpox and foot-and-mouth disease. The compensation was paid directly to the farmers, according to the data submitted by the regions, with most of the money going to Thessaly. In Western Greece, the compensation payments will be credited in the coming days.
In the middle of the week, the Ministry of Digital Governance announced the international tender for the supply, installation, operation and maintenance of 1,000 fixed cameras at selected points of the road network. This project is part of our wider road safety planning, aimed at reducing offences such as red lights or speeding, which are often the cause of accidents. The cameras will be linked directly to the Greek Police, and through a new digital management system, sanctions will be applied immediately and transparently. Already, the new KOK measures, strict traffic police checks and continuous alcohol tests, together with the first cameras that have been put in place, have brought better results compared to previous years in fatal traffic accidents and in the first quarter of 2026. Our goal is for Greece to stop being a negative exception in Europe in road safety and we are already on the right track.

I am continuing with another tender for the development of 40 new Total Mental Health Care Units, with free services for all citizens. For the first time, an extensive network of facilities is being created across the country to provide comprehensive – free, I repeat – services to people with autism and dementia, while providing essential support to their families. In addition to the Day Centres, home care through Mobile Clinics is also provided. In 2026, mental health issues should not be taboo, nor should seeking help, either from the sufferer or their family. One more thing: through the myHealth app, the ability to schedule new appointments at dozens of mental health facilities across the country is enabled. Simple, direct, digital

Together with our friend, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides, we inaugurated the University of Nicosia branch in Athens, in Elliniko. It is one of the 4 non-state Higher Education Institutions operating in our country -licensed under strict criteria by the Independent National Authority for Higher Education- and offers programmes in the fields of Medicine, Law, Pharmacy, Psychology and Business Administration. The high standard facilities of UNIC Athens are already home to 280 undergraduate students and with the new academic year, postgraduate and doctoral programmes will be offered. Along with the increased funding, staffing and extroversion that we have secured for public universities, we want and can transform Greece into a regional and why not, if we think more ambitiously, into a global educational center, with foreign students who can come to study here and then work in our country to strengthen the national economy. The upcoming debate on the revision of the Constitution and Article 16 will show whether the opposition parties are capable of overcoming their rigidities and working for the Greece of 2030.
In the educational environment, I continue as we establish a Professional School of Film and Audiovisual Creation. Following the recovery of the industry and the attraction of major international productions to our country, the need for qualified technicians is now imperative. This new public school will provide free initial training and will link studies directly to the labour market through mandatory internships in productions supported by EKKOMED. It is a bet to give space and knowledge back to Greek creators and technicians in a rapidly growing industry.

A Greece with everyone, for everyone and in transport. The training of the first 386 members of the Coast Guard throughout Greece on how to serve passengers with disabilities and mobility difficulties has been successfully completed. It is an innovative programme implemented by the Ministry of Shipping to enhance accessibility in maritime transport. These officers come into direct contact with the passenger public in ports and are trained with the assistance of the National School of Public Administration so that they can address the needs of citizens with disabilities during embarkation and disembarkation, ensuring the upgrading of services with due respect to vulnerable people.

I left for last the progress made in our relations with Libya, which was confirmed during the recent visit of the Foreign Minister to Tripoli. There it was agreed to proceed with the discussion of the Technical Committees concerning the delimitation of the continental shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone. Greece is seeking the delimitation of the EEZ and continental shelf with the neighbouring country, as states with object shores, in full compliance with the International Law of the Sea, as reflected in UNCLOS and as it has done with other states in the region. According to the timetable, the next round of talks will take place in the near future in Tripoli. It was also agreed to cooperate on other key issues, such as migration, while Greece will continue to present Libya’s positions to international organisations. Greece remains one of the few countries that have established diplomatic relations at the highest level with both sides in Libya and will continue its systematic efforts for a political solution that will ensure the sovereignty of the country, free from external interference.
This is for the first review of May. Thanks for taking the time to read it. See you next Sunday!

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