Mitsotakis for the EuroLeague final: Good luck to Olympiacos

True to his regular appointment, he attempts to present the government’s key interventions, answer questions on everyday issues and provide information on actions underway.

The main points of Mitsotakis’ post

• Extension of the “My House II” program for those who have already been approved but face delays in procedures. These applications will be able to be completed by the end of August with national funds.
• Utilization of 8 properties of DYPA through social renting in Peania, Larissa, Pyrgos and Kalamata, aiming to create about 400 apartments.
• Support of the “Personal Assistant” programme with a total budget of €55 million.
• In the field of Health, the following were announced:
  • 28 refurbished ICUs and 55 Health Centres,
  • announcement 1.131 permanent doctor positions,
  • tax relief for doctors’ on-call duty,
  • classification of nurses and rescuers as heavy and unhealthy.
• Extension for another year of the DYPA programme for 500 paramedics in NHS hospitals.
• Extension of Collective Agreements in Food and Confectionery, with pay rises for more than 400.
• Start of procedures for the Middle School Year – Apprenticeship Class 2026-2027, with the aim of linking education and the labour market.
• In terms of public transport, the prime minister said that there are already 1,076 new buses in Athens, while the upgrading of the old electric bus system is underway.
• Settlement for farmers who were losing subsidies due to outstanding issues with the Land Registry, with retroactive effect for 2025.
• Promoting new Special Spatial Framework for Tourism, RES and Industry.
• Approval of Metlen’s €340 million investment for gallium production in Greece.
• Full utilisation of the loan component of the Recovery Fund, with total investments expected to exceed €30 billion.
• Liquidation of the issuance of criminal record, with the possibility of completion in five minutes for 50% of citizens.
• Presentation to the public of the Palace of the Despots in Mistra, following upgrade and restoration work.
• Reinforcement of the Direct Action with 45 new police cars and 45 motorcycles through a donation from the PPC Group.
• KYSEA approved the upgrade of the MEKO frigates and the acquisition of two Italian Bergamini (FREMM) frigates for the Navy.
• Increase in funding to sports federations to 31.3 million euros, almost double compared to 2019.
• In conclusion, the Prime Minister referred to the Euroleague final and wished Olympiacos good luck.

Mitsotakis’ full post

Good morning! A Sunday without a review was enough to gather a lot of developments and several important issues. So today I’ll try to say as much as I can and as soon as possible.

I’ll start with the “My House II” project. As I told you two reviews ago, June 2, 2026 has been set as the deadline for contracting the loans so that not a single euro of Recovery Fund resources is lost. However, we heard concerns from citizens who have already been approved for the program but are experiencing delays in contracts, inspections or property transfers. That’s why we are now giving the opportunity to complete by the end of August the already approved applications, with funding from national resources through the Hellenic Development Bank. Simply put, those who have already entered the programme will not lose the opportunity to acquire their home due to procedural delays. In addition to the housing issue, I would like to say that the first 8 properties of DYPA in Peania, Larissa, Pyrgos and Kalamata have been “locked” and will be developed through social renting. It is estimated that these will create around 400 new apartments, of which around 130 will be made available to our vulnerable citizens.

Another social support programme, “Personal Assistant”, is being reinforced in view of its expansion from June, with a total budget of €55 million – €50 million per year and an additional €5 million for supporting projects. The pilot phase of the programme has shown in practice how important this service is for people with disabilities and their families, both at home and in their daily social and professional life. For many of our fellow citizens, the “Personal Assistant” means more autonomy, more freedom of movement and more meaningful participation in society. And this is exactly what is at stake.

To come to the field of public health, where we have already received 28 renovated emergency departments and 55 health centres to date, with the latest this week the two upgraded emergency departments in hospitals outside the basin, at “C. Gennimatas” in Thessaloniki and Naoussa General Hospital. Of course, the strengthening of the NHS is not only limited to building infrastructure and equipment, but also to personnel. Some of the things we have done: the largest advertisement for permanent medical staff in the history of the NHS was published a few days ago, 1,131 positions in one day. In addition, NHS doctors have seen on their payslips the difference from the self-taxation of on-call duties voted by our government, with the average annual tax relief amounting to around €7,000. This is a substantial increase in their disposable income, perhaps the largest in recent years. And very soon we are also tabling the provision for the inclusion of NHS and EHIC nursing staff in the heavy and unhealthy category, meeting a fair and long-standing demand.

But also very important is our decision to extend for another year the DYPA programme through which 500 paramedics were recruited last year in NHS hospitals. Their contribution has been substantial in reducing delays in patient transfers and improving the functioning of Emergency Departments, particularly in hospitals under pressure. At the same time, this has meant that 500 unemployed citizens, both young people and many over 50 years old who are facing difficulties in re-entering the labour market, have found work.

One issue takes me to another and that brings me to the labour market and the extension of Collective Agreements in the food and confectionery sectors which affects more than 400,000 workers. The two new Contracts cover the three-year period 2026-2028 and, for those employed in the country’s tourism and catering establishments – which is the majority – pay increases up to almost 20% of the statutory minimum wage with increases in bonuses, while some 23,000 beneficiaries are in the Confectionery sector who will also have 9% pay increases over the three-year period and upward adjustments to all bonuses.

It is also important for the labour market, however, to link it to education. One way to build this connection is the “Post-apprenticeship year-apprenticeship class”, where for 2026-2027, the submission of applications from companies and private sector institutions started earlier than in any other year. Our goal is for more and more EPAL graduates to gain real work experience and meaningful career prospects in specialties that the economy and production need.

Mass transit is the next topic for today. And here I can say that something is finally starting to change in the image of Athens’ public transport. In 2023, we committed to having over 1,000 new buses on the streets of the capital by the end of the four-year period. Today they have already reached 1,076. At the same time, the substantial upgrading of the old “Electric” is also starting and the first fully rebuilt train will be put into operation from next month, while 13 more will be added in the next year. I am obviously not claiming that all the problems were solved overnight. But it is the first time in many years that such a large and organised effort is being made to renew the fleet and the public transport system in Athens as a whole.

I will change the subject and come to the solution that we gave to a problem that plagued thousands of active farmers, mainly in Thessaly and Macedonia, but also in other regions. With an amendment tabled in the Parliament, it is now possible for producers who cultivate land that appears in the Land Registry as the original property of the State and until now were excluded from subsidies to receive them. This is a chronic distortion that we are correcting on objective criteria, so that people who actually cultivate the land do not lose the aid to which they are entitled because of decades of bureaucratic red tape. In fact, the regulation is also retroactive for 2025 applications, provided that the relevant conditions are met. I would like to make it clear, however, that the regulation concerns only the payment of aid and does not change the property rights of the State or third parties.

I continue with an important reform concerning how we organise the overall spatial development of our country: the simultaneous planning of the new Special Spatial Frameworks for Tourism, RES and Industry, which is a first in Greece. I will start with the new Spatial Plan for Tourism, which is already under consultation. The aim is to bring order and clear rules to tourism development, in order to protect the environment, local communities and the character of each region, without stopping the development of a sector that is a key pillar of our economy. The second of the Spatial Plans, the one for renewable energy, has also been put out to consultation, with new rules and restrictions for Natura sites, forests, small islands and tourist zones, so that the energy transition proceeds with greater balance and social consensus, and we will soon present the Spatial Plan for Industry, whose aim is for major development policies to work in a coordinated rather than fragmented way, avoiding the contradictions of the past: land use conflicts, the absence of a plan and uncertainty.

And speaking of industry and strategic investments, a particularly important investment of 340 million euros by Metlen was approved last week, giving our country the ability to produce gallium, a critical raw material for technologies such as semiconductors, defense systems, artificial intelligence and modern photovoltaics. And to put it in perspective, Greece will now be able to meet all of the European Union’s gallium needs.
Our philosophy around investment is to support interventions that not only address today’s needs, but strengthen our country’s position for years to come. In this direction, therefore, we succeeded this week in achieving a particularly important objective: to use 100% of the loan component of the Recovery Fund. In simple terms, the EUR 17.7 billion that we have secured is now all going into the real economy and investments are being made that create growth and new jobs. With the completion of contracting by the credit institutions, total investment will exceed EUR 30 billion, with 60% of the participating companies being SMEs, absorbing EUR 5.6 billion. At the same time, through InvestEU, more than 15,000 SMEs received loans worth €3 billion. In total, therefore, SMEs have been supported with almost €10 billion from the Recovery Fund, if the direct aid they have received is added. And we do not stop here: access to cheap lending for SMEs will continue after the completion of the Recovery Fund, with an additional €2 billion through the Hellenic Development Bank, while for startups and fast-growing companies there are now 10 investment schemes that have already invested €220 million and counting. Greece is the only country that has fully utilized the EIF loans, directing them to private sector investment to create what we have been missing for years: investment.

Another review with something from the digital world, and this time the news is that another transaction with the state is being digitized, the issuance of the criminal record, which, until recently, took days and was done asynchronously. From now on, however, for 50% of citizens it is completed in just five minutes. Why not yet for everyone? Because in many cases additional data cross-checking or manual checking is required when there are discrepancies or different entries in the public registers. But where identification is done with complete certainty, the certificate is issued automatically and immediately. It is another important step towards a faster state.
But let’s not forget that the state is not only about services and daily transactions. It is also about protecting our history, identity and cultural heritage. We are therefore pleased to hand over to visitors the Palace of the Despots in the Castle Town of Mystras, the only Byzantine palace complex on European territory and a World Heritage Site of special importance for Laconia and the Peloponnese as a whole. I saw up close the impressive work that has been done. The sites have been highlighted and made universally accessible, new technologies and digital tools have been incorporated to enhance the visitor experience, while the new fire-fighting system better shields the monumental site. This is the 30th museum and cultural space to be opened to the public since the summer of 2019 to date. The exhibition “In the Light of the Courtyard: An Impression of a Glorious Enclosure”, hosted in the Throne Room at the Palace of the Despots and made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Martinos couple. I suggest you visit both!

Two more pieces of news to report. The first is the reinforcement of the Direct Action with 45 new patrol cars and 45 new motorcycles through a donation from the PPC Group, which will be used for visible policing patrols in the neighbourhoods of Attica where there is greater need.
The second concerns the further strengthening of our Armed Forces. The GSC approved the upgrade of the MEKO frigates and the acquisition of two Italian frigates Bergamini (FREMM), which will significantly enhance the capabilities of the Navy in the coming years. At the same time, we are proceeding with the purchase of new crypto devices to enhance the confidentiality of the Armed Forces’ communications.

The week, however, requires me to close with sports. For the first time in two decades, financial support to sports federations reaches €31.3 million. This year alone, €4.2 million more was made available than last year, and overall the funding is almost double the amount we received in 2019. Amateur sport needs constant support, a plan and a perspective, and that is what we are trying to put into practice.
One of the two things you will probably do today, you have already done: read the review. Now the Euroleague final remains, which this year brings the gaze of all of basketball Europe to our country. It is a great success for Greece that, after so many years, Greece is hosting this great competition again, with Olympiacos being present in the grand final. So, good luck to the reds. Have a good Sunday!