{"id":3336,"date":"2026-04-30T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=3336"},"modified":"2026-04-30T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T09:30:00","slug":"live-pavlos-marinakis-androulakis-and-tsipras-compete-for-the-upper-and-lower-square","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=3336","title":{"rendered":"Live-Pavlos Marinakis: Androulakis and Tsipras compete for the upper and lower square"},"content":{"rendered":"

The briefing of political editors by the government spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis<\/b>. <\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

With the Prime Minister’s message, Kyriakos Mitsotakis<\/b>, for a revision of Article 16<\/b> of the constitution, as expressed at the inauguration of the University of Nicosia branch in Athens, Pavlos Marinakis began the briefing.<\/p>\n

The government spokesman relayed the Prime Minister’s words that “Greece is a European exception in terms of the strict constitutional restrictions on the provision of higher education services. The time has now come to put into practice what has been discussed for many decades, in the context of a constitutional review, which will start in the coming months. We should consider revising Article 16 so that there is no longer any institutional question mark over the functioning of such institutions in our country as well<\/b>.”<\/p>\n

“God’s hand be upon us”<\/h3>\n

Asked about the attacks by Nikos Androulakis and Alexis Tsipras<\/b> against the government using terms such as “mafia” and “gang”, the government spokesman spoke of absence of “quality” speech. <\/b>They are competing to see who will be the most genuine spokesman for the once up and down square<\/b>, he said. And in the run-up to the election and the battle they will fight for second place<\/b>, he said, he expressed “fear” that “the 1980s and the Thessaloniki programme will look like a calculated policy and costed programmes”. “God’s hand<\/b>,” he added. <\/p>\n

In reference to Nikos Androulakis’ proposal for a 4-day work week, he said it blows up small and medium-sized businesses.<\/b><\/p>\n

Introductory statement<\/h3>\n

The full text of Pavlos Marinakis’ introductory speech is as follows:<\/p>\n

A little while ago, the Prime Minister, together with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, attended the ceremony of the inauguration of the University of Nicosia’s branch in Athens<\/b>. This is an institution that will offer a high quality educational process, in a building with excellent standards.<\/p>\n

The possibility of establishing non-state universities in our country is one of the most emblematic reforms of this four-year period. It marks the beginning of a new era in higher education in Greece where education meets innovation.<\/p>\n

Already four non-state universities are operating in our country, while, the world’s largest universities are partnering with our public educational institutions.<\/p>\n

As the Prime Minister said, “We have not backed down from the opposition’s entrenchments, which cause great difficulties where significant opportunities present themselves. <\/b>Progress does not come with fixation on yesterday.” At the same time, he noted that: “An important step has been taken, but another must follow. The time has come to put into practice what has long been discussed so that there are no institutional questions”.<\/p>\n

Target: continuous increase in disposable income<\/h3>\n

The government’s primary goal is, on the one hand, the continuous increase in the disposable income of citizens, in order to gradually return to them what they have been deprived of in previous years, and on the other hand, the “tidying up” of public finances and the reduction of debt which is reflected in concrete and measurable results, so that we do not return to “black” days again. <\/b><\/p>\n

These include: the full coverage of financing needs, the raising of \u20ac7.7 billion from the markets on favourable terms and the simultaneous reduction of total and net debt. <\/p>\n

At the same time, with early repayments of \u20ac5.3 billion, substantial risk mitigation and savings of \u20ac2.6 billion over time, the country has strengthened its fiscal position.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the cost of servicing remained low, below 1.8%, the average debt maturity exceeds 18 years and financing needs are kept low.<\/p>\n

These figures reflect how Greece is reducing its debt and making it increasingly sustainable, relieving future generations of burdens that are not theirs to bear.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Directive on so-called SLAPPs<\/b><\/h3>\n

A new Justice Ministry regulation proposed by Justice Minister George Florides will incorporate into Greek law the directive on protection against unfounded, abusive lawsuits, so-called SLAPPs.<\/p>\n

The most important regulations concern:<\/p>\n

– The establishment of specific rules and procedural safeguards to enable the protection of those exercising the right to freedom of expression and information on matters of public interest, preventing the exploitation of the imbalance of power between the parties.<\/p>\n

– The possibility of dismissing actions as manifestly unfounded or inadmissible at an early procedural stage.<\/p>\n

– The provision of short time limits and the introduction of safeguards to avoid paralysis of proceedings.<\/p>\n

– Provisions on the consequences of the improper pursuit of actions.<\/p>\n

– The introduction of an obligation for the losing plaintiff to pay all legal costs and the costs of legal representation.<\/p>\n

– The possibility of imposing financial penalties and an order for publication of the judgment in the press at the expense of the losing plaintiff.<\/p>\n

– The hearing of applications for interim injunctions only upon summons of the defendant, if there are indications that the application is part of a SLAPP action.<\/p>\n

– The introduction of a special jurisdiction, which allows natural or legal persons resident in Greece to claim before the Greek courts compensation for the damage and costs they have suffered as a result of an abusive procedure in a third country, etc.<\/p>\n

In addition, the Prime Minister stressed during his introductory remarks at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting how “It is good at some point that we, as politicians, should also look at how we are protected from the anonymous vulgar toxicity of the internet,<\/b> when we seek to possibly take criminal action, in case we deem it necessary, against websites or alleged accounts and we run into a wall, because no one can trace who is really behind these accounts. It is the natural counterweight to what we are proposing today. Because our goal is to shield the good of free expression, while of course, the legal counterweights against the vilification of anyone will continue to strengthen.”<\/p>\n

New Whole Care Mental Health Units<\/h3>\n

The tender notice for the development of 40 new Whole Care Mental Health Units across the country was signed by Health Minister Adonis Georgiades. The initiative, with a total budget of \u20ac56 million, is funded by the NSRF.<\/p>\n

The units are designed to cover two particularly vulnerable and growing population groups: people with autism and neurodevelopmental disorders and people with dementia\/Alzheimer’s and related disorders.<\/b><\/p>\n

The aim is to provide specialized care in the community, support families and caregivers, and enhance the social integration and psychosocial rehabilitation of the beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Special Secretariat for Mountain Areas<\/h3>\n

A Special Secretariat for Mountain Areas is established in the Presidency of the Government, with the mission to develop and implement a comprehensive national strategy for the country’s mountain areas. The aim is their sustainable development, in terms of economic resilience, social cohesion and improvement of the daily life of their inhabitants. <\/p>\n

The Secretariat will ensure the creation of efficient synergies between stakeholders and the effective use of available resources and local potential. <\/p>\n

In addition, it will act as a hub of interface between the central government, local government, academia, civil society and the market. <\/p>\n

The establishment of the Special Secretariat for Mountain Areas is a strategic choice of the government for balanced, resilient and equitable development across the country, making mountain areas a key pillar of the National Strategy for Local and Regional Development. <\/b><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Payment of compensation to livestock farmers<\/b><\/h3>\n

The Ministry of Rural Development and Food has made the first compensation payment this year for livestock farmers whose animals were killed. Specifically, a total of \u20ac22.8 million was paid to 849 beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

This is an initiative in support of the Greek livestock sector, which is facing the consequences of smallpox in sheep and goats and foot-and-mouth disease. <\/p>\n

The amounts were paid directly by the Ministry to the farmers, based on the data submitted by the Regions.<\/p>\n

Significant social impact of the “My House II” programme<\/h3>\n

The “My House II” programme has a particularly high absorption rate and a significant social impact.<\/p>\n

To date, 13,461 loans have been approved for a total value of \u20ac1.617 billion, with an average loan amount of \u20ac120.15 thousand, while the absorption rate of the total budget is 84.1%.<\/p>\n

Recently, the Ministries of National Economy and Finance and Social Cohesion and Family announced that loans under the programme should be contracted by 2 June this year.<\/p>\n

And beneficiaries who have signed the relevant loan contracts by 2 June are not affected by the setting of the deadline.”<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n The briefing of the political editors by the government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis. <\/p>\n

With the message of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3337,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}