«I wanted to come to Parliament today to be given an opportunity before the Greek people to clarify truths and lies. The paradox of this session is that we do not fundamentally disagree on the findings,» the Prime Minister said in his speech on the topical question tabled by Alexis Tsipras on the subject: «The government is fuelling obscenity instead of protecting citizens».
«Indeed, despite the generous interventions, electricity bills remain high, the operation of businesses is becoming more stressful, citizens are being tested and are anxious about the difficult winter,» the Prime Minister noted, adding, however, that «with SYRIZA we see the causes and the answers differently. I am sorry because in a one-page text, in Mr Tsipras» topical question, you were able to fit three arbitrary conclusions that lead to two awkward questions. They show either dangerous ignorance or dangerous intentions, with catastrophism everywhere. With one absent. You have not found a single word to name the first culprit of this global inflationary onslaught, the Russian invasion of Ukraine.".
«You told us that this global price explosion is not due to Russia's crude blackmail,» Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. «You forgot all that. You said nothing. I would have expected at least, even belatedly, not again moving declarations of peace in general that equate the aggressor with the defender, I would have expected clear condemnation. Admit that your near lender in 2015 is an enemy of democracy and a danger to the stability and progress of peoples. Accuracy has a name and that is Russia's blackmailing use of fossil fuels as an asymmetric weapon against Europe.
«Stop at last, Mr Tsipras, the lies and the falsification of the truth - In a great storm our country is defending itself in the best possible way»
«States should more quickly chart their own energy path towards cheaper and cleaner RES, away from dependencies on unpredictable and, as it seemed, dangerous suppliers», the Prime Minister continued in his speech, stressing that it was very important that last Friday, for the first time for several hours, all the energy consumed in Greece was produced from RES.
«I spoke about three arbitrary claims by the leader of SYRIZA, falsifying the data on Greece. Our country is neither first in inflation nor first in energy accuracy,» the Prime Minister said: «The truth is that yes, Greece has a slightly higher inflation, 12%, than the European average, but there are quite a few countries above 15%. In a big storm our country defends itself in the best possible way. With measures and income support. For 2022 alone, the support package is approaching €13 billion. You talked about energy; you presented that Greece has the most expensive energy in Europe. Let's look at the absolute figures. Including VAT, in September 2022, Athens 23.23 cents per kilowatt hour. Madrid, 42 and the notorious Iberian model you advertise. These are the real prices that Greek consumers pay. Stop lying and falsifying the truth. With the subsidies we give, energy costs are significantly lower than the European average.
We have collected 2.7 billion in three months from the excess revenues of energy producers
«You have told us again that we are not prepared to tax the excess revenues of producers and that we leave speculation unchecked when I first spoke about taxing 90% of excess revenues until July 2022, with certified revenues based on RAE's calculations,» Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. «Our country has put in place a national mechanism for the recovery of synchronic revenues. We have collected 2.7 billion in three months. This mechanism is a national success because this model was adopted by the EU and the European Commission and is becoming mandatory for all European countries,» the Prime Minister stressed, adding: «I was the first to raise the issue in the European Council and the European Commission has been convinced and there will be an explicit provision for the taxation of refineries» excess profits, and this was a Greek proposal. All citizens know that the state is spending a significant amount of money to subsidise a large part of the increase in the cost of electricity.".
Sun. Mitsotakis: We have changed the way PPC is managed, it has been consolidated and its value is many times greater
«All Greek households are currently subsidized through the mechanism for the recovery of excess income,» added Kyriakos Mitsotakis and continued «Let's talk about another nice myth that SYRIZA insists on promoting as the magic solution.
I am referring to the myth of the re-nationalisation of the PPC. You also made frequent analogies with cases of forced bailouts.
The PPC, thank God, does not need a bailout, which we did when we took it over from your government. Accumulated losses of 1.7 billion euros in 2019. The capitalization of the PPC was 400 m. We changed the way it was managed, it was cleaned up and its value is many times higher. If it was left in the mess, it would not be called PPC but NOT, because it could not exist under your policies. And of course the state still controls the PPC. Nationalizing the PPC, if there was a way to do it, would cost, the 34% is worth 680 million today, 4 times what your 51% was worth in 2019. What exactly are you asking us? To damage the public? To turn your friend Mr Demopoulos?».
We are not going to lead the country into a fiscal derailment - If you ever implemented your programme the country would be bankrupt within a month
«At no time did I or any member of the government claim that we have the magic solution. But we are trying in the best possible way to limit in a fair way the drastic negative consequences of this global crisis and we are doing it with targeted measures, without exhausting our national resources,» Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed, continuing his speech in Parliament. «The country is defending and moving forward at the same time. I spoke at length about the issues of energy costs. Let me remind you that we have already returned 300 million euros to consumers covering the large increases, we have implemented the fuel pass, farmers have been supported,» he continued: «We are the party of the broad social majority. We are not a party of the few, we are a party of the many. We have made one of the three largest social support programmes in Europe.
As the Prime Minister explained, «2/3 of the aid comes from the energy companies, 1/3 from the state budget. If there are distortions in the way of pricing by the companies, we have the possibility to identify them and collect additional revenues. It is dynamic growth that gives us ammunition to support businesses and households. No country has unlimited fiscal capacity. We are not going to lead the country into fiscal derailment, this chapter is closed for good. The solutions you are proposing are leading us there. If you ever implemented your program the country would be bankrupt within a month. It won't happen because the Greek people will trust ND again and that's why you have the comfort to feed them whatever you want. You, Mr Tsipras, have been burdening the middle class with new taxes. I would expect that you are now able to distinguish between taxation and revenue».
The government could not implement the measures if it had not achieved high growth rates
«We have already announced a number of measures. I think they are important. The government could not have implemented them if it had not achieved high growth rates,» the prime minister said and then referred to the increases in diesel fuel. «What you are seeing in diesel is not a Greek phenomenon but a global one. You cannot say that it is a Greek peculiarity. Stop this propaganda,» he said, addressing Alexis Tsipras. «Let's discuss realistic solutions to tackle the problem. You are right that the diesel increases have an impact on the supply chain. We are measuring our possibilities and we will see if we can announce something for diesel as well,» he added.
