PM's weekly review focuses on action to protect juveniles from the internet, education, investments and civil protection

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Sunday began his weekly post reviewing the government's work by focusing on the problem of digital addiction and the dangers the internet poses for minors. He noted that the KidsWallet app allowing parents to control their children's exposure to the internet, created by the government, formed the basis of a proposal made on a European level, for a uniform "digital age of majority" which was adopted and led to the launch of a system to confirm the age of underage users in Greece, Denmark, Spain, France and Italy on a pilot basis and prevent their exposure to inappropriate content.
He also pointed to further action to counter juvenile delinquency, specifically aiming at the rehabilitation of minors committing less serious offences through their participation in specially designed cultural activities across the country. The programme is open to juvenile delinquents over 12, who can participate in three-month training programmes of at least two hours a week in museums, monuments and archaeological sites as a means of providing such youngsters with the opportunity to make a new start.
The "Second Chance School" at the Larisa prison, which was another initiative made in the same spirit, had now been enhanced with the founding of the 8th Vocational High Schools, made possible by legislation passed in 2020, which gives prisoners the opportunity to continue on to secondary education and obtain official qualifications, Mitsotakis said.
The prime minister then turned to the newly-established educational route of apprenticeship for vocational school leavers, combining theoretical education with paid employment at businesses, subsidised by the state. He stressed the advantages of this route that combined professional rights and technical skills in jobs with high demand, leading to swift and well-paid employment.
"The increased participation in recent years confirms this: within two years, the number of apprentices has almost doubled - from 3,899 and 470 classes in 2022-2023 to 6,955 and 802 classes in 2024-2025. At the same time, the market has embraced this institution, as 63.2% of hirings are made by private companies," he said, announcing that the budget for the action will be increased by 57.1 million euros, to reach 182.1 million euros in total.
The prime minister next referred to the increase in funding for university research projects, with the addition of projects amounting to 328.8 million euros via the Recovery and Resilience Facility and other sources of EU financing and with an emphasis on practical applied knowledge through collaboration with businesses, international academic collaboration and the provision of modern research equipment to upgrade university infrastructure. He concluded by noting the start of the renovation of a student residence building owned by the Athens University of Economics and Business, due to be completed in 2030.
Other topics touched upon by the prime minister included the new 1566 phone line for all National Health System services, which will combine the operations of almost 100 separate phone lines relating to services, appointments, on-call hospitals and others, except the emergency number 166 for the ambulance service. He also commented on strategic investments that have been approved in various economic sectors, in industry, tourism and technology, which he said will bring jobs, know-how and high added-value production, particularly highlighting the country's entry into the production of semiconductors.
Concluding, Mitsotakis congratulated the Monemvasia municipality on inaugurating the home of the Greek poet Yiannis Ritsos as a interactive museum and commented on the acquisition of new fire-fighting vehicles under the 'Aegis' programme, while repeating an appeal to land owners and renters to clear their properties of vegetation to prevent fires.