Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis on Wednesday provided replies regarding recent developments in migration, particularly the increased flows of migrants towards Crete, as well as on the foreign policy initiatives of the Greek government. His remarks were made during the fifth "Briefing for Citizens" series.
On migration, Marinakis said that, compared to last year, overall arrivals to Greece have decreased. However, he pointed out that a specific and significant challenge has emerged south of Crete, with migratory flows originating from North Africa.
Responding to criticism about the government's stance on foreign affairs, he argued: "I believe the exact opposite is true. What Greece has achieved in foreign policy during Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ tenure had not been achieved over entire decades. Greece has signed the delimitation of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) with Italy and Egypt and has extended the territorial waters from 6 to 12 nautical miles in the Ionian Sea. Especially on foreign policy issues, we don’t play around and we will not allow anyone to play with them."
In response to a question about the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on the European Union, the government spokesperson replied: "There is no doubt that the imposition of tariffs is harmful to both sides. It is an ongoing negotiation between the European Union and the United States of America. We hope that it will have the best possible outcome."
On the upcoming Thessaloniki International Fair and the Prime Minister's announcements regarding the economy he underlined: "The time has come to say how much money we will hand out at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF): 1.5 billion euros. This was also stated by the Minister of Finance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, in Parliament in recent days. This money has arisen from tackling tax evasion and from the creation of jobs."
On the 24h operation of public transport, Marinakis stated: "The goal is to make this 24-hour operation of public transport one day a week permanent, starting in September. The results from the first implementation are encouraging. I’ll tell you just one thing: the number of passengers exceeded 50,000 on that single day of the pilot operation."
The video of the 5th Briefing for the Citizens is available on https://youtu.be/OX_f4RYaMe0