The decisions made at the caretaker government's first meeting

The press office of caretaker Prime Minister Ioannis Sarmas on Sunday issued a press release summarising the first meeting of the caretaker government's cabinet on Saturday, in which government policy was decided in accordance with article 81, paragraph 2 of the Constitution.

This said the introductory remarks by the prime minister noted that, due to the caretaker nature of the government, its policy should be confined to, firstly, continuing the execution of planning by the outgoing government and, secondly, managing any perceived risks or dangers that fall under the purview of each ministry.

With regard to the first, he cautioned that policy must continue in a framework of political neutrality of the government without impacting the functionality of the state.

Regarding the second, Sarmas said that this required identifying dangers and making provisions for a system to avert or moderate them, monitoring its effective implementation.

Members of the cabinet then spoke in turn, with their recommendations revealing the existence of issues that need to be resolved within the term of the caretaker government with the participation of more than one minister. It was therefore decided that meetings with the relevant ministers should be held immediately, with the Minister of State deputising for the prime minister as coordinator.

The meeting also ascertained risks and dangers that needed to be dealt with as they might transpire within the term of the government or shortly afterward. It was decided that the ministers involved should take speedy action to resolve these problems, if necessary with the assistance of the prime minister or cabinet.

The limits of the ministers' authority in the context of the caretaker government were also clarified, in some cases with examples, while Sarmas noted that no action should be taken without first informing the prime minister.

Lastly, the meeting made decisions regarding the level of the country's representation at European and international meetings during the caretaker government's term.