Mitsotakis: Hike in prices is indeed the first problem that concerns all Greek households today

"I immediately agreed with this debate as the issue of a hike in prices is indeed the first problem that concerns all Greek households today. The elephant in the room," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday during a debate in parliament held at the initiative of main oppposition SYRIZA-PA parliamentary group leader Sokratis Famellos regarding "the hike in prices and the taxation of surplus profits which are accumulated by oligopolies at the expense of the Greek economy and the society."

He noted that today's debate may provide an opportunity for confrontation based on facts and figures so that citizens can learn the truth, understand the peculiarities, be informed about the measures against inflation and the positions of all parties.

The prime minister pointed out that initially the government managed to restrain electricity prices which have returned to pre-crisis levels and said that the problem persists especially in food inflation.

"I am not here to embellish any situation," he added and showed a table with the course of inflation over the past three years showing that in 2022 it was higher than the European average, followed by a period when it was significantly lower and then a third phase which is slightly higher than the European average.

Mitsotakis added that the responsible vice president for competition issues imposed a giant fine on a US company for such practices on Thursday.

"It is not something that only Greece is asking for, but at least seven other countries", he noted and said that "the problem has now emerged in all its intensity and Europe itself was taken by surprise from the unprecedented hike in prices."

We are also reacting now because we believe that this greedflation must be dealt with radically. We have European elections and it must be recorded as a European priority," he added. "A Greek proposal is at the center of Brussels' concerns."

The prime minister also said that today's debate is the last before the European elections. "The wagers of the new European five-year tenure are linked with our national priorities," he underlined and spoke in detail about issues that concern Greece as, among others, the common demand for a single European defence policy."

"It suprises me that while we have European elections in two weeks, the opposition parties and primarily the main opposition have not spoken about the Europe of the next day. You choose to turn the European elections into a referendum against the government. It remains to be seen if it will succeed or not. The importance of the June 9 vote will be significant. Citizens know how important stability is for Greece so that it remains on the path of development, away from experimentation, away from protest messages. Our people can judge and distinguish. All of us know the difficulties, the anxiety of the households," stressed Mitsotakis.