Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis defended a 2.2 billion euro package of tax cuts and welfare payments and announced progress on a new air defence system called the Shield of Achilles, in his weekly review of government business posted to Facebook on Sunday.
Mitsotakis wrote the post from Kastellorizo, Greece's easternmost island, marking the anniversary of its liberation on 13 September 1943, when the Greek destroyer Admiral Koundouriotis entered the island's harbour during the Second World War. He said he also visited the nearby islet of Ro to pay tribute to Despina Achladioti, known as the Lady of Ro, who raised the Greek flag there every morning for 40 years.
From Kastellorizo, he said the government would present a comprehensive plan to make the island more resilient and active year round, along with a significant announcement of direct support for residents. He said support for Greece's border islands could not be limited to symbolism and needed concrete projects and permanent incentives.
Education changes for the new school year
Mitsotakis used the start of the school year to recap education reforms: nearly 240 more schools renovated under phase two of the Marietta Giannakou programme, bringing the total to about 670 schools in two years. He said 5,259 new permanent posts for teachers and special education staff had been filled, after 29,948 substitute teachers were hired in the programme's first phase. He noted an International Baccalaureate programme was running for the first time in 10 certified public high schools, an Ethics course was introduced for students exempted from religious education, and a pilot free electronic State Certificate of Language Proficiency for ninth graders would launch by the end of 2026, with full rollout targeted for 2027.
The 2.2 billion euro relief package
Much of the post focused on the 2.2 billion euro package unveiled at the Thessaloniki International Fair, which Mitsotakis described as a dividend from economic growth to be returned to society in 2026. He said it combined tax and contribution cuts, higher wages and pensions, incentives for business investment, new tools for young people and targeted support for families, the regions and housing. He rejected opposition claims that the measures were too small, calling the criticism self-pitying given that the package touches nearly every professional and social group.
He highlighted elements taking effect from November 2026 and through 2027: most presumed income will be abolished for 90% of self-employed workers, and two new financing tools worth a combined 5 billion euros will be created for small and medium-sized businesses. Advance tax payments for companies will be cut further and depreciation accelerated for new investment. Professional farmers earning up to 20,000 euros a year, and families with three or more children, will pay no tax at all. Private-sector employee social security contributions will fall by another half a percentage point. Permanent support for pensioners over 65, people with disabilities and the uninsured will rise to 400 euros, and public employees will get a permanent 500-euro payment from December 2026. Disability benefits will be indexed to inflation, childcare vouchers and birth grants for large families will increase, the ENFIA property tax will be scrapped for settlements of under 2,000 residents, and a third phase of the My Home housing scheme will launch in December with more eligible applicants.
New savings account for children
Mitsotakis singled out a state-backed savings account for children, under which the government will match, euro for euro, deposits a parent makes after a child's birth, up to a ceiling of 1,200 euros to be reviewed every five years. He said the account would follow a child from age two into adulthood, providing a financial cushion at the start of university or working life. He said opposition parties had rushed to mock the scheme despite its clear social purpose, and that he was confident citizens would embrace it once they saw savings double in practice. He noted a similar scheme had been introduced in Britain by the Labour Party and later scrapped by the Conservatives, while in Greece it was being introduced by a centre-right government.
Cutting energy costs
Mitsotakis also detailed measures to reduce energy costs, including a plan to cut wholesale electricity prices by 30% gradually by 2029 and a 50% reduction in public service charges on household bills from 2027. He said the Public Power Corporation, which he noted had been close to bankruptcy in 2019, had announced its fixed tariff for next year would drop to 0.115 euros per kilowatt hour with a standing charge of just 3.5 euros, despite rising international energy prices.
Health and metro defibrillators
On public health, Mitsotakis described a recent incident in Thessaloniki in which a 53-year-old man was saved after suffering cardiac arrest at a metro station, thanks to cardiopulmonary resuscitation given on the spot and the response of paramedics and a doctor from the National Centre for Emergency Care. He credited the rescue partly to 84 defibrillators installed at metro stations in Athens and Thessaloniki, donated by supermarket chain Diamantis Masoutis SA, and praised staff training.
He said public hospitals were connected to the electronic prescription system from 1 September, allowing precise tracking of patients' medication, and that digital records of hospital drug use now let the health ministry monitor spending and plan procurement. He said the PROLAVENO screening programme was being expanded to include free dermoscopy for early skin cancer detection, targeting outdoor workers such as those in agriculture who face higher risk from sun exposure.
Clearing the court backlog
Mitsotakis pointed to the launch of an electronic platform for handling backlogged legal objections, known as anakopes, which he said would clear thousands of stalled cases from the courts. He cited justice ministry estimates that only a third of 36,500 pending objections were active, with the problem most acute at the Athens Court of First Instance, where some hearings had been scheduled for 2039. He said electronic filing of court documents and a digital case file system for civil justice would launch within the coming week.
Foreign policy and the Shield of Achilles
On foreign affairs, Mitsotakis pointed to a recent trilateral meeting in Cairo as evidence of an active Greek foreign policy focused on regional stability rather than confrontation, based on international law. He listed recent results including exclusive economic zone agreements with Italy and Egypt, maritime spatial planning, an extension of territorial waters in the Ionian Sea, and the acquisition of Rafale fighter jets, Belharra frigates and two Italian FREMM class Bergamini frigates.
He described the Shield of Achilles as one of Greece's most ambitious defence programmes in years, moving from planning to implementation after Greece signed an intergovernmental agreement with Israel. He said the system would take Greek air defence to a new level and that its central command and control software would be Greek made, developed by Greek companies that would receive operational and technological support to adapt the source code to Greece's needs.
Infrastructure in Athens and Thessaloniki
In Athens, Mitsotakis said the Metropolitan Park AENAON at Faliro Bay had entered its final stage with the signing of a construction contract. He described a seaside park with more than 4,000 trees, walking paths, cycle lanes, sports facilities, cultural spaces and playgrounds that would preserve the local wetland. He said the government and the Attica Region had secured 370 million euros in EU funding for the project, ending decades of delay, and linked it to other major projects including the redevelopment of Tatoi, the new OAKA sports complex, a rowing centre, the Schinias grove, and the redevelopment of Votanikos and Alexandras Avenue.
In Thessaloniki, he pointed to a new Cell and Gene Therapy Centre at the Georgios Papanikolaou General Hospital, which he described as the most modern haematology centre in Greece and the Balkans, funded through the Recovery and Resilience Fund. He also cited the restoration of the Alcazar, or Hamza Bey monument, which had been covered in scaffolding for more than three decades.
First Greek astronaut
Mitsotakis closed his review with news from Paris that Adrianos Golemis would become the first Greek to take part in a crewed space mission, PAM-6, to the International Space Station. He called it an important milestone that showed how far Greek talent could go when given opportunities, adding that Greece now had 18 satellites in orbit through the HELLAS-SPACE 2.0 programme. He said the National Observatory of Athens was leading related efforts, including a space hub in Kryoneri for tracking satellites and space debris across southeastern Europe, and that the Aristarchos telescope on Mount Helmos had taken part in a European effort to establish laser optical communication with NASA's Psyche spacecraft in deep space.
