A fire against opposition parties was launched by government representative Paul Marinakis, on the occasion of the stance taken by the Greek MEPs during the vote of the European Parliament's report on Turkey. As he argued, this process highlighted the real positions of those who criticize the government on national issues, while referring to political forces and persons attempting to appear as the only expressionists of patriotism.
In response to a relevant question, Mr Marinakis argued that the European Parliament's report "exactly justifies Greek positions" and, as he said, rejects the claims of those who accuse the government of yielding to foreign policy. At the same time, he noted that the government strategy is based on dialogue, but without discounts in national positions, adding that the country strengthens its international presence and influence.
The government representative also mentioned in detail the stance of the Greek MEPs during the vote. As he said, MEPs from the New Republic and PASOK supported the report. On the contrary, MEPs voted against the Freedom and Victory Sea. According to him, Mr. Fragos chose from the Greek Solution, the MEPs of Syriza Mr. Salvanidis and Mrs. Kouduras, the MEPs of the KKE Mr. Alavanos, Nicholas and Papadakis, as well as Mrs. Latinopoulou.
At the same time, he pointed out that the Euro-group "Patriots", in which Mrs Latinopoulou participates. "There is reality, the policy that it attributes and is recognised at European level, and there are false patriots from all over the country's political spectrum, which when the time comes to be measured with history, whether they are abstaining or voting against," he said.
Referring to the debate on Article 16 and the constitutional review, Mr Marinakis called on opposition parties and especially PASOK "to stop playing with words". He argued that the review of Article 16 has been delayed for many decades, yielding this development to the stance that PASOK had taken about twenty years ago.
As he said, the government has already moved on to institutionalise foreign universities' annexes, but he considered that the forthcoming constitutional review should certainly include changes to Article 16. "The country should also stop being a sad exception at Constitution level," he said, arguing that young people who wish to study at a private university within Greece should have this possibility.
‘Accuracy cannot be addressed by one application’
In fact, and the new platform "How Much Does", Mr Marinakis said that if it were the government's only initiative, it would be "unessential". However, as he said, in conjunction with the other measures, the platform is "another weapon to the consumer".
He explained that through the platform the citizen can compare prices not only by product and supermarket, but also for a set of products, to see where it can be purchased cheaper, to make comparisons from day to day and in a longer time, but also with other European countries.
Mr Marinakis stressed that accuracy cannot be treated with one application. "If we thought we would face the greatest and most persistent imported accuracy in the last decades with one application, we would be in another universe," he said. He added that the main response is income increases, controls, fines and exceptional measures, such as the maximum profit margin, applicable until 30 June.
Referring to the issue of oncology care, the government representative referred to a three-page note by the Ministry of Health, which, as he said, includes all data and data. Asked whether there is a numerical target for staffing, on the grounds that Greece has 641 nurses per 1,000 new cancer cases compared to twice the number in the European Union, she replied that "it has everything in detail.".
On the Straits of Hormuz and the freedom of navigation, Mr Marinakis said he had nothing more to say, nor can he comment on operational issues, since there is nothing "simple and specific than the competent bodies".
In question of accidents at work, the government representative invoked a published Eurostat table, saying that Greece is the fourth country with the least non-lethal accidents at work in Europe. He stressed that even an injury or death of a worker at work is a tragic fact, but argued that reality "has nothing to do with what is spreading.".
When asked about the fatal occupational accidents attributed to pathological or traffic causes, he noted that the method of discrimination applies throughout Europe and is not an "instant Greek invention". As he said, whether an incident is recorded as a labour accident or an accident is assessed on the basis of what the European Union predicts.
He added that ELSTAT is an independent counting authority and that data is assessed centrally at European level. He even blamed those who claim selective data from Eurostat or ELSTAT, saying that when the data suits them they accept it, while when they show a better picture of Greece they question it.
Regarding the case of interceptions and the interventions of Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Evangelos Venizelos, the government representative said that the government respects the separation of powers and that for every case in Justice, only Justice gives answers.
"We do not want to convert a speech, an interview, or Parliament, or any other place into a court," he noted, saying that the case has gone to Justice, which makes decisions, publishes and announces them.
In a persistent question about Predator and the possibility of a foreign company or other state having access to sensitive data of ministers, Mr Marinakis replied that Kyriakos Mitsotakis was elected prime minister rather than judge or prosecutor. He stressed that legal connections and the use of malicious software are investigated by Justice, both at court level and at Supreme Court level.
"It is not the job of any prime minister, nor of any representative of the executive or legislative authority to investigate and seek answers. All this is done by Justice alone," he stressed.
For the 13-hour work and research of the GSEE Institute of Labour, Mr Marinakis invoked the official data of the Ministry of Labour. As he said, the possibility of overtime during the fourth hour of overtime is exploited by an "extremely limited number of workers", in particular by 0.4% of the total.
He also said that the government has taken initiatives to protect workers and ensure the legitimacy of the labour market, with the key tool of the digital work card, which, he said, already protects about 2.5 million workers. He added that its implementation has led to an increase in declared overtime.
Referring to the GSC survey, it noted that it presents interesting findings, including that the majority of workers, 63.9%, do not work overtime or work rarely. "These are the official figures that respond to all that has been heard about 13-hour work," he said.
Finally, coming back to the rule of law, Mr Marinakis responded to the criticism of Prokopis Pavlopoulos, saying that the answers to the case of wiretaps are given only by Justice. At the same time, he referred to the European Commission's annual report on the rule of law and press freedom, noting that Greece has made progress.
As he said, the country has reduced its recommendations from seven to four and has fewer recommendations for rule of law than 15 Member States of the European Union. "The Commission says that Greece has made progress on matters of the rule of law and is in a much better situation than 15 member states," he noted, adding that the government's job is to present "the objective reality and not subjective views".