A. Skertsos: New fuel aid will depend on the course of revenues

After the introductory remark “we are all entitled to a good and calm summer, after two years of pandemic, restrictions” and at the same time clarifying that the pandemic “has not left us, (but) tends to become endemic”, the discussion on ANT1 television station , attended by the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, came to the issue of inflation: The Minister of State, after reiterating that “it is a global problem and inflationary trends have been caused by the energy crisis”, remarked that “grosso modo we are close to the Eurozone ( in inflation) “.

At the same time, he pledged that as the state revenues increase, and in any case not beyond the … quilt, “we are by the side of both businesses and households, to support mainly the most vulnerable and whatever is needed, we will doing”.

Fiscal policy

Acknowledging that accuracy is “the number one problem”, he said: “The government is doing the best it can. “There is a problem, we will intervene, so that the people can be sure,” he said. that they really need “.

Minimal reduction in fuel consumption

Regarding fuel prices, Mr. Skertsos, after accusing the opposition of “big speculation” and of indulging in wish lists, answered, with data, the question that has been asked, why the government does not reduce taxes, given the reduction of consumption .

“In diesel consumption has not decreased at all, and in unleaded it has decreased by only 8%, according to the data of the General Accounting Office of the State”, he stressed to add: “If the Greek State had the opportunity to go the price 50 minutes below, in pre-crisis prices, this would cost € 3.7 billion Those who say it is very easy to reduce excise duty, VAT, should tell us where to find these € 3.7 billion I remind you that the Greek budget is running, again this year, with a deficit of 2%, so the deficit should increase, the debt should increase, they should tell us which taxes we will increase, which new taxes we will bring or if we will have to increase borrowing “, and all this at a time when” the country is going out of control “.

Moreover, according to him, the horizontal tax cuts create “a huge hole in public revenues, which can not be filled due to inelasticity in fuel consumption.”

The Minister of State also referred to the “very strict controls”, noting that “many fines have been imposed”, while when asked if the aid will continue, he replied: “Nothing is ruled out, everything will depend on the course of tourism and revenues. “We have very positive examples. May seems to be going even better than May 2019, which was a record year. With the help of digitization of transactions, this year we can have more revenue in public coffers.” “We have proven that whatever comes as development, is returned as a development dividend to those who need it,” he added.

However, “if we see excessive increases in fuel prices, then there should be broader solutions. A country alone can not solve an international problem,” he said.

Energy tariffs

On the issue of energy, “expensive energy tariffs are our No. 1 priority to close this front and with the policies that have been launched and agreed with our European partners, we are able to say that we will cover about 85% of the increases in energy tariffs “, he underlined.

Regarding the taxation of surplus revenues, Mr. Skertsos said that the issue was clarified. “They have been estimated by the Independent Energy Regulatory Authority at around 400-450 million euros and Greece is the only country in Europe that has said it will tax 90% of these overpayments. What the prime minister has done is very bold. “Unfortunately, the opposition does not follow this, they did not vote in favor of this taxation,” he said.

In response to the request for a reduction in VAT on basic products, he replied that “we follow the recommendations of the European Commission, which says that in a time of acute crisis and inflationary pressure it is good to avoid horizontal tax cuts. financial need “.

Retirees – Minimum wage

Referring to the benefits for low-income retirees, he said: “1.3 million retirees have seen € 1,000 returns in their pensions. Whatever justice decides, the state responds and returns. Another 225,000 “Retirees saw permanent increases of 1% – 7.5%. In January 2023, for the first time in 12 years, at least half of retirees will see an increase of close to 5% in their pensions.”

For the new, minimum wage, the Minister of State stressed that 50 euros come net in the pocket of the citizen, which means 883 per year, a 15th salary for low-wage workers, “and this is a significant help.”

Regarding ENFIA, he reiterated that 85% of taxpayers have seen a reduced ENFIA. After all, “it was a commitment of the New Democracy and the Prime Minister that has been fully implemented and above: We had said a reduction of 30% and it has been reduced by 35%”, he added.

National issues

On national issues, Mr. Skertsos pointed out that “we follow a policy of seriousness, strengthening the deterrent force at the borders. We have significantly strengthened our armaments, we have made important defense agreements.” Reiterating his belief in a “calm summer”, he spoke of “externalizing some problems that the Turkish government may have, we will not enter this slippery slope, we have no reason to do so. “We are on our side, we have strong allies, the prime minister has done an amazing job of internationalizing the problem in a serious, measured and proportionate way that any of our allies understands the problem we have at our door.” Comparing, in particular, the revision of the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with the revision of his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as he observed, “everyone understands what problems Greece has been facing for many years.”

However, he also commented on the results of the visit of the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to the United States of America: “Mr. Erdogan understood them and that is why he is somewhat upset, the opposition has not understood it”. “We are choosing the path of international law, moderation and legitimacy and that is how we will proceed,” he added.

On the issue that arose, finally, with the Greek and German personnel transport vehicles, Mr. Skertsos expressed the position that “we highlight a major problem which is a current obligation in the context of the obligations and responsibilities we have as a member state. “European Union, let us also offer some forces on the Ukrainian front. We will give some old vehicles, we will get some better ones that better serve our needs.”