Government will provide support throughout the crisis in energy costs

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government will continue to provide support for as long as the international energy crisis lasts, during his visit to a poultry production unit at the region of Megara, Attica, on Saturday.

"As long as this upheaval lasts, there will be a not-at-all insignificant support from the state to help you with your costs," he noted. "As you know, from the beginning of January there will be a state subsidy for energy costs for all production units, for all companies, which I believe will cover a significant part - up to 50 pct of energy price hikes," he added.

Secretary General for Agricultural Policy & International Relations Konstantinos Baginetas, one of the officials accompanying the premier in his visit, referred to the new institutional framework for organic farming, animal mating and poultry farming.

"Poultry and pig farming are among those farms which are very intensive, so a new institutional framework is being promoted for animal welfare, as well as organic and free-range farming," he noted.

Prime Minister, also attended and spoke at a municipal council assembly meeting in the town of Megara. The premier stressed the importance of state initiatives and funding programs, which can effectively stimulate the infrastructure and the prospects in the local community there, which has been afflicted by natural disasters such as wildfires and floods in the recent past.

Referring to new initiatives for strengthening civil protection planning and prevention, Mitsotakis noted that "significant steps have already been taken in all areas affected by the catastrophic fires, relating to basic anti-corrosion land containment projects, so that we can protect the areas from floods, and facilitate nature's growth through reforestation."

"Your area was hit by natural disasters and we have an obligation to shield it from floods. But at the same time, we have an obligation to plan ahead - and we are already doing so - for the next summer wildfires season, so that the summer of 2022 can be much better than the very difficult summer of 2021," he pointed out. "This government," he noted, "always emphasizes efficiency."