"Despite the crises, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Greek government justifies the trust of the citizens. Our Homeland overcomes crises, is a factor of stability, attracts investments and develops".
This was emphasized by the Minister of Shipping and Insand Policy Yannis Plakiotakis during his speech in the context of the debate on the 2023 budget currently underway in the Parliament, pointing out that "Greece is changing and its positive course allows optimism that in 2023 we will to a consistently better standard of living for Greek men and women".
Mr. Plakiotakis pointed out that the government has proven in practice that it can face crises and difficulties and at the same time support society with development, but also with fair benefits for all.
"In 2023," he said, "we will be asked to decide the path our country will follow in the coming years.
With regard to shipping and the work that has been produced all this time at the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy, Mr. Plakiotakis, after underlining that the support and support of Greek shipping and the crews of ships flying the Greek flag is the main concern of the government, he pointed out that strengthening the Greek registry, improving the competitiveness of the Greek ship as well as increasing the employment of Greek sailors is a strategic choice.
Also, Mr. Plakiotakis mentioned the following:
"In coastal shipping, the work that has been done from 2019 to today is really huge and multi-layered.
"I start with the 53% increase in the annual funding of the barren lines, we received it at 90 million and increased it to 138 million euros. So, we added 24 new barren lines to the coastal shipping network and, in essence, managed to adequately and consistently connect each of our islands, serving tens of thousands of passengers.
But it is not only that"
* We supported coastal shipping during the pandemic with 90 million euros
* We are upgrading the management of the maritime transport network with new means and technologies, with the completion of four extremely important projects.
* We are proceeding, for the first time, with the announcement of multi-year contracts for small barren lines, the backbone of insularity, with multi-year contracts, with an allocation of 370 million euros until the end of 2021-2027
* We are preparing a detailed study plan for the gradual renewal of the country's passenger shipping fleet and the reduction of the CO2 footprint, with funding from the Recovery Fund.
* We achieved the exemption of coastal shipping until the end of 2030, in terms of inclusion in the European emissions trading system, in order to provide the necessary time for the sector's smooth energy transition.
* We secured funding of €600,000,000 in the "Transportation 2021-2027" Program out of a total program budget of €2.1 billion. Interventions in selected island ports have priority.