Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent the message that "no one should be left out" of the "crucial political battle—both European and national" of the European elections through his weekly review on social media. 

"Abstention in democracy does not solve the problems; on the contrary, it allows all kinds of populists and extremists to abuse the struggles in our absence," the prime minister added, who then focused on highlighting the government's work.

The details of what the prime minister wrote: 

"Good morning to all from my beloved Chania, where in a few hours I will give an interview in view of the European elections next Sunday. Of course, we may be counting down to the polls, but that does not mean that we have stopped working to implement our commitments. 

But before I tell you about the highlights of the past week, let me first say a few words about the European elections. Because I want to stress that this is a crucial political battle—both European and national—that no one should miss. European choices affect all aspects of our daily lives, and we need to have a strong voice to more effectively demand even more for our country, especially at a time of great upheaval and geopolitical risks. Renewing the mandate and the citizens' trust in our government next Sunday will both empower us and increase our responsibility to drive reforms more decisively. Abstention from democracy does not solve the problems; on the contrary, it allows all kinds of populists and extremists to abuse the struggles in our absence. 

In the meantime, I have been informed that more than 132,500 postal votes (about two-thirds of the total) have already reached their destination by post. If you haven't sent it yet, tomorrow, Monday, is the last chance through the partner courier companies, and the day after Tuesday, you can deliver the envelope yourself to a courier company store.

So let's look at what we had this week, and I'll start with the five contracts, totaling EUR 52.1 million, signed under the National Reforestation Plan. These relate to the afforestation of areas totaling more than 58 000 hectares in areas of Attica, Central Macedonia, and Northern Evia. The restoration of degraded forest ecosystems will be carried out using native species and artificial reforestation under the supervision of the forestry services. The resources for the implementation of the project come from a Recovery Fund, which is also financing our other flagship action to remove huge amounts of combustible excess biomass that has accumulated over the years in our forests. 

And while I'm on the subject, I should remind you that this year alone—the first time the special platform akatharista.apps.gov.gr was launched—citizens were given an extension until June 30 to register to clear their land and uncovered property from dead grass and branches. Everyone—state, local government, and citizens—must contribute to the extent of our fire protection, especially now that we are facing the unpredictability of the climate crisis.

I continue with the new Office for Special Needs Groups at the DPSA, which I visited during the week. It is a model employment office in modern facilities, fully accessible to people with mobility and visual impairments. There, experienced staff from the CYPA provide information on training, employment, and entrepreneurship, as well as personalised support to people with disabilities, women victims of gender and domestic violence, homeless people, people who have been released from prison, rehabilitated people, victims of human trafficking, refugees, Roma, and intersex people. Visibility and vulnerability support are our daily concerns. 

I would like to take this opportunity to mention that more than 1,200 doctors have responded to our call and applied to join the Special Corps of Physicians (SCM) of the Disability Certification Centers (CDCs). The call is for 700 doctors to join the register to end the suffering of people with disabilities, but due to the high interest, an extension was given, which expires tonight. Improving disability certification services and speeding up procedures is the least we can do for an inclusive society.

I will now turn to the possibility of our fellow citizens with debts of up to EUR 30 000 being able to retire from the EFKA. The relevant Joint Ministerial Decision has been signed, and so freelancers with debts of up to EUR 30 000 or farmers with debts of up to EUR 10 000 can receive a pension with 60% of their pension withheld, and then they will be given the option of 60 instalments, as is the case today. To explain to those who do not know, until now, freelancers who owed more than 20,000 euros or farmers who owed more than 6,000 euros to e-EFKA had to pay the excess amount in a lump sum within 2 months in order to receive their pension. 

I now turn to two important infrastructure projects that we had committed to delivering. The first is the new road bridge over the Evinos River, which was destroyed in December 2021 by extreme weather events that had hit Aitoloakarnania. This was opened to traffic and is now more durable, giving a definitive solution to the reconnection of the old Antirio-Ionina highway and smooth access to the settlements located at the mouth of the river. The second project is the electrical interconnection of the islands of Ro and Strongyli with Kastelorizo. Particular technical and other difficulties had to be overcome due to the morphology, geographical location, availability, and means required, in particular for laying the cables. The project, with a total cost of EUR 22 million, was completed under urgent procedures for reasons of national importance, and, as we had promised, it was inaugurated a few days ago.

Major and minor infrastructure projects thawed over the last four years have begun to be delivered with the aim of improving infrastructure across the country and facilitating and ensuring the safety and security of citizens. Citizens and all interested parties can now be aware of them and monitor their progress through the innovative Greek standards platform erga.gov.gr, designed and created by the DG Coordination in cooperation with the ministries, local government, and stakeholders. Until 2019, the central administration had no way of knowing what was being done, where, how it was funded, what stage it was at, when it would be completed, or who was executing the project. Now, all this information has been brought together on a very user-friendly platform that is both a step toward transparency and accountability on the part of the state.

"It's not like Halkidiki" in the issue of beach surveillance, since the first drone inspections have started in Halkidiki to detect possible violations of existing concessions on the seashore and beaches. The first flights were made over the beaches "Pefkohori" and "Polychrono," as they were gathering an increased number of complaints. The recordings from the drones were sent to the relevant land services for analysis and to take the necessary measures where needed. Controls for the observance of legality on beaches will continue at an intensive pace in the coming period throughout Greece.

I will conclude with the two huge victories of Greek sport that delighted us all, regardless of which team we support. Let me also express my warm congratulations—in the order in which they won the battles—to Panathinaikos, who returned to the top of Europe with an amazing game, winning the Euroleague against the great Real! Congratulations to the Olympiacos for winning the Conference League! It was a historic success, as it became the first Greek team to win a European title in football at the intercollegiate level! It was also a perfect and safe event, for which congratulations are due to the Ministry of Citizen Protection, which together with the police guarded this beautiful celebration of football.

Thank you very much for your time, and let me remind you again of the importance of participating in the elections one week from today! On June 9th, we are all voting! And we'll see you back here with our regular recap in two weeks."