“Civil Protection used to be a semi-dissolved General Secretariat on one floor of a building where, at the end of the day, everything depended solely on the ability and self-sacrifice of the people of Civil Protection-there was no plan. In 6.5 years, this has been transformed into a state that responded in an exemplary manner in unprecedented conditions,” noted government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, referring to the state’s reaction to the recent bad weather conditions, while also speaking of the long-standing responsibilities of governments regarding the existence of illegal constructions.

Speaking on ERT, Marinakis stressed, among other things, that “this does not mean there won’t be days when we have tragic news like the one the day before yesterday, when two of our fellow citizens lost their lives. But to see the big picture and not underestimate it: in a country where the emergency number 112 couldn’t operate and as a result many people were lost and many properties were put at greater risk, now the public is alerted, there are evacuation plans, there is information, there is predictability.”

Referring to the EU summit, the government spokesperson noted that Greece is at the heart of Europe. “First and foremost, we are a European state, a sovereign state, which at the end of the day will never put issues of international law on the scales. That is a given. From there on, our strategic relationship with the U.S. is also a given-a relationship that this government especially wants to invest in and deepen.”

He also stressed that on the issue of Greenland, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis pointed out that nothing can be done without the knowledge of, and in any way violating, the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, because it is European territory. As for the Peace Council, he said that the main objection of the thirteen states that were invited, including Greece, is that the discussion should be only about peace in Gaza. “I believe that the proposal submitted by Kyriakos Mitsotakis-that participation by these states be conditional on discussing only Gaza-can resolve this difficult issue and allow us to move forward so that these countries also take part in this very serious discussion on Gaza,” he underlined.