ATHENS – With some of the highest prices in the European Union, including staples like olive oil and treats like ice cream, Greece is working to control them with more stringent measures, said Development Minister Takis Theodorikakos.

He told Real FM radio that the New Democracy government plans will increase incomes, support workers, the middle class and entrepreneurs and make money go further at the supermarket and in purchasing power.

“The fact that prices are falling for the fourth month in a row is very good news,” Theodorikakos said, noting that food inflation in Greece stands at 1.8 percent compared to 2.4 percent which is the average in the EU.

“We have the strictest legislation in Europe for price control. This policy brings results and we will continue,” he said, adding that “all together, as consumers, must choose what is in our best interest: the cheapest and the best.”

He didn’t explain what that meant although seeming to suggest shoppers should make wise choices although the government persuaded supermarkets earlier to create Household Baskets holding down prices on 51 essential items.

He also announced “that measures are being considered for more alternatives for citizens, so that they have direct access to producers,” said the state’s Athens-Macedonia News Agency ANA.

The government has fined multinationals and domestic companies for price gouging but even as inflation eased the prices of many food items did not and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis asked the EU to intervene with foreign companies.

If there are increases in food, he said the government would – for a third time – raise the minimum wage to make money go further although food prices still have a Value Added Tax (VAT) up to 24 percent, also among the EU’s highest.

Despite an accelerating economy and 2024 looking to be another record busting year for tourism that could bring in more than 20 billion euros ($22.13 billion,) the government said it can’t afford to lower the food VAT.

Minister of State Makis Voridis also said that the government is trying to raise wages across the board. “We are working on the implementation of the government program and based on this we will be judged,” he told Real News.

Responding to critics he said that, “Those who try to present that the government has lost the trust of the citizens, are misreading the behavior of the voter,” and said higher income plans would be revealed by Mitsotakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF.)

“New Democracy was elected to implement a specific government program. This program will be implemented over a period of four years and will be evaluated by the citizens throughout the political circle,” he said.

He added: “It is important to realize and point out that this government program has specific ideological and political principles that are implemented. It is not just a sum of administrative acts.”