ATHENS – Government spokesperson Yiannis Oikonomou began the press briefing on Thursday with the developments regarding the mother in Patras. “There are no words to express the pain,” he said.

He also said that the state institutions worked seriously, consistently, methodically to investigate the case and bring it to justice. But also that the Greek police, doing an excellent job, have assisted justice in this case also. “Calm, prudence and trust in the authorities are needed, so that the facts can be discovered by the competent authorities,” he stressed.

On the food and fuel supply crisis caused by the the war in Ukraine, he said: “Greece, in all the recent crises, has never lagged behind the events and international situation and this will continue as long as the crisis lasts.” He referred to the crisis management team convened by Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas in order to evaluate all alternative scenarios for ensuring the smooth supply of energy for the country if Russia decides to escalate and outlined the decisions taken.

He added that possible problems are being considered at a European level in terms of the supply of specific goods from Russia and Ukraine. “In our country, there is no such yet,” he stressed and added: “The normal flow of the market and the supply chain, as well as the complete sufficiency of goods, were confirmed. At the same time, it was decided to intensify controls to deal with unfair commercial practices and profiteering, in view of the Easter market, in fact.” Oikonomou also noted that the primary sector will continue to have the full support of the government, as it is directly affected and is a sensitive pillar of growth of the Greek economy.

The government spokesperson then referred to measures to support society and especially the most vulnerable citizens in order to reduce the impact of price increases as much as possible. “We are seizing every opportunity and constantly creating new opportunities for the protection of society,” he said, adding that an amendment was passed on Wednesday by the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry, which clarified the terms and conditions for granting emergency financial assistance to certain groups of people. The total amount of the intervention is estimated at 324 million euros and concerns 1.7 million beneficiaries, approximately 1.4 million households and more than 3.2 million members of these households.