ATHENS — "As you are aware, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday announced with Microsoft's president Brad Smith a new immediate investment in Greece in the context of the strategic cooperation GR for growth," government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said opening his press briefing on Monday.

He said that the added value of the Microsoft investment is expected to reach 1 billion euros and it is an investment that constitutes a vote of confidence in Greece. The investment refers to the establishment in Greece of an important part of the new technological infrastructure of the company that in linked, among others, with cloud services.

Petsas said that "its implementation will further improve the investment climate in Greece as a hub for direct foreign investments. He remined that "from last December until the end of September 2020, a total of 14 strategic investments of 1.8 billion euros have been approved by the interministerial committee while another three strategic investments of 1.6 billion euros have received a positive consultation and are expected to be approved."

Reforms are held to make Greek citizens' life better

Τhe promotion of the reforms is held for only one reason "to make the Greeks citizens' life better, building on trust, which is so important for the development of the Greek economy, we are creating jobs and sustainable growth for all", government spokesman Stelios Petsas said during a press briefing on Monday.

Referring to the results of the special EU summit he said that "at the recent EU summit, the European leaders recognised that the illegal and aggressive actions of Turkey in the Aegean and in the Eastern Mediterranean are not only Greece and Cyprus' issue, but an issue of all the European Union."

Greece is still doing better than other countries in the pandemic

On the pandemic, Petsas said that it is "now clear that both in Greece and in Europe there is a second wave of the pandemic which is depicted in the number of the incidents, the intubated and unfortunately the deaths.

However, he said that Greece continues to do well, better than other European countries.

No pupils and military parades on October 28

In terms of the developments in the migration issue, Petsas said that "one of the government's main policy axes is the migration problem and the interception of the flows and the control fo the involved NGOs in illegal activities. For this reason the government has drawn up an NGOs registry declaring its determinatiοn to support the organisation that are offering positive work from those that are parasites".

In this framework and following a lenghty and systematic effort, the Greek police in cooperation with the National Intelligence Service and the Coast Guard located four NGOs with a European identity, thirty three members and two more foreign nationals that against their declared goals, they οrchestrated illegal trafficking of migrants from the Turkish coasts to the Greek islands and for their convienience they made known the positions of the coast guard and navy vessels that were in the region, something that involves them in espionage activities against Greece".

Closing his briefing, he said that the draft State Budget was tabled in parliament on Monday adding that is being drawn up in an environment of unprecedented uncertainty due to the pandemic.

He also announced Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis schedule.

On Monday at 19:30, he will attend the presentation of the new company identity of PPC

On Tuesday at 10:30, he will receive NATO's general secretary Jens Stoltenberg at the Maximos mansion

On Wednesday he will go to Thessaloniki to attend the bestowing of the Theophano Institution first award to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

Finally, he clarified that due to the pandemic and at Prime Minister's decision the pupils and army parades will not be held on October 28.