“We are moving forward with a correct and fair measure for our seafarers: we are doubling the unemployment benefit, strengthening the social care of the State,” said the Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Vasilis Kikilias, in an interview he gave to the TV station SKAI’s “Atairistoi” show and to journalists Christos Koutras and Yiannis Ntsounos. As he emphasized: “There were double standards, as the unemployment benefit for seafarers was almost half that of the unemployed on land. This was unfair. And while the Ministers had promised them in the past that they would correct this injustice, no one had touched on the issue since 2017. It is a concern of the government and the Ministry of Shipping and I am glad that we were able to move forward with it.”
Regarding the new institutional framework for the security of ports and ships, Mr. Kikilias pointed out that a relevant bill has already been submitted to Parliament, with the aim of creating a strong state control arm. “The bill was submitted to Parliament today and will be voted on next week. It concerns the state arm, the security control – preventive and repressive – in our ports, in everything that has to do with legislation. That is, the control of compliance with the law in ports is very important for coastal shipping, cruises and ocean-going shipping. There have been various reports from time to time about illegal trade. We should not run after the problem, but preventively there should be an Authority that can move quickly, decisively and check that everything is legal in our ports. Security for citizens is very important and very high on their priorities.”
Referring to inter-island connections and barren lines, Mr. Kikilias underlined that “168 million euros, over four years in a closed tender, are currently being spent on inter-island connections and connections, as well as from Mainland Greece to our islands. So, they have multiplied. It used to be 20 and 30 million euros that the state spends on connecting our islands.” In this context, he highlighted the importance of stable and reliable coastal shipping coverage of small and remote islands, which is a strategic priority for the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy.
