Mitsotakis: Supporting the competitiveness of the primary sector is our central priority

The Prime Minister visited at noon (02/04/2024) the agricultural dairy cooperative in , which has been operating for 52 years and produces high quality products. Kyriakos Mitsotakis was guided to the feta production unit of the cooperative in Kalavryta by his president, Paul Satolias. A meeting was then held at the offices of the cooperative, attended by the Minister of Rural Development and Food Lefteris Aggenakis, the regional governor of Western Greece Nektarios Farmakis and the mayor of Kalavryton Thanasis Papadopoulos. “It is the model of cooperative production which we want to make a rule and not an exception to the country’s primary sector as we have discussed many times with the minister, I want to give more incentives to encourage healthy cooperative schemes,” the prime minister said. “Our aim is for our products to be able to take the prices they deserve and to do so we must, first and foremost, protect their quality and protect the market and consumers from any phenomenon of unfair competition. We have already done a lot in this direction. With the new bills we will do even more,” he added. The Prime Minister also referred to production costs by saying “We have made an important contribution on agricultural current. We are committed to recalculating the return of the Special Consumption Tax to oil in 2025, listening to your proposals so that the real beneficiaries are the real producers. This is the amount we have at our disposal, but this money must go to those who really produce.” “Why supporting the competitiveness of the primary sector is our central priority,” he stressed. “I want you to know that I have been very involved in the issues of the primary sector. And I firmly believe that we can use European resources as a whole better and smarter and without pushing our producers into a green transition, which is necessary but cannot take place at such a speed as to eliminate you along the way. And I think this is something that has now been completely understood in Brussels and concerns all aspects of our primary sector,” the Prime Minister said. “The cooperation with Mr. Satolias, as President of the Cooperative and also as President of the ETHEA, with which we are institutional partners and interlocutors, is excellent. Indeed, the initiatives and proposals that they sometimes submit are absolutely useful and necessary to take steps much faster, with your approval always,” said the Minister for Rural Development and Food. “There is a titanic effort and the contribution, I repeat, of the presidents and representatives of the healthy shapes is absolutely useful and necessary and I am sure that with their cooperation we will also achieve the absolutely necessary changes to the CFP, which is a key condition for us to be able to absorb the money we already have at our doorstep. The 19.3 billion, which will allow me to repeat that the only country that has had absolutely no reduction in relation to the previous CAP is Greece. In relation to other countries at the heart of Europe and yet there they had reductions of 5%, 10% and 15%,” stressed Mr. Avgenakis. Earlier, in a presentation held at Kalavrita Town Hall, the Prime Minister was informed of the upgrading and modernisation projects of the Kalavrita ski resort implemented or launched and expected to be completed by the end of 2024, a total budget of 22,630,000 euros, with funding from the NSRF. In addition, proposals were discussed to further develop and expand the operation of the ski centre, with the aim of transforming it into a mountain multi-thematic park serving visitors throughout the year. Following the entire position of Prime Minister “First, dear President, friends and friends, I am very pleased to be able to visit your partnership. When we met with the president at a very substantial meeting we held at the Maximus Mansion about two weeks ago, I was committed to coming. And because I like to keep my commitments, I am visiting you today to honour the very important effort you have made to turn the Kalavryta Cooperative into a model of cooperation in the livestock sector. And I say this because you have achieved something that is very important: a business that is profitable, a product that is the “firsthand” of our primary sector, 1,200 farmers, who daily bring their milk to the Cooperative, more than 200 workers. But, at the same time, a partnership with an intense social footprint, which is always next to and near anyone in need, to producers if your animal is sick, with investment, with environmental sensitivity. It is the model of cooperative production which we want to make a rule and not an exception to the country’s primary sector and as we have discussed many times with the Minister, I want to give more incentives to encourage healthy cooperative schemes. I avoid the term “cooperative” not because I do not honor the cooperative, but because in the conscience of many cooperatives are identified with some bad habits of the past, mainly with bankruptcy, with loans that were given and eventually ended badly. And this image does not honor the many healthy cooperatives that have emerged after the bankruptcy of a part of the old cooperative movement and certainly does not honor your own effort. Our aim is for our products to be able to take the prices they deserve and to do so, first and foremost, to protect their quality and protect the market and consumers from any phenomenon of unfair competition. We have already done a lot in this direction. With the new bills, we’ll do even more. I think everyone should understand – I imagine they have already realised – that the time when some people sold feta without being feta, at prices that they could never sell if they were real feta, has passed unreturned. Only in this way will we protect the product so that the domestic consumer knows that the slice it takes meets the specific quality standards. At the same time, of course, we will be able to continue to export a product which is so identical to the exports of our primary sector. At the same time, I would like to reiterate that in the issues that we have had the opportunity to discuss, concerning production costs, we have already done several things. We have made an important contribution on agricultural current. We are committed to recalculating the return of the Special Consumption Tax to oil in 2025, listening to your proposals so that the real beneficiaries are the real producers. This is the amount we have at our disposal – I wish we had more – but this money must go to those who really produce. Because supporting the competitiveness of the primary sector is our central priority. This is also about rationalising the way in which we allocate European resources. There’s an important job going on at this level. Of course it is also about the more comprehensive negotiations on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy, which take place at the level of Rural Development Ministers in Brussels. Greece has a leading role to play. And I’m sure this will eventually reach our level. I want you to know that I’ve dealt a lot with primary sector issues. And I firmly believe that we can use European resources as a whole better and smarter and without pushing our producers into a green transition, which is necessary but cannot take place at such a speed as to eliminate you along the way. And I think this is something that has now been completely understood in Brussels and concerns all aspects of our primary sector. In conclusion, let me say that we have an excellent relationship with the President and with the Union. We work together at the level of submission of proposals that will help us make our primary sector more competitive and ultimately keep the world in the countryside. Because if your children don’t see a future in your work, then they’ll leave. And if they leave, and if you leave the profession, it will start to ruin the countryside and it is not easy to come back. When I see an area like Kalavryta, which has such comparative advantages, I can obviously not identify it with a very dynamic livestock and cheese activity. And in mapping the work that one can attract to such an area, the primary sector will always play a decisive role. So, thank you so much for the invitation, for the treat, and we’ll be there for you all this effort. And I am really glad that this model of healthy cooperative schemes is beginning to take root throughout the country. This is the future. And as a Union you have a very important role to play.”