The president of KINAL, Nikos Androulakis, refers to the issue of accuracy that knocks on the door of Greece in the article of the newspaper “TO VIMA”, demonstrating the emphasis given by the Movement for Change on issues that concern Greek society, especially the financially vulnerable in the midst of a pandemic.

The contacts with market institutions, workers and scientific organizations on the wave of price increases are also not accidental, as well as the current intervention submitted by the party’s parliamentary group and will be discussed tomorrow, Monday, on the subject of the wave of accuracy and its proposals. . Cinema to support households and products.

In his article, Mr. Androulakis calls for a fair policy, stating, among other things, that the crisis in our country “is exacerbated by the increasing proportion of natural gas in the energy mix, which makes it particularly vulnerable to fluctuations.” In fact, Greece – as he points out – is the only country in Europe that has increased electricity production from natural gas during the cost crisis. At the same time, he criticizes the government, saying that moving in the logic of complacency, it has recently taken horizontal measures to support households, while the 2022 budget did not include significant interventions to restrain energy prices.

The following is the article by Mr. Androulakis

“The pandemic has caused huge socio-economic costs.

Before closing, national governments are again being called upon to take emergency action to reduce the household burden of inflation amid a difficult winter.

The crisis of precision exacerbates the already sharp inequalities, as it affects the most vulnerable, who are forced to spend most of their disposable income on inelastic expenditures (heating, food, fuel). According to the European Central Bank, inflation in the Eurozone reached 4.9% in November, where the 3.5 percentage points increase in prices is directly or indirectly due to the sharp rise in energy costs.

In our country, inflation jumped to 5.1% in December. According to ELSTAT, the information is particularly burdened by the increases in natural gas (+ 135.7%), heating oil (+ 34.1%), fuel (+ 21.7%) and electricity (+37.8%) ). %). The crisis is exacerbated by the increasing proportion of natural gas in the energy mix, which determines our country is particularly vulnerable to fluctuations. In fact, Greece is the only country in Europe that has increased electricity production from natural gas during the cost crisis.

In this unfavorable context, European governments have shifted to punctual, immediate and long-term policies. The energy crisis must be tackled through public intervention, regulatory and redistributive policies, to ensure a decent standard of living for all citizens and to avoid energy poverty.

With regard to short-term interventions, most states have enacted support measures for the payment of heating allowance to the weakest groups of the population. In Greece, however, they found the government unprepared. Moving on to the logic of complacency, ND has recently taken horizontal measures to support households, while the 2022 budget did not include significant interventions to keep energy prices in check.

At the same time, consumer prices are rising more than three times compared to the forecasts of the government staff, while the Bank of Greece predicts that the accuracy that is present throughout 2022 – and not just the first months, as the government claims. Thus, ND was forced to take new auxiliary emergency measures afterwards. But energy policy can not be horizontal, but targeted, with social and income criteria and constant evaluation by regulators.

Countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Cyprus have also legislated to reduce energy consumption and VAT. Despite the contradictory statements of the members of the government, New Democracy chooses not to follow similar policies of reduction of taxes and VAT on basic foodstuffs and energy. However, the cost is already high: Greece is consistently among the most expensive countries in Europe in the wholesale price of electricity. In the domestic market there are significant distortions of an oligopolistic nature. The more they are not treated, the more they erode the income of the citizens and reduce the competitiveness of the products.

So in addition to subsidy measures, we need long-term market policy arrangements, which have no budgetary costs. Portugal, for example, has one of the lowest inflation rates in the EU today, precisely because it has shielded its economy. The Social Democratic government emphasized the institutional role of the Portuguese Energy Regulatory Authority, which reduced electricity prices by 3.5% in 2019, while significant reductions in the chronological electricity networks for households and industry are projected for 2022.

In the long run, it is necessary to seize the opportunity of the Recovery Fund, in order to diffuse energy production from RES and energy autonomy. Through the creation of energy communities everywhere, with thousands of photovoltaics on the roofs, it is possible for farmers, stockbreeders, small producers and even the most vulnerable Greeks to produce much of the energy they consume. The green transition must be both fair and participatory.

Finally, the increase of the minimum wage is of particular importance for the increase of the disposable income of the citizens, as many countries already do (Portugal, Czech Republic, England, Romania, etc.). Immediately, not in the long run for the government to hold the workers hostage in election planning.

Our country is the only EU member state in which the net average wage is lower than in 2010.

Immediate raising of the minimum wage is a very important measure to support paid work, especially for the low paid. After all, European experience shows that its institutionalization and gradual growth can contribute to both the fight against poverty and the upgrading of the productive model. A typical example is Germany, where despite worries about job losses, work continued to be significant even after the introduction of the minimum hourly wage in 2015.

“After more than ten years of successive crises, social democracy is the most credible political force that can guarantee a viable productive model, along with effective market regulation and a strong welfare state.”

Katerina Papavassiliou