Greece Unveils $325M Relief Package as Middle East Conflict Drives Fuel Costs Higher

07:18 30/3/2026 - Πηγή: iEfimerida

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a roughly 300 million euro relief package,targeting fuel, fertilizer and ferry costs, as the ongoing Middle East war pushes energy prices higher and strains household budgets across the country.

The package, which Mr. Mitsotakis said would cover three in four Greek households, includes fuel

subsidies for both diesel and gasoline, discounts on ferry tickets and retroactive fertilizer support for farmers dating to March 15. A digital platform for fuel vouchers — modeled on a previous "Fuel Pass" program — is expected to open within days, with payments reaching recipients before mid-April.

"The government is and will remain by the side of every Greek citizen," Mr. Mitsotakis wrote in his weekly Sunday message, adding that reserves had been set aside should global economic conditions deteriorate further.

Alongside the emergency measures, Mr. Mitsotakis announced the country's sixth minimum wage increase since 2021, lifting the monthly floor from 880 euros to 920 euros effective April 1. The cumulative increase since 2019 now stands at 41.5 percent, or 270 euros per month. Greece will rise to 12th among the 22 EU member states with a legislated minimum wage, though Mr. Mitsotakis acknowledged the country still trails European averages. The government is targeting 950 euros by 2027.

On the domestic legal front, the prime minister addressed the high-profile Tempi rail disaster trial, which opened last week in Larissa. The February 2023 crash killed 57 people in Greece's deadliest peacetime rail accident. Mr. Mitsotakis acknowledged organizational failures on the first day of proceedings but insisted they must be resolved before April 1, warning against those seeking to delay or derail the process. "Our obligation is one: let Justice operate freely and away from political agendas," he said.

Turning to defense, Mr. Mitsotakis confirmed that Greece's National Security Council had approved plans for a layered air defense system — described as an anti-drone, anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic shield — along with a modernization program for four MEKO-class frigates and infrastructure work to receive the country's first F-35 fighter jet, expected in 2028. Combined with existing Rafale jets and upgraded F-16 Vipers, Mr. Mitsotakis said the Hellenic Air Force would rank among Europe's strongest.

Greece also recorded its lowest road fatality count since 1963 last year, according to European Commission data published Tuesday, with 148 fewer deaths than in 2024.

On immigration, Mr. Mitsotakis said the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact, set to take effect in June, would prevent a repeat of the 2015 migration crisis and strengthen controls at external European borders.

In a cultural note, the government announced the creation of a new body-Hellenic Underwater Cultural Heritage -to manage the country's submerged archaeological assets, and confirmed the repatriation of nine ancient vessels stolen from the Argos Archaeological Museum between 1970 and 1992 and recovered from Budapest.

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