High price nightmare for households – The government promises interventions

An alarm has been sounded in the government for a wave of high prices that threatens the household basket. The primary goal is to take measures to protect family budgets.

The focus is mainly on the energy sector, where efforts are being made to have a European front that absorbs vibrations.

The estimate is that the phenomenon will be more intense by Christmas, however it is considered possible that the energy front will require support measures until the end of winter.

Speaking, on the issue of high prices, on the television show MEGA Weekend, the Minister of State, Giorgos Gerapetritis said “there is a significant wave of price increases, this is a global phenomenon and due to the fact that we have a very rapid recovery, both global and par excellence in Greece. from the coronavirus wave,” was the introductory comment of the Minister of State, with the additional point that while the average inflation in Europe is around 3.5%, Greece is a little over 2%, when other countries, such as Spain or Germany, have more than 4% and others such as Lithuania and Latvia have even more than 6%.

“Of course, we have to deal with the situation and very drastic interventions will be made”, he underlined and referred to the first wave of measures that was voted on Friday, which has to do with the subsidy of electricity: “from the next bill the citizens will see the reductions on the increases, the vast majority of the increases will be absorbed “, was the commitment of G. Gerapetritis, who at the same time referred to a subsidy for natural gas, through a Joint Ministerial Decision by the Ministers of Environment and Finance, “in the next few days there will be very detailed information in relation to the discount that will take place”, he said on the subject.

On Monday, moreover, “in the Council of Ministers we will have a first taste of the draft budget, the picture is very encouraging, we will have a significant increase in growth”, he stressed, referring to the forecast of Fitch on Friday, which “upgraded the forecast for growth of 6%, we may have even more.”

At the same time, “we have a real increase in disposable income, of course there have been no large increases in wages, on the other hand the real income of citizens has increased: taxation has fallen sharply in all sectors, especially for the middle class, there has been a significant decline in insurance contributions, very large increase in private deposits, 30 billion “.

Asked if the government is considering a further increase in the minimum wage, the Minister of State gave the following answer: “If there is a budget increase that will give us a space, this space will become a fair dividend for the citizens, especially vulnerable citizens.”. Elsewhere in the interview, he said “thanks to growth, new wealth is being produced in the country, which is not wealth from loans, and it will be distributed fairly, especially to our fellow citizens who are vulnerable.”

The subsidy

It should be noted that the subsidy of the gas bills, and not only of the electricity bills, is provided by the amendment submitted to the Parliament by the Ministry of Finance.

As referred to in Article 8 of the amendment, by Joint Decision of the Ministers of Environment and Finance “may be provided from the special bill for electricity and gas, a subsidy for the consumption of natural gas and credited to the accounts of the beneficiaries as a discount from gas suppliers” .

In fact, the issue of rising gas prices across Europe and the pressure it causes, was commented upon by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaking to Bloomberg. As he noted, “we are committed to supporting electricity consumers in Greece. We do this by providing state funding but also by encouraging energy providers to absorb some of the costs. We expect that we will not see a significant increase in electricity bills in the next 3 to 6 months “.

Also, added Mr. Mitsotakis, “we submitted a proposal at European level to find a European solution to something that we consider a short-term phenomenon. This is a real problem for Europe and I think we need a European response that goes beyond what individual Member States do at national level.”

Prices on basic products

Households will also see an increase in the prices of basic goods in supermarkets.

Market circles estimate that the monthly cost for the “basket” of a family of three is expected to increase from 250 euros to rise to 272.5 euros setting fire to the family budget.

The wave of price increases in cereals, agricultural products, raw materials, packaging materials, but also the surge in energy costs and transport increases the operating costs of both industries and organized retail chains, which categorically state that it is impossible to absorb increases and part of them will be passed on to consumers. Thus, in the coming months, culminating in the period before Christmas, households will be faced with price increases of up to 5% in all product categories