The disaster victims Daniel and Elias, farmers of Thessaly, will be welcomed next Monday at Megaros Maximos by the prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
As the Prime Minister himself stated, in the meeting held in mid-February with representatives of the blocs, he wishes to continue the dialogue opened with the representatives of the primary sector.
The delegation that will arrive at Megaros Maximos on 11 am on Monday morning will consist of fifteen members from all over Thessaly.
All the issues related to the floods and the compensations to the affected producers will be put on the carpet.
Special reference will be made to its subject Carla Lake, where regarding 120,000 acres remain under water. The Thessalian farmers ask for a specific timetable for the drainage of the water, but also a solution to avoid similar situations in the future.
As the people of Thessalon declare, “we will not stand idly by until solutions are found”, stressing that apart from the problems caused by the floods in the lands, there are other issues arising for public health that must be addressed immediately.
In addition, they will ask the prime minister immediately payment of flood compensationsbringing back the request for immediate measures to replenish income for 2024, reduce production costs, non-implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) but also restoration and flood protection projects of Thessaly.
For his part, the Prime Minister is expected to refer to the Master Plan, presented to him a few days ago by the Dutch company “HVA International” for the management of water and floods in order to “reconstruct” Thessaly.
It describes, among other things, actions to strengthen dikes, dams, special proposals such as the one to avoid future floods in Lake Karla, the protection of cities from water in cases of severe weather and others. All proposals are accompanied by the corresponding schedules and cost estimates.
Additionally, one is included agricultural production strategy plananimal husbandry and the related industry while containing various measures and actions that will benefit the region.
“We will be next to the farmers and breeders of Thessaly as we have done from the first moment”
The government camp has made it clear that they will be on the side of the affected farmers and breeders of Thessaly “as we did from the very beginning”.
A number of measures have already been taken for both damage recovery but also her compensation of affected producerswhile as it was emphasized in the inter-ministerial meeting held ten days ago at the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, there are other funds that will be allocated to restore Thessaly to the situation before the disasters.
According to estimates, the cost of the damages caused in Thessaly by the “Daniel” and “Elias” disasters exceed 3 billion euros, of which over 2 billion concern the infrastructure, while over a billion are the compensations.
As he had mentioned the Minister of Rural Development and Food, the compensations from ELGA, which come from the state budget, are expected to exceed the initially calculated amount of 260 million euros.
The platform is open for Measure 5.2 for free replacement of livestock and reconstruction of stables in Thessaly, Evros, B. Fthiotida, amounting to 45 million euros.
Within a short period of time, the European Commission will receive the “green light” for the request for the activation of the aid measure for the outlying regions. Immediately following that, the required Ministerial Decision and the relevant invitation will be issued, no later than March 31 to April 15, 2024. The measure in question amounts to more than 40 million euros for each of the two years of its implementation.
The money that has been allocated from the first aid amounts to 43 million euros so far and it concerns regarding 20,000 farmers and breeders of Thessaly, according to what was stated by the Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Triandopoulos.
As he had previously announced, the payment of the advance payment for the plant capital and tree crops will begin in the next period. According to data from the Ministry of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, the amount of State Aid that has been paid to businesses and farmers for the September floods amounts to 28 million euros. Also, so far 2,909 businesses and farmers have received an advance payment of 50% of the state aid.
It is noted that the first aid to businesses, agricultural holdings and livestock units continues in the context of the second cycle of the first aid and has so far reached a total of 57.3 million euros.
In terms of production costs, cheaper electricity has been announced for all farmers for the next 2+8 years. This is an initiative that ensures very low prices in the agricultural current and it is estimated that it will shape the KW in the first 2 years under 10 minutes for farmers who participate in cooperative schemes or are consistent and under 11 minutes for those who have overdue debts, settling their debts at the same time. For the next 8 years for 1/3 of consumption the estimated price will be uniform at 9 cents.
For the individual farmers, a new Program exclusively for Farmers entitled “Photovoltaics in the Field”, amounting to 30 million euros, will be launched immediately.
At the same time, the “locked” electrical space available as a priority to farmers per DEDDIE substation is immediately increased from 3MW to 6MW (6MW X 225 substations in the country = 1350MW), while the permitted limit for PV for farmers with priority access to ” “locked” space from 10kW to 50kW.
At the same time, it has been announced the settlement of debts from TOEB – GOEB to PPC, which today reach 87 million euros nationwide. In Thessaly, the OEBs will be abolished and the related activities will be integrated into the new Thessaly Water Organization with the state assuming 75% of the debt of the Thessaly OEBs (8 million euros).
In the rest of Greece, the remaining (76 million euros) debts will be settled with a ten-year repayment and zero interest rate which will be subsidized by the state.
An important intersection is the Apollo Program. Through tenders, mature renewable energy projects will be selected, which will be ready within two years.
The energy that will be produced by these projects will be intended to cover part of the energy needs of the vulnerable, the OTAs A’ and B’ degree, the DEYAs as well as the Local and General Organizations of Sanitary Improvements (TOEB & GOEB).
In other words, through the Apollo Program, TOEB and GOEB will have a significant, and permanent, relief from the energy costs that prevent the fulfillment of their key mission but also hinder their development dynamics.
Finally, on Monday, April 1st, the advance payment of the Special Consumption Tax on rural Petroleum, amounting to 41 million euros, will be credited to the accounts of the beneficiaries. As the Deputy Minister of National Economy and Finance Thanos Petralias had mentioned, from 2025 the payment of the tax refund on agricultural oil will become permanent and a new method will be followed where 50% will not be given but the amount of the refund will be linked to the consumption of each farmer.
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