The Minister of National Defence Mr. Panos Panagiotopoulos, accompanied by the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Panaghiotis Karambelas, the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff General M. Kostarakos, the Chief of the Hellenic Air Force General Staff Lieutenant General (AF) A. Tsantirakis and the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff Lieutenant General K. Gkinis attended today the Handover ceremonies of the 1st Army Command and the Hellenic Tactical Air Force Command (HTAF) Headquarters at Larissa.
Mr. Panagiotopoulos made the following statement:
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: On the occasion of my presence here today, along with the Deputy Minister Mr. Panaghiotis Karambelas, to attend the Handover ceremonies for the Chief of the Hellenic Tactical Air Force and for the Commander of the 1st Army, I would like to publicly appraise the men and women in the Armed Forces as, under very difficult circumstances, having experienced cuts at an average of 37% to their income, they give in an excellent way their every day fight to be faithful and consistent to their mission and duty, which is to safeguard our country’s national sovereignty and integrity.
From our side, as political leadership, our duty – and what we already do – is to be by their side, to safeguard their dignity and to seek ways to make their task and everyday mission less difficult.
I have made clear that it is not practically possible to make further cuts to the income and wages of the men and women serving in the Armed Forces. Already, the cuts that have already been implemented are heavy and their everyday life has become extremely difficult.
In order to have no further cuts varying between 10% and 12%, as provided by the special payroll, the Ministry of National Defence and I personally have leaned over budgets and over contracts, and we have managed to curtail such amounts, which constitute the named numeral equivalents, so that instead of the 10% to 12% cuts to the special payrolls – which should not be implemented under no circumstances – to make further cuts to armament programmes. We have located them and we have submitted them to the pertinent Ministries, without of course compromising to the least the Hellenic Armed Forces’ operational readiness.
It was a difficult endeavour. We have found equivalents of 40 million Euros for 2012 and 120 million Euros at 2013. They came from cuts to the country’s armament programmes that could be made, so as to avoid any cuts to the special payrolls, which would be disastrous.
JOURNALIST: Are only the special payrolls disastrous? Because, at the seek for 11.5 billion Euros, cuts to wages and pensions and horizontal cuts are not excluded.
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: You can understand the spirit of my statements. The Armed Forces are a part of the Hellenic people and they have experienced the sacrifices also experienced by the rest of the Hellenic people.
What I have to do, what my duty is, as far as matters of my pertinence are concerned, is to strive as I already said to have no further cuts; and to this endeavour we have by our side, before everyone else, the Prime Minister Mr. Antonis Samaras and, above everyone else, the President of the Hellenic Republic Mr. Karolos Papoulias.
I would like to publicly congratulate the new Chief of the Hellenic Tactical Air Force Command, Lieutenant General (AF) Evanghelos Tournas, who assumed today the duties of Chief of the Tactical Air Force Command, as well as the new Commander of the 1st Army, Lieutenant General Gheorghios Sofianidis.
I would also like to commend the outgoing Commander of the 1st Army, Lieutenant General Konstantinos Ghinis who, by decision of the Governmental Council on Foreign Policy and National Defence and after my recommendation, assumed the very honourable yet very heavy duties of Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff.
I would also like to underline the character and capabilities of the outgoing Chief of the Tactical Air Force Command, Lieutenant General (AF) Fotis Krevaikas, whom I had the chance to publicly congratulate and assure him that as Minister of National Defence I will soon invite him to offer his services under another status and from a different post.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Panagiotopoulos, would you like to comment on whatever has been published concerning the extension of military service?
P. PANAGIOTOPOULOS: As far as military service is concerned, I would like to make clear the following.
As you already know, from the very first time I assumed the post of Minister of National Defence, I found concurrent suggestions and propositions by all General Staffs for the extension of military service.
At this very moment you are asking me, I will tell you that our stance is neither positive nor negative. For the time being we believe that the issue of extending military service should freeze. Unconsidered handlings in this issue are not forgivable.
The issue of military service has enormous social dimensions and concerns our youth, the most sensitive part of Hellenic people who have experienced great sufferings due to the financial crisis, among which unemployment. Unconsidered handlings by the State in these kinds of issues, which could drastically affect even the psychology of young people, without having previously studied all social data and every other social dimension of this issue, are not advisable.
We will consider this issue. At present it will freeze and whenever something new should occur, I will inform you.
