Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras honoured the Hellenic Air Force at an event at Athens Concert Hall on Wednesday evening.
During his address, Tsipras extolled the Air Force staff’s courage, loyalty to duty and long-term service, and said that the government was mindful of the wage injustices they faced during the country’s economic crisis.
Tsipras noted that according to a draft law tabled the same night in Parliament, the HAF personnel stood to benefit from a total of 820 million euros from withholdings during the crisis years that would be returned to the defence forces, university professors, justices, doctors, and the Fire Brigade.
The “first positive fiscal measure coming to Parliament after August 21” will allow the restoration of cut wages in full by the end of December, he said.
Referring to regional security issues, the Greek PM said that the country “possesses a strong deterrent power devoted to maintain peace, stability and security” in a region with high volatility.
Greece, he said, “respects and seeks excellent neighbouring relations with adjacent countries. It doesn’t threaten anyone and is not threatened by any one country”.
