Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a package of financial incentives and infrastructure commitments for Kastellorizo, the country's easternmost island, during a visit marking the 83rd anniversary of its liberation. Speaking from the island, he paired the announcement with a pointed message to neighbouring countries: "We do not threaten anyone, but nor do we accept threats or instructions from anyone. We are ready to defend our national integrity and our sovereign rights."
Two annual incentives worth €5,000
The plan introduces two separate payments. The first is a permanent annual salary incentive of €5,000 for public sector employees, police and military personnel serving on the island. The second is a tax-free, non-seizable annual household allowance of €5,000 for permanent residents, rising by €1,000 for each minor child, aimed at both current residents and anyone considering relocating to Kastellorizo. To qualify, residents must complete at least one full year of residence on the island. Existing residents will begin receiving the allowance in early 2027, while new residents will become eligible from 2028 onwards.
Ferry links, housing and infrastructure
Mitsotakis also announced a second subsidised weekly ferry route operated by Blue Star on the Piraeus–Rhodes–Kastellorizo line, due to launch on Wednesdays. Separately, he said HELLENiQ Energy, the energy company, would fully renovate older properties on the island to provide free housing for doctors, teachers, port authority staff and other public servants. The package also includes roughly €37 million in infrastructure works, addressing the island's harbour, desalination units, sewage network and water supply, which the Prime Minister described as decades-old shortfalls.
A message on sovereignty
The Prime Minister framed the measures as part of a wider foreign policy built on what he called "certainty, stability and consistency," saying Greece follows "a responsible, patriotic and realistic foreign policy" while strengthening its deterrent capability. Addressing the country's neighbours directly, he said: "We seek friendly relations, without tensions and without provocations," citing Greece's commitment to international law and the Law of the Sea, before adding the sovereignty warning quoted above.
Recalling 2010, and the island's history
Mitsotakis drew a contrast with 2010, when Kastellorizo was the backdrop for the announcement of Greece's entry into its international bailout programme. "I know how much it pained us, how much it pained you, the image of 2010, with Kastellorizo chosen as the setting to announce the country's passage into the painful years of the memoranda," he said, adding that "here, as across Greece, things are thankfully different today." He also referenced the island's turbulent 20th-century history, including wartime bombing, the displacement of residents to refugee camps in the Middle East, a devastating fire in 1944 and the sinking of the Empire Patrol, in which dozens of Kastellorizian residents died while returning home, before the island's integration into Greece alongside the rest of the Dodecanese in 1948. "Kastellorizo is not just another one of our islands," he said. "It is deeply etched into every Greek man and woman."
Source: Newmoney.gr
