Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Vassilis Kikilias has defended the government’s decision to cover the cost of mandatory social discounts on ferry tickets, rejecting opposition claims that the measure amounts to a subsidy for ferry operators.
In a statement responding to criticism from the opposition PASOK party, Kikilias said the government is not subsidizing ferry companies but financing a social policy mandated by the state to ensure discounted fares remain available for eligible passengers while helping prevent broader fare increases.
“The government’s intervention had one goal only: to protect citizens and assume the cost of a social policy that the state itself requires ferry companies to implement,” he said.
He stressed that discounted ferry tickets for students, people with disabilities, large families, and other eligible groups are not voluntary commercial initiatives by ferry companies but legal obligations under Greek law.
“When the state imposes public service obligations, it must also provide a lawful mechanism to cover the cost of implementing them,” he said, adding that the same principle applies to other forms of public transportation, including urban transit, intercity bus services, and railways.
Government Rejects Subsidy Claims
Kikilias insisted the compensation mechanism is fully transparent and does not reimburse profits or subsidize ferry operators.
Instead, he said, reimbursements cover only the actual cost of mandatory social discounts and are calculated using issued tickets, supporting documentation, and administrative audits.
According to the minister, the policy has also helped shield passengers from higher fares at a time when the crisis in the Middle East has increased fuel market volatility and raised ferry operating costs.
“By assuming the cost of the social discounts, the government has prevented higher fuel costs from being passed on to passengers,” he said, adding that the decision enabled thousands of people to travel to Greece’s islands without fare increases.
“For us, holidays on our islands are not a luxury but a necessity and a right for every Greek citizen,” Kikilias said.
Government Explains How the System Works
The Ministry also released a detailed question-and-answer document outlining the rationale behind the policy.
According to the government:
- Ferry companies are compensated for implementing mandatory discounts required by law, not because of their financial performance.
- Compensation is based solely on the number of discounted tickets issued, the actual value of the discounts provided, supporting documentation submitted by operators, and final administrative verification.
- All ferry operators apply the same legally mandated discounts, and compensation is paid only after compliance has been verified.
- The measure concerns the funding of a public social policy rather than the profitability of individual companies.
- The government said reducing VAT on ferry tickets is a separate fiscal policy issue and is unrelated to the mechanism covering mandatory discounts.
The ministry also argued that the system benefits passengers in two ways: by guaranteeing that social discounts continue without interruption and by introducing, for the first time, a fully monitored mechanism linking every euro of public funding to actual tickets issued and eligible beneficiaries.
