Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting the island of Lemnos on Friday as part of a push to strengthen direct communication with citizens while presenting recently announced policy measures.
The visit follows his pledge, made in Thessaloniki earlier this month, to cut value-added tax (VAT) by 30% on several remote islands, including those in the Northern Aegean, the Dodecanese, and the Evros region. The reduction, he argued, would provide much-needed relief to local residents and businesses.
On Lemnos, Mitsotakis is scheduled to tour the Atsiki village, visit the Agricultural Cooperative Winery “The Union,” and stop by the island’s Archaeological Museum. At midday, he is set to meet with citizens in the main town of Myrina.
His trip also carries political weight. The prime minister is expected to meet Northern Aegean regional governor and the mayor of Lemnos. Relations between Mitsotakis and the former have been strained in recent years, notably after the prime minister’s support for a rival candidate in last year’s regional elections.
The Lemnos stop comes just days before Mitsotakis heads to New York for the 80th High-Level Week of the United Nations General Assembly. While there, he may hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a possibility the Greek leader confirmed in a recent interview.
On Greek-Turkish relations, Mitsotakis has stressed the need for “sincere dialogue” while insisting that international law supports Greece’s positions. He also emphasized that Athens will continue exercising its sovereign rights, citing recent initiatives such as the creation of marine parks and energy agreements with Chevron. “I am not worried about a heated incident in the Aegean,” he said.
The prime minister’s busy agenda underlines both his domestic efforts to rebuild trust with voters—after recent polls showed only 32% satisfied with his policy announcements—and his international role as Greece seeks stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
