Michalis Chrysochoidis, Greece's Minister of Citizen Protection, said old Greek identity cards are effectively no longer valid and that everyone needs to go and replace them.
Speaking about matters under his ministry's authority and about the package of measures the prime minister will announce at the Thessaloniki International Fair, Chrysochoidis addressed the availability of appointments for the new ID cards at police stations. He said appointments are available, and that where waiting times run to a month or two at a particular station, people can check other police stations or security departments, where appointments can be booked much faster.
Earlier in the interview, the minister revealed that over the previous week, from Monday to Monday, police carried out 26,000 breathalyzer tests in the Attica region, or about 4,000 a day.
Measures Expected at Thessaloniki Fair
Chrysochoidis said that whatever measures are announced will be conditioned on continued economic growth, and that the country would keep growing. He said the basic precondition is growth, since growth is the health of the economy, and that everything else has to do with support. The Thessaloniki International Fair is Greece's largest trade fair, where the prime minister traditionally delivers a keynote address each September setting out the government's policy priorities for the year ahead.
Korydallos Prison Relocation
Asked whether the prison at Korydallos will ultimately close, Chrysochoidis said it would, but that the process first had to be completed. He said procedures move slowly across Europe, that the case has now run for about four years, and that offers are close to being evaluated before the contract and construction work can begin. He said he hoped that within four years at the latest, the new prison in Aspropyrgos would be operating. Korydallos, near Athens, is Greece's largest and oldest prison complex and has long been criticized for overcrowding.
Organized Crime Unit's Results
Chrysochoidis also addressed the work of Greece's organized crime service, popularly known as the Greek FBI, which began operating two years ago. He called its results unprecedented, saying more than 270 criminal organizations had been dismantled, covering offenses across the criminal code, including fraud. He said the service's extortion department had doubled its staff and now operates every night, and he pointed to what he described as its significant successes.
