Mitsotakis announces €5,000 annual support measure for Kastellorizo

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has announced a €5,000 annual allowance for permanent residents of Kastellorizo and public-sector employees serving on the island. He presented the measure during events marking the 83rd anniversary of the island’s liberation on September 13.

The policy is intended to address the higher cost and practical difficulty of living and working on one of Greece’s most remote islands. Public services in small border communities often face staff shortages because transport, housing and access to essential facilities are more limited than on the mainland.

Mitsotakis linked the allowance to a wider commitment to sustain a permanent population and reliable state presence. The government must still specify implementation details, including eligibility dates, tax treatment, application procedures and whether different categories of employees will receive the payment under the same conditions.

Kastellorizo, officially Megisti, lies in the southeastern Aegean near the Turkish coast. Its location gives it strategic and diplomatic visibility, but the announced payment is a domestic social and administrative measure. It should not be presented as a change to maritime boundaries or as a new military policy.

During the anniversary visit, the prime minister referred to infrastructure and services needed to make island life sustainable throughout the year. Transport connections, health care, education and housing affect whether residents remain and whether public servants accept long-term postings.

The historical commemoration provided the setting for the announcement. The date cited is the anniversary observed locally; the measure itself was announced on September 13, 2026. Reporting should therefore distinguish the event being commemorated from the current policy decision.

Targeted island incentives have to balance permanence with fair administration. Authorities will need to define what counts as permanent residence, how absences are treated and which public employees qualify. Housing supply is also relevant because a cash allowance may not solve recruitment problems if accommodation remains unavailable. The final legal text should show whether the payment is automatic or application-based and which ministry will administer it. Those details are not reasons to doubt the announcement; they are the normal steps required to turn it into an enforceable benefit.

The island’s small population means the measure can be targeted, but it also makes continuity of basic services especially important. A vacancy in health care, education or administration can have an immediate local effect. The allowance is intended to make those posts and permanent residence more sustainable rather than serve as a one-time commemorative payment.

The €5,000 figure is the central confirmed element. The measure’s practical reach will become clearer when the government publishes the legal and administrative framework. Until then, the announcement establishes the intended annual support but not every rule governing payment.