Oikonomou

Six months after the country's national elections, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis decided to move ahead with a mini-reshuffle, mainly aiming to tackle mounting security concerns.

The conservative government has placed security and "law and order" on top of its agenda.

A Greek policeman has succumbed to injuries caused by a flare shot during an attack on riot police outside a volleyball stadium in Rentis, near Piraeus, on December 7. 

Citizen Protection Minister Ioannis Oikonomou has extended his condolences to the family and the Greek Police (ELAS) following the death of a 19-year-old police officer, a member of the DIAS motorcycle unit, who was fatally injured during a pursuit in the early hours of Monday.

The government announced a stringent plan to combat fan violence on Monday, declaring its determination to suppress deviant incidents to ensure "maximum possible assurance of public order and safety," as stated by government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis.

Citizen Protection Minister Yiannis Oikonomou admitted in an interview with the public broadcaster ERT on Thursday that "there was information that the Hellenic Police did not use correctly" to prevent the violence between rival football team supporters in Nea Philadelphia, which led to the murder of AEK fan Michalis Katsouris.

Seven police officers, including the head of the sub-directorate for violence in sports grounds, have been removed from their posts over the deadly clashes between rival soccer fans that took place in Athens late on Monday, Citizen Protection Minister Giannis Oikonomou said on Tuesday.

An aerial view of a beach bar and burned land in the background, as firefighters battled flames on Rhodes for a tenth successive day Thursday. [Nicolas Economou/Reuters]

State Minister Akis Skertsos will assume the duties of government spokesman until the Greek elections on May 21, outgoing spokesman Giannis Oikonomou announced on Thursday, during a regular press briefing.

Oikonomou is resigning from the post to run for Parliament and, according to Greek law, he will be subject to restrictions regarding media appearances of candidates.

Main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras is engaging in "extortion" and "degrading the institutional pillars of Greek democracy," government spokesperson Giannis Oikonomou has said, following SYRIZA's announcement that it will abstain from all parliamentary procedures until the prime minister announces a general election date.

Negotiations for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures are ongoing, government spokesman Giannis Oikonomou said on Monday.

In an apparent reference to the return from the Vatican of fragments of the temple's decorations, Oikonomou said the "partial return of the Parthenon Sculptures" has already begun and underlined the "radical shift in public opinion in the UK."