A regulation in an omnibus bill will allow repatriated Greeks from Albania and the former Soviet Union to receive full national pensions, Labor and Social Protection Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said during a discussion in Greek Parliament on Tuesday.
"The government is correcting the unacceptable legal regulation of the Katrougalos law, which established a prerequisite of having lived in Greece for 40 years before diaspora Greeks from Albania and the former Soviet Union could get a national pension," the minister said, referring to the sweeping pension cuts introduced in 2016 during the SYRIZA government.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had "clarified to diaspora Greeks that the government will bring a related regulation, which is what this is," Hatzidakis noted, adding that "now the same party (Syriza) demands a prerequisite of 15 years." He added that the government is also determined to introduce an additional regulation providing a bonus for uninsured elderly from the same diaspora groups.