Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met at noon at the Maximos Palace with the President of the National Confederation of Persons with Disabilities (ESAMeA), Yiannis Vardakastanis, and its delegation.

During the discussion, which had a programmatic nature following a similar meeting held in 2019, a review was made of the initiatives implemented in the previous four years to support people with disabilities and ways of completing, improving or expanding them were examined, in order to draw up a road map for the coming years. The mutual will was also expressed to continue the constructive cooperation that has existed for the past four years.

Among other things, the importance of equal access to health, education and work was highlighted in order to increase the percentage of citizens with disabilities who are employed, as well as the further improvement of accessibility in cooperation with Local Government Organizations. Ways to encourage independent living while reducing institutionalization, and disability pensions were also discussed.

There was also an exchange of views on the possibility of curing the chronic problem of fragmentation of the relevant legislation so that there is a single, coherent framework.

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The Prime Minister pointed out that the fight against inequalities and the removal of restrictions faced by people with disabilities remains inevitably one of the main social priorities of the government and an issue to which he personally attaches particular importance.

In this context, it was emphasized that there is a substantial basis for setting goals until 2027, as in 2020 a National Action Plan for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was drawn up for the first time, in 2021 the National Accessibility Authority was established as an advisory body of the state, the coordinating mechanism that was legislated in 2017 but then left inactive by the SYRIZA government, and measures that have a tangible impact on the lives of the disabled, such as the increase in disability allowances and the institution of the Personal Assistant, which will soon proceed to the second pilot phase with expansion outside Attica.

At the beginning of the meeting the Prime Minister said:

“I wanted to have this meeting, as we know we do it on an annual basis. And since we now have a new staff that deals with disability issues, now under the supervision of Stavros Papastavros, but also a new Ministry that has taken over a large part of this portfolio, and also Giorgos Stamatis now, with the status of a Member of State, I wanted to hear your opinions, not so much about the progress we have achieved, we have recognized this many times, but mainly about what you think we should prioritize for the next year.

I have already been informed about what you have submitted to us in writing, but I always find this meeting useful, because we want to speak with deeds and not with words.

So, now having a road map which is the national action plan, there is a value to always update this effort and to be sure that what we say is actually done.

So welcome back to Megaros Maximos, it’s always our pleasure to welcome you».

Mr. Vardakastanis, for his part, thanked the Prime Minister for the close cooperation in the previous years, informed him about the proposals of ESAmeA and about the initiatives he undertakes in Greece and Europe.

“We believe we are in a period where we can move forward based on what you told me the first time we met, in 2019. You said bold reforms were needed in the field of disability and I told you we absolutely agree. We can make bold proposals for reform and you can make the bold decisions. We stand by that position and I’m sure you do too“, said Mr. Vardakastanis.

The meeting was also attended, from the government’s side, by the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Sofia Zacharakis, the Minister of State, Stavros Papastavrou, and the Member of State of the New Republic, Giorgos Stamatis.