“Absolute Priority” problem, the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family, Sofia Zaharaki, characterized the demographics of the country, pointing out that its consequences directly affect the composition of the Greek family.

Informing today the members of the Committee of Regions, which met on the subject of “Demographics from the point of view of the Greek Region” Mrs. Zacharaki emphasized that “fertility levels in Greece are among the lowest worldwide, while the average number of children per woman is falling. Even in countries that have traditionally led the way in this area, they have shown an unprecedented drop of 1.6 children per woman».

Citing official data from ELSTAT, Mrs. Zaharaki spoke of extremely disheartening figures regarding our country, with the demographics developing negatively for four decades.

As he typically said, “since 1981, births have been decreasing, while according to the latest count, the figures for 2022 are extremely disheartening as the population is reduced by 450,000 people».

“The country recorded essentially one birth for every two deaths“, write down.

At the same time, he announced that by the end of the first quarter of 2024, the National Action Plan for dealing with the demographic problem will be delivered to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“It will be a plan, the result of a dialogue, synthesis of opinions with civil society, the local self-government of the first and second degree, but also the scientific community in order to be able to record and find effective solutions to key issues, among which is the regional dimension“, he said and added:

“Our primary purpose is to motivate young couples to go ahead, with the feeling of a strong safety net that the state is practically on their side, to have their own family. It will include policies that combine incentives to start a family with strengthening regional dynamism, encouraging young couples to invest in the place of their birth».

Mrs. Zaharaki particularly focused on the measures to support young couples promoted by the government to deal with the demographic problem, according to which:

– The one-off allowance is again expanded, by 1,000 euros for each child. A one-time allowance of 2,000 euros is granted for each new birth.

– From the beginning of 2024, the child benefit of civil servants will increase up to 600 euros per year. As Mrs. Zaharaki mentioned, especially for the month of December, 800,000 beneficiaries will receive an additional one and a half installments of child benefit, while the total amount that a family with three children will receive ranges from 280 to 700 euros.

– The amount of 360 million euros is increased by 15 million euros to cover more voucher applications in nurseries.

Mrs. Zacharaki characterized the housing policy as a key parameter, which – as she said – is “directly connected to dealing with demographics, because it is one of the most deterrent factors in starting a family”.

“We put a housing policy back on the map with a beginning, middle and end, arriving today to have 2.2 billion euros locked up for this purpose. The crown of this policy is the “My Home” program, which focuses on young people under the age of 39. We again allowed them to borrow from the bank to buy a house and even with an installment smaller than a loan and the disbursements move faster than an average bank mortgage loan”, he underlined.

He added that “we already have 1,422 loans that have been disbursed” while he also emphasized the strengthening of the region from this program. “We embraced this program, gave another boost to its dynamics, doubled it from 500 million to 1 billion and simplified it with improved regulations regarding permits and the area of ​​eligible houses. Strengthening the region can benefit from this program. Because of the 9,600 approved applications, 5,881 (i.e. 61.2%) concern young people or young couples coming from Regional Units outside Attica“, he underlined.

He also announced that “by the end of the year, it will also be extended to the part of renovations, again targeting the new generation through the program “Renovate and Rent” amounting to 50 million euros and 40% of the renovation works will be subsidized with the basic condition that there is a long-term lease for at least 3 years”.

The Minister of Social Cohesion and the Family placed special emphasis on the regional dimension of the demographics, pointing out that “regional inequalities show that a gap has been established between the center and the periphery, with the population curve leaning in favor of Attica, which gathers the majority of population and economic activity”.

“Strengthening regional development means ensuring the quality of life, a pillar that will star in the Action Plan. We will emphasize supporting regions with special demographic needs, strengthening the attractiveness of rural areas and creating cities that are friendly to citizens of all ages”, assured the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family and added: “We can achieve this with specialized actions against the desertification of the regions, in favor of attracting business activity to provincial towns».

“It is certain that this major issue will take time to address, the numbers to reverse, and systematic work will be required. Dealing with demographics is not a one-body affair. It is a collective national affair. We don’t have a magic wand to reverse the pro-birth bias overnight, results take time“, concluded Mrs. Zaharaki.

Both the president of the Permanent Committee of the Regions, Manos Konsolas, as well as its members and all the competent bodies that were called to inform, concluded that the demographic problem is directly linked to incentives and measures to strengthen and support young couples to stay in the place who were born.

At the same time, it was agreed to open a round of discussions on demographics, with the second meeting of the Commission scheduled at the beginning of the new year.

The committee was also invited and briefed by: Marina Stefou, head of Demographic and Housing Policy, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, pPresident of the Union of Regions of Greece (ENPE), regional governor of Central Macedonia, Lazaros Kyrizoglou, president of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), mayor of Ampelokipi- Menemeni, Niovi Rigou, head of the European Commission delegation in Greece, Vasilios Theotokatos, president of the Supreme Confederation of Large Families of Greece, Dimitrios Kontos, president of the Federation of Large Families with Three Children of Greece, Dr. Athanasios Exadaktylos, president of the Panhellenic Medical Association of Athens and Alexandra Tragaki, professor of Economic Demography at the Harokopio University of Athens.