Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis spoke at an ESAmeA conference entitled: “Rights of Persons with Disabilities: National Strategy 2024-2030”, at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center.

Starting his speech, Mr. Mitsotakis emphasized that people with disabilities deserve our practical respect and that the goal remains the removal of the many obstacles that still exist for their social inclusion.

He recalled the meeting in December 2018 which had then presented the major cuts that need to be made in the field of disability.

At that time he had spoken about his personal experience with his mother who, in a period of strong prejudices, spoke frankly and honestly about her own problem, breaking the stigma faced by all disabled people in Greece at the time.

“If my own family has been luckier than the whole, I know the problems of disability well. That is why I treat this aspect of politics as a central obligation of the state,” he added.

“It is no coincidence that from the first time we discussed our policies with the president of ESAMEA, I announced to him that the coordination of all actions will be done by the presidency of the government with the minister of state in charge.”

“We achieved a lot in the codification of the relevant legislation, in the establishment of the principle of accessibility, a long-standing request, but above all in the formulation of a horizontal strategy for the disabled” said Mr. Mitsotakis.

He recalled that we made the Acropolis accessible to the disabled and proceeded to institutionalize the personal assistant and to relieve the silent heroes, their families.