Pensions cannot be less than contributions, Pavlopoulos stresses after meeting Katrougalos
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Pensions cannot be allowed to fall below the amount paid in contributions, President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Monday after a briefing on proposed pension system reform from Labour Minister George Katrougalos.
“The partners in the European Union must take into account that the social insurance system is the heart of the social state of justice throughout Europe,” Pavlopoulos noted. “It is the main pillar, not just of European democracy but of European civilisation,” he added.
The president pointed out that the pension system was currently based on reciprocity and the contributions paid over the years by employers and workers, so their amount could not be less than the amount that they paid to ensure their later life.
“I would like to believe, and not just to hope, that the Greek positions and the sacrifices of the Greek people will be understood,” he said.
Presenting the government’s proposals, Katrougalos said that pension reform was a “national issue” and that all the political forces had to align themselves behind “all we can agree on,” noting that agreement on rationalisation and social justice should be possible. He also agreed with Pavlopoulos that the social state was a part of Europe’s identity and that the government had from the first sought to insert a European dimension in the negotiations on this issue.
“After 11 successive reductions in Greece, at some time there has to be a stop to this,” he said.