National plan to address demographic problem in early 2024, Zacharaki says

A national action plan to address the demographic challenge facing Greece will be delivered to the prime minister at the start of 2024, Minister for Social Cohesion and Family Sofia Zacharaki said at the “”Demographics 2023, Time for Action” conference on Tuesday.

She noted that the foundation of the ministry, in itself, was a response to this issue and said the national plan to support families will be based on five key “pillars” that included higher child benefit, more maternity leave and better childcare options for working mothers, ensuring active and healthy ageing and a better quality of life for seniors, as well as tackling infertility through assisted reproduction.

She also noted that the government is prepared “to examine legal migration” in conjunction with the demographic problem.

Zacharaki identified the “brain drain” and emigration from Greece as part of the problem, where she said that things had significantly improved in 2022 but were “still far from ideal”. She added that the government was also looking at housing policy as a way to encourage young people to start families.