The Greek Parliament has discussed the new draft law that facilitates the provision of full pensions for Albanian emigrants. 

"The government has pledged that on the eve of the elections, the request of emigrants from Albania and the countries of the former Soviet Union for the granting of a full national pension will be met," said the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Greece.

Meanwhile, the head of the Social Security office, Panagiotis Tsakloglou said that despite the crisis and budget constraints, the government has chosen to listen to immigrants and with this bill to meet their demands and correct an injustice.

What is different in providing a national pension for Albanian emigrants? Until now, the national pension for emigrants from Albania and the countries of the former Soviet Union was conditional on their stay in Greece for 40 years. 

"However, the residency criterion proved objectively impossible to meet the provision of the full amount of national pension for our fellow citizens (immigrants who have obtained Greek citizenship), as the borders of their countries of residence were opened in 1990," stressed Tsakloglou, write the Greek media. 

He further explained that with the proposed provision, which is valid from January 1 of this year and for a 10-year transitional period, which expires in 2032, the requirement is 30 instead of 40 years of residence, in order for immigrants to receive a full national pension. Afterward, this limit is gradually adjusted every year. 

According to the Greek authorities, the pension was calculated in relation to how many years of residence had remained from the 40 years that was the main criterion. This time frame has already been lowered. 

The representatives of the emigrants demanded a full national pension where the criterion of years should be reduced to 20 years of legal residence in Greece, and not 30 as defined in the draft law. SYRIZA has demanded the payment of the national pension for emigrants from Albania and the former Soviet Union who have 15 years of permanent residence and the provision of full payment for the elderly uninsured emigrants from Albania. 

"The government, despite the promises of Mr. Mitsotakis, with article 60 of the draft law of the Ministry of Interior provides that 30 years of residence will be required for immigrants from Albania and the countries of the former Soviet Union to receive a full pension. This is an inadequate deal that came too late. Also, the Mitsotakis government is responsible because it does not implement for 32 months the provision of the SYRIZA government of 2019, which provides for the full return of compensation for uninsured immigrant elderly from Albania ", said MPs Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou and Kosdas Zodrias. 

The special chair of the Movement for Change, Evangelia Liakouli, stressed that the national pension of emigrants should not be reduced, as it is clear that coming to Greece after 1992 and obtaining an emigration card in 1998, can not be conditioned on 40 years of residence in Greece before 2038. 

The Movement for Change has also introduced an amendment to abolish the reduction of the National Pension of emigrants from Albania.