“Marathon<\/b>, which we must run at a sprint pace,” ha<\/b>reached the Minister of Social Cohesion and Family,Domna Michailidou, the measures and policies to address demographic <\/b>issue, which, she said, is a priority for the government, in conversation with journalist Nikos Hadjinikolaos<\/b>y, at conference “Demography 2026”.<\/p>\n
Michailidou noted that the initiatives of the government and the ministry she heads do not have a time horizon of the next elections,<\/b> as was the case in previous decades, they need time to pay off, while she said, as the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, <\/b>speaking at the same conference, that there are also immediate interventions, such as the extraordinary allowance of 150 euros per child,<\/b>which will be added to the existing child allowance.<\/p>\n
According to her, infertility<\/b> is a common problem in almost all developed countries<\/b> and certainly in Europe, citing as a typical example South Korea, where the fertility rate has reached 0.6 or the strong social states such as Norway and Sweden, which are at 1.5 child per woman<\/b>, while Greece is at 1.34. <\/b>In fact, in response to a remark by Mr. Hadjinikolaou about the lack of a European commissioner<\/b> dealing with demography, the minister argued that responsibilities are spread among various commissioners and that Europe<\/b>, despite the seriousness of the problem, has not yet tackled demography with the required intensity and pressure<\/b> and that the greatest burden of policies remains at the national level.<\/p>\n
On top of this, he added that there is also an issue of mindset<\/b>, as families who increase their income<\/b> often choose to invest more resources in their existing children<\/b> rather than having more, which proves that the issue is not only economic<\/b>, but also social and cultural, and the goal is to change the perception around family and parenthood.<\/p>\n
The minister stressed that the government policy<\/b> is based on three pillars: Direct financial support, tax incentives and strengthening social services and structures. In addition to benefits, she added, the government is making interventions<\/b> in tax relief<\/b> and labour policy in order to reduce obstacles<\/b> to family formation. In this context, she referred to tax exemptions<\/b> linked to the number of children, but also to work support policies for parents and large families.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Michailidou referred to the gap<\/b> between work and motherhood<\/b>, which has started to soften, recalling the maternity allowance for freelancers and agricultural workers<\/b>, the paternity leave<\/b>, as well as special interventions to support workers<\/b> in remote areas, while she described the wave of young people leaving the country during the period of the great economic crisis as an aggravating factor.<\/p>\n
Finally, the minister also spoke about the role of technology<\/b> and developments in medicine, noting that new possibilities can help women have children at an older age<\/b>, but this does not mean that the problem can be solved solely through technology. “We cannot take for granted that technology alone will solve the demographic<\/b> problem,” he added, stressing that a total change in policies, infrastructure and social attitudes is needed.<\/p>\n
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