Greek government offers 2000 euros for each baby birth in support for young couples

 Domna Michailidou

 Population decline is one of the issues that is troubling many countries around the world as fewer births are reported year after year. A phenomenon that has forced many states to take action on the future of their nation.

I an effort to encourage young families to have children, the Greek government will provide 2,000 euros for each birth of a child.

After 2011 and for the first time in modern Greek history the country's population is shrinking. According to a recent study by the organization Dianeosis, by 2050 the Greek population will shrink from 11 million to 8.8 million and will be dominated by older ages, with 1/3 of the population over 65 years old.

Recognizing that the demographic problem is increasingly becoming a major concern, the Greek government is taking financial measures, but also for welfare. The basic priority for the coming months will be to facilitate access to the nursery and improve their conditions.

“We respect every woman's choice to stay home to raise their children as much as possible. But we need to make sure that any mother who wants to get back into the labor market is not in a disadvantageous position compared to men. For this reason, we think that nurseries are an excellent mechanism to achieve this. Thus, the mother knows that without spending too much money she can take the child to an organized structure that cares for the children, which fulfills all the criteria for the children's protection and that she will stay safe with regard to the protection and skills the child will develop. This is our objective,” said Domna Michailidou, Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs.

Despite research showing very clearly the benefits of early childhood education, in Greece, only 13% of children between the ages of 6 and 2 receive it, while the European average is 26%.