Via Athens News
The government is in the process of drawing up new measures on the intergration of immigrants. At a two-day conference organised by the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (IMEPO) in Samos, Deputy Interior Minister Athanassios Nakos outlined the role of local government

For the first time ever, our new Municipality and Community Code [passed by the parliament on May 18] requires local government to develop its own, tailored integration programme

Dimitris Papademetriou, the president of the Migration Policy Institute, stressed the three main steps to integration

The first is to bring immigrants as quickly as possible into the labour market, which entails vocational training and the recognition of professional skills. The second is to invest in the education of immigrant children (future society and citizenry). The third is civic participation.

Despite the positive talk about intergration, we shouldn’t forget that the former Pasok government announced the intention to invest 260 million euro in a four-year programme that included

the creation of free medical clinics in towns with large immigrant populations and specialised counselling services on matters like health, welfare, education and employment, as well as the creation of information centres for Greeks and immigrants to combat xenophobia and racism.

The project never even began.
Read the full article from the Athens News

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