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Social Protection Systems

in Greece

The total social protection expenditure in Greece (29.4 per cent of GDP in 2020) is below EU average (31.7 per cent of GDP).
The social protection expenditure on family/ children is even lower compared to EU (1.6 per cent of GDP in Greece vs 2.5 per cent of GDP in EU in 2020).

Enabling Environment

Legislation, policy, resources, coordination, data

Lack of effective control mechanisms in a system based on social insurance contributions receipts.
Difficulty in tracking public expenditure on child protection issues.
Poor social service delivery exacerbates the vulnerabilities of children most in need and has a negative impact on their access to quality services. This translates into high geographic and socio-economic inequities across Greece, narrow opportunities for boys and girls and low intergenerational mobility.
Absence of a solid national narrative around children most in need.
Children are not adequately captured by household surveys and national averages.

37(c) Adopt legal provisions to establish a system of social housing with fair and transparent allocation criteria.

Multi-annual financed plans to strengthen the socio-economic inclusion of children in order to address generational poverty and disadvantage are required utilizing EU initiatives and funding, such as the Child Guarantee, the European Social Fund, and the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Prioritize expansion of social protection coordination, social budgeting, and policy implementation, informed by evidence and data on child poverty and exclusion.
Improved integration and coordination of child-focused social protection services, including social cash transfers, will be complemented by enhanced capacities of children, families and communities to access and participate in social sector service delivery processes.
Advocacy and technical guidance within the Government’s social policy and poverty coordination framework, paying attention to sustained increases in social sector budget outlays, and welcome opportunities for child and adolescent participation.
Promote shock responsive social protection system assessment tools: to enhance resilience to (economic, social) shocks, improve response times, reduce costs of delivering emergency assistance.
Assessment tool (CODI) to review and adjust design features of social protection (social assistance, social insurance, labour market initiatives) in terms of scope, level and scale, such as eligibility criteria and transfer values, to enhance coverage and provide adequate levels of assistance in times of crisis.

Adequately staffed services, facilities, information, commodities

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37(a) Lift barriers for parents to access financial support and establish a community-based system of universal social services that strengthen and enable families to care appropriately for their children;
37(b) Increase the childcare enrolment rates by improving access and incentives for parents.

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