by Andre Coelho | Dec 31, 2014 | Research
Image of the meeting in Athens. Source: El Mundo.
The Spanish newspaper El Mundo, in its online version, reports on the first summit of the Unconditional Basic Income Europe (UBIE), which took place in Athens on the past 28th of September. In this event, several top economists and activists which defend the unconditional basic income have participated, such as Stanislas Jourdan, Guy Standing and Lluís Torrens.
Carlos Fresneda, “¿Una renta básica europea? [An european basic income?]“, El Mundo, September 28 2014
by Karl Widerquist | May 2, 2013 | News
The Initiative for Basic Income in Greece organized a presentation in Athens on April 25, 2013 to inform people about what Basic Income is and how they can participate in the European effort to accumulate 1,000,000 signatures on a petition to get the European Union to exmine BI. The event’s speakers were Stanislas Jourdan (coordinator of the French movement for basic income and coordinator of the European campaign for basic income), Manos Matsaganis (Professor of public economics and social policy at the Athens University of Economics and Business and a life time member of BIEN) and Vassilis Perantzakis (Software engineer/Analyst and member of the Pirate Movement).
for more information on the Initiative for basic income in Greece
https://www.facebook.com/basicincomegr
https://twitter.com/basic_incomegr
by Yannick Vanderborght | Jun 7, 2012 | News
The Greek political party SYRIZA, a coalition of radical left-wing political movements, has recently attracted huge media attention accross Europe. At the occasion of the May 2012 general elections, it became the second largest party in the Greek parliament, and its leader Alexis Tsipras was even asked to form a new government. Like two other party leaders, he failed to do so, and new legislative elections are to be held in Greece on June 17th, 2012.
Interestingly, in its electoral platform, SYRIZA explicitly mentions the idea of an uncondictional basic income (ελάχιστο εγγυημένο εισόδημα). The relevant paragraph reads: “‘Diverse fragmentary reforms and policies must be united in a national system of guaranteed funds from the national budget. An unconditional basic income, accomodation with heating, electricity and telecommunications, food and clothing, transport, help at home, legal coverage and representation can thus become rights of all citizens.” (translation by Nicholas Vrousalis).
The platform is at:
https://www.syriza.gr/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&layout=item&id=1853&Itemid=170
Basic income makes its appearance under point (7.)
by Yannick Vanderborght | May 18, 2011 | News
On July 8, 2010, the Greek Parliament approved a basic pension. It is fixed at €360 per month in 2010 prices, paid 12 times a year, will be available with no means test to all those who lived in the country for 35 years between the ages of 15 and 65. It will be pro-rated for those who have lived in the country for less than that time, and available on a means-tested basis for others. The new program, of course, falls short of full universality, but this move could be a step toward a universal basic pension. An article on the creation of a basic pension in Greece will be published in the April 2011 issue of Basic Income Studies. Entitled, “Pathways to a Universal Basic Pension in Greece.” It is written by Manos Matsaganis and Chrysa Leventi, both of the Athens University of Economics and Business.
