Low-income Greek pensioners to get one-off grant to buffer price surge
ATHENS- Greece will hand out one-off grants to low-income pensioners and medical staff ahead of Christmas to shield them from higher energy and food prices, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday.
Consumer inflation hit a multi-year high of 3.4% in October with costs in the housing sector rising by an annual 7.8%, mainly due to rising electricity, heating oil and natural gas prices.
The government has already spent about 700 million euros ($790 million)on subsidies for the majority of Greek households to make energy costs more affordable. It also lowered VAT for farmers and animal breeders.
Mitsotakis said 800,000 pensioners on low incomes and 173,000 disabled people would each get a one-off handout of 250 euros before the end of the year.
“We are responding to the short-term rise in prices without putting the fiscal balance at risk,” Mitsotakis said during a parliamentary debate on recent price increases.
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