Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-001688/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Kostas Papadakis (NI), Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos (NI)
According to the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), unemployment in Greece in February 2025 was 8.6 %, (404,581 people), while those registered at the Greek Public Employment Service (DYPA) numbered 960,134 (21 %). Here we have two services presenting different figures, with a discrepancy of over 500,000 unemployed people. ELSTAT, like the EU-LFS, the main source of data on unemployment in the EU, relies on sample surveys to calculate unemployment. ELSTAT follows the definitions of Eurostat and the ILO. It does not consider those who have worked even one hour a week, those who are not immediately available for work or those who have become discouraged and have stopped looking for work to be unemployed.
Furthermore, out of 960,134 people registered unemployed, only 26.8 % were receiving unemployment benefit. In the same vein, the EU and governments are strengthening punitive provisions against the unemployed, with cuts in benefits, deprivation of the status of being unemployed and exclusion from all support.
In view of the above:
- 1.What is the Commission’s position on the fact that, under EU guidelines, a large number of those deprived of the right to work do not receive any support, as they are not considered unemployed, and furthermore, three out of four officially unemployed people do not receive the meagre unemployment benefit?
- 2.What is the Commission’s position on the increase in the number of unemployed people excluded from the benefit due to its contributory nature under the new ‘unemployment subsidy’ system, a result of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility?
Submitted: 28.4.2025