Filenews 4 December 2024
The expansion of the categories of Christmas gift recipients and the granting of emergency financial assistance to residents of mountainous areas are among the issues that will concern today's meeting of the Council of Ministers, as mentioned by the President of the Republic, Mr. Nikos Christodoulides.
In his introductory remarks at the beginning of the Council of Ministers meeting, the President of the Republic said that today they will take decisions on the emergency Christmas gift for 2024. "This includes new categories that we think need to be helped. Let me indicatively mention that we will increase by 40 thousand the number of those who will benefit, now exceeding 100 thousand. In addition to what they received last year by decision of the Council of Ministers, a Christmas present, we will add the National Guards, new mothers, resettled, three-child and large families receiving child benefit, single-parent families who are beneficiaries of the allowance, regardless of income category and amount of deposits. The total cost is approximately € 20 million. It is increased by more than three million euros from the decision we took last year at the same time."
In the same context, he continued, the Cabinet will decide today to grant emergency financial assistance to all residents of communities above 600 meters, equal to 50 percent of the amount allotted to them, and this is important. We are talking about about 23,000 people benefiting, from 10,000 households in 128 regions, with an expenditure of close to €3 million. .
"It's indicative of responsible financial management that responds not only to upgrades that are particularly important for many reasons – it's not something that doesn't touch people, more so it touches people, because upgrades bring quality investments, bring down interest rates, help make targeted social policy and increase beneficiaries compared to previous times. Precisely because fiscal responsibility allows us to proceed with the expansion of beneficiaries", President concluded.
