The Minister of Labor Yannis Vroutsis gave an interview to SKAI Radio on Tuesday morning, where he was asked about the coalition government’s plans regarding the guaranteed minimum income (GMI).
Mr. Vroutsis refused to comment on the GMI, claiming that the matter “is sensitive”, but revealed that the measure will come into effect experimentally by the end of the year, with a nationwide implementation scheduled for the 1st of January 2015.
According to the Minister of Labor, the technical details of the GMI will be based on those of similar schemes currently in place in other EU members states. The Ministry wants to avoid having the benefit becoming a disincentive for jobless beneficiaries.
The Minister also avoided responding to comments made by his deputy Vasilis Kegeroglou, when he recently reported on the asset criteria that will be taken into consideration when determining beneficiaries. Mr. Vroutsis also did not confirm rumors suggesting the benefit will be up to 400 euros for poor families with two children.
