Announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the reduction of its budget

FOREIGN POLICY - 17/12/2021. Author: Prodromos Peios

In response to the announcement of the Union of Diplomatic Employees, which expresses “its disappointment at the further reduction of the MFA budget,” which it estimates at €20 million, and calls on its members to hold a two-hour work stoppage today, Friday, December 17, the following points are clarified:

There is no reduction in the Ministry’s budget for 2022, given the transfer of the General Directorate for International Economic and Commercial Policy, along with its appropriations, to the Ministry of Development and Investments, pursuant to paragraph 5 of article 449 of Law 4781/21.

On the contrary, there is an increase in the Ministry’s operating expenses (€5.7 million), which, among other things, satisfies the longstanding and consistent request of the Union of Diplomatic Employees for the coverage of medical and hospital care expenses for staff serving in non-EU countries.