PM asks for amendments to citizenship law
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Wednesday asked Deputy Interior Minister Haralambos Athanassiou to proceed with a string of amendements with regard to a law allowing second-generation migrants to apply for Greek cirizenship in order for the legislation to comply with a Council of State ruling as well as with European legislation.
Known as the Ragousis law after former Interior Minister Yiannis Ragousis, the citizenship law was ratified by Parliament in 2010. It allowed those born to immigrant parents legally living in Greece for at least five years to be granted Greek citizenship provided they had studied at a Greek school for a minimum period of six years.
On Tuesday the Council of State deemed certain provisions of the Ragousis law unconstitutional. This included granting the right to vote in municipal and regional elections to foreign nationals holding a temporary resident permit, as well as granting Greek citizenship to foreign nationals born in Greece.
