Parliamentary committee approves draft citizenship law
A new bill which would lead to some 100,000 second-generation immigrants being granted Greek citizenship was approved on Wednesday by a parliamentary committee ahead of a vote at the House’s plenary session expected next week.
The bill was backed by leftist SYRIZA, Potami, PASOK and Independent Greeks, despite objections by many in the ranks of the junior coalition partner.
Due to objections among many of its MPs, New Democracy said it would reserve judgment until the plenary session vote, which is expected next week.
Alternate Minister for Immigration Policy Tasia Christodoulopoulou indicated that the bill could be amended before its final version as “the greatest possible consensus should be achieved.”
The bill stipulates that applicants must have been enrolled at a Greek primary school and that their parents must have lived legally in Greece for five years prior to the applicant’s birth.
