
10 days · 11 summary articles
Greece unveils seven immediate measures to support households, including €150 per child and 72 staggered payments
Greece’s government has announced seven immediate measures to shore up household budgets, the most far-reaching of which will deliver €150 for every child and up to 72 staggered payments to vulnerable groups. The package, published on 20 June 2026 by ProtoThema , is designed to cushion citizens against rising living costs and follows emergency payments already scheduled by the e-EFKA social security fund and the Manpower Employment Organisation (DYPA) through 26 June .
Under the new plan, families will receive a one-off €150 for each dependent child, while pensioners, disability benefit recipients and low-income earners will qualify for 72 monthly instalments pegged to inflation. The measures come as Greece’s public finances remain under strain, with the government warning that debt servicing will extend well into the future. Finland’s National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) bluntly characterised recent nicotine policy decisions as “something we will be paying for a long time,” underscoring the fiscal trade-offs facing Athens .
The payments from e-EFKA and DYPA, due by 26 June, target specific cohorts: unemployed workers registered with DYPA, disability pensioners and parents receiving child benefit supplements. Beneficiaries are advised to check their myErgani and Tax Authority portals for confirmation of eligibility and payment schedules. Meanwhile, technical glitches at Romania’s National Agency for Fiscal Administration (ANAF) have left some taxpayers’ accounts frozen for up to three days despite timely tax settlements, according to fiscal consultant Horațiu Hagiu .
Across the EU, new levies on small consignments from outside the bloc are set to take effect on 1 July, adding €3 in EU-wide duties and a further €2 in Italian surcharges to the cost of online purchases. The move effectively ends the era of duty-free digital trade for low-value parcels, a shift that will disproportionately affect consumers buying from Chinese, US or fast-fashion platforms. Italy’s government confirmed the dual tariff structure in a circular published on 20 June .
In parallel, Germany’s federal budget for digitalisation will rise from €57.3 million in 2027 to €97.2 million in 2028, reflecting Berlin’s push to modernise public services and reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks. The increase, announced by the Federal Chancellery on 20 June, follows earlier allocations aimed at streamlining tax processing and social security interactions .
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