This publication documents the proceedings of the landmark conference organized by the National Centre for Social Solidarity (EKKA), focusing on the challenges of child protection, particularly regarding the safeguarding of the most vulnerable children, the fight against child poverty and social exclusion, and the implementation of the European Child Guarantee in Greece. Through the synergy of public and private entities, national coordinators, international organizations, and social workers, this volume highlights child protection not merely as a social benefit, but as the core pillar of the welfare system and the fundamental guarantor of the country’s future.

Across five thematic sections, the book analyzes:

• The evolution and the economics of welfare in Greece in the post-crisis era.
• The innovative European framework of the “Child Guarantee” and the National Action Plan for the “Child Guarantee” in Greece, including comparative references to models such as those of Spain and Sweden.
• The pivotal role of Independent Authorities, UNICEF, Public Bodies and Civil Society in shaping reforms.
• The ” children’s own voice ” as documented through research, focus groups, and experiential filmed interviews.
• The political dimension of the issue, through the positions of Members of the Standing Committee on Social Affairs of the Hellenic Parliament.

By combining quantitative economic data with qualitative testimonies and emphasizing the importance of solidarity, political will, and collective action to combat social inequalities and ensure a better future for all children, this edition concludes with an urgent call: the transition from fragmented interventions to a holistic, child-centered model. The “Child Guarantee” emerges as the primary tool for addressing child poverty and social exclusion, underlining that cooperation between the state, institutions, and children is the only path toward social cohesion.

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Το άρθρο THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL WELFARE IN GREECE – POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION – CHILD PROTECTION AS A MAIN PILLAR OF THE WELFARE SYSTEM (IN GREEK) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

The Greek economy is moving along a stable growth trajectory, with GDP growth reaching 2% in the third quarter of 2025 and the forecast for the whole year to be at 2.1%. Growth is driven by private consumption as well as the strengthening of fixed capital investment, supported by the Public Investment Program and the Recovery Fund. For the first time, a particularly strong leading role of investment relative to consumption is being observed. Fiscal indicators are improving impressively, with the primary surplus estimated at €5.27 billion for 2025 and public debt declining from 145.9% of GDP in 2025 to 138.2% in 2026. At the same time, early repayments of Greek government loans have been announced which, even if they originate from ESM reserves, are underpinned by the improvement in the fiscal balance.

Inflationary pressures persist (particularly in food and services), while rents recorded a sharp increase in the first half of 2025. Overall, inflation is expected to remain at anticipated levels, around 2.5%. Broader measures to address the housing problem are under consideration. The rise in real disposable income is continuous, but the pace of improvement is not sufficiently high to restore the losses, mainly those incurred during the memorandum period. Consequently, consumer confidence shows a negative trend, which is nevertheless expected to recover due to the expansionary fiscal measures scheduled to be activated in 2026, as well as the anticipated increase in wage costs. In the labor market, unemployment declined to 8.6%, while issues related to skills mismatches persist.

Regarding the external balance, improvement is recorded due to lower fuel prices and the rise in tourism; however, exports of goods face uncertainties, even though they are exceptionally resilient. The widening of Greece’s external balance of payments constitutes a key restraining factor for growth. Foreign Direct Investment is once again strong; also evident is the revitalization of the Greek industry’s position in the country’s productive system.

The main risks for the future concern geopolitical instability, climate change, the demographic problem, and major global debt imbalances.

Of particular importance, however, for the effectiveness of economic policy outcomes is the preservation of economic and political stability, as well as social cohesion and well-being, which are being tested primarily by the effects of the memorandum period and the multiple crises that followed. The assessment of the effectiveness of economic policy should be based on the progress being achieved, rather than on the distance from the illusory pre-crisis levels of prosperity (financed through borrowing). Nevertheless, it is entirely natural for citizens to set these levels as targets, and for economic policy to seek to approach them.

The reorganization of the European Union’s structural funds following the end of the post-Covid development intervention of the Recovery Fund will be linked to addressing Europe’s competitiveness challenges, and it is estimated that Greece can benefit as well through the organization of a new roadmap of interventions (Eurogroup direction) aimed at addressing the major problems of European integration.

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Το άρθρο THE STATE OF THE GREEK ECONOMY AT THE END OF 2025 εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

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Το άρθρο EVALUATION OF THE SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT OF CONTENT PIRACY AND POLICY PROPOSALS (IN GREEK) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

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Το άρθρο STUDIES ON THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF DISASTER-AFFECTED AREAS NO.4. HOW THE NEW DEMOGRAPHIC REALITY IS CONFRONTED IN THE RECONSTRUCTION PLAN FOR THE DISTRICT OF EVROS (IN GREEK) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

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Το άρθρο STUDIES ON THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF DISASTER-AFFECTED AREAS. ΝΟ. 3. TOURIST DEVELOPMENT IN THE DISTRICT OF KARDITSA (IN GREEK) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

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Το άρθρο STUDIES ON THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF DISASTER-AFFECTED AREAS. ΝΟ. 2. ECONOMIC AND PRODUCTION REORGANIZATION IN THE DISTRICT OF ALMYROS, THESSALY (IN GREEK) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

Τhe study identifies an issue that, to the extent it brings together Greece’s (rising) imports with increased fiscal obligations, may undermine the country’s economic performance and prospects. (There study is also accessible in Greek.)

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Το άρθρο THE STATISTICAL TOOL USED IN THE EU TO ESTIMATE FAIR IMPORT PRICES, UNDER SCRUTINY: THE CASE OF UNDERPRICED TEXTILE AND FOOTWEAR IMPORTS FROM CHINA εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

The study was carried out in order to contribute to the reconstruction plan of the regional unit of Karditsa in Thessaly, Greece, after the Mediterranean Cyclone Ianos, and is published in view of the post-disaster territorial development planning that is under way in the wake of the even more devastating Mediterranean Cyclone Daniel.

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Το άρθρο STUDIES ON THE LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OF DISASTER-AFFECTED AREAS. ΝΟ. 1. NEW PATHWAYS TO DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION IN THE DISTRICT OF KARDITSA (IN GREEK) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

The volume delves into entrepreneurship and innovation issues, focusing on the cases of Western Greece and Apulia. It brings together a variety of statistical approaches, models, analyses, reviews, practical experiences, tools, and ideas whose applicability may be extended to other parts of the world.

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Το άρθρο SPECIAL ISSUES ON REGIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION PLANNING: PERSPECTIVES FROM WESTERN GREECE AND APULIA εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.

This publication aims to present the Minutes of the one-day scientific conference titled “The Contribution of Economic Libraries in Research and Development” that took place in 6 March 2015, in Athens, at the Head Office of the Bank of Greece, by the Hellenic Economic Library Network (H.E.LI.N.).

H.E.LI.N., created in early 2012, is a network of economic libraries aiming to promote cooperation among its member libraries, as well as the exchange of services and resources related to collections on the subject of economics. The ultimate goal of the network is to provide higher quality and more effective services to the community of its users.

The following libraries are members of H.E.LI.N.:
Alpha Bank, National Bank of Greece, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens – Faculty of Economics, Centre of Planning and Economic Research, Athens University of Economics and Business, University of Piraeus, Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation, Bank of Greece, Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism, Harokopio University.

The purpose of this conference was to present and emphasize the contribution of economic libraries to issues such as research, development and business enterprise in Greece as well as abroad. The conference was open to scientists, researchers, university students, librarians as well as the general public interested in the processing and the results from the bulk of economic data and information sources exploited by the libraries.

The announcements included in this publication highlight the added value of the Greek economic libraries and their contribution to the dissemination and utilisation of economic information for users. Yet, the cost of access to the high-quality material provided by these libraries is constantly rising, while continual cuts to their budgets and manpower hinder the fulfillment of their obligations, their aims and their services. As stated in the introduction to this publication, the creation of this network has been a collaborative effort to find alternative solutions for access by the members of the network so that they can answer their users’ constantly increasing demands for information.

Speakers and coordinators of the various sections of the conference referred to the usefulness and the necessity of updated collections in economic libraries, while through personal views, examples or best practices they presented the contribution of economic libraries to the prosperity of the organisations where they belong, since libraries as information sources can enhance their competitiveness.

This publication comprises the announcements of speakers in the conference, a concise presentation of the round-table discussion that followed, and the main conclusions as well as the answers to question that were posed by the audience during the conference in relation to the activities and the wider operation of H.E.LI.N. In addition, Annexes present data about the libraries members of H.E.LI.N. and short biographical notes of the speakers and coordinators of the sections of the conference.

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Το άρθρο THE CONTRIBUTION OF ECONOMIC LIBRARIES IN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (in Greek) εμφανίστηκε πρώτα στο Κέντρο Προγραμματισμού και Οικονομικών Ερευνών.