ABTTF President: “Instead of deciding to relocate people to the region using buckets of water, so to speak, the government should implement a comprehensive development plan. In this way, the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, which is the most economically underdeveloped region of our country, will achieve multi-faceted regional development, and in that case, migration will take place not only to Evros but to all prefectures within the region’s borders’’.
The Greek government has announced that it will provide a cash incentive of €10,000 to citizens who permanently relocate to the area within the boundaries of the municipalities of Orestiada (Kumçiftliği), Soufli (Sofullu) and Didymoteicho (Dimetoka), located on the Turkish border in Greece.
According to a report in the Millet newspaper, Minister of Social Cohesion and Family Affairs Domna Michailidou said in an interview with SKAI TV that various additional support measures will also be offered to households relocating to Evros in order to halt population decline in border regions and promote regional development. Speaking on television, the Minister added the following: ‘‘We are trying to encourage our citizens to move to these beautiful and strategically important areas surrounded by nature. As a state, we support this decision’’.
‘‘Alexandroupolis is a major port city in Evros, and the region’s border with Türkiye and Bulgaria is crucial in terms of its strategic importance and development potential. Therefore, instead of simply settling people in the region using buckets of water, the government should implement a holistic development plan. This will enable the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, the most economically underdeveloped region in our country, to achieve multifaceted regional development. This will lead to migration not only to Evros but to all prefectures within the region’s borders’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
