ANNUAL POLICY REPORT 2012 and secondary level," implemented by the Labour Institute of GSEE in cooperation with the Greek Forum of Migrants and, b) Action 1.2/2010 "Legal and Administrative support for third-country nationals that legally reside in the country" by AKMON Training Organisation, NGO PRAKSIS and the Greek Forum of Migrants. Additionally, throughout 2012, Immigrant Integration Councils (SEM) were formulated in the municipalities that had not yet formed these bodies. It should be reminded that members of the SEM are, among others, Councillors (mandatory for those that are immigrants), representatives of immigrant organizations and representatives selected by the regions immigrant community. Regarding the Greek diaspora we should note the following: On 11 December 2012 the draft law on the "Organization of World Council of Hellenes Abroad" (hereafter: SAE) came to public consultation. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs relevant press release, SAE, which according to the Greek Constitution's has the mission to express all forces of Greeks worldwide, has run its course, and therefore the time has come to build a more representative and henceforth more creative SAE, that will have the capacity to mobilize all forces of Ecumenical Hellenism. In this context, the draft law emphasizes on the adjustment of its institutional framework to the current circumstances, the self-organization and self-financing of the institution, and in providing the opportunity to any Greek men and women across the globe to participate in SAE. More specifically, the responsibilities of SAE as now defined in Article 2 of the draft law are defined as follows: A. 1. SAE suggests, consults and advices the Greek Government on matters relating to Hellenism, such as: a) the maintenance and promotion of the Greek language and cultural identity of Greeks living abroad; b) strengthening the bonds of worldwide Hellenism both abroad and in Greece; c) contributing to strengthening of relations between the countries of residence and Greece; d) recruitment, financial and social security issues of Greeks living abroad. 2. SAE seeks to promote issues related to Hellenism in the respective countries and geographical regions. 3. SAE collaborates with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchates and the Church. B. SAE activates in areas related to Hellenism, such as: a) The preservation of the Greek language and cultural identity b) strengthening bonds of worldwide Hellenism both abroad and in Greece. The consultation remained active until January 31, 2013, with 137 remarks made on its individual articles. Furthermore, in October 2012, the Minister of Interior informed the members of the Special Parliamentary Committee on the Diaspora, regarding the vote rights of expatriates. As announced, a working group is preparing a draft law with its main axes being the political expression of expatriates, ensuring equality of votes, process credibility (legitimacy-transparency), administrative readiness, and the ability to run operations at low-cost. The draft law will be 41

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents