6.2.13
The State Council Assembly deemed the provisions of the “Ragousis” bill regarding the naturalization of foreign nationals to be unconstitutional. This comes as no surprise, as according to earlier government estimations, all procedures were “frozen” until a decision was made.
The immediate consequences of the decision is the annulment of all naturalizations from 2010 onwards, of people either born in Greece to non-Greek parents, either they studied in Greek schools. This development complicates the 2010 municipal elections, when a lot of newly naturalized citizens voted.
The decision was justified because the unconstitutional law has purely formal provisions (such as a designated period of legal residence, studies in Greek schools for a set number of years, clean criminal record etc…), without a case-by-case examination of the applicant’s ties to the Greek nation. It also noted that the right to vote and stand is only granted to Greek citizens and cannot be divulged to others, without a reform of the relevant Constitution amendment.
PASOK not giving up yet
Circles in PASOK feel that with small changes to can harmonize the law to European standards and practices, especially in cases of long-term immigrants and children who have integrated into Greek society. The overall sentiment is that nothing should be done automatically, but rather there should be simple, decent and transparent ways of determining the individual’s bond to Greece.
The decision does not affect naturalizations granted in earlier periods, as the deadlines for objections have long passed. The same sources indicated however that there would be some sort of moderate transition period.
