Greek President's salary to be halved, expenses scrapped

Athens - The Finance Ministry has proposed an amendment to Parliament which would halve the annual salary of the Greek President, plus completely scrap monthly expenses.

Greek President Karolos Papoulias, whose role is primarily ceremonial, is entitled to a monthly salary of €23,122 , plus monthly expenses of €6,240. This equates to a salary of only €2,000 per month less than American President Barack Obama, even though the Greek population is less than one thirtieth of the U.S. To his credit Papoulias offered to serve without an annual salary in February this year, as Digital Journal reported. The new amendment which has been proposed to Parliament will scrap the presidential monthly expenses of €6,240 and reduce the amount of annual salary that future Greek presidents may earn, by half. According to Athens News the amendment will also halve the pensions of former Greek presidents. To Vima reported that the suggestion for the presidential salary to be halved came from Papoulias.