Ragousis Law Scrapped - Gov't To Introduce New Citizenship Law

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We cannot help but jump for glee with the next bit of news because it will help decrease the amount of illegal immigrants entering our country, unlike the days of PASOK when it was a free-for-all.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Antonis Samaras apparently asked Deputy Interior Minister Haralambos Athanassiou to proceed with a string of amendments in regards to a new law that will allow second-generation migrants to apply for Greek citizenship. The new law has to comply with the Council of State since the council on Tuesday ruled against the provisions provided in the Ragousis law, saying that they were unconstitutional. As soon as the news was made public, legal circles began saying that the results of the 2010 municipal elections should now be annulled.

A report on SKAI Tv said that the new law is not going to be imposed retrospectively and at the same time it will not affect those who have already received Greek citizenship under the Ragousis Law. Unfortunately it is not going to effect the municipality election results of November 2010 either, but then again this was only reported on SKAI and there is no formal announcement about that.

The Council’s decision stated clearly that “the right to vote is reserved to Greek citizens and cannot be extended to those who do not possess this status," unless, there is a revision of the relevant provision in the Greek Constitution.

The controversial law -or Law 3838/2010- or the Ragousis law, aimed at granting foreign nationals who were holding a temporary resident permit, the right to vote in municipal and regional elections. Something of which came under fire back in 2010 but just like other PASOK administrations in the past... was totally ignored!

The former law was introduced by ex-Interior Minister Yiannis Ragousis (under the Papandreou government), and ratified by a PASOK dominated Parliament in 2010. It allowed those who had been born to immigrant parents and that had been living in Greece legally for five years to obtain Greek citizenship as long as they had studied at a Greek school for at least six years. (Doesn't make sense, but then again everything with PASOK never does.)

When it was introduced there was heavy criticism against it because it was obvious that it was drafted in order to serve the petty interests of the then PASOK government.