Athens: Greece's conservative government on Wednesday announced special payments to seniors and families with children, and the extension of a fuel subsidy for farmers, to help counter a cost-of-living crisis.
The aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars came as the country's parliament voted on whether to lift the immunity from prosecution for 13 lawmakers accused of involvement in a European Union subsidy fraud scandal.
Higher energy prices from the war in the Middle East sent Greece's annual inflation to 3.9 percent in March.
"The difficult international situation is adding to the already heavy burden of the cost of living for our households," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in announcing the measures.
He said that an "exceptional" payment of 150 euros ($176) per child would be made to each family in June and that nearly one million families would benefit.
Mitsotakis added that an annual payment to retirees on small pensions and the disabled would be increased to 300 euros.
A 20 cent per litre subsidy on diesel fuel for farmers, announced in March, has been extended along with a fertiliser subsidy amounting to 15 percent of the price paid, Mitsotakis said.
