During the parliamentary debate on the Education Ministry bill on “the National System for Professional Education, Training and Lifelong Learning,” Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis presented the prospects opening up for our country through the establishment of the Student Visa.
“Our goal is for the Student Visa amendment to impart momentum to Greece as an International Educational Centre,” stressed the Alternate Minister, who took the relevant initiative with the Migration and Asylum Ministry.
This particular legislative regulation is part of the government’s broader strategy for lending openness to the Greek education system and, at the same time, increasing the number of visitors to Greece.
As Mr. Varvitsiotis said, the amendment streamlines the bureaucratic procedures so that university students from third countries can attend degree programmes at public and private institutions in Greece, even during the summer.
He also referred to the government’s endeavour to export culture and education. “Our intangible exports are often even more substantial than our tangible exports. And I think that making it easier for these people to study in Greece is an important step,” he stressed.
In his speech, Mr. Varvitsiotis presented the framework in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is modernising the visa regime, which includes the Business Visa (established at the beginning of the year) and the Student Visa (established today), and the next step is the establishment of the digital visa, which is designed to attract people who work in advanced tech.
Finally, the Alternate Minister, commenting on the submission of an objection, on the grounds of unconstitutionality, to the ratification of the agreement on the Greek-German Youth Foundation, which is included in the bill, stressed that the opposition was overreacting. He underscored the importance of expanding our relations with Germany both bilaterally and in the context of the EU, as well as on the basis of mutual understanding of historical issues that are painful to us. He noted that “the promotion, ratification and operation of the Greek-German Youth Foundation will be able to go a long way towards fostering understanding and knowledge of History, and acceptance of the tragic events of the past, so that coming generations say, “Never again!”
December 17, 2020