Volodymyr Ohryzko: “Pensions for Ukrainians in Europe are just a good intention, nothing more”
28 June 2024 13:15
EXCLUSIVE
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution recommending that member states grant Ukrainian pensioners living in Europe official status and pay them pensions. This was reported by Oleksiy Honcharenko, a member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, as quoted by "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Ukrainian pensioners should be officially granted pensioner status in the European countries where they live. Accordingly, they should receive pensions in these countries. This will strengthen social security for the elderly, including medical care. The necessary medical care should include emergency care and necessary treatment of diseases,”
– the MP wrote on social media.
However, not everyone shares Honcharenko’s optimism. Diplomat Volodymyr Ohryzko is more sceptical. In an exclusive commentary to Komersant ukrainskyi
, he stressed that so far, it is only a resolution.
“All resolutions of this type are advisory in nature… Whether this will happen is a rhetorical question, because many governments, on the contrary, say that they want to help Ukrainians who will return home,”
– the diplomat commented.
Ogryzko also emphasises the lack of specific data to make or evaluate the decision:
“I do not have information on the number of people of retirement age who are now abroad, and I do not know if anyone has such an accumulated figure. If such a solution is found, it will still be distributed among the governments of the respective countries.”
For now, he believes, it is only a matter of good intentions on the part of the PACE:
“So far, it’s just a good intention, but nothing more.”
