The Greek diaspora in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union

Finally, the Pontians enjoy some facilitations and tax
exemptions that are applied only to them. They can bring
their car without paying any duties, under the condition
that they have owned it for at least six months before emigration
and that they will not sell it for the next five years.
Furthermore, they can bring their belongings (clothes,
furniture, household appliances) and sell them without
paying any duties.
At this point it should be noted once more that these
facilitations, tax exemptions, and so on. apply only to those
Pontians who followed the legal procedures and declared
their emigration to the Greek embassy in Moscow.
Formation of support institutions – the Thrace Programme
The increasing ethnic conflicts in the Soviet Union after
1985 and the mass emigration of the Pontians that this
provoked caused a lot of problems in Greece. Because the
Greek authorities were not prepared for such an influx of
emigrants there was no (material or other) substructure
in place to support them. As a result, the Pontians who
arrived in Greece from 1986 to 1990 had to face a lot of
difficulties, e.g. unemployment, homelessness, linguistic
difficulties, and their different social background, without
any substantial support from the Greek authorities (except
the aid policies we referred to earlier). Most of them settled
in urban areas, mainly in Athens and its suburbs. Governmental
intervention in favour of these people was urgently
needed; thus, on 13 December 1990, the Ministry of External
Affairs founded the National Institution for the Reception
and Rehabilitation of Greek Immigrants (EIYAPOE),
which started its work on 1 January 1991.
EIYAPOE was founded, in the first place, in order to
support and facilitate the reception of the Pontians exclusively.
Afterwards, when the refugee influx from Albania
began, it broadened its mandate to them. EIYAPOE is
financed both from Greek and European sources: 40.6 percent
of its financing is provided by the Greek government
(Ministry of External Affairs), 11.4 percent by the European
Union (subsidies and rehabilitation programmes),
16.9 percent by loans (mostly from the Social Rehabilitation
Fund of the European Council), and the remaining 31
percent by other sources (donations, interest rates, etc.).
EIYAPOE’s main task is the implementation of the
Thrace Programme. This programme is a complete plan for
the social integration of the Pontians into Greek society. It
has four steps:
• Hospitality Centres (first reception centres),
• Reception Settlements (preparation for social integration),
• Accommodation in Rented Residences – Vocational Rehabilitation,
• Permanent Residence.
At the first step of the programme, the aim is to give some
help to the arriving migrants. The Hospitality Centres are
either EIYAPOE settlements or are based on student campuses
or in hotels and are supposed to receive the Pontians
for 15–30 days and provide them with a place to sleep,
food, medical treatment, a translation of their documents,
lessons in the Greek language and any information that is
needed. Unfortunately, after 1993 it was decided that Hospitality
Centres should be limited or removed for three
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