The Commission attaches great importance to the situation of people with disabilities in all Member States of the EU. The European Pillar of Social Rights calls for rights to social protection and states that ‘People with disabilities have the right to income support that ensures living in dignity’ (principle 17). While the design and management of social protection systems, including pensions and health systems, are primarily a responsibility of the Member States, the Commission provides guidance and supports Member States through mutual learning, policy analysis and monitoring.

The Mutual Information System on Social Protection (MISSOC)[1] provides comparative information on the benefits that persons with a recognised disability are entitled to in different Member States. The data base does not include information on the specific diagnoses, including autism that may lead to the recognition of such an entitlement.

Information on Social Protection can also be found in the ‘Ageing Report’[2], the ‘Pension Adequacy Report’[3], the ‘Joint Report on Health Care and Long-Term Care Systems and Fiscal Sustainability’[4] and the 2014 report on long-term care[5].

Since 2010, Greece is under a Macroeconomic Adjustment Programme aimed at addressing the country's imbalances.

In this context, the Commission's Structural Reform Support Service (SRSS) provides technical support to the Greek Government on the review of the disability assessment system in line with international best practices.

• [1] http://www.missoc.org/
• [2] http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/european_economy/ageing_report/index_en.htm (the 2018 report is expected in May 2018)
• [3] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=89&newsId=2339 (the 2018 report is expected in May 2018)
• [4] https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/economy-finance/joint-report-healthcare-and-long-term-care-systems-fiscal-sustainability-0_en
• [5] http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=792