The issues addressed cover the implementation of the European regulations in the field of social security. Among the topics discussed were the possibilities of speeding up the processing of the pension applications for individuals with Bulgarian and Greek insurance periods and the implementation of the electronic exchange of data and information.
The meeting ended with signing of a bilateral cooperation agreement between the two institutions. The Governor of NSSI Mr Biser Petkov and the Deputy Governor of IKA-ETAM Mr Dionysius Patsuris signed the agreement.
The Agreement defines forms of cooperation and organization of joint activities aiming optimization of services and improvement of the information exchange. It was agreed, in order to implement effectively the regulations for social security coordination of the European Union, to exchange regularly data and information between NSSI and IKA-ETAM.
The agreement includes the decision of conducting joint expert consultation days for provision of specific information to citizens according to the current legislation on pension rights. During the talks, the representatives of the Greek institution indicated that the insured persons have the opportunity (within two years before the statutory retirement age) to require from the specialized units of IKA-ETAM certification of insurance for periods up to 2002, thereby subsequently the applying and the processing of a pension will be facilitated and more expeditious. The Greek side made a commitment to take the necessary steps to accelerate the retirement procedure.
