The impact of economic recession in Greece on welfare rights Stylianos Ioannis Tzagkarakis, PhD Candidate, Researcher of Centre for Human Rights, Department of Political Science, University of Crete Apostolos Kamekis, PhD Candidate, Clinic of Social and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Researcher of Centre for Human Rights, Department of Political Science, University of Crete Abstract The constitutional recognition of welfare rights was enacted after several social conflicts. The main welfare right pillars are health provision services and social security. In Greece, the welfare state expanded during the 80's but its distorted and rapid growth contributed mainly to the construction of an unviable and inefficient system. Moreover, the Greek public sector was largely based on extensive facilities serving more the interests of the political patronage system rather than their fundamental purpose. The global financial crisis which affected the country’s economy from 2008 onwards is the result of the inherent weaknesses of the Greek state as well as external factors such as the other Eurozone member states and the International Monetary Fund. The crisis uncovered the dysfunctions of the public sector and the welfare state. One of the intrinsic factors that contribute to the creation of the dysfunctional welfare state in Greece is the ineffective health care costs, due to the lack of auditing mechanisms. The high cost accounting of the health care system was one of the main factors that led to the financial crash of the social insurance funds. The result of the multiple economic pressures on the Greek government was the implementation of fiscal consolidation measures which dramatically reduces the income of the middle and lower economic groups. Social rights, due to their flexibility can be permitted reductions more easily than other rights and this fact can cause the creation of new social and economic inequalities. It is true that equal opportunities and social solidarity are two social values that have been hard hit by the austerity measures. The purpose of this article is both to highlight the impact of the financial crisis in Greek society because of public spending cuts in health and social security and other social benefits, and to design policy proposals that will contribute to the achievement of a balance between efficiency of social services and substantial social protection.