Back pension pay: Government between a rock and a hard place

The Greek government is facing the consequences of complying with a four-year-old decision by the Council of State, the country's highest administrative court, that determined pension cuts kicking in in 2013, as well as the abolition of the Christmas bonus, were unconstitutional.

Were the government to fully comply with the decision, in its widest interpretation, it would have to pay back a whopping 4.2 billion euros ($4.7 billion) a year from July 2015 - when the court issued its decision - to December 2018. And this covers only those who sued for back pay after the Council of State's decision. If one includes the (few) pensioners who had sued between 2012 and July 2015, the cost rises even higher.

There is a dispute among legal experts about paying back sums due from July 2015 to May 2016, when the provisions of the new pension reform law kicked in. Labor Minister...