According to what was made known by the General Secretariat for Coordination of the Presidency of the Government, “Greece records high performance in the evaluation, as for the first time progress has been made in all the recommendations formulated by the Commission in last year’s Report, while the emblematic legislative intervention with which ensures the participation of the Judiciary itself in the selection of its leadership, is hailed as a particularly important advance.
For 2024, only four recommendations are addressed to Greece (which is among the highest averages in the European Union). In particular, 18 EU member states accept more recommendations than Greece in this year’s report (including Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, etc.). Greece shows improvement, with 4 recommendations together with 3 other countries (Luxembourg, Sweden, Croatia), 4 countries receive 3 recommendations (France, Lithuania, Denmark, Estonia) and 1 country, Latvia, 2 recommendations.
In particular, in this year’s report on Greece:
“The important steps to digitize justice and increase the efficiency and speed of its delivery are recognized, for example through the revision of the country’s Judicial Charter and the Regulation of the Council of State. In addition, the priority that Greece has given to the utilization of the Recovery and Resilience Program to strengthen the Rule of Law and the consistent implementation of the relevant reforms is underlined.
It recognizes the further progress Greece has made in the fight against corruption in a tangible and measurable way, and, in line with OECD standards, by strengthening provisions on the criminal liability of legal persons and bribery. At the same time, it is pointed out the completeness of the legislation on how to proceed, which allows a significant percentage of controls to be carried out, as well as the measures taken to strengthen transparency and integrity in public procurement procedures.
Significant progress has been made in strengthening the administrative and legislative framework for the operation of the media, in accordance with European standards for the protection of journalists, the strengthening of transparency around their ownership status and the protection of freedom of speech and journalistic activity from malicious lawsuits with quantifiable evidence, which will be further strengthened following the recent abolition of the offense of simple defamation from the Criminal Code.
Equally important is the progress made in improving the legislative process, which has increased the average time for public consultation, reduced amendments as well as the number of regulations per amendment and eliminated last-minute amendments.
Finally, the further progress made in the cooperation of the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum with Civil Society Organizations through the establishment of a structured dialogue that will lead to relevant legislative initiatives aimed at facilitating their activity, as well as the positive developments in terms of interoperability of their public registration registers’.
In addition: “As every year, this year too, the Report records a series of recommendations as well as observations, which constitute a road map for prioritizing interventions in specific policy areas. The response of our country and the progress achieved in terms of this year’s recommendations, confirm that Greece looks forward to cooperation, first of all with the institutional partners and Civil Society, but also the European Commission and the other Member States, in the context of this continuous exercise of improving the operation of the Rule of Law in Europe and of course in our country”.
What is the annual report on the Rule of Law
In the relevant update it is recalled that “the annual report on the Rule of Law is a self-checking process established in 2020 that allows Member States and European institutions to carry out an analytical mapping of the functioning of the institutions of democracy and justice, to identify weaknesses and good practices, create a background for policy convergence and harmonization and ultimately ensure that Europe continues to have the highest standards around the Rule of Law on a global scale. Every year, the analyzes contained in the report become more substantial and more detailed, increasing its added value, while the provision of specific recommendations for three years has enhanced its impact.
The report covers developments in four key areas: justice systems, anti-corruption framework, media freedom and pluralism and other institutional issues linked to the institutional counterweights of a democratic state. The 2024 report assesses the state of the rule of law in the 27 Member States of the Union, including a follow-up to the recommendations made in 2023, and important developments at EU level since July 2023. It consists of a general report and individual chapters by country for EU Member States. For all Member States, the report also includes specific recommendations, aimed at further assisting them in their efforts to advance ongoing reforms and help them identify where improvements are needed.’
For all these reasons, as it is added, “the Greek Government supports from the first moment this interactive process on the state of the Rule of Law in Europe, actively participating in all phases of the preparation of the Report by the European Commission, but also utilizing the then for the promotion of targeted reforms by the Greek Authorities.
In order to better respond to the requirements of the exercise, an inter-ministerial Task Force has been set up under the Presidency of the Government and the DG Coordination, with the participation of all the co-competent Ministries of Justice, Immigration, Interior, Press and Information, which monitors throughout the year the progress and the challenges that arise in each sector examined by the report and ensures the interconnection of the relevant initiatives with the reform program of the Government”.
At the same time and in order to “further strengthen the participation of the interested institutional partners and representatives of Civil Society around the issues of strengthening the Rule of Law in view of the sixth cycle that starts today, the Task Force intends to launch an open process of regular dialogue. In this way, we intend to create a fruitful platform for depositing ideas and dealing with malfunctions, which will be based on the common assumption that from the further strengthening of the Rule of Law, every citizen will be a winner”, it is noted in the relevant update.
On the subject, the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, said: “Equitable development, attracting more and better investments, reducing inequalities and citizens’ trust in democratic institutions are directly linked to the functioning of the rule of law. This year’s European Commission’s report on the rule of law confirms that our efforts to bring Greece closer to Europe are paying off and bearing fruit. We are not resting, as there are other critical areas in which we need to accelerate and improve in order to have a more functional and inclusive democracy.”
For his part, the Minister of Justice, Giorgos Floridis, emphasized that “the systematic effort of the Greek government to continuously strengthen the Rule of Law is paying off and is being validated in an official and valid way through the highest European institutional framework. We will constantly strive for the institutional improvement of the state in the direction of serving the Greek citizens and institutional convergence with Europe”.
The Deputy Minister of Justice, Yiannis Bougas, pointed out that “this year’s Report of the European Commission on the Rule of Law reflects Greece’s significant progress towards institutional upgrading and further strengthening of the Judiciary. Citizens’ equal access to the independent judiciary undoubtedly constitutes an effective institutional counterweight and guarantor of the Rule of Law. By implementing the Government’s legislative initiatives, we continue to defend individual freedoms, social rights, transparency and equality. Greece, with a high sense of justice, achieves stability, economic development and social well-being”.
Finally, the government representative and deputy minister to the prime minister, responsible for press and information matters, Pavlos Marinakis, underlined that “the European Commission’s report vindicates the government’s efforts for more transparency, flexibility of the state, faster administration of justice and protection of freedom of the press. At the same time, it is a resounding response to those who systematically attempt to slander Greece abroad with fake news. It is important that for the first time progress has been made in each of the recommendations made by the Commission in last year’s Report, while special mention is made of the further progress found in empowering the media, transparency in their ownership status, effective protection of journalists from malicious lawsuits and ensuring their safety. We certainly have more to do. After all, ensuring the quality of our Republic is a constant bet for all of us”.
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