Athens, 11 February 2021

First annual Rule of Law situation in the EU report on agenda of joint meeting of Special Permanent European Affairs Committee and Permanent Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice

The conclusions of the European Commission report on the Rule of Law situation in our country were discussed in the joint meeting of the Special Permanent European Affairs Committee and the Permanent Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice of the Hellenic Parliament. The members of the two competent committees were briefed by EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders and the Justice Minister Kostas Tsiaras. 

The 1st Vice-President of the Parliament and Chairman of the European Affairs Committee Nikitas Kaklamanis stressed that the Rule of Law is the value system that shores up European unification and is intertwined with our democratic regimes and the European way of life. He emphasised that national parliaments are the natural recipients of the European Commission's Report on the Rule of Law situation and should act as a lever for promoting the necessary reforms, through parliamentary scrutiny. 

In his speech, the Commissioner referred to the important reforms that Greece has made in the last decade in the field of justice and to the effort to expand and upgrade the digitalisation of its services, making good use of the Recovery Fund, and estimating that they will improve the quality and rate of administration of justice. He characterized as equally important the reforms to fight corruption, pointing out shortcomings in the regulatory framework on lobbying and whistle-blower protection. Regarding media pluralism, the Commissioner pointed out the gaps in transparency in media ownership. Summing up, Mr. Reynders called on MPs to give further impetus to the reforms, in order to further improve respect for the Rule of Law in Greece and in the EU overall. 

Justice Minister Tsiaras described the discussion on the situation of the Rule of law as timely, considering that during the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic the fundamental rights of citizens around the world need to be safeguarded. Commenting on the report's conclusions, he referred to an array of ongoing reforms and assured that speeding up the digitalisation of courts is a priority for the Ministry, a fact that is reflected in the study on the improvement and efficiency of the judicial system that has been incorporated into the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. 

 

 

 High resolution images







Back