The European Commission (EU) today published its annual progress report on the rule of law in all EU countries.
As regards the situation in Greece, the Commission identifies progress in the independence of the judiciary and makes four recommendations to improve the rule of law in the country.
“Greece has fully implemented the recommendation”
Overall, with regard to the recommendations of the 2023 Rule of Law Report, the Commission underlines that Greece has “fully implemented the recommendation to address the need to involve the judiciary in the appointment of the President and Vice-President of the Council of State, the Supreme Court and the Court of Auditors, taking into account European standards for the appointment of judges”.
Furthermore, it is recorded “some further progress” with regard to intensifying efforts to create a stable and reliable basis with a series of convictions and final decisions in corruption cases, including high-profile criminal corruption cases.
There was also “some further progress” in advancing the process of adopting non-statutory safeguards and significant progress in starting the legislative process in relation to the protection of journalists, building on the activities initiated by the Working Group, in particular in relation to abusive practices and prosecutions of journalists and their safety, in accordance with the approved Memorandum of Understanding and taking into account European standards for the protection of journalists.
The Commission informs that “Some progress” has been made in ensuring that stakeholders are consulted effectively and in a timely manner in practice on draft legislation, including by providing sufficient time for public consultation.
Furthermore, “some further progress” was made in taking further steps to assess the current CSO registration system, notably by initiating a structured dialogue with CSOs and assessing the need for changes.
The 4 recommendations
On this basis, and taking into account other developments during the reference period, and in addition to recalling the relevant commitments made under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the European Commission addresses four recommendations to Greece:
Firstlycontinue efforts to build a solid and reliable foundation with a series of convictions and final decisions in corruption cases, including high-profile criminal corruption cases.
In second placeto continue to make progress in the process of establishing legislative and non-legislative safeguards to improve the protection of journalists, in particular with regard to abusive actions against journalists and their safety, in accordance with the approved Memorandum of Understanding and taking into account European standards on the protection of journalists.
In third placestep up efforts to ensure, in practice, effective and timely consultation of stakeholders on draft legislation, in particular by complying with the legal timetable for public consultation.
Roomstep up efforts to assess the current legal framework of the civil society organisations registration system and assess the need to modify it, while continuing a structured dialogue with civil society organisations.
AMP Source