{"id":21956,"date":"2025-02-04T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/?p=21956"},"modified":"2025-07-02T15:35:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T12:35:55","slug":"the-state-of-the-rule-of-law-in-greece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/the-state-of-the-rule-of-law-in-greece\/","title":{"rendered":"Struggle for Accountability | The State of the Rule of Law in Greece today"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"21956\" class=\"elementor elementor-21956 elementor-21946\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0fb73e8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0fb73e8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0bcb4c6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0bcb4c6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Struggle for Accountability<br>The State of the Rule of Law in Greece today<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f8e0316 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f8e0316\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0dcf9f2 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"0dcf9f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"#press\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-icon\">\n\t\t\t\t<i aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"far fa-arrow-alt-circle-down\"><\/i>\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Read about the press conference<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69c7293 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"69c7293\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-989673a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"989673a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Executive Summary<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The European Commission&#8217;s annual Rule of Law Report is construed by the Greek government as a positive endorsement of its policies and actions. This seems to contrast sharply with the observations and concerns that have been repeatedly expressed by international organisations such as the UN and the Council of Europe about the country&#8217;s institutions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Civil society <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vouliwatch.gr\/actions\/article\/rol-letter-new-commissioner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demands<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a shift in the European Commission&#8217;s approach to the assessment of the rule of law in Greece towards placing the emphasis not on the &#8220;commitments&#8221; or &#8220;intentions&#8221; of the state but on the <\/span><b>actual situation prevailing in the country<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The reality as we\u00a0 perceive it suggests that violations of rule of law principles and values do not constitute\u00a0 isolated incidents.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Independent organisations Greek Council for Refugees (GCR), Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), HIAS Greece, Homo Digitalis, Refugee Support in the Aegean (RSA), Reporters United, Solomon and Vouliwatch document <\/span><b>systemic problems within Greek institutions that undermine the rule of law<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in our new contribution to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commission.europa.eu\/strategy-and-policy\/policies\/justice-and-fundamental-rights\/upholding-rule-law\/rule-law\/annual-rule-law-cycle_en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">European Commission\u2019s Annual Rule of Law Report<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. We identify a number of cross-cutting issues affecting different aspects of the rule of law in the country, focusing on the following:<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cc7ffe1 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cc7ffe1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f37c846 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"f37c846\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Justice System: Absence of accountability and attribution of responsibility to state institutions\n\n]<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c8ec25 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7c8ec25\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Greek judiciary systematically fails to effectively scrutinise the executive branch for wrongdoing and to assign responsibility for crimes perpetrated by state officials. The lack of accountability continues to permeate almost all facets of the rule of law and has become particularly evident in a number of recent high-profile cases that test the public\u2019s declining\u00a0 trust\u00a0 in the justice system, such as the following cases:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The investigation conducted by the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/eisap.gr\/%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%AF%CE%BD%CF%89%CF%83%CE%B7-30-7-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">found no evidence<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of wrongdoing on the part of the National Intelligence Agency (EYP) or of any public official in the <\/span><b>surveillance scandal<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In fact, the case has been shelved as far as state institutions are concerned, with no explanation for the fact that many of those targeted for surveillance by the EYP <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.in.gr\/2024\/08\/05\/greece\/apokalypsi-ti-ikseran-oi-eisaggeleis-epoptes-tis-eyp-gia-tous-28-koinous-stoxous-predator-kai-poios-tous-paraplanise\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">were also targeted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with Predator spyware or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reportersunited.gr\/13451\/areios-pagos-ypoklopes-fiasko\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for the failure<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to summon witnesses and persons who allegedly had crucial evidence relating to the case.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Council of State decided by majority to refuse to review the legality of an 2023 <\/span><b>amendment to the composition of the two constitutionally guaranteed independent authorities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Hellenic Authority for Communication Security and Privacy (ADAE) and the National Council for Radio and Television (NCRTV). The former had an active role in the investigation of the wiretapping scandal. The Court found\u00a0 that the applicant, the Athens Bar Association, had no legal interest in seeking the annulment of the relevant decisions. This decision marked a serious <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.olomeleia.gr\/el\/content\/apofasi-olomeleias-ste-istorikis-simantikotitas-dikaiokratiki-opisthodromisi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">setback<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in case law with regard to the role of bar associations in ensuring the institutional independence of independent authorities and the powers conferred on them by the Lawyers Code.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The justice system (Public Prosecutors &amp; Naval Court Prosecutor) has not triggered a single prosecution against public officials . Official data show that over 200 investigations into allegations of <\/span><b>push backs and related human rights violations against refugees and migrants by state officials<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have been archived. As highlighted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/gcr.gr\/el\/news\/press-releases\/item\/katadiki-tis-elladas-gia-proti-fora-gia-pushback-ston-evro-apo-to-eyropaiko-dikastirio-dikaiomaton-toy-anthropoy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">landmark <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A.R.E. v. Greece <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">judgement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 of 7 January 2025, the first condemnation of Greece for its &#8220;systematic practice&#8221; of push backs, no national investigation has gone beyond the stage of preliminary examination, thereby raising serious doubts about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The justice system has also proved ineffective in scrutinising <\/span><b>police violence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, leading to a fresh condemnation from the\u00a0 ECtHR in the recent <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Panayotopoulos v. Greece<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ruling. On the flip side of blanket closure of such complaints on grounds of lack of\u00a0 &#8220;sufficient evidence&#8221;, the\u00a0 practice of abusive <\/span><b>criminalisation of the very victims of state arbitrariness and of\u00a0 human rights defenders<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> persists, with prosecutions and even convictions handed down on\u00a0 highly questionable\u00a0 evidence.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An unjustifiable delay of almost 2 years in the retrieval of critical pieces of evidence on the circumstances of the Tempi accident, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.avgi.gr\/koinonia\/496338_meta-apo-21-mines-katashethike-katagrafiko-ton-synomilion-ereyna-gia-montaziera\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">specifically<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: a) the seizure of communication records and b) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kathimerini.gr\/society\/563324734\/tempi-sto-keno-i-ereyna-gia-ta-vinteo-toy-dystychimatos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reported missing footage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the security cameras of the loading station of the commercial train from the visual material submitted to the authorities, ultimately increasing the risk of rendering the collection of critical evidence impossible and\u00a0 jeopardising the effectiveness of investigations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/el\/peratosi-prokatarktikis-exetasis-apo-tin-eisangelia-tou-naftodikeiou-peiraia-gia-to-navagio-tis-pylou\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">preliminary investigation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into the <\/span><b>Pylos shipwreck<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> failed to summon officials of the National Search and Rescue Coordination Centre\u00a0 (\u0395\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1\u03af\u03bf \u039a\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf \u03a3\u03c5\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03cd \u0388\u03c1\u03b5\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b9 \u0394\u03b9\u03ac\u03c3\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7\u03c2, EKSED), the Operations Centre and the leadership of the Hellenic Coast Guard to provide explanations, despite evidence in the case file pointing clearly to the responsibility of all of the above. Only the captain and crew members of the PPLS920 vessel and the members of\u00a0 the Special Missions Squad of the Hellenic Coast Guard (KEA) on board were summoned by the Public Prosecutor&#8217;s Office for written explanations (Piraeus Naval Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Delays in the processing of judicial cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are a long-standing and systemic problem in the justice system, with Greece ranking last in the EU in the speed of resolution of civil cases at first instance and with the Council of State being by far the slowest administrative court in the EU. This despite the fact that the number of judges in the country (37.3 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022) far exceeds the European average (17.6) according to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coe.int\/en\/web\/cepej\/special-file\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">latest available data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the Council of Europe (CEPEJ).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The excessive and unjustified formalism of Greek supreme courts<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is also a major issue affecting the Greek\u00a0 judiciary, which results in the denial of justice, contrary to the obligation to ensure the right of access to justice. The ECtHR\u00a0 has consistently condemned the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dsa.gr\/%CE%BD%CE%AD%CE%B1\/%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%BF%CE%B9%CE%BD%CF%8E%CF%83%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%82\/%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B5-%CE%B1%CE%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%B3%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%83-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B8%CF%85%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%83-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CE%B1%CE%B4%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%B9%CE%B1-%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%83%CE%B2%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B7%CF%83-%CF%83%CF%84%CE%B9%CF%83-%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%BF%CF%86%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B5%CE%B9%CF%83\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">disproportionate stringency<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Greek Supreme\u00a0 Courts since 2000. Recent condemnations of the excessively formalistic attitude of the Council of State included the judgments of 4 September 2024 in Zouboulidis v Greece on the state&#8217;s compensatory liability for judicial errors and 19 November 2024 in Tsiolis v Greece on the admissibility requirements for an appeal.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b296873 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b296873\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cce3205 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cce3205\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">\u201cPoor\u201d law-making <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f718a31 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f718a31\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both the executive and the legislative powers continue to systematically disregard the rules of good law-making. 41.67% of draft laws passed in 2024 were put out to public consultation for a period shorter than the two weeks foreseen in law. Furthermore, in the vast majority of the cases examined (44 out of 48 laws), the draft submitted to Parliament contained more provisions than the corresponding draft law submitted for consultation. Thus,<\/span> <b>more than 300 articles appear to have been adopted without having gone through the public consultation stage<\/b><b>.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The practice of tabling and passing both <\/span><b>late and irrelevant amendments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> remains a frequent phenomenon. More than half of last year&#8217;s amendments &#8211; 43 out of a total of 76 &#8211; were tabled on the day or the eve of the parliamentary plenary session for the passage of the bill, and almost all of them &#8211; 73 out of a total of 76 &#8211; contained provisions unrelated to the main subject matter of the bill. Similar concerns are raised by the phenomenon of the adoption of <\/span><b>&#8216;omnibus legislation&#8217;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which can be described as anything but isolated incidents, as suggested by the fact that the terms &#8216;other provisions\/regulations&#8217; were found in the titles of 37 laws.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recurrent amendment of laws even shortly after their adoption may be indicative of the haste and sloppiness that characterizes the preparation and adoption of laws, or perhaps of the frequent inability to implement these new provisions. Indicatively we note that the provisions of the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure were amended by six different laws in 2024 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hellenicparliament.gr\/Nomothetiko-Ergo\/Anazitisi-Nomothetikou-Ergou?law_id=6bb76944-57fd-4667-83ea-b265017dec45\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and again<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in January 2025.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e29d21c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"e29d21c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-88ed393 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"88ed393\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Freedom of the press: At the bottom of the EU for the third year<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c799a35 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c799a35\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the third year running, Greece has been ranked at the bottom of the EU in terms of press freedom, as the pattern of concentration of media ownership by big business, combined with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wearesolomon.com\/el\/mag\/format-el\/erevnes\/poioi-elegxoyn-ta-mme-stin-ellada-12-1-symperasmata\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">control of<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sports teams and shipping, is reinforced, while key data on media ownership is missing from the NCRTV&#8217;s public database.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, incidents of state interference or lack of objectivity in state broadcaster ERT, as well as<\/span> <b>attacks and abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs) against journalists<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> continue to be reported. An emblematic example is the at least 16 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reportersunited.gr\/15145\/slapp-agogi-dimitriadis-ypoklopes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">lawsuits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> filed by the nephew and former <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Secretary-General<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Prime Minister, Grigoris Dimitriadis, against media and journalists for their investigation into the wiretapping scandal. The first of these was dismissed by theGreek judiciary in October 2024 and has been appealed by Mr. Dimitriadis.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-97274af e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"97274af\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aa40990 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"aa40990\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Breaches of data protection obligations by state authorities<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d5b95fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d5b95fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The failure of the Greek authorities to protect personal data was highlighted last year by a series of <\/span><b>substantial fines imposed by the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (\u0391\u03c1\u03c7\u03ae \u03a0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03c2 \u0394\u03b5\u03b4\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd \u03a0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03c9\u03c0\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03cd \u03a7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1\u03b1, DPA) on various ministries and the police force<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The violations related to issues such as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dpa.gr\/el\/enimerwtiko\/prakseisArxis\/epiboli-prostimoy-kai-entoli-symmorfosis-se-eyroboyleyti-kai-sto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">leak of voter data <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">outside the Ministry of Interior and their use by an MEP to promote political communication, the &#8220;Centaur&#8221; and &#8220;Hyperion&#8221; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dpa.gr\/en\/enimerwtiko\/press-releases\/ministry-migration-and-asylum-receives-administrative-fine-and-gdpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">surveillance systems<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Closed Controlled Access Centres (CCAC)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the Eastern Aegean islands and the process of issuing new <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dpa.gr\/el\/enimerwtiko\/prakseisArxis\/apofasi-gia-neo-typo-deltion-taytotitas-ton-ellinon-politon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greek identity cards.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-07f6e17 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"07f6e17\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff4b8d2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ff4b8d2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Anti-Corruption Framework: ignoring the rules of transparency<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4419177 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4419177\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The gap between the tendency to over-legislate and the failure to implement these laws, as well as the chronic difficulty for citizens to access public information, are some of the main challenges to effectively ensuring transparency and accountability and, ultimately, to effectively fighting corruption. We note that:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The effectiveness of the implementation of the<\/span> <b>law on lobbying<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is questionable, as is the adequacy of the controls (if any) carried out. The data published in the Transparency Register show <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vouliwatch.gr\/actions\/article\/lobbying-apantisi-ead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">serious shortcomings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the registration of both &#8220;lobbyists&#8221; and &#8220;institutional stakeholders&#8221;. Furthermore, the extremely low number of registered interest representatives and recorded meetings demonstrates the limited coverage of the law, which excludes &#8220;in-house lobbyists&#8221;, who constitute the vast majority of lobbying in Greece.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The required transparency on gifts to political figures is not being ensured in practice. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vouliwatch.gr\/actions\/article\/dora-kyvernisis-lista-dimosieusi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">list of gifts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the Prime Minister and the 60 Ministers and Deputy Ministers of the Government was only published following multiple requests and interventions by Civil Society, and with a format and content that raises concerns. Furthermore, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the list in question is\u00a0 found in a seemingly informal document that lacks a date, stamp or signature, and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">refers to a total of only 25 gifts with four political figures as recipients between 2022-2023. Records of gifts to MPs have yet to be published.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Presidency of the Government has still not published the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vouliwatch.gr\/actions\/article\/lista-synergaton-kivernisi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">centralised<\/span><\/a> <b>electronic list of the staff of the private offices<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Secretaries General and Special Secretaries, nor the annual report with <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the total number of associates and their salary scale<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s, despite GRECO&#8217;s recommendations in this regard. The websites of most ministries do not contain details of the staff members of private offices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The deadlines for submitting <\/span><b>asset declarations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by politicians are almost never met, as extensions are constantly granted. Extensions granted in 2024, as in previous years, have led to the current situation in which the declarations for the years 2023 (fiscal year 2022) and 2024 (fiscal year 2023) have not been submitted &#8211; and thus also have not been audited or made public.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>law on whistleblowers<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> also does not appear to be being enforced, as<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vouliwatch.gr\/actions\/article\/whistleblowers-ead\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the number of<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> public and private bodies that have established internal reporting channels and the number of bodies and especially ministries that have not complied with the (at least formal) obligations set by the law remain unknown.\u00a0 Rather, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kathimerini.gr\/politics\/563425975\/novartis-sto-edolio-oi-proin-prostateyomenoi-martyres-dioxi-gia-dyo-plimmelimata\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">recent withdrawal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of legal protection for two witnesses in the Novartis case and their subsequent prosecution raise serious doubts about the future of whistleblowing in the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ebb153 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3ebb153\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d41c3c3 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"d41c3c3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9cce21a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9cce21a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We will continue civil society&#8217;s efforts to support the monitoring of the rule of law by providing reliable and timely information from our different areas of work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We call on the European Commission to conduct a thorough review of the state of the rule of law in Greece and to make clear recommendations for immediate and concrete commitments by the Greek government.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d8b84de e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d8b84de\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50b4c0a elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"50b4c0a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/RoL2025_JointSubmission_CSO_Greece.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Insta-Joint-Report-ENG-819x1024.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-21973\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Insta-Joint-Report-ENG-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Insta-Joint-Report-ENG-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Insta-Joint-Report-ENG-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Insta-Joint-Report-ENG-400x500.jpg 400w, https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Insta-Joint-Report-ENG.jpg 950w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dee2c2a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"dee2c2a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" id=\"press\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-283f55d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"283f55d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Press Conference<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f67161 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5f67161\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>On Tuesday 4 February, a Press Conference on the current state of the Rule of Law in Greece was successfully held at the Athens Bar Association with a significant turnout. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The event was organised by the independent organisations <\/span><b>Greek Council for Refugees<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (GCR), <\/span><b>Hellenic League for Human Rights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (HLHR), <\/span><b>HIAS Greece<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>Homo Digitalis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>Refugee Support Aegean<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (RSA), <\/span><b>Reporters United<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><b>Solomon<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><b>Vouliwatch<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96bacec elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"96bacec\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\">You can watch the press conference here:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/RtcNlo4_vtQ?si=gAKsLoYOoXJbpTkH\" style=\"background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/RtcNlo4_vtQ?si=gAKsLoYOoXJbpTkH&nbsp;<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-540d573 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget-mobile__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"540d573\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/RtcNlo4_vtQ?si=rJYvrUC-vAYLtW9y\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ae88a59 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"ae88a59\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\">We warmly thank <a href=\"https:\/\/omniatv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Omnia TV<\/a> for organizing and hosting the online broadcast.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-da54969 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"da54969\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>The event was moderated by journalist Natasa Giamali. Representatives of the collaborating organisations presented the main points of the <\/b><b>joint report<\/b><b> submitted <\/b><b>for the third consecutive year to the European Commission on the Rule of Law in Greece in 2024<\/b><b>. This submission is part of the Commission\u2019s annual review of national systems.<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The speakers emphasised the key systemic issues undermining the Rule of Law in Greece. These issues, coupled with the growing <\/span><b>authoritarianism in politics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>attacks on human rights<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, cast a dark shadow over <\/span><b>democracy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, posing significant <\/span><b>threats<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The urgency of the organisations&#8217; call to the European Commission was also highlighted, pressing a <\/span><b>shift in its approach<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the need to focus not on the state\u2019s \u201ccommitments\u201d or \u201cintentions\u201d but on the accurate depiction of the situation in the country. <\/span><b>Systematic violations of the fundamental principles<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Rule of Law must not be treated as <\/span><b>isolated incidents<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Alexandros Mantzoutsos<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Counselor and former Vice President of the Athens Bar Association, delivered a brief greeting.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Key presentations of the report<\/b><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Stefanos Loukopoulos, Director of Vouliwatch<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhen the State itself undermines principles, procedures, and institutional counterweights through authoritarianism, impunity, and legal inconsistency, it fuels citizens&#8217; distrust in institutions and leads, with mathematical certainty, to societal authoritarianism, with incalculable consequences for the future of Democracy.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Minos Mouzourakis, lawyer at Refugee Support Aegean (RSA)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere is a common thread connecting the Tempi train crash, the Pylos shipwreck, the wiretapping of politicians and journalists, the violent disappearances of refugees in Evros and the Aegean, and police brutality: the inability of the Greek justice system to fulfil its duty to attribute responsibility for arbitrariness and criminal offences perpetrated by the state.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/li><\/ul><p><b>Additional statements from representatives of the other organisations<\/b><\/p><p><b>Alexandros Konstantinou, Lawyer, Greek Council for Refugees (GCR):<br \/><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRecently, the European Court of Human Rights found for the first time the ineffectiveness of the Greek criminal justice system in investigating pushback cases (A.R.E. v. Greece, Judgment of 7 January 2025). These cases, involving unlawful actions by state authorities, strike at the core of the Rule of Law. This finding by the Court comes at a time when issues of accountability and justice are central to public discourse and should seriously concern all relevant state bodies, including the Greek Judiciary.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><b>Elli Kriona-Saranti, Lawyer, HIAS Greece:<br \/><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe trend of abusive criminalisation of migrants, human rights defenders and lawyers as smugglers persists, despite continued objections from national, international and European human rights bodies.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><b>Thodoris Chondrogiannos, Journalist, Reporters United:<br \/><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;The wiretapping scandal highlights the systemic flaws in the Rule of Law amidst systematic violations of the constitutionally guaranteed confidentiality of communications: Government attacks against the President of ADAE, judicial harassment of its members, the violation of the enhanced majority requirement of the Conference of Presidents of Parliament (\u2157) for replacing ADAE members and preventing sanctions against the National Intelligence Service (EYP), the obstruction of investigating the joint EYP-Predator center, and the &#8216;legalisation&#8217; of surveillance against ministers, politicians, journalists, and military officials, the violation of the obligation of EYP to immediately inform ADAE, and lawsuits against journalists.&#8221;<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><b>Danai Maragoudaki, Journalist, Solomon:<br \/><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe excessive concentration of major media outlets in the hands of a few powerful business-people, the interdependence of the media, the state, and the banks, and the inability of regulatory authorities to ensure the necessary level of transparency create a suffocating operating environment that undermines not only pluralism but democracy as a whole in the country.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><b>Katerina Pournara, Lawyer, Vice President of the Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR):<br \/><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn a period when trust in democratic institutions is shaken by incidents such as the Tempi train crash and the Pylos shipwreck, unreasonable and unlawful police violence not only threatens individual freedoms but also undermines democracy, fostering the authoritarianism of state institutions.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><p><b>Lamprini Gyftokosta, Director of Human Rights &amp; Artificial Intelligence, Homo Digitalis:<br \/><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe protection of personal data is a fundamental right and a critical issue for democracy and transparency in our country. The fines imposed by the Data Protection Authority, amounting to \u20ac775,000 on three Ministries in 2024 alone, highlight the non-compliance of state bodies with existing legislation, undermining the Rule of Law and deepening citizens\u2019 mistrust in institutions.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-253f30e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"253f30e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;,&quot;sticky&quot;:&quot;bottom&quot;,&quot;sticky_on&quot;:[&quot;desktop&quot;,&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;mobile&quot;],&quot;sticky_offset&quot;:0,&quot;sticky_effects_offset&quot;:0,&quot;sticky_anchor_link_offset&quot;:0}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2554ba5 elementor-align-center elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"2554ba5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/RoL2025_JointSubmission_CSO_Greece.pdf\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Download the full report<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The State of the Rule of Law in Greece today\u200b<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":21969,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[207,5,274,9,343,137],"tags":[336,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-21956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-other-topics","8":"category-publications","9":"category-quality-of-the-asylum-procedure","10":"category-reports","11":"category-rule-of-law-in-greece","12":"category-topics","13":"tag-2025-2","14":"tag-featured"},"menu_order":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21956"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22046,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21956\/revisions\/22046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21969"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsaegean.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}