The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Greece
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 29 September 2026 (31st sitting) (see Doc. 16470, report
of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments
by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee),
co-rapporteurs: Ms Laura Castel and Ms Miapetra Kumpula-Natri). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 29 September 2026 (31st sitting).Provisional
version subject to editorial review.
1. Greece became
the 11th member State of the Council of Europe on 9 August 1949,
only a couple of months after its establishment by the 10 founding
countries. Upon its accession, the country committed itself to respect
the obligations incumbent upon every member State under Article 3
of the Statute of the Council of Europe (ETS No. 1) with regard
to pluralist democracy, the rule of law and human rights. To date,
Greece has signed and ratified 108 Council of Europe treaties, and
has signed 58 without ratification. Since the latest periodic review,
5 treaties have been signed without ratification, and 11 have been
ratified, 10 of which have entered in force.
2. The latest periodic review was held in 2018, just a few years
after Greece had emerged from the most severe systemic economic
crisis in its recent history. In its
Resolution 2203
(2018), the Parliamentary Assembly concluded that the country
was generally fulfilling its membership obligations and that its
democratic institutions functioned in line with the Organisation’s
standards but identified various concerns and made recommendations
across all three pillars of the Organisation’s mission.
3. Since then, Greece has notably ratified:
3.1 the Council of Europe Convention
on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds
from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (ETS No. 198);
3.2 the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating
Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)
(ETS No. 210);
3.3 Protocols No. 15 (ETS No. 213) and No. 16 (ETS No. 214)
to the European Convention on Human Rights.
4. The deep and prolonged economic recession which struck Greece
from 2009 to 2015 had significant adverse effects on the economy
and the labour market. Consequently, the country was required to
make harsh structural reforms and introduce austerity measures – spending
cuts and tax increases – to bring its deficit under control, which
helped the economy to gradually recover with growth, but triggered
intense social discontent and gave rise to widespread protests.
5. With considerable sacrifices by its citizens, Greece has achieved
significant progress. Fifty-two years after its restoration, the
Hellenic Republic is characterised by stable State institutions
and constitutional guarantees that ensure fundamental freedoms,
the orderly alternation of governments in power, and a legal framework
for the protection of fundamental rights and liberties. Greece now
enjoys robust economic conditions, its asylum system has been reformed,
and its democratic environment strengthened. Key improvements since
2017 include a reduction in overall unemployment from 20.7% to below
8%, and a decrease in female unemployment from 25% to 9.8%, marking
the lowest level since records began. The ratio of Greek sovereign
debt to GDP has fallen by 30 percentage points. Relative to the
European Union average, growth is high and tax rates are low. As
a symbol of this recovery, on 11 June 2025, the Eurogroup elected Mr Kyriakos
Pierrakakis, Greece’s Minister of Finance, as its president. Progress
have also been made in the digitalisation of government operations
and e-administration.
6. Simultaneously, Greece plays an important role on the international
stage. The country has taken a leadership role in the process of
European integration of the Western Balkans. Its diplomatic influence
has also extended to security and defence matters within the Mediterranean
area, due to its critical position along sensitive migration routes:
it acts as a major frontline supervisor of Europe’s external borders.
7. At the same time, the Assembly notes significant persisting
challenges with regard to the functioning of democratic institutions
in the country. Inter alia, corruption among high level public officials;
government interference in sensitive judicial investigations; legislation
jeopardising the action of civil society organisations in the field
of migration and asylum; violence against migrants by internal security
forces; and the use of Predator spyware against politicians and
journalists are matters of concern.
8. The Assembly takes great interest in the plans by the ruling
majority to amend the Constitution, in particular to make judicial
removal procedures independent of political power and to review
the method of appointing judicial officials. This proposal could
potentially enhance the transparency and robustness of the political
and judicial system, while also promoting a spirit of compromise
between political forces in order to secure a qualified majority.
9. In line with the recommendations it made in 2018 related to
worrying shortcomings, the Assembly calls on Greece to:
9.1 issue a declaration authorising
national NGOs to lodge collective complaints, in accordance with the
Additional Protocol to the European Social Charter Providing for
a System of Collective Complaints (ETS No. 158);
9.2 ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on Human
Rights (ETS No. 177), which protects citizens from discrimination
by any public authority “on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
association with a national minority, property, birth or other status”;
9.3 ratify the European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166);
9.4 sign and ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages (ETS No. 148), and ratify the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities (ETS No. 157).
10. As Greece has not taken into account these last two conventions,
it is subject only to the general rules of the Organisation and
the European Court of Human Rights (hereafter “the Court”) regarding
protection of national minorities. The Assembly regrets that the
Greek authorities do not currently intend to ratify these two conventions,
referring, in particular, to the legal framework established by
the Treaty of Lausanne for the Muslim Minority in Thrace and to
the protection afforded under Greek law to the rights to individual
self-identification and freedom of association. The Assembly also
calls upon the Greek authorities to invest in the preservation of
Vlach heritage in Northern Greece.
11. The Assembly notes with satisfaction the dismantlement of
the Golden Dawn party – which espoused an ideology with neo-Nazi
overtones – after its founder and leader, along with senior members,
were found guilty of “leading and belonging to a criminal organisation
[…] masquerading as a political party”. Furthermore, the Assembly
notes that the three members of parliament who were elected in June
2023 on a list regarded as an offshoot of Golden Dawn have been
stripped of their seats by the country’s highest court.
12. When it comes to combating discrimination, the Assembly appreciates
that Greece adopted, on 16 February 2024, law No. 5089/2024 legalising
same-sex marriage and granting adoption rights to all couples.
13. The Assembly views with concern the reported cases of ill-treatment,
abuse or even racist behaviour by internal security forces, particularly
against Roma, supported by the Court’s case law, as well as the
fact that since 2018 the Greek authorities have not yet established
an effective and fully independent police complaints body.
14. The Assembly expects that the compliance measures taken by
Greece to enforce the Court’s judgments and harmonise its legal
framework with the Court’s case law will enable the full and effective
enforcement of the Court’s decisions, especially regarding the actions
of enforcement agents, the conditions of detention, lawfulness of
detention and the reception conditions of foreigners, the right
of liberty, enforcement of final domestic judicial decisions, freedom
of expression and freedom of association.
15. Likewise, the Assembly expects that the new judicial map and
the practical reforms of the judicial system will help to improve
the situation in the areas of delays for judgment – both in civil
and criminal proceedings – enforcement of courts’ decisions, and
independence of judges.
16. Equally, the Assembly expects that the comprehensive 2025-2030
action plan for the overhaul of the prison system will address the
prison crisis and bring Greek prisons in line with the standards
set out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).
17. Progress must be achieved in the field of fighting corruption,
relying on the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) recommendations.
In particular, two major cases involving elected representatives
and public officials currently under criminal investigation need
to be transparently and satisfactorily concluded:
17.1 the inadequate and delayed implementation
of essential European Union-funded rail infrastructure projects,
which led to the Tempi railway disaster of 26 February 2023, costing
the lives of 57 people;
17.2 the massive fraud concerning European Union agricultural
subsidies.
18. The Assembly urges Greece to grant constitutional status to
the National Transparency Authority in order to strengthen its independence,
effectiveness, political accountability to the parliament, and domestic
and international credibility. Moreover, the National Transparency
Authority should be responsible for supervising the financing of
political parties and monitoring the financial interests and asset
declarations of political office holders.
19. Furthermore, the Assembly believes that the ongoing constitutional
amendment should be used as an opportunity to prevent the excessive
recourse to term extensions for the positions of the heads of all independent
administrative authorities with constitutional status. The Assembly
thus recommends the Greek Parliament adopt the provision proposed
by the government with the purpose of amending Article 101A of the Constitution
in the following way:
19.1 public
call for expressions of interest;
19.2 proposition of a three-candidate shortlist by a council
of experts;
19.3 selection by a special parliamentary committee instead
of the Conference of Presidents, and withdrawal of the current three-fifths
majority requirement.
20. With particular regard to the ombudsman, despite its constitutional
status, which should grant pre-eminent legal authority, its powers
are constrained. The Assembly calls for an alignment of its status
with all Principles on the protection and promotion of the ombudsman
institution (the Venice Principles), including:
20.1 the remuneration of the ombudsman
and their staff;
20.2 the ombudsman statutory term;
20.3 the scope of its mandate, which should cover all general
interest and public services provided to the public, whether delivered
by the State, by municipalities, State bodies or private entities;
20.4 locus standi and
suspensive effect of the filing of a request or complaint on time-limits
to apply to the courts;
20.5 sufficient and independent budgetary resources;
20.6 sufficient staff and the ability of the ombudsman to select
their own staff.
21. In keeping with its
Resolution
2513 (2023) “Pegasus and similar spyware and secret State surveillance”, the
Assembly reiterates its request that the Greek authorities:
21.1 inform it, as well as the European
Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission), about
the use of Predator spyware in their country;
21.2 conduct effective, independent, and prompt investigations
into all confirmed and alleged cases of abuse of Predator spyware,
provide sufficient redress to targeted victims in cases of unlawful surveillance,
and apply adequate sanctions, either criminal or administrative,
in order to punish all abuses committed;
21.3 refrain from using blanket secrecy rules to deny access
to information on the use of Predator spyware to oversight mechanisms
and targeted persons.
22. The Assembly asks Greece to make further progress in ensuring
the compliance of its legal framework and practices with the European
Media Freedom Act in areas such as regulation, ownership transparency, pluralism,
public service media, and funding.
23. The Assembly finds that Greece, although confronted by the
challenge of being one of the main entry points for migrants into
Europe, has been able to develop a system of controlled border management,
in anticipation of the entry into force of the European Pact on
Migration and Asylum. The Assembly, however, emphasises the imperative
for the country to refrain from violations of international law,
including the renunciation of any pushback operations, and to give
full implementation to the judgements of the Court. Greater efforts
are also needed to improve the reception conditions and assistance
to vulnerable people.
24. The Assembly takes note of the Venice Commission’s opinion
on the 2026 legislative amendments concerning the registry of NGOs,
the registry of NGO members and the criminal liability of registered
NGO members, issued on 28 September 2026. The Assembly calls on
the Greek authorities to address all the concerns and recommendations
set out therein, so that the registration requirements are fully
in line with the Council of Europe’s legal framework and that the
criminal penalties imposed are proportionate to the offences.
25. The Assembly concludes that, while democracy in Greece remains
firmly rooted and resilient, sustained efforts and constructive
political dialogue must converge to protect it and further entrench
the rule of law.
