The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Greece

1Greece 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.

2The 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.

3Since then, Greece has notably ratified:

3.1the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and on the Financing of Terrorism (ETS No. 198);

3.2the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention) (ETS No. 210);

3.3Protocols No. 15 (ETS No. 213) and No. 16 (ETS No. 214) to the European Convention on Human Rights.

4The 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.

5With 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.

6Simultaneously, 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.

7At 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.

8The 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.

9In line with the recommendations it made in 2018 related to worrying shortcomings, the Assembly calls on Greece to:

9.1issue 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);

9.2ratify 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”;

9.3ratify the European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166);

9.4sign 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).

10As 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.

11The 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.

12When 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.

13The 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.

14The 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.

15Likewise, 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.

16Equally, 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).

17Progress 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:

17.1the 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;

17.2the massive fraud concerning European Union agricultural subsidies.

18The 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.

19Furthermore, 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:

19.1public call for expressions of interest;

19.2proposition of a three-candidate shortlist by a council of experts;

19.3selection by a special parliamentary committee instead of the Conference of Presidents, and withdrawal of the current three-fifths majority requirement.

20With 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:

20.1the remuneration of the ombudsman and their staff;

20.2the ombudsman statutory term;

20.3the 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;

20.4locus standi and suspensive effect of the filing of a request or complaint on time-limits to apply to the courts;

20.5sufficient and independent budgetary resources;

20.6sufficient staff and the ability of the ombudsman to select their own staff.

21In keeping with its Resolution 2513 (2023) “Pegasus and similar spyware and secret State surveillance”, the Assembly reiterates its request that the Greek authorities:

21.1inform it, as well as the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission), about the use of Predator spyware in their country;

21.2conduct 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;

21.3refrain from using blanket secrecy rules to deny access to information on the use of Predator spyware to oversight mechanisms and targeted persons.

22The 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.

23The 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.

24The 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.