07/09/2026 Monitoring
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”, PACE’s Monitoring Committee has concluded following a “periodic review” of the country.
In a draft resolution made public today, based on a report by Laura Castel (Spain, UEL) and Miapetra Kumpula-Natris (Finland, SOC), the committee reviewed Greece’s progress against Council of Europe standards of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
“With considerable sacrifices by its citizens, Greece has achieved significant progress” since the deep recession of 2009-2015," the parliamentarians pointed out. “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.”
At the same time, the committee noted “significant persistent 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.”
The parliamentarians made a series of recommendations to the Greek authorities covering constitutional changes, the security forces and police, conditions of detention, fighting corruption, the Ombudsman, Predator spyware, media freedom and migration, among other issues.
All Council of Europe member states that are not under a full monitoring procedure or engaged in a post-monitoring dialogue are subject to periodic review. Such reports are also currently being prepared on the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden.
The Assembly is due to debate and vote on the report at its forthcoming plenary session in Strasbourg.