Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday unveiled a sweeping package of constitutional amendments aimed at overhauling key areas of public administration, justice, the media and political accountability.
“A wave of reforms is being unleashed so that by 2030 we will have uprooted pathologies that we have sometimes dealt with only sporadically and on a case-by-case basis,” Mitsotakis said.
The proposals, distributed to ruling New Democracy lawmakers ahead of a parliamentary group meeting, include revisions to 30 provisions described as crucial to modernizing the Greek state.
Among the most high-profile reforms are new protections for the press, with proposed changes to Articles 14 and 15 designed to safeguard journalists against interference from their employers and “rationalize” the broader media landscape across television, radio and the internet.
In a significant shift for higher education, an amendment to Article 16 would formally allow non-state, nonprofit universities to operate in Greece under state supervision, ending decades of constitutional restrictions on private colleges. This reform is paired with a plan to increase compulsory schooling from nine to 11 years and introduces new constitutional protections for the Greek language and the national flag.
The package also seeks to tighten political accountability by reforming Article 86, which governs ministerial liability. The change would remove Parliament’s direct role in preliminary investigations of ministers, handing that authority to senior prosecutors.
Furthermore, the government aims to limit executive influence over the judiciary by giving a special parliamentary committee a greater role in appointing senior judges.
“The rule of law also means tackling tax evasion and supporting incomes. There are still many areas that need to be freed from the remnants of an outdated political culture,” the prime minister said.
Other notable measures include lowering the eligibility age for lawmakers to 21, establishing a single six-year term for the presidency and granting the Supreme Court expanded authority to vet the eligibility of political parties to participate in elections.
Additional provisions seek to redefine civil service tenure to link evaluations and promotions more closely to performance, and make it easier for civil servants to be dismissed if so determined by a disciplinary council.
On the fiscal front, the proposals include a ban on retroactive taxation and provisions allowing stable tax incentives for strategic private investments, alongside new constitutional requirements for balanced state budgets and greater transparency for publicly funded entities through mandatory annual financial reporting.
The draft also addresses modern challenges, proposing constitutional safeguards to ensure artificial intelligence serves individual freedom and social welfare.
Constitutional revisions in Greece require approval through a multi-stage parliamentary process involving heightened majorities before they can be ratified into law.
“We have the courage to confront these problems head-on and, where necessary, make decisions. This is an institutional break toward a new constitutional framework, which we are placing before society for judgment. It will also become part of the political debate ahead of the next national elections,” Mitsotakis said.