Top court green-lights draft decree for president’s security

Greece’s top administrative court approved last Friday the draft of a new security framework upgrading the protection of the country’s president and visiting heads of state. 

The draft presidential decree submitted to the Council of State (CoE) establishes the Protection Service of the President of the Republic (YPPD) whose task will be to ensure the safety of the president (currently Katerina Sakellaropoulou) and the members of her family at home and at her office. It will also protect former presidents that have served since June 9, 1975.

The changes are aimed at “establishing a more operational system of rules that will govern the Protection Service of the President of the Republic, adapted to the modern security environment and free from unnecessary or overlapping responsibilities,” the decree states.

It will also merge existing departments of YPPD and set up an operation center that will direct and coordinate its action. The Service will be supervised, coordinated and controlled by the head of Greek Police.

The new decree scraps an earlier version passed in 2001.