Citizen services centers getting upgrade

Moving into a new era where Citizens Service Centers (KEP) offices can respond to modern needs, the Ministry of Interior is planning their radical overhaul with the ultimate goal of transforming them into “one-stop offices,” so that citizens can complete their transactions in one visit. 

Where this may not be feasible, at least in the first phase, due to the complexity of the case – e.g. in urban planning matters – then citizens will have the opportunity to be informed about the progress of their application by text message or email, which cannot be done now.

Citizens will thus know at all times where their application is and how it is progressing, and will also have an estimate of the time needed to complete it. 

The possibility of informing the citizen about the progress of their request, apart from providing better service, also serves the objective of accountability of the public administration to the citizen and internal evaluation, a key feature that the Ministry of Interior wants to introduce.

The first and most basic is the upgrade of the information system, which by today’s standards is considered outdated and cannot respond to complex requests.

The new system, which has already started to pilot and is expected to be fully operational in February, will be connected to other public institutions, related to tax, law enforcement, insurance, health and others with the aim that the citizen in any capacity – either as a natural person or as a businessman or even as a representative of a collective body – needs only one visit to the KEP office to complete their work.

The KEP will collect all of the supporting materials for the case. The new information system, in particular, ensures automatic electronic transmission of applications and supporting documents to the competent authorities for procedures that are not currently provided to citizens via an electronic application, eliminating the time-consuming and costly exchange of physical files between the KEP and the issuing bodies. Cases will be handled in less time, and citizens will be able to get certificates, rulings, and permissions either at the KEPs or digitally.

The new system will also be able to handle complex cases, which is not currently possible, such as an unemployment card issue or pension matters.

The plan also included training of KEP’s some 3,800 high-ranking officials, which began in May this year.