Public consultation lagging, study finds
More than 30% of the final articles of the laws passed in 2023-24 were not included in the public consultation, according to a new study by the Center for Liberal Studies (KEFiM) published on Tuesday.
This is the case despite the fact that since 2021, the percentage of laws submitted to public consultation in Greece has been steadily increasing, with both KEFiM and a recent European Commission report on the rule of law in Greece highlighting this improvement.
According to an analysis of the available data from the Legislative Quality Index from September 2014 to May 2024, the lowest percentage of laws put to public consultation was in 2018, when only 39% of the laws that were eventually passed were included in the process.
This percentage reached 87% in 2024 – more than eight out of 10 laws were subject to public consultation, according to KEFiM.
“Therefore, based on the explicit obligation to publicly consult on proposed laws, this percentage should reach 100%, with very few exceptions,” the center says, bemoaning however, that many articles of laws that are eventually voted are excluded from public consultation.
“In 2014-2020, the percentage of articles of a law that were available for public consultation ranged from 22% to 49%, while in the period 2021-2024 there was a relative improvement,” the center says.
In 2023-2024, more than 30% of the articles of laws were not included in the public consultation, while in half of the laws, less than 80% of the final articles were available.
“Public consultation is important because when the state legislates, it is natural that there are details that the legislator has not thought about – it is good to listen to the interested citizens and stakeholders so that they can improve the law,” Nicos Rompapas, director general of KEFiM, tells Kathimerini.
