One of the most notable achievements of the Mitsotakis government during its first term in office was the rapid digitisation of government services. Seen as a way of cutting down bureaucracy, saving citizens’ time and reducing tax evasion, it was conducted with great efficiency by the minister for Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis (now Education minister). As a result, according to the government website gov.gr, there are now 2069 digital services in 11 categories available to the citizen. While some of these no doubt function less efficiently than others, it is a remarkable achievement for a country which not so long ago was renowned for the slowness of its official procedures and its affection for red tape.
Citizens can now access their tax records, some of their health data, details about their motor vehicles, government subsidies available to specific sectors, and much more. The 11 categories of digital services listed on Gov.gr are: Agriculture and livestock, Business activity, Property and taxation, Conscription, Justice, Employment and Insurance, Citizens and day-to-day life, Health and welfare, Education, Family, and Culture, sport and tourism.
Of major assistance in this effort was the provision of fast internet services throughout the country with the laying of fibre-optic cables by the main provider OTE, which since 2018 has been 54% owned by Deutsche Telekom. Local residents will remember the machines cutting narrow trenches along the roads to all the villages in the area to lay the cables, the scars of which can still be seen on the asphalt.
The Telekom Group
Confirming these achievements, at a meeting with the Prime Minister at the Megaro Maximou on 20th January, the CEO of the Telekom group Timotheus Höttges praised Greece’s progress in digitisation, which he said was an example for other countries. Mr Höttges confirmed Telekom’s commitment to continue investing in the country, informing the Prime Minister about OTE’s plans to invest €3 billion in extending its fibre networks and 5G, and expressed his satisfaction over their good cooperation with the government.
In a short conversation reported on the Prime Minister’s website, Mr Mitsotakis began by welcoming Timotheus Höttges, saying:
“I still have very fond memories of the discussion we had last time and I’m happy that Deutsche Telekom, through OTE, is part of the success of the country when it comes to digitisation and connectivity. We’ve been very carefully following your investment plan and I’m eager to hear more about the details. … I’m particularly interested in issues of connectivity, especially your fibre-to-the-home programme, which hopefully in two and a half years will put us in the top tier of European countries when it comes to connectivity. But there is also a lot to discuss, especially when it come to issues of competitiveness.
“I still remember very vividly last time you described how fragmented the telecoms market was in Europe and I think these discussions at the European Council about creating true European Champions is today more relevant than ever. So any thoughts you can offer or any suggestions, we’re very, very happy to listen and share them and I’d be very happy to share them with my colleagues in Brussels.
Thanking the Prime Minister for the invitation, Mr Höttges said in reply:
”… It’s a big honour and a great pleasure for me to be here. First, congratulations to Greece, by the way, I’m one of your ambassadors outside. Wherever I am, maybe you’ve seen that I am saying “Have a look to Greece, how they have turned around not only their country but even, you know, the progress they made on digitisation. I was just in Seeon [in southern Bavaria] with the Conservative party and their yearly kick-off … and I made the statement saying: have a look to India, they have 27 different states but they made one ID management, even with all the languages. Have a look to Iceland, a small country, how they have digitised their own economy. And I’ve said: have a look to Greece, how quickly this country, even with not having all the digital skills, how quickly Greece was able to digitise their country – you are ahead in Greece, ahead of Germany now in the digitisation, and digitisation is the prerequisite for wealth of the next generation, I’m entirely convinced of this one. So if you don’t have a digital economy you will not have let’s say a competitive environment as well.”
Greece’s progress measured
Mr Höttges was perhaps being over-complimentary. Greece’s progress is most remarkable for the base from which it started. It is certainly ahead of the European average, though probably not ahead of major EU nations such as Germany, France, Italy and Spain. In 2021, the European Commission instituted the EU’s Digital Decade strategy, aimed at setting digitisation targets for the year 2030, and quantifying the progress of Member States against these standards. In its latest assessment, Greece is shown to be ahead on digitisation of public services and digital infrastructure, especially 5G, but lagging in digital skills and the digital transformation of business. In relation to digital skills, the report says:
“Greece has not yet met the challenge of training its population in the level of digital skills needed, despite several recent measures, investments and reforms. In 2023, only 52.4% of the population had at least basic digital skills (EU average 55.5%), indicating no progress since the previous data collection in 2021. The number of ICT specialists in terms of the share of employment is 2.4%, far below the EU average (4.8%), despite the increasing demand.”
Apps as a measure of digitisation
One measure of the digitisation of public services is the proliferation of smartphone apps available to the
ordinary citizen. By way of example:
— The MyHealth app, provides a record of prescriptions and referrals made under the electronic prescription system, as well as records of appointments made via the Finddoctors.gov.gr website, medical certificates, test results, confirmations of infection and medical procedures – presumably restricted to those carried out through the Public Health System.
— The Gov.gr Wallet provides secure read-outs of a citizen’s ID card and driving licence, though these are unfortunately not available to foreigners who have only a residency permit. The MyAuto section will however show details of registered motor vehicles drawn from different databases, including all the information embodied in the registration certificate, as well as Road Tax and KTEO test status and details of insurance cover. In theory at least this should preclude the necessity of showing all the car’s papers in the event of a police stop.
— The MyCoast app, which we reported on in an earlier post, comprises a map showing all the public beach concessions in the country, with details of the area permitted to be covered by sunbeds, and a means of reporting infringements as a check on the illegal occupation of beaches.
— The Apppodixi app enables consumers to scan the QR code on every receipt issued by a shop or company and check if it is genuine, e.g. if the amount shown on the receipt corresponds to the amount declared to the tax authorities.
– Locally, the Municipality’s IPark Chania app has greatly facilitated the process of paying for parking, and finally, the free e-bikes in Platanias are now in operation. They are available via an app which is called E-bike Sharing on Android and Bike Platanias on Apple.
For the bike-sharing scheme, after registration, the user’s account needs to be verified via Taxisnet, and details of a bank card given so that a €100 security deposit can be taken against the bike’s safe return. The user is then able to choose from a map between the 6 different locations in the municipality: Tavronitis, Maleme, Gerani, Voukolies, Vatolakkos and Alikianos. The app can be downloaded using a QR code on the bike station, which in Tavronitis works for Apple, but not for Android as the code has partly peeled off in the sun and is unreadable. The address at the Google Play store is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amco.bikesharing.
Sources:
https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/factpages/greece-2024-digital-decade-country-report
https://www.primeminister.gr/2025/01/22/35698