Greek ombudsman: “Independent authorities are being weakened under political pressure”
Greek Ombudsman Andreas Pottakis stated in an interview with the Tsatsou Foundation and syntagmawatch.gr that the country’s independent authorities are being systematically weakened by political power. According to Pottakis, the government exerts economic pressure by failing to provide adequate resources and interferes with the work of these institutions either indirectly or directly.
Pottakis emphasized that the balance and oversight mechanisms among state institutions have been eroding. He reminded that the Ombudsman’s Office is accountable to parliament, noting that parliament’s refusal for three consecutive years to discuss the annual reports constitutes “a serious setback for the rule of law.”
Highlighting the rapid decline in citizens’ trust in the state and the justice system, Pottakis stressed that protecting official institutions from political influence and strengthening their independence has become an urgent necessity.
Commenting on the issue, Halit Habipoğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF), said Pottakis’s assessments reveal significant problems concerning the rule of law and democratic functioning in Greece. Habipoğlu recalled that EU Commission public opinion surveys also show a majority of Greeks believe fundamental rights, democracy, and the rule of law are not adequately protected.
Habipoğlu noted that the European Commission’s annual reports regularly highlight threats to the rule of law in Greece, adding that the Turkish minority in Western Thrace has long experienced the consequences firsthand. He pointed out that Greece’s failure to implement the European Court of Human Rights rulings in the Bekir Usta and Others case for over 17 years constitutes a violation of international law.
