5.4 Independent agencies and regulatory bodies

The authorities will publish by [June 2016] a report on the overall progress towards the modernisation of the public administration and its depoliticisation, on how the Greek Government is fulfilling its commitment on the matter expressed at the European Council in July 2015.

Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT)

The Government will fully honour the Commitment on Confidence in Statistics signed in March 2012 by implementing all envisaged actions, including respecting international statistical standards; guaranteeing, defending and publicly promoting the professional independence of ELSTAT; and supporting ELSTAT in upholding confidence in Greek statistics and defending them against any efforts to undermine their credibility, as well as reporting annually to the Hellenic Parliament and to the European Commission.

The Government fully respects the independence of ELSTAT in carrying its tasks and providing high quality statistics. In this regard it respects the financial independence of ELSTAT, and provides all the necessary resources in a timely manner, as approved in the annual budget of ELSTAT, for the agency to complete uninterrupted its tasks.

The Government as a prior action will ensure that ELSTAT has access to administrative data sources in line with the Art. 17 of Law 4174/2013 amended by 4254/2014 and 4258/2014, and the Memorandum of Understanding signed between ELSTAT, the Ministry of Finance (GSIS), the Secretary General for Public Revenues and IKA signed on 17/04/2014. The data will need to be transmitted in full to ELSTAT and verified by ELSTAT and EUROSTAT.

Independent agencies and entities

A unified approach should be adopted towards all independent agencies, irrespective of whether they are constitutionally protected or not. A common set of rules, applicable horizontally, would simplify the normative framework and would enhance effective governance of the relevant agencies and unhindered performance of their functions.   

The Greek authorities, in collaboration with the Institutions, should by [June] 2016 (a) assess the provisions of Law 3051/2002 on constitutionally protected independent agencies (as currently in force) and (b) propose the required  amendments for strengthening the autonomy and effectives of independent agencies and entities (possibly introducing a general set of fundamental rules applicable to all agencies and specific chapters distinguishing between the constitutionally protected ones and the others if needed). Recommendations should be benchmarked against European best practice and  address (i) the relationship between the agency/entity with the Government and with stakeholders, (ii) its operational autonomy in areas such finances, IT and HR, and (iii) accountability.

In addition:

i. Hellenic Competition Authority: the Government commits to safeguard the independence and the effectiveness of the Hellenic Competition Commission in line with EU requirements. As a prior action, it will amend Article 282 of Law 4364/2016 in agreement with the Institutions on provisions relating to disciplinary offences, the adequacy of access to legal services from external sources the appointment and term of Directors and conflicts of interest of its staff.  By [June 2016], the authorities, in agreement with the Institutions, will address any issues relating to the staffing of the HCC’s legal office.The advocacy unit of the Hellenic Competition Commission will be strengthened by twelve additional posts and a review will be conducted with the support of the European Commission and international expertise to ensure that the competition law is in line with EU best practice.

ii. Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE): drawing on the overall approach to strengthening the effectiveness of independent agencies and entities, the Government will adopt by [June 2016] legislation for strengthening the institutional, financial and functional independence of RAE (key deliverable).

iii. National Cadastre and Mapping Agency (EKXA): the authorities will ensure by June 2016 stronger governance, adequate financial independence and administrative capacity to the cadastral agency.

iv. Special Secretariat for Water (SSW): The authorities will enable the SSW to take independent regulatory decisions, following an assessment of the legal framework to be performed with the support of technical assistance (June 2016). The Authorities will strengthen the human resources endowment of SSW through facilitation of the recruitment process, including specialised calls, and SSW will arrange for training of its staff in other EU Member States (April 2016). SSW will launch immediately the process to define its business plan and five-year cost analysis, in order to assess funding needs and seek potential funding sources, to be completed by September 2016.

EYDAP and EYATH will prepare business plans, including for investments and key capital projects for the next 5 years, by November 2016; reputable and independent external advisors should be used to help them compile such plans. As a first step, they will launch by [April 2016] a first draft of a full-information submission; the final submission is to be to be completed by [July 2016] and audited by one of the international engineering consultancies.

The Special Secretariat for Water will finalise with TA the charging rules for water services taking into account the methodology completed by the Special Secretariat of Water in 2014 [September 2016 with some intermediate target in April 2016].