“It is a day of great joy and emotion” emphasized the Minister of Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis in the context of the event at the Concert Hall for the completion of three years of operation of gov.gr “A digital state, Greece on the move” and referred extensively to the work of the ministry and the operation of gov.gr.

He talked about digital transactions reaching 1.2 billion in 2020, while taking a look back at the past to present today’s leap forward in the country’s digital transformation

He clarified that the original model, the best example was initially that of Great Britain. “But the reforms are not just copies. We had to map our own registers that need to be interconnected and so there was an implicit organizational work and the day after the elections the ministry was created, a new structure that could make a series of changes,” he said.

“Changes started immediately because events are always relentless. So 112 was given first priority”, the same transceiver is used for tolls, the declaration of the child’s birth was simplified, the fax was abolished, “however, due to covid, we accelerated the platform and thus gov.gr came two months earlier than we expected it”. The minister continued the journey of the digital portal by recalling 13033, the intangible prescription, the Bible of digital transformation, the transition to 5G was made with an innovative auction, “while we started in fixed telephony we have the optical fiber with coverage of 1.3 million lines to date and we must reach 4.8 by 2027”, while he spoke about the KEP live (teleconference with a KEP employee) and the national vaccination system that was set up in a few weeks.

“There have been many investments from foreign companies, such as Amazon, Microsoft, google, the European digital covid certificate that we introduced to other European countries, My Health which is the prototype of a medical file, the way of granting benefits, the “smart cities” with program for the 332 municipalities so that the municipalities also make the transition. And of course, with MITOS, Greece becomes the first country to measure its vulnerability in its entirety, we measure the procedures and we have already evaluated over 5,000 procedures, which will all be digitized in the next four years. And of course the wallet, “Chat gpt and artificial intelligence are already in our lives, 5G corridors, drones are here “the future is either planned or lived. It is a horizontal policy, it concerns all ministries, it is the property of the entire public administration.”

Finally, addressing Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis he said that “in the work that has been presented since the morning, you gave it life”.

Earlier, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, praised the work of the ministry, saying that it is an inspiration how quickly Greece has moved forward using technology to improve the daily life of citizens. He spoke of a citizen-centric policy that was followed. “The progress you have achieved is encouraging not only for the Greeks, but also for the rest of the countries” he said and added that citizens can issue certificates, documents with one click that immediately see the benefits of digital solutions. He even underlined the trust in technology that was built, while he spoke of the need to train digital skills, which are a priority for the EU. In fact, he said that “Greece is making significant progress in terms of connectivity”.

From his side, the Deputy Minister of Digital Governance, Thodoris Livanios he talked about the digital transformation which is a “deeply progressive policy with a strong political overtone”. And this is proven through the work of the ministry because, as he underlined, the KEPs issued 45,381 family status certificates in 2022, i.e. 98% less because they can be issued digitally, the 112 that was created directly for the timely information of citizens when there is a risk to life them, the gov.gr wallet, my Health, strengthening of telecommunications infrastructure, every home will in a short period of time have access to high-speed internet at low cost, optical fiber in schools, the digitization of the Land Registry, the MITOS program.

“With the use of new technologies, transparency and accountability are strengthened, all procedures are carried out directly,” he said characteristically, while also referring to the availability of open data. “It is a progressive policy because no one is left behind, KEPs are upgraded, modernized, employees are better trained to serve those who prefer the natural channels of the State”.

As he mentioned, the work of the ministry has not been completed, because all the transactions of the Greek citizen with the State will be able to be done digitally.