The Minister of the Interior, Niki Kerameos, addressed a greeting, in the context of the start of the work of the European public administration cooperation exchange program (PACE), in the presence of public administration officials from four countries (Italy, France, Bulgaria, Portugal).

The minister emphasized the importance and usefulness of the PACE program in promoting efficiency in public administration and in preparing the next generation of executives who will be called upon to draw up and implement policy in public administration within the European Union.

Mrs. Kerameos, during her greeting, focused on the three main points of this cooperation.

As the Minister typically said:

  • First, it helps create a network of continuous flow of information, experiences, challenges. “It is a unique opportunity to build a continuous process of cooperation and information exchange and to further develop the valuable European human capital”,
  • Secondly, it is of crucial importance in strengthening the culture of common values ​​and goals between the member states in the field of the Public sector, upgrading both the daily work experience of employees and the quality of services offered to citizens.
  • Third, in the post-pandemic digital era, it is important to capitalize on the expansion of the use of digital tools in public administration to enhance efficiency and combat red tape.

“Under PACE, the Ministry of the Interior is creating a national public administration mechanism which provides for the exchange of administrative staff between Greece and the other member states of the European Union. We intend to strengthen the transformation of the State through Lifelong Learning and the continuous training of our human resources”, noted Mrs. Kerameos.

The work of PACE takes place in Athens from 6 to 9 November in the framework of the technical support of the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support (DG Reform) of the European Commission and the exchange of know-how concerns five thematic sections (Ethics and Integrity, Public Sector Innovation, Staff Recruitment, Executive Training and Digital Transformation in HR Matters).

PACE operates within the broader framework of the philosophy of the European “Erasmus” program promoting cooperation between the public administrations of the Member States, through the exchange of executives, with the aim of building administrative capacity and preparing the next generation of policy makers in the European Union.

The aim of PACE is to create a European community of civil servants exchanging best practices, including where appropriate, working visits to Member States to enable officials to gain expertise or enhance their knowledge on relevant issues.