The discussion and voting of the bill of the Ministry of Digital Governance for the “National Cybersecurity Authority” was completed in the Plenary Session of the Parliament. The bill was accepted by a majority.

Only the ND was in favor of his principle, while all the opposition parties voted against, except for Plefsis Eleftherias which declared “present”.

“In an era of increased dependence on technology, strengthening the resilience of the digital state is an imperative for the uninterrupted provision of modern services, the protection of individual rights in cyberspace and the cultivation of a climate of trust”, once again pointed out the Minister of Digital of Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou. “The National Authority is a crucial step, both for ensuring the operation of the country’s critical infrastructures, and for the state’s resilience against cyber threats,” he stressed.

As Mr. Papageorgiou characteristically said, “last week alone, the country received 13.3 million attacks on government websites, 500,000 of which were very serious.”

The bill came under fire from the opposition parties, who insisted “on the need for it to be a completely independent authority and not a legal entity under public law, which will be controlled by the government”, while strongly criticizing “the absence of safeguards that would ensure sensitive personal data and democratic institutions” as they mentioned.

What do the amendments provide?

The amendments were also incorporated into the bill, which were voted in by a majority and provide, among other things, a permanent support mechanism for farmers and businesses due to natural disasters and the abolition of the 5% special tax on natural gas.

In particular with the new settings:

– A permanent aid mechanism is created for areas affected by natural disasters, on the one hand through the provision of a digital card to adult natural persons, on the other hand through the creation of special aid regimes for businesses and their characterization as tax-free, inalienable and non-confiscatable.

– The regime of the special levy of 5% on the price of natural gas which burdened electricity producers for the quantities they buy for the operation of their factories and the production of electricity, which was imposed for the first time in November 2022, is abolished.

– EYP personnel matters are regulated, which concern, among other things, their placement, duties and hours.

– The possibility of control and settlement in real time of the defined health costs by private auditing bodies is foreseen, as well as the determination with etc. of the implementing bodies of the public health action “Preventive diagnostic tests for cervical cancer”.

– The deadline for submitting applications for registration or renewals in the Electronic Press Registry is extended by 10 days.