The prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made a speech in its Plenary Parliament at noon on Tuesday, in the debate on the draft law of the Ministry of Digital Government on Greek Land Registry.

“Let me begin by expressing my deep sorrow for the loss of two of our fellow citizens in the very difficult fire in Corinth, a fire which comes to confirm that what we knew about the fire season must be revised. The responsible minister will give a press conference to inform about the progress of the effort to deal with it. The state machinery is fully mobilized and I hope and wish that we will soon end this backlog,” the prime minister said at the beginning of his speech.

Then, Mr. Mitsotakis underlined how necessary it is “to complete quickly and what changes it will bring about with the overall modernization plan of the country”, as he said “this specific reform has been waiting to be completed since the establishment of the Greek state, with Kapodistrias first to start the registration of lands and then Othona”.

“We arrived in the 90s to catch the thread, but inaction brought Greece to be the only state without a land register. In 2025, our country will finally have a Land Register with demarcated forests and coastline and clearly marked what belongs to the state and what belongs to the citizen, and procedures that will facilitate development and transactions without loopholes of arbitrariness” emphasized Kyriakos Mitsotakis, adding:

“In the economy it will facilitate new investments, in the environment it will stop encroachments. It is enough to think that on the precise digital maps that we have at our disposal, the cadastral data, the monuments, the archaeological sites, the separate identity of each area for where someone can build or a company can build a factory will be recorded”.

“Konstantinos Doxiadis” program regarding the local urban planning and zoning plans for building conditions

“The benefits will unfold on many levels. In the economy by facilitating investments, in housing, in the environment by confronting the scourge of tyrants”, Mr. Mitsotakis then underlined.

“It is enough to think that on the digital precision maps that we have at our disposal, the cadastral, urban planning data, the monuments will be recorded and thus, based on this separate identity of each area, everyone will be able to know where and what they can build. With the public administration acquiring a very good image reality. All these elements will be supplemented with the elements of E9. The “Konstantinos Doxiadis” program will be added to the Cadastre, i.e. the local urban planning and zoning plans in order to organize the building conditions”.

Three new elements with common characteristics are the use of technology and trust in citizens

• Utilization of artificial intelligence that can make public work better.

Now artificial intelligence will be the first degree of control of actions. The final word will belong to the relevant official. The Prime Minister visited a Land Registry office in Larissa and as he said “I found out the speed of issuance of deeds in 15 minutes. A real congratulations to the ministry leadership and the Ministry staff developers. The next challenge is to see what other processes can be automated using artificial intelligence.”

• Ability of citizens to correct or complete data concerning their property

It will be done out of court – if other owners are not affected – in a simple way. Changes of this type (apartment area, etc.) will be made in a simple way by the owners. An initiative that removes a lot of inconvenience caused by small problems. The change of old contracts has the same goal. The 3-year extension for settlement of lots illegally divided in the past.

• The 3rd intervention concerns those who they neglected to declare their assets on time and today they appear as an unknown owner. These owners will have the opportunity to declare it by displaying the contracts.

“In conclusion, the bill accelerates the completion of the Land Registry by the end of 2025 with regulations that do not turn a blind eye to reality but address existing weaknesses,” concluded Kyriakos Mitsotakis. “Besides, today no one remembers that they used to stand in line for hours to receive a certificate, while now they receive it immediately with gov.gr, perhaps the most important section. Property will no longer remain hidden in a maze of papers.”