ABTTF President: “The Tempi train crash, illegal wiretapping, and the OPEKEPE incident have been the most glaring examples of the systematic and institutional violation of the rule of law in our country, Greece, in recent years. These legal scandals, for which the government bears primary responsibility, have naturally dealt a severe blow to our country’s image regarding the rule of law and judicial independence in the eyes of the EU.”
Tovima.gr reported on 6 June 2026, that the Greek government is deeply concerned about the European Commission’s upcoming report on the rule of law, given that the illegal wiretapping scandal and certain investigations conducted by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office have created a negative atmosphere within European Union (EU) institutions.
The report indicates that Akis Skertsos, the Minister of State responsible for the Coordination of Government Policies, personally visited the relevant units of the European Commission to attempt at convincing them that issues regarding the rule of law in the country have been resolved and that the situation is under control.
“The Tempi train crash, illegal wiretapping, and the OPEKEPE incident have been the most glaring examples of the systematic and institutional violation of the rule of law in our country, Greece, in recent years. These legal scandals, for which the government bears primary responsibility, have naturally dealt a severe blow to our country’s image regarding the rule of law and judicial independence in the eyes of the EU. Finally, according to the 2026 Justice Scoreboard published by the European Commission in recent days, confidence in judicial independence among both citizens and businesses in our country is significantly below the EU average. These figures, which confirm the decline in the rule of law in our country, will also be included in the rule of law report to be published by the European Commission in July 2026. “Just as in last year’s report, we expect and hope that the European Commission will once again directly reference our country’s failure to execute the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgments in the Bekir-Ousta and Others group of cases for the past 18 years, and urge our country to execute these judgments without delay’’, said Halit Habip Oğlu, President of the Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe (ABTTF).
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