The Ministry of the Interior has posted the Local Government Code for public consultation until June 4, 2026, at the following link: https://www.opengov.gr/ypes/?p=9775. This is a legislative text comprising 761 articles, which consolidates and modernizes nearly 2,000 scattered provisions covering every aspect of the operation of the country’s municipalities and regions.
This bill, which will be submitted to Parliament for a vote in June, establishes a new, unified, and comprehensive legislative framework that serves as a catalyst for more effective, participatory, and robust local governance, resolving a decades-long issue for the country’s local self-government. At the same time, it concerns every citizen, as it strengthens everyone’s active participation in local affairs and facilitates daily contact with local authorities.
“After 1.5 years of systematic work and collaboration among officials from the Ministry of the Interior, first- and second-tier local governments, elected representatives, and public administration officials, we are delighted to officially present, for the first time, the unified Local Government Code. “I hope that it will serve as a valuable tool and compass so that we can all turn a new page in the history of local government together,” stated Minister of the Interior Theodoros Livaniou.
The Local Government Code consists of 6 volumes:
- The first volume contains organizational provisions regarding the establishment of local government, the classification of municipalities, the method of electing municipal and regional authorities, and the framework for controlling pre-election expenditures.
- The second book provides a detailed description of the municipal governance system, the classification of local government legal entities, and the statutory status of elected officials.
- The responsibilities, their documentation, and the manner in which they are exercised are contained in the third book, with an emphasis on the effective exercise of these responsibilities by all municipalities and regions of the country, regardless of their size or specific characteristics.
- The fourth book introduces a major change to the entire framework of financial management for municipalities and regions, with the aim of facilitating their financial operations.
- The constitutional requirement to audit exclusively the legality of local government actions is regulated in Book Five, introducing an objective system of oversight and audit.
- Finally, Book Six focuses on general provisions concerning the operation of local government, the most significant of which is the incorporation into Greek law of the Additional Protocol to the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
* See the information note in the “Related Materials” column.