Greece’s Cabinet met on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, against the backdrop of persistent criticism over corruption scandals that have dogged his government and raised questions about transparency and accountability both at home and abroad.
The meeting focused on anti-corruption reforms, an area in which Mitsotakis has come under sustained pressure following a series of controversies that have undermined public trust and attracted scrutiny from European institutions and international watchdogs. Critics argue that repeated pledges to strengthen oversight have often followed, rather than prevented, high-profile scandals, casting doubt on the government’s commitment to meaningful reform.
At the centre of the Cabinet’s discussions was a proposal to introduce a nationwide digital system for monitoring corruption cases. Under the plan, the Ministry of Justice would establish an electronic database known as the Unified Registry for the Monitoring of Corruption Cases, designed to track every procedural stage of corruption-related offences, from initial investigation to final judicial resolution.
The government says the registry would allow for closer monitoring of cases as they move through the justice system and facilitate the collection of statistical data to assess how effectively existing laws are applied. Officials also claim it would help speed up criminal proceedings and improve institutional effectiveness. However, opposition figures and civil society groups have questioned whether new digital tools alone can address deeper structural problems, particularly when past scandals have involved failures of oversight by the very institutions now tasked with feeding data into the system.
The registry would function as a single digital platform operating across the country, with updates provided by certified officials from bodies including the Hellenic Parliament, courts and prosecutors’ offices, police authorities, the National Transparency Authority, and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue. Critics note that the effectiveness of such a system will ultimately depend on the independence and political will of these institutions.
The proposal also includes the publication of an annual report, to be made publicly available on the Ministry of Justice’s website and submitted to Parliament’s Special Standing Committee on Institutions and Transparency. While the government presents this as a safeguard for accountability, sceptics argue that similar reporting mechanisms in the past have done little to prevent misconduct or restore confidence.
For Mitsotakis, the initiative is framed as an effort to meet Greece’s international and European anti-corruption obligations and to reassure partners concerned about rule-of-law standards. Yet for many observers, the move is seen less as a breakthrough and more as a defensive response to mounting criticism, as public confidence in the government’s handling of corruption scandals remains fragile.
