Mr. Speaker,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of Parliament,

After the first session of this Committee and today’s hearing of stakeholders, I think the main conclusion about the bill is that it is in fact in the right direction and includes provisions whose effects are already positive.

Of course, the proposals submitted are always interesting and I am certain that their true purpose is to improve the working and living conditions of Armed Forces personnel. We are here to listen, discuss, and improve them and include those that are productive in the legislation.

Regarding what was said here during yesterday’s session which, despite the manner in which the MP in question addressed me, was very useful and constructive, I would like to stay on the main topics stressed and provide a few clarifications.

Regarding the Personnel Legal Support Offices, since I see that this is a subject that can be misconstrued, especially by someone who may be ill-disposed against the Ministry and the General Staffs, I assure you that no one intends to bypass the military chain of command.

Besides, these Offices are responsible to inform the numerous personnel of the Armed Forces on the provisions of the law and the orders of the Service so that the latter know their rights, do not make unsubstantiated assumptions, and their actions are not rendered void due to ignorance or lack of information.

Let’s not forget that discipline and reporting through the appropriate chain of command constitute the first and foremost rule taught to every serviceman and, of course, no guideline is provided to violate or bypass it.

I believe that no one disagrees that any cases of mismanagement, which are indeed rare in the Armed Forces, should be identified as soon as possible and the problems created resolved immediately and without bureaucratic procedures.

Regarding the equalisation of the military service for conscientious objectors and armed military service, this, as you are well aware, is a step to harmonise national legislation with the broader application framework of the European Convention on Human Rights. As Armed Forces, we must not make concessions in these matters or pretend that we do not know the legal framework that concerns us.

Regarding the abolition of the provision that allows the participation of representatives of the Federations in the boards deciding servicemen reassignments, I should remind you that the criteria examined by these councils include, indicatively, the following:

–      Information regarding the estimate of the Army’s fighting capability, its structure, and its present and future needs.

–      The contents of the servicemen’s individual records which include personal health information, court judgments, disciplinary penalties, family and financial information, etc.

Consequently, the representatives of the Panhellenic Federation of Armed Forces Unions, regardless of rank and position, who participate as “observers” become privy to all matters brought to the attention of the reassignment boards, something that creates the following serious substantial and legal issues:

First: It is institutionally unacceptable for the board meetings to take place under the control of persons who are outside their operation, task, and purpose. The role of the trade unions is not to participate in the command’s decision making process or to supervise it.

Furthermore, the board members, who also bear the burden and the responsibility of their opinion, must be free to express their opinions freely so that the evaluations are legally and substantially fair, without the threat of potential publication.

The guarantees of fairness of their choices are provided by law, while there are no guarantees for the proficiency, educational background, or objectivity of the “observers”.

Second: The “observers” become privy to classified information regarding the structure and staffing of the Army. This violates the main rule of military confidentiality, the need-to-know principle.

Third: The observers become privy to personal information of the servicemen without any reasonable cause or legal purpose for this. It should also be noted that the Officers whose information is notified to the representative of the Panhellenic Federation of Armed Forces Unions may not be members of it or consent to such notification.

For these reasons, the participation of representatives of the Panhellenic Federation of Armed Forces Unions must be abolished in order to safeguard both the authority of the Armed Forces and the ability of the Federation to focus on its actual mission.

That’s all I had to say, we can discuss the rest at the plenary session.

Thank you.