Kallikratis program

Administrative division of Greece after the Kallikratis reform

The Kallikratis program ( Greek Πρόγραμμα Καλλικράτης Prógramma Kallikrátis ) describes an extensive reform of the Greek administration that was initiated in 2010 with the aim of cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy. The reform was legitimized by Law 3852/2010 “New Architecture of Self-Government and Decentralized Administration - Kallikratis Program” in May 2010 and came into force on January 1, 2011.

background

In 1997, Law No. 2539/1997, the Kapodistrias Plan, passed a comprehensive administrative reform. This reduced, among other things, the number of municipalities from 5775 to 1033 and abolished the provinces (eparchíes) . After the introduction of the new administrative structure, it was seen as in need of further reform. Drafts for a further local government reform have been discussed since 2005 under the heading Kapodistrias 2 . Various drafts provided for a further reduction in the number of municipalities to around 400.

The change of government in October 2009 and the emergence of the Greek sovereign debt crisis highlighted the urgency of the reform. The problem of the inflation of the public service, the inefficiency of the Greek administration and the need for austerity measures entered the public consciousness. The International Monetary Fund and the EU countries, which the Papandreou government asked for financial aid, made their support dependent on serious and far-reaching savings and reforms.

Cornerstones of the reform

The reform , named after Kallikrates , the builder of the Acropolis, provided that the current five administrative levels would be reduced to three. At the same time, thousands of state agencies should be abolished or merged.

• The number of 1034 parishes was reduced to 325 . With the exception of Crete and Evia , each island has only one municipal administration.
• The former 54 prefectures were replaced by 13 autonomously administered regions with an elected president. The former 13 administrative regions, however, have been replaced by seven administrative directorates with a head appointed by the government.
• The number of administrative offices in the municipal districts and municipal companies was reduced from 6,000 to 2,000.
• The number of elected representatives was halved. The positions of mayors, prefects and prefectural advisors - 80% paid - were reduced from 50,000 to 25,000. This should save 60% of the salary costs of 914 mayors, 120 mayors, 57 prefects, 195 vice-prefects, 1,496 prefectural councils and 703 regional councils.
• According to media reports, the Kallikratis reform affected 200,000 employees.
• The Kallikratis program should bring annual savings of 1.8 billion euros.

Legislative process

The Kallikratis plan was approved by the Council of Ministers on April 28, 2010 and then presented to the public by the Minister of the Interior, Decentralization and E-Government Giannis Ragousis .

“The plan signals the end of an era for the most centralized state in Europe and the beginning of a new course ... There is now a general awareness that the lavish, clientele-oriented, centralized and inefficient state is the root cause of the Greek problem as we are today experience"

- Giannis Ragousis

The draft law was presented to the Greek Parliament on May 21, 2010 and passed on May 27, 2010.

The reform came into force on January 1, 2011; the local elections on November 7th and 14th 2010 were based on the new administrative structure.

Changes in the local authorities through the Kallikratis program (overview)

	Former administrative structure	Administrative division according to the Kallikratis program
Parish ( Δήμος Dimos )	Local ( municipal ) administrative level. A total of 914 communities ( δήμοι dimi ) and 120 rural communities ( κοινότητες kinotites ). Most of them emerged in 1997 from the "Kapodistrias Program". Divided into municipal districts ( δημοτικά διαμερίσματα dimotika diamerismata ); previously independent communities elect their own local representatives as communities (singular κοινότητα kinotita ).	Local ( municipal ) administrative level. Reduction to 325 municipalities through voluntary or forced associations. Partial assumption of the responsibilities of the prefectures. The communities are divided into community districts ( δημοτικές ενότητες dimotikes enotites ), whose areas are identical to the old communities. The municipalities in turn are divided indeed by population in local government (singular τοπική κοινοτιτα topiki kinotita ), in rural areas in the sense of local communities or municipalities (singular δημοτική κοινότητα Dimotiki kinotita ) choose, each corresponding to the old municipal districts and local representatives.
(Prefecture Νομαρχία Nomarchie )	Regional , second administrative level with self-administration. A total of 3 over-prefectures and 54 prefectures. Division of the country into prefectures, attica into prefectural districts.	Abolished. The previous prefectures are only managed as dependent regional districts (singular περιφερειακή ενότητα periferiaki enotita ).
Region ( Περιφέρεια Periferia )	Regional , third administrative level without self-administration A total of 13 administrative regions (singular διοικιτική περιφέρεια diikitiki periferia ) Responsible for the coordination and legal oversight of the local authorities as well as the implementation of state policy at the regional level. The Secretary General of the Region ( γενικός γραμματέας genikos grammateas ) is appointed by the government.	Regional , second administrative level with self-administration. Partial assumption of the responsibilities of the prefectures. 13 regions (singular Περιφέρεια Periferia ) in the same geographical boundaries as the previous administrative regions Elected governor ( περιφερειάρχης periferiarchis ) and regional councilor.
7 administrative directorates (singular Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Apokendromeni Diikisi , German decentralized authority )	There wasn't.	Total 7: Attica, based in Athens Thessaly / Central Greece, seat in Larisa Epirus / West Macedonia, seat in Ioannina Peloponnese, Western Greece and Ionian Sea, seat in Patras Aegean Sea, based in Piraeus Crete, seat in Heraklion Macedonia / Thrace, seat in Thessaloniki Its head (general secretary) is appointed by the government. Basically take over the responsibilities of the old regions.
Municipal companies	Around 6,000 companies and legal entities in the municipalities.	Reduced to around 2,000 through mergers or dissolutions.
Municipal finance	Funds from the state budget, European programs, municipal taxes, own funds (e.g. from municipal companies, beach management, quarries, etc.)	As until now. In addition, there are shares in the state taxes (VAT, income tax, property tax)
Local elections	Every 4 years in October. If the first does not get 42% of the vote, there will be a runoff between the two leaders on the following Sunday.	Every 5 years in June, at the same time as the European Parliament elections (with the exception of the 2010 election ). An absolute majority is required. If this is not achieved, the two leaders will be cast off on the following Sunday.

Reactions

The newspaper Adesmevtos Typos ran the headline in April 2010 that the Kallikratis plan "provokes a civil war".

The mayor of Elliniko municipality in southern Athens went on a hunger strike in April 2010 to protest the plan.

On May 3, 2010, municipal workers went on strike and demonstrated in protest against the reform project.

During Parliament's deliberations on the draft law at the end of May 2010, numerous municipal employees and mayors demonstrated in front of the parliament building.

Scientific studies in 2011 doubted whether the administrative reform could be successfully implemented against the background of the financial and sovereign debt crisis in Europe and especially in Greece. The new decentralized orientation of the administration as well as the implicit restructuring of the responsibilities require a willingness to change from all those involved. For example, new knowledge about the new structures must be conveyed and accepted. The employees or civil servants may have to be ready to move to another location (mobility). The employees and civil servants have to accept cuts in salaries, forced transfers and personnel restructuring through the dismissal of colleagues.

corrections

Five large municipalities were dissolved again into smaller municipalities in 2019 (Corfu, Kefalonia, Lesbos, Samos and Servion-Velentiou). Especially in rural areas, the concept of the large community had not proven itself despite local district offices.

Web links

• Greek Ministry of Interior: The Kallikratis Program (Greek)
• Greek Ministry of the Interior: Draft law of May 21, 2010 (Greek) (PDF; 2.2 MB)
• Παρουσία : The Kallikratis Program (Greek)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Act No. 3852. (PDF; 1.743 kB) New architecture of self-government and decentralized administration - Kallikratis program. (No longer available online.) In: Government newspaper of the Hellenic Republic, Volume 1, Sheet No. 87. June 7, 2010, archived from the original on February 2, 2014 ; accessed on March 13, 2020 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Nikolaos-Komninos Hlepas: The Impact of local government reforms in Greece: a critical overview . In: Lucica Matei, Spyridon Flogaitis (Ed.): Public Administration in the Balkans - from Weberian bureaucracy to New Public Management (=  South-Eastern European administrative studies - ASsee online series ). tape 1 . Editura Economicǎ, 2011, ISBN 978-973-709-531-2 , pp. 67-87 .
3. ↑ Nikolaos Komninos Hlepas: Local government in Greece . In: Angel-Manuel Moreno (Ed.): Local Government in the Member States of the European Union: A Comparative Legal Perspective (=  Administración Local y Autonómica ). tape 1 . INAP, Madrid 2013, ISBN 978-84-7351-417-0 , pp. 257-282 .
4. ^ "Kallikratis" Re-establishes Local Administration. In: ERT . April 27, 2010, archived from the original on May 1, 2010 ; accessed on May 17, 2013 . 
5. ↑ «Καλλικράτης» . Φτωχός, πλην τίμιος . In: tovima.gr. May 1, 2010, accessed May 17, 2013 (Greek). 
6. ^ Robert Stadler: Greeks roll over privatization plans. In: The Standard. April 29, 2010, accessed May 17, 2013 . 
7. ↑ Unknown. (No longer available online.) In: Athens News Agency. April 29, 2010, formerly in the original ; accessed on May 17, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
8. ^ Draft law. (PDF; 2.2 MB) New architecture of self-government and decentralized administration - Kallikratis program. In: Report to the Greek Parliament. Hellenic Ministry of the Interior, May 21, 2010, accessed May 17, 2013 (Greek). 
9. ↑ Law No. 2539. (PDF; 6.2 MB) Συγκρότηση της Πρωτοβάθμιας Τοπικής Αυτοδιοίκησης . In: Government newspaper of the Hellenic Republic, issue 1, sheet No. 244. December 4, 1997, accessed on January 31, 2014 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b} 3463/2006 “Κύρωση του Κώδικα Δήμων και Κοινοτήτων” (Φ.Ε.Κ. 114 Α΄ / 08.06.2006) ; (City and Municipal Code 2006); compare → Τοπικό διαμέρισμα , Δημοτικό διαμέρισμα and Κοινοτικό διαμέρισμα , all Greek Wikipedia.
11. ↑ → Δημοτική ενότητα , Greek Wikipedia
12. ↑ Unknown. (No longer available online.) In: Athens News Agency. April 20, 2010, formerly in the original ; accessed on May 17, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  
13. ↑ Elliniko mayor goes on hunger strike again. In: Kathimerini. April 30, 2010, archived from the original on June 4, 2010 ; accessed on May 17, 2013 . 
14. ↑ Protests in Greece in response to massive austerity measures. (No longer available online.) In: Greece Newspaper. May 3, 2010, formerly in the original ; Retrieved May 17, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
15. ↑ Κλιμακώνουν τις αντιδράσεις. (No longer available online.) In: Agelioforos. May 4, 2010, archived from the original on September 14, 2011 ; Retrieved May 17, 2013 (Greek). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ↑ Protests against administrative reform "Kallikratis" are increasing. (No longer available online.) In: Greece Newspaper. May 26, 2010, formerly in the original ; Retrieved May 17, 2013 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.