Despite the fact that Greece has in place a decent RTI law our involvement in this project made it apparent that effectively it is not being implemented. Vouliwatch lodged three requests addressed to three different Ministries and all we got back was an acknowledgment of receipt from the Ministry of Administrative Reform and e-governance. The deadline for responding to requests as stipulated by the law was therefore not kept.

What is more, our experience showed us that there is neither the necessary administrative infrastructure (i.e. a relevant department, staff training) nor a clear methodology for dealing with right to information requests lodged by the public. In fact the requests that Vouliwatch lodged were sent via e-mail to addresses that were acquired after numerous phone calls to various ministerial departments. Therefore not only there is a serious lack of administrative infrastructure but also of information available to the public on how to go about exercising what in the end of the day is a constitutional right.

This is perhaps the most worrying finding of all as it most definitely acts as a deterrent for citizens wishing to gain access to public information.