An era has come to an end with the last fax machines being removed from Greek Government offices.
Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that from now on Government communication with citizens would be conducted exclusively online.
“Our new digital state renders fax machines obsolete as we complete our march into the digital age,” Mr Mitsotakis said.
“Citizens will now interact with the State via the newly launched platform, gov.gr, without having to stand in line at State Agencies,” he said.
He said the Coronavirus pandemic had forced the Government to accelerate its digitalisation of public services, a project which had already been in the works.
Greece launched the gov.gr platform recently to enable citizens to access State services without leaving their homes.
More than 500 services, from medical prescriptions to tax clearance documents, can now be processed online, finally putting an end to the country’s infamous crippling red tape.
Minister for Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis said the platform was citizen-friendly and saved people from previously complicated bureaucratic procedures in order to acquire the simplest of documents.
“A new body called the National Register of Citizen Communications will enable various State Agencies to communicate with citizens electronically,” Mr Pierrakakis said.
“Each Greek citizen will receive a unique digital identification number so they can access State services from home and will not even have to use printed documents at all,” he said.
Greece ranked 26th out of the then 28 European Union member States in the 2019 EU Digital Economy and Society Index, based on current societal needs such as internet connectivity, digital public services and integration of digital technology.
Athens, 1 May, 2020
