Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis unveiled the government’s plans to reform the civil service yesterday (7.04), stressing that the public sector has shed 200,000 employees over the past four years, reducing the state payroll for civil servants by €8 billion.

Mitsotakis presented his ministry’s reform plan for the next two years to an audience that included officials of the European Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). He underscored that the authorities are moving "from quantitative targets to the fulfilment of qualitative reforms." The aim is to make the best possible use of the available human resources in Greece’s civil service, he said, citing a new procedure aimed at boosting transparency and meritocracy.

"It is the first time that such a complex exercise is being carried out for the evaluation of structures, the drafting of staffing plans and the designation of positions of responsibility," Mitsotakis said.