Virtual conference, Argentina, 27 July 2020 Parliaments in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The phenomenon of the acceleration of e-Parliament.

1. The Hellenic Parliament’s e-response to
pandemic
Dr. Fotis Fitsilis
Head of Scientific Documentation & Supervision
Scientific Service – Hellenic Parliament
27 July 2020

2. 2
Line of thought
 Timeline
 Legal grounds
 Measures, digital /non-digital
 The next day
 Theoretical approach

3. 3
Basic timeline
25 February: First Executive Order by Greek government
12 March: Conference of Parliamentary Chairmen convened
2 April: Hellenic Parliament ratifies 25/2 order by law
Till 1 June: Postal voting allowed

4. 4
Legal grounds
 Greek Constitution: art. 44
 Executive Orders by the President of the Republic
 Need to be ratified by parliament within 40 days
 Standing Orders: art. 13-14 / art. 38
 Law 4682/2020 “Urgent measures to avoid and limit
the spread of the corona virus”

5. 5
General measures
 Adjustment of parliamentary work to social distancing
 Set an example for society
 Plenary: limited presence and speaking time
 Standing committees: continued working
 Special permanent committees: mostly suspended
 Parliamentary control: limited to once a week
 Administration: safety personnel

6. 6
Digital Transformation I
 Extension of teleconferencing facilities to plenary hall
 Activated teleconferencing for standing committees
 Limited use of teleconferencing by special permanent
committees
 Electronic submission of parliamentary control means

7. 7
Digital Transformation II
 Parliamentary administrators: safety personnel only
 Rest switched to home office / VPN access
 No disruption in Scientific Service operations
 Introducing and planning of new services:
 Speech recognition for semi-automatic minutes
 Digital signatures for MPs
 Cyber security and collaboration infrastructure

8. 8
Follow-up discussion
 Pandemic sped up digital transformation,
but…
 What happens if it strikes again?
 Sustainability of solutions  link to Agenda 2030
 Global knowledge base
 The role of stakeholders

9. 9
What has really happened?
 In need of a theory …
 Democratic principle and the role of parliaments
 Organizational transformation / management
 Crisis / change management
 Evaluation during crisis could be biased

10. 10
Thank you!
fitsilisf@parliament.gr
https://fitsilis.gr