The four-year Parliamentary term concluding today was the most productive of the last 40 years, Parliament President Constantine Tassoulas said on Tuesday evening.
Speaking on the last day of Parliament as it ends its legislative activity ahead of the May 21 session, Tassoulas gave the following data during his last speech:
- The term lasted from July 17, 2019 to April 11, 2023
- A total of 423 laws were passed (270 laws and 153 international treaties), a rise of 49% over the previous session (Sept. 2015-June 2019), when 284 laws were passed
- Fast-track bills "which had really annoyed us, especially the main opposition, during the first two months of this term," Tassoulas said, only concerned 10 bills (3 urgent, 7 very urgent), compared to 47 urgent/very urgent ones in the previous term.
- Amendments, "for which we receive a lot of criticism," he said, dropped by 50% within the four years. A toal of 717 amendments were passed, compared to 1,422 in the previous term.
Tassoulas added that a total of 2,553 questions by deputies to ministers were tabled in Parliament in this session, up 51% compared to the previous term (1,687). He noted however that of these questions to ministers, 76% were discussed and the rest (24%) was not discussed following agreement between ministers and deputies who tabled them. He called 'impressive' the fact that "in the previous term, 51% of the questions tabled were discussed," while 30% of ministers "were inexcusably absent." He said that the qualitative improvement was due to everyone in Parliament and the presidium and special secretary as well."
"This Parliament was the most productive of the last 40 years. In terms of legislative production, the session of 2000-2004 approaches it, with 408 laws passed. The current number is lower than the Parliaments following the fall of the junta, which had over 400 laws passed until 1981, due to the need to change the dictatorship's laws," Tassoulas said.
Providing these numbers, he added, was helpful "for all of us to realize the size of the work carried out, despite the fact that we did not agree on everything, reactions and clashes were not avoided, but all this is part of the game of democracy."
The outgoing president was given a standing ovation by deputies after his speech.