The government’s planned educational and judicial reforms should be viewed as a necessary condition for the functioning of a contemporary European state.

Any delay in implementing them is harmful for social cohesion, productivity, and the new trust in its institutions which the state must establish.

For example, the new framework law which the government and the education ministry are rightly pushing forward has at its core meritocracy in selecting teaching staff, and a properly understood autonomy of educational institutions in making their decisions.

One might say that just by seeing who is reacting to the planned changes one can understand that the reforms are in the right direction and that they will put an end to a slow-moving educational system, learning process, and operation.

The same is true with the proper changes in the justice system, which must also go forward decisively. The reform of the Criminal Code and the swifter meting out of justice are not simply piecemeal changes.

They are reforms that will redefine and bolster the judiciary’s prestige and the relationship of citizens with the state.

The reforms are necessary steps for Greece to harmonise with the realities of the new century, which demand that universities and the educational process be synchronised with current needs and new realities and that the judiciary be solid, inclusive, and trustworthy.

The time has come.

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