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European Commission calls on GREECE to remove the requirement of Greek nationality to access high-level posts in public service: INFR(2020)4132.
Each Member State of the European Union shall apply EU law and take appropriate action to that end. The European Commission is the body responsible for detecting possible breaches of EU law.
In the event that a Member State does not apply Union law and fails to fulfill any of the obligations laid down in the EU Treaties, the European Commission may initiate formal infringement proceedings under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU (details of infringement proceedings here).
Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) establishes the principle of non-discrimination based on nationality between workers of different Member States. The public service benefits from an exception that the Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted restrictively. The Court has confirmed that Member States can reserve a post in their public service for their own nationals only if the post involves direct or indirect participation in the exercise of powers conferred by public law, and duties designed to safeguard the general interests of the State or of other public authorities. This has to be decided on a case-by-case basis, based on the nature and responsibilities of the post.
As mentioned in the “October infringement package: key decisions/12-11-2021“, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Greece for its non-compliance with EU law regarding access to high-ranking positions in the public sector [infringement number : INFR (2020) 4132]. This is because Greek law restricts access to high-ranking positions in the Greek public administration and certain public entities (such as the positions of Director-General, Director and Head of Department) exclusively to Greek nationals. This legislation breaches EU rules on the freedom of movement for workers and on the prohibition of discrimination based on nationality between workers in the EU.
The application of EU law is an obligation of the Member States of the European Union. If possible breaches of EU law are detected, the European Commission may take a series of actions against that Member State to ensure the correct and full application of EU law by initiating infringement proceedings in accordance with Articles 258 and 260 of the TFEU.
In this case, the European Commission sent a reasoned opinion, due to its non-compliance with EU law regarding the requirement of Greek citizenship for access to high-ranking positions in the public sector.
This requirement is contrary to EU law and should, in the Commission’s view, be abolished, as it violates EU rules on the free movement of workers and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality between workers in the European Union.
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