Cancellation of the competition for new personalities suddenly announced yesterday government. This is a much-discussed €515 million tender that New Democracy itself announced at the end of 2019 for titles of protection.

According to a related post posted by ministry of civil protection, the cancellation of the competition occurs as a result of the decision to extend the validity of passports from five to ten years. The relevant press release mentions that “a significant change has been recorded in both financial and technical parameters related to the procurement process (…) The total cost of a particular tender has been reduced by at least 56.5 million euros, with a self-evident significant financial benefit in benefit of the Greek state, a fact which must be taken into account in the context of the proper management of public money.”

The market operator explained that the contractor’s remuneration depended on the volume of documents submitted, and therefore doubling the validity of passports would significantly reduce his income. The representative of the ministry noted that the decision was made on the recommendation of the General Directorate of Police and with the consent of the State Legal Council.

The same source, in response to clarifying questions “K”noted that new procedures will be initiated (probably a new tender) so that by 2026, when the EU deadline expires, Greece will replace the old identity cards with new ones.

In addition, the thwarted tender concerned the issuance of not only police identification cards, which are considered among the oldest and most easily forged in Europe, but also passports. However, it should be recalled that ten days after the 2019 elections, the newly elected government canceled the tender for the same project that was announced by the SYRIZA government in order to launch a new one at the end of the same year. , changing the methods of its specification. In fact, there have been reports in the opposition press linking this development to specific business interests.