In recent decades, the framework for the implementation of economic and fiscal policy has changed within the European Union and specifically in the Eurozone. Our country, as a member state of the Eurozone, participates in the coordination of fiscal policy, which is essential among member states that share the common currency of the Euro and a common monetary policy.

Thus, the need arose to adopt a set of policy measures to strengthen the framework of economic governance, as well as the effectiveness of the oversight of public law entities. In Greece, as in the other Eurozone countries, rules and supervisory procedures were established to support the broader effort for consolidation and discipline, along with significant reform initiatives to bolster the auditing mechanism.

Law 4270/2014 regulates issues concerning the monitoring and execution of the budgets of all entities of the General Government, within the targets and limits set by the Hellenic Parliament. Consequently, the supervisory role of the State Budget Office in Parliament has been upgraded, increasing transparency regarding the execution of the State Budget and General Government Budget with periodic public updates that are also published.

A digital upgrade of the processes and information systems was implemented to meet the new needs of public electronic governance, based on new foundations and requirements of government actions. Additionally, the upgrading of control mechanisms that contribute to combating fraud in supervised entities has started and continues.

Despite the significant steps taken in the right direction in recent decades in our country to cope with effective fiscal policy implementation at the European level, it was necessary to amend Law 2362/1995 concerning the Public Accounting and align it with current regulations in the Eurozone.

Given the major changes, a new law was shaped that abolished Law 2362/1995 and incorporated the amendments established by Law 3871/2010, the provisions of Law 4111/2013 which amended Law 2362/1995, and the European Directive 2011/85/EU, which defined the requirements for the preparation and execution of Member States' budgets for more effective monitoring of all General Government entities.

Thus, with Law 4270/2014, the reshaping of the legal framework mainly focuses on the roles and responsibilities of the institutional bodies involved in fiscal management and in the preparation and formulation of the State Budget, as well as in the design of the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy Framework (MTFS).

Furthermore, provisions of European legislation are incorporated with the introduction of the concept of the medium-term fiscal target. Regarding the structure of Law 4270/2014 presented in this edition, the following points are highlighted:

PART A regulates issues of the Fiscal Council, with Articles 1-13 addressing the purpose, the composition of the board of directors, its staffing, and the relationships of the fiscal council with the Parliament. It also establishes the operational rules of the state and other regulatory authorities, as well as the resources, the budget, the annual reports, and their audit.

PART B (Articles 14-48) refers to the general provisions of the fiscal framework, defining the responsibilities, rules, and medium-term strategy of the institutional bodies (Hellenic Parliament, Cabinet, General Accounting Office of the State) and other heads of General Government entities. It identifies the fiscal rules, the corrective mechanism, the general principles, and the manner of managing public sector finances.

Specifically, in Chapter D (Articles 42-48), applying Directive 2011/85/EU related to the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy Framework (MTFS), the strategy for the preparation, voting, and updating of this framework is determined, as well as the implications and commitments of the MTFS.

PART C (Articles 49-64b) regulates the general principles for the preparation of annual budgets (State Budget and Budget of General Government entities) and their approval.

PART D (Articles 65-155A) defines the manner of executing the budgets, the mechanisms for monitoring them, and the responsibilities of the Court of Audit regarding the preventive audit of the expenditures and revenues of General Government entities. Additionally, the responsibilities of heads of financial services are distributed and modified, along with other public sector issues, (e.g., deadlines for sending documentation, issuing titles, payment of expenses, and settlement of pending issues of public sector entities).

PART E (Articles 156-167) specifies the method for maintaining the accounting framework of the General Government and regulates the accounting plan used, the accounting representation of entries, and the manner of keeping accounting books so that, with the preparation of Financial Statements and Balance Sheets, it aligns with the accounts of the General Accounting and undergoes audit of these statements.

PART F (Articles 168-170) presents and delineates the method by which internal accounting control of accounting monitoring based on the submitted and approved budget, the approved expenditures, and the manner of their payment should be conducted.

PART G (Articles 171-175A) regulates the penalties for General Government entities, Local Authorities, as well as supervised private law entities and public utility companies in Chapter A of Law 3429/2005 and entities outside the General Government in cases of non-compliance with the provisions of the law.

Finally, PART H refers to repealed transitional and other provisions that enter into effect with the enforcement of Law 4270/2014.