(Emblem)

OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT GAZETTE

OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC

9 March 2021 1ST ISSUE No. 36

LAW No. 4782

Modernization, simplification and reform of the public procurement regulatory framework, specifications on the procurement for defense and security and other provisions for development, infrastructure and health.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC

We issue the following law adopted by the Parliament:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART A’

ISSUES OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, SERVICES AND WORKS CONTRACTS

CHAPTER A’

DEFINITIONS

Article 1 Definitions - Amendment of the title and par. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of article 2 of Law 4412/2016

CHAPTER B’

AWARD PROCEDURE

Article 2 Settlement of issues of appeal in a negotiated procedure without prior publication - Replacement of article 32A of Law 4412/2016

Article 3 Electronic auctions - Amendment of the title and addition of par. 11 to article 34 of Law 4412/2016

Article 4 Obligation to use - Operation of the National System for Online Public Contracts (ESIDIS) - Amendment of the title and replacement of article 36 of Law 4412/2016

Article 5 Security policy of ESIDIS - Amendment of par. 3, 4 and 5 of article 37 of Law 4412/2016

Article 6 Central Electronic Public Procurement Registry (KIMDIS) - Amendment of the title and par. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 of article 38 of Law 4412/2016 Article 7 National Central Purchasing Bodies and public procurement planning - Amendment of the title and replacement of article 41 of Law 4412/2016

Article 8 Procedures for the award of contracts with contracting authorities from different Member States - Amendment of par. 2 of article 43 of Law 4412/2016

Article 9 Technical adequacy of contracting authorities in public works and studies contracts - Amendment of par. 1 and 3, deletion of par. 2 of article 44 of Law 4412/2016

Article 10 Preparation and keeping of a public procurement dossier - Amendment of the title and par. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, deletion of par. 5 and 6 and addition of par. 9 to article 45 of Law 4412/2016

Article 11 Preliminary market consultations - Amendment of the title and replacement of article 46 of Law 4412/2016

Article 12 Rules for conducting preliminary market consultations - Replacement of article 47 of Law 4412/2016

Article 13 Previous involvement of candidates or tenderers - Replacement of article 48 of Law 4412/2016

Article 14 Adequacy of budget, maturity, studies - Replacement of article 49 of Law 4412/2016

Article 15 Public works contracts with study evaluation - Amendment of the title, par. 1, 2 and 5 and addition of par. 6, 7 and 8 to article 50 of Law 4412/2016

Article 16 Content of contract documents - Amendment of the title and par. 2 and 5 of article 53 of Law 4412/2016

Article 17 Technical specifications - Amendment of the title and par. 9 of article 54 of Law 4412/2016

Article 18 Subcontracting - Replacement of article 58 of Law 4412/2016

Article 19 Publication at national level - Amendment of par. 1, 2 and 6 and addition of par. 7 to article 66 of Law 4412/2016

Article 20 Information for candidates and tenderers - Addition of par. 4 to article 70 of Law 4412/2016

Article 21 Guarantees - Amendment of the title and replacement of article 72 of Law 4412/2016

Article 22 Grounds for exclusion - Amendment of the title and replacement of article 73 of Law 4412/2016 Article 23 Exclusion of an economic operator from public procurement - Amendment of the title and replacement of article 74 of Law 4412/2016

Article 24 Selection criteria in procedures for the award of a public works contract - Replacement of article 76 of Law 4412/2016

Article 25 Selection criteria in procedures for the award of a public study contract or the provision of technical and other related scientific services - Replacement of article 77 of Law 4412/2016

Article 26 Reliance on the capacities of other bodies - Amendment of par. 1 of article 78 of Law 4412/2016

…

Article 220

Extension of building permits in earthquake-stricken and fire-stricken areas - Amendment of par. 4 of Law 4258/2014

Paragraph 4 of article 11 of Law 4258/2014 (A’ 94) is amended and worded as follows:

“4. The validity of building repair permits in earthquake-stricken and fire- stricken areas that according to special regulations of ministerial decisions authorized by Law 1190/1981 (A’ 203), which had not expired on 01.03.2011, shall be extended until 31.12.2021. The Minister of Infrastructure and Transport may by his own decision extend the above deadline, if required, up to three (3) years from its expiration.”.

CHAPTER H’

OTHER PROVISIONS ON THE JURISDICTION OF THE MINISTRY OF DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENTS

Article 221

Extension of the suspension of auctions for fire victims

The execution of any act of enforcement concerning movable and immovable property to the detriment of natural or legal persons who fall or have fallen temporarily or permanently in an unforeseen state of emergency due to the fires that hit areas of the Attica Region on the 23rd and 24th of July 2018 shall be suspended, in particular the execution of auctions, seizures, expulsions (evictions) and personal detentions, along with the deadlines for lodging oppositions and applications concerning the enforcement proceedings from 25.01.2021 to 25.01.2022. Article 222

Tax-free, inalienable and unseizable aid to be paid under the NSRF co- funded action "e-retail - Subsidy of existing SMEs in the retail sector, for the development/upgrade and management of an e-shop"

For the duration of the emergency measures to respond to the risk of spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, and in any case not beyond December 31st, 2021, the aid to be paid under the NSRF co-funded action "e-retail - Subsidy of existing SMEs in the retail sector, for the development/upgrade and management of an e- shop" shall not be subject to any tax, fee, contribution or other withholding in favor of the State, including the special solidarity levy of article 43A of Law 4172/2013 (A’ 167), shall be inalienable and unseizable in the hands of the State or third parties, by way of derogation from any other general or specific provision to the contrary, shall not be bound and offset by established debts to the State, legal persons under public law, local authorities and their legal entities, insurance funds and credit institutions. The beneficiaries of this aid shall be exempted from the obligation to provide a tax and a social security clearance certificate for their participation in the actions and the receipt of the aid.

Article 223

Procedure for calculating legal interest in cases of recovery of an amount of aid given to investment plans of Laws 1892/1990, 2601/1998 and 3299/2004

1. If, during the application of Laws 1892/1990 (A’ 101), 2601/1998 (A’ 81) and 3299/2004 (A’ 261), the partial or total reimbursement of the amount of aid paid is decided, increased by the amount of the legal interest from the respective payment and at any time until the drawing up of the monetary list, the amount of interest, requested by the Greek State, may not exceed forty percent (40%) of the amount of the capital to be recovered. 2. Par. 1 also shall also apply to decisions for the recovery of aids paid for interest amounts, which have been established in cash by the competent services of the tax administration. For the application of the present law, the interested parties shall submit, within an exclusive period of six (6) months from the publication of the law to the host institutions of investment plans, through the State Aid Information System (PSKE), a request for recalculation of the total amount to be recovered, adjusting accordingly the amount of legal interest in accordance with par. 1. The request for recalculation shall be sent to the competent services of the tax administration for the issuance of the relevant cash certificates, under articles 55 et seq. of the Presidential Decree 16/1989 (A’ 6). 3. Amounts of interest regarding the decisions to recover the aids paid, which have been received, shall not be refundable, unless the conditions of par. 1 shall be met and if no irrevocable decision has been issued after the exercise of the remedies provided by law before the competent courts, either against the operations of recovery of the repayment aids paid or against their cash certificates and the interested investors shall submit the request for interest recalculation of par. 2 within an exclusive period of six (6) months from the publication of this law.

Article 224

Evaluators of research projects of the Ministry of Development and Investments - Addition of par. 16 to article 24 of Law 4310/2014

In article 24 of Law 4310/2014 (A’ 258) a new par. 16 is added, as follows:

“16. The registered members in the Certified Evaluators Register of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI) of the Ministry of Development and Investments of article 27, the members of the Register of Certified Evaluators - Experts of par. 11 of article 5 of Law 4429/2016 (A’ 199), the evaluators of par. 4 of article 31 herein, as well as the evaluators of the companies to be included in the National Startup Registry of article 47 of Law 4712/2020 (A’ 146) shall not fall under article 1 of Law 3213/2003 (A’ 309) and shall not be obliged to declare assets, only from their participation in procedures of evaluation or certification of actions, proposals or calls issued by GSRI or the Special Service for Management and Implementation of Actions in the fields of Research, Technological Development and Innovation (MIA-RTDI) or H.F.R.I., from the evaluation of their research centers and institutions, as well as from the evaluation of the companies applying for their inclusion in the National Startup Registry, from the date of setting-up of the Register by virtue of Law 4712/2020 (A’ 146).”.

CHAPTER I’

ARRANGEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL CRISIS AND RISK MANAGEMENT MECHANISM

Article 225

Arrangements for the National Crisis and Risk Management Mechanism

1. By decision of the Government Council of National Security (KYSEA), taken after a proposal by the Inter-ministerial Committee for National Planning of Civil Protection of par. 1 of article 8 of Law 4662/2020 (A’ 27), the programs of the National Crisis and Risk Management Mechanism shall be determined and approved in terms of procurement, services and works. The Inter-ministerial Committee for National Planning of Civil Protection shall formulate its proposal upon the recommendation of the Minister in charge of civil protection, including in particular the justification of the type, necessity and potential, as well as the estimated total cost, which shall be determined following the report of an independent certified public accountant or a respected auditing firm. 2. The activation of programs of par. 1 shall be performed upon the decision of the Minister in charge of civil protection. The process of implementation of the services, procurement and works of programs of par. 1 concerning undisclosed expenditure of article 53 of Law 4662/2020 shall be carried out under a direct award or under a negotiation with or without prior publication. The subjection of the expenditure of programs of the National Crisis and Risk Management Mechanism in the scope of par. 2 of article 53 of Law 4662/2020 shall be performed upon a specially reasoned decision of the Minister in charge of civil protection, after advice from the Special Expenditure Committee of par. 6 of article 53 of Law 4662/2020. 3. If there is an extreme urgency, which requires the immediate implementation of a program on national security, protection of public order and safety, health, life and property of citizens and protection of the environment, as necessary, it shall be possible to recourse to the negotiation procedure without prior publication with one or more economic operators, according to case c’ of par. 2 of article 32 of Law 4412/2016 (A’ 147). 4. The contracts hereof shall be subject to the pre-contractual review of the legality of the Court of Auditors, by virtue of article 324 of Law 4700/2020 (A’ 127). The contracts of programs of par. 1 shall be excluded from the review. According to them, one government shall award to another government the procurement of equipment and instruments, the provision of services and the execution of works related to the National Crisis and Risk Management Mechanism, as well as the procurement, services and works contracts of programs of par. 1 governed by special procedural rules under an international agreement or arrangement concluded between one or more states and/or between one or more international organizations. 5. The procedures for the award and performance of procurement, services and works contracts that are part of the programs of the National Crisis and Risk Management Mechanism shall be carried out by: a) the specification committees, b) the tender and negotiation committees, c) the objection committees and d) the receiving committees. The committees of the first subparagraph shall be set up upon the decision of the Minister in charge of civil protection. This decision shall specify the full and alternate members, coming from the staff of the General Secretariat for Civil Protection, as well as the term of office and shall specialize in any other issue related to the setting up and functioning of the committees. A person who has participated in the specification committee shall not be eligible to participate in the other committees of the same program. 6. The procurement, services and works contracts hereof shall include a special integrity clause, based on which economic operators and their legal representatives, who participate in the procedures for the conclusion and performance of the relevant contracts, shall commit that at all stages prior to the award of the contract they have not acted improperly, illegally or abusively, and that they will continue to do so during the performance of the contract. The integrity clause shall be binding for the economic operators and their legal representatives upon signing the contract. If the economic operators contravene the integrity clause, the exclusion from the contract and the forfeiture of the good performance guarantee shall be cumulatively imposed, by decision of the Minister in charge of civil protection.

Article 226

Arrangement for the public property of the National Crisis and Risk Management Mechanism

By way of derogation from case o’ of par. 1 of article 40 of Law 4495/2017 (A’ 167), regarding the supporting documents required for the issuance of a building permit, the public property of Structures and Services of Law 4662/2020 (A’ 27) shall be exempted from the obligation to submit a notarized declaration of the parking places of article 1 of Law 1221/1981 (A’ 292) and its certificate of transfer to the land register or its registration in the relevant cadastral office.

Article 227

Repealed provisions of Part C’

1. Par. 3 of article 87 of Law 4530/20218 (A’ 59) is deleted. 2. Par. 7 of article 21 of the Royal Decree 465/1970 (A’ 150) is deleted.

CHAPTER J’

OTHER PROVISIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE AND HEALTH

Article 228

Provisions for the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) - Amendment of Law 4429/2016

The following amendments are made to Law 4429/2016 (A’ 199): 1. In article 1, par. 7 is added as follows:

“7. The evaluation provided in article 31 of Law 4310/2014 (A’ 258) shall be applied accordingly to H.F.R.I. “.

2. The fifth subparagraph of par. 6 of article 5 is amended and par. 6 is worded as follows: “6. The evaluation of the proposals of the candidate beneficiaries shall be performed by a committee of evaluators, consisting of five (5) to twenty (20) members. The evaluation committee may be assisted in its work by one or more independent experts depending on the type and number of scientific fields covered by an action or program. The said experts and the members of the evaluation committees shall be drawn from the Certified Evaluators Register of paragraph 11 and until its establishment from the Certified Evaluators Register of article 27 of Law 4310/2014 (A’ 258) and have the qualifications related to the subject of the project to be evaluated. The experts and the committee shall be appointed by the Scientific Council, following a recommendation of the Thematic Advisory Committee of article 8. If for a certain evaluation there are no experts required for the specific case or the existing ones do not cover the needs of the specific evaluation, it shall be allowed, by decision of the Scientific Council, to appoint special scientists as members who are fiscal residents abroad and are not included in the Certified Evaluators Register. For the remuneration of the experts and the members of the committees of this paragraph, the provisions of par. 10 of article 5 of Law 4429/2016 shall be applied, as in force each time. For the expenses of their travels away, the provisions of article 2 of subparagraph D.9 of par. D of Law 4336/2015 shall apply. The selection, appointment, travel away and remuneration of the experts and members of the committees shall be published and uploaded in the Transparency Program immediately after the evaluations are performed and completed.”.

3. Case c’ is added in par. 11 of article 5 and par. 11 is worded as follows:

“11. a. In order to evaluate proposals, examine objections and certify funded actions of the Foundation, a Register of Certified Evaluators – Experts shall be established, consisting of acclaimed scientists. The independent experts and the members of the committees of experts and objections of paragraphs 5 and 8 respectively as well as the certifiers referred to in paragraph 3 of article 4 shall be drawn from this Register. b. The determination of formal and substantial qualifications and the certification of the Register’s members of paragraph 6 shall be carried out by a five-member committee, established by decision of the Minister and consisting of three (3) members from the Advisory Committee and two (2) members from the Scientific Council of the Foundation. c. By decision of the competent Minister, the Register of case a’ may be integrated with the Certified Evaluators Register kept by the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation (GSRI). The same decision, after advice from the National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation (NCRTI), shall determine the procedure for integrating the Registers, the procedure and the conditions for the evaluators’ registration in the integrated Register, as well as any other relevant details, according to article 27 of Law 4310/2014 (A’ 258). “.

4. The fourth and fifth subparagraphs of par. 2 of article 8 are amended and par. 2 is worded as follows:

“2. Individuals who have been distinguished for their international work and experience in the respective field above shall be elected as members of the SC. The specific qualifications of the members of the SC shall be defined in the Internal Rules of Procedure. The membership of the SC shall be incompatible with that of the Council of Ministers, the Deputy Minister, the General or Special Secretary of the Ministry or an independent General Secretariat, the Member of Parliament, the Regional Governor, the Deputy Regional Governor, the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. Also, the membership of the SC shall be incompatible with that of the General Assembly and the Director of the Foundation. A member of the SC cannot submit an application for funding to H.F.R.I. nor be a member of a scientific team that has submitted an application.”.

5. In par. 9 of article 8 case d’ is deleted and par. 9 is worded as follows:

“9. The Scientific Council shall manage the Foundation and shall have in particular the following responsibilities:

a. To ensure the achievement of the Foundation’s goals, based on the national policy for research and innovation. b. To accept donations and all types of funding. c. To establish the judging committees and the objection committees for the evaluation of the proposals and the selection of the final beneficiaries and monitor their proper functioning in line with the principles of merit and transparency. The members of the Scientific Council may not participate in these committees. d. (deleted) e. To approve the Foundation’s budget, upon the recommendation of the Director. f. To recommend to the General Assembly any collaborations and partnerships of the Foundation with public and private sector bodies, in or abroad. g. To recommend to the Minister the amendment of the Internal Rules of Procedure. h. To approve the functioning of services and offices of the Foundation in other cities of the Greek Territory, upon the Director’s recommendation.”.

6. In article 9, par. 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9 are amended, par. 4 is deleted, case i’ of par. 7 is replaced, par. 10 is added and the article is worded as follows:

“Article 9 Director

1. The Director of the Foundation shall be a scientist with international prestige and experience, administrative experience and remarkable research activity. The qualifications of the Director shall be specified in the Internal Rules of Procedure. 2. The Director shall be appointed by a decision of the competent Minister, which is published in the Official Government Gazette, for a four-year term, renewable only once. If, at the end of the term of office of the Director, a new Director has not yet been appointed, the current Director shall continue in office until the appointment of the new Director but no later than three (3) months. If it is not possible to appoint a new Director within three (3) months after the end of the term of office of the previous director, exceptionally, the Scientific Council (SC) by its decision shall temporarily assign to its Chairman the task of managing current affairs. If the Chairman of the SC is absent or prevented for any reason, the duties of the Foundation’s Director shall be performed by one of the members of the Scientific Council, following a relevant decision. 3. The Director of the Foundation shall be selected as follows: a. The competent Minister shall issue and publish an open international call for interest to fill the position of Director at least six (6) months before the end of the term of office. The call, which shall be posted on the Foundation’s website in both Greek and English, shall include a detailed list of formal and substantial qualifications that the Director must have, as well as the method of evaluation of candidates, according to the Internal Rules of Procedure. The call shall be published in a daily newspaper launched all over the country, shall be posted on the website of the Foundation and of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation and shall be sent to the relevant international science-related lists digitally. b. In order to evaluate the candidates, a special judging committee shall be established, following the decision of the competent Minister, consisting of seven (7) acclaimed scientists with knowledge on the research subjects, the scientific fields of the Foundation and sufficient national and international experience in utilizing the research results and managing any bodies or research teams. The members of the committee shall be appointed as follows: five (5) members according to the procedure of case c’ and two (2) members according to the procedure of case d’. c. In order to establish the special judging committee of case b’, the Scientific Council shall suggest to the National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation (NCRTI) a list of at least fifteen (15) candidate judges, who shall have the required qualifications, no later than two (2) months after the submission end-date for applications for the position of Director. The suggested judges can also come from the members, either of the Scientific Council or of the General Assembly of the Foundation. The NCRTI shall have the right to add other members to this list or to remove any from it. If the period of two (2) months has elapsed without action, the NCRTI shall suggest the members of the list. From the list of members suggested by the NCRTI, the competent Minister shall select and appoint five (5) members with their substitutes. d. The Scientific Council, within two (2) months after the submission end-date for applications for the position of Director, shall select two (2) members with their substitutes for the establishment of the special judging committee, who may also come from the members of either the Scientific Council or the General Assembly of the Foundation. If the above period within which the Scientific Council has to appoint the aforementioned members has elapsed without action or if less members are appointed than the ones suggested, the NCRTI shall appoint the two (2) members, with their substitutes or those members missing, from the list of case c’. e. The members of the special judging committee shall not be allowed to be candidates for the position that has been announced. The special judging committee shall evaluate the candidates with specific justification and shall submit a list to the competent Minister including their evaluation order. In order to evaluate the candidates, the opinion of the last Director shall be also taken into account, which shall be expressed before the committee. In the event that the last Director shall be a candidate again, no opinion shall be expressed by him/her. The above opinion shall be expressed, as provided in the Internal Rules of Procedure of the Foundation. f. The competent Minister by his decision, published in the Official Government Gazette, shall compulsorily appoint the first person in the evaluation list as the Foundation’s Director; otherwise, in case of non- acceptance of the appointment by the specific candidate, the Minister shall appoint the second, otherwise the third person in the list. The Director shall sign a fixed-term contract or, if he/she is a civil servant, he/she shall be entrusted with the Director’s duties. 4. (Deleted) 5. The competent Minister may, by his decision, suspend the Foundation’s Director from his/her duties, for reasons of inability or incompetence in the performance of duties upon the recommendation of the Scientific Council or the suggestion of six (6) of its members. 6. The position of the Foundation’s Director shall be incompatible with: a. The membership of the General Assembly or the Scientific Council of the Foundation. b. The capacity of the beneficiary of funding from the Foundation. c. The membership of the Council of Ministers, the Deputy Minister, the General or Special Secretary of the Ministry or General Secretariat, the Member of Parliament, the Regional Governor, the Deputy Regional Governor, the Mayor, the Deputy Mayor, the regional and municipal councilor. If the Director is a University Professor or a researcher of a research center, his/her duties shall be suspended for the entire duration of his/her term of office. 7. The Director shall implement the strategy of the Foundation decided by the Scientific Council. The Director shall have the following responsibilities: a. To head the Foundation’s services, be responsible for its smooth functioning and be the authorizing officer of all its expenses. b. To prepare and publish the calls for the actions funded by the Foundation, in accordance with the annual action planning and the decisions of the SC. c. To ensure the achievement of the budget objectives of the Foundation. d. To be able to request the convening of the General Assembly and the SC in an extraordinary meeting, always through the Chairman of the respective collegiate body and participate without the right to vote in their meetings. e. To prepare the annual report, which shall be submitted to the SC and then, for approval, to the General Assembly. f. To seek sources of funding for the Foundation. g. To represent the Foundation in judicial and other matters. h. To issue the funding decisions, after the evaluation by the relevant committees. i. To decide any extraordinary administrative and on-the-spot inspections of the actions funded by the Foundation and set up the administrative and on-the-spot inspection bodies for the performance of these acts. j. To recommend to the Scientific Council and the General Assembly any collaborations and partnerships of the H.F.R.I. with public and private sector bodies, in Greece or abroad. 8. The Director may transfer the exercise of specific responsibilities in each case to an employee of the Foundation, as well as the right to sign by his/her order. If for any reason the Director is absent or is prevented from performing his/her duties, following a reasoned decision of the Scientific Council, his/her duties shall be performed by the Chairman of the SC or by one of its members. 9. The Director of the Foundation shall perform his/her duties under a full- time and exclusive employment. The Director’s remuneration shall be specified by a joint decision of the Ministers of Finance and of Development and Investments. The above remuneration shall be charged to the Foundation’s budget. 10. The Director shall submit halfway through and at the end of his/her term of office to the SC and to the competent Minister a report on the activities of his/her term of office. Along with the report on the activities, a report evaluating the term of office of the Director shall be submitted to the SC and the Minister. The evaluation shall be carried out by all the staff of the Foundation by secret procedure, in accordance with the provisions of its Internal Rules or, if they have not yet been approved, in accordance with the provisions of a decision of the Scientific Council. In case the Director does not submit the aforementioned reports within one (1) month from the expiration of halfway through his/her term of office, he/she shall be suspended from his/her duties by a decision of the competent Minister and his/her duties shall be performed by the Chairman of the Foundation’s Scientific Council until the appointment of a new Director. By decision of the competent Minister, a call shall be issued to fill the position of the suspended Director. In case the Director does not submit the aforementioned reports within one (1) month from the end of his/her term of office, he/she shall be prevented from applying for a second term in the same position. Any application that has already been submitted shall not be taken into account by the special judging committee.”. 7. Par. 2 of article 11 is amended and article 11 is worded as follows:

“Article 11 Conflict of interest, secrecy

1. The members of the bodies and the staff of the Foundation shall avoid any case in which a conflict of interest may arise. A conflict of interest shall arise when members of the Foundation have private or personal interests, which may or seem to affect the impartial and objective performance of their duties. The private or personal interests of the members of the Foundation shall be any possible benefits in favor of themselves, their families or other relatives up to second degree. Moreover, the members of the General Assembly, the SC and the staff of the Foundation shall be obliged to maintain confidentiality regarding the Foundation’s affairs and shall be bound by professional secrecy. The issues of this paragraph shall be specified in the Foundation’s Internal Rules of Procedure. 2. Any violation of par. 1 by a member of the General Assembly, the SC, by the Director or by the staff of the Foundation shall constitute a grave misconduct and a reason for suspension from his/her position.”.

8. In article 12 the first subparagraph is amended, case c’ of the second subparagraph is deleted, case e’ is amended and the article is worded as follows:

“Article 12 Internal Rules of Procedure

By a joint decision of the Ministers of Finance, of Interior and of Development and Investments, the Internal Rules of Procedure of the Foundation shall be issued. The Internal Rules of Procedure shall specify in particular the following issues, as well as those provided for in this law:

a. the responsibilities of the bodies of the Foundation, the way of their setting up and functioning, b. the procedure and bodies for the preparation and publication of calls for expression of interest for the selection of the members of the General Assembly, the Scientific Council and the Director, c. (deleted) d. the specialization of the qualifications required by the members of the Scientific Council, the bodies and the process of evaluation and selection of candidates, e. the specialization of the qualifications required by the Director and the appointment process, f. issues of conflict of interest and confidentiality of the members of the Foundation’s bodies and its employees, g. the process of suspension of members of the General Assembly, the SC and the Director from their duties, h. the internal organizational structure and the way of organization and functioning of the Foundation’s services, i. the division of responsibilities, the rights and obligations of staff, j. the number of staff positions by field and specialty, k. the procedure and bodies for the evaluation and recruitment of staff employed under works, fixed-term contracts and remunerated mandate, l. the specific service obligations, disciplinary powers, disciplinary misconduct and disciplinary bodies, as well as the way of imposing disciplinary penalties, m. the details regarding the financial management of the Foundation, n. the procedure and the bodies for the preparation and publication of the calls for the research projects, the scholarships and the other actions of the Foundation, o. the procedure and the specific stages of the proposal evaluation of potential funding beneficiaries, the selection criteria of the beneficiaries and the way of establishing the evaluation committees, p. the process of examining the objections of funding candidates and the way of establishing the objection committee, q. the procedures and bodies for audit, inspections, verifications of the expenditure of the funding beneficiaries, as well as the recovery of unduly paid amounts, r. the bodies, the process of preparing the annual report of the Foundation, which shall include the financial report and the report on the activities, s. the creation of a repository of results of research programs and other actions funded by the Foundation, t. the process of evaluating the Foundation’s bodies and staff, u. any necessary details concerning the organization of the Foundation and any other issue necessary for the Foundation’s smooth functioning and the fulfillment of its purpose.”.

9. Article 13 is replaced as follows:

“Article 13 Transitional provision

The term of office of the existing Deputy Directors of the Foundation shall end in accordance with the provisions in force before the publication of this law.”.

Article 229

Organization and services of the General Electronic Commercial Registry (GEMI) - Amendment of article 87 of Law 4635/2019

In article 87 of Law 4635/2019 (A’ 167): a) the case n’ of par. 1 is amended, b) in par. 2 the existing case a’ is numbered as indent aa’ and the indent ab’ is added, c) in par. 6 a fourth and fifth subparagraph are added and the article is worded as follows:

“Article 87 Organization and services of the General Electronic Commercial Registry (GEMI)”

1. An Office for the Support and Development of Information Systems of GEMI and YMS (one-stop shop service) shall be established in the Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce, thus constituting a unit of the Union of Hellenic Chambers of Commerce (KEEE). Its responsibilities shall be exercised exclusively by the Head and the employees of KEEE, in accordance with the provisions of Law 4497/2017 (A’ 171). We order the publication of this law in the Official Government Gazette and its implementation as a law of the State.

Athens, 8 March 2021

The President of the Hellenic Republic

KATERINA SAKELLAROPOULOU

The Ministers of Finance Alternate Minister for Finance

CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS of Development and Investments Alternate Minister for Development and Investments

SPYRIDON- NIKOLAOS PAPATHANASIS of Foreign Affairs of Citizens’ Protection

NIKOLAOS-GEORGIOS DENDIAS MICHAIL CHRYSOCHOIDIS

Deputy Minister for Civil Protection of National Defence

NIKOLAOS CHARDALIAS of Education and Religious Affairs of Labor and Social Affairs

NIKI KERAMEOS KONSTANTINOS CHATZIDAKIS of Health of Environment and Energy

VASILEIOS KIKILIAS KONSTANTINOS SKREKAS of Culture and Sports of Justice

STYLIANI MENDONI of Interior Alternate Minister for Interior

MAVROUDIS VORIDIS STYLIANOS PETSAS of Immigration and Asylum of Infrastructure and Transport

PANAGIOTIS MYTARAKIS of Shipping and Island Policy of Agricultural Development and Food

IOANNIS PLAKIOTAKIS SPYRIDON-PANAGIOTIS LIVANOS of State of State

GEORGIOS GERAPETRITIS KYRIAKOS PIERRAKAKIS

Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister

THEODOROS LIVANIOS

Certified and sealed with the Great Seal of the State.

Athens, 8 March 2021

The Minister of Justice

KONSTANTINOS TSIARAS