Greek parliament passes three bills ratifying defence agreements
The plenary passed the agreements on the Crete Firing Range and military education with Serbia on 7 October. Publication in the Government Gazette is still pending.
What changed on 7 October
The Hellenic Parliament now records all three measures as passed bills, with both the article vote and the final vote dated 7 October 2026. The vote completed the parliamentary stage that began when the bills were submitted on 2 October.
The official database also states that its passed-bills section contains measures whose publication in the Government Gazette is still pending. No law or Gazette number is therefore attributed at this stage, and the individual agreements are not presented as already in force.
The three separate bills from the Greek Ministry of National Defence were submitted on 2 October 2026 and examined by parliament’s Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs on 6 October.
What each agreement covers
Italy: ratification of the technical arrangement governing use of the Crete Firing Range by the Italian Army for experimental, training and tactical firing. The arrangement addresses programme coordination and safety responsibilities and was signed in Athens in October 2018 and Rome in January 2019.
Germany and the Netherlands: facilities and services at the Crete Firing Range for the Integrated Air and Missile Defence Centre of Excellence (IAMD COE), including workspace, services and financial procedures. The arrangement was signed in Athens, Bonn and Utrecht in 2022.
Serbia: a military-education protocol signed in Thessaloniki on 13 July 2017. It provides a framework for trainee exchanges, selection, benefits and completion of studies.
The parliamentary path
The agreements were not newly signed in October 2026. Their underlying texts date from 2017 to 2022. The bills were submitted on 2 October, examined in committee on 6 October and passed by the plenary on 7 October 2026.
What remains before they take effect
Passage is not the same as publication of a law in the Government Gazette. At the time of this update, parliament listed the measures as passed bills awaiting Gazette publication. After publication, the entry into force of each international agreement is also governed by the specific conditions in its text.
English translation of the Greek edition · Read in Greek