Issues pertaining to the provision of electronic signature certification services, to Qualified Certificates, the supervision and control of the electronic signature Certification Service Providers established in Greece that issue Qualified or Non-Qualified Certificates or provide other electronic signature related certification services are regulated by Presidential Decree No. 150/200 “Adapting to Directive 99/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the community framework for electronic signatures” (Government Gazette No 125/A/2001) and the “Regulation for the Provision of Electronic Signature Certification Services” (EETT Decision 248/71,  Government Gazette No 603/Β/16-5-2002)

EETT supervises and controls all Certification Service Providers established in Greece.

The provision of certification services of any nature whatsoever is free and is not subject to a prior authorization or approval or any other measure yielding a similar result.

Any Certification Service Provider may issue Qualified Certificates exclusively on condition that the following requirements are met cumulatively: (a) it complies with the terms of Annex II of Presidential Decree No. 150/2001; (requirements for  CSPs issuing qualified certificates)  (b) in issuing the said certificates, it complies with the terms of Annex I  (requirements for qualified certificates) of the above Presidential Decree; and (c) it declares his compliance under points (a) and (b) above, pursuant to article 10, par. 3. «Regulation for the Provision of Electronic Signature Certification Services» (EETT Decision 248/71).

In this case CSP issues qualified certificates according to its own declaration.

A Certification Service Provider issuing Qualified Certificates is required, at any time, to be able to prove that in issuing the said Qualified Certificates, it fully complies with Annexes I and II of Presidential Decree No. 150/2001.

EETT maintains a registry of all Certification Service Providers established in Greece.

Upon commencement of its operations, every Certification Service Provider established in Greece shall notify to EETT in writing, data concerning its legal status and services provided,  which are recorded in the Registry.

More specifically,  as far as Certification Service Providers issuing Qualified Certificates are concerned, along with the above notification, they shall submit the following: (a) a statement made by the Certification Service Provider that it complies with Annexes I and II of Presidential Decree No. 150/2001; (b) A Certification Practice Statement; (c) documents proving its financial coverage,(d) certificates issued by competent Public or Judicial Agencies, which shall indicate whether the provider is under bankruptcy, bankruptcy settlement, compulsory receivership or if applications have been filed pertaining to the above, as well as if it is under a winding up process, which must be renewed and submitted to EETT every three (3) months.

Certification Service Providers are required to notify to EETT any modification in their details included in the registry.

Certification Service Providers shall submit to EETT annual reports describing their activities.

As far as Certification Service Providers issuing Qualified Certificates are concerned, the above referred reports shall include information on their infrastructure, the products used, security measures etc.  as the Greek law stipulates.

Αnytime a Certification Service Provider issuing Qualified Certificates proceeds to assign part of the certificate issuing procedure to a third party, the provider is obliged to notify this to EETT, describing the type of the assigned service and the duration of the assignment.

EETT, either ipso jure or upon a complaint made, is entitled to perform an inspection to ascertain the Certification Service Providers’ compliance with the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 150/2001 and Regulation on the Provision of Electronic Signature Certification Services (EETT Decision 248/71/15-3-2002), as well as the applicable law.

To perform the said inspection, EETT or the bodies designated by EETT, have the right to request information and  perform audits in the premises where Certification Service Providers are established and carry out their operations, pursuant to applicable law, and the providers are required to cooperate with EETT and provide it with any information and facility necessary for the performance of inspections.