Greek lawmakers have approved legislation that will allow police to enter university property to investigate complaints, ending a decades-old effective ban.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ New Democracy majority and a smaller right-wing party supported the new legislation, which faced vehement opposition from left-wing parties.
Government officials say the law aims to curtail lawlessness and crime, but critics say it is an attack on democracy.
“We don’t want police in university. We do want though to get rid of the hoodies who police the lives of students,” Mitsotakis said during a parliamentary debate (see full video below) — in reference to anarchists.
On August 8, several hundred Athenians marched in the streets to protest the new law, claiming that it limits freedom of expression and free movement of ideas.
Protesters in Athens rally against the abolishment of academic sanctuary. (Photo / Costas Baltas, Reuters)
Before the law, police could only enter universities if academic officials invited them. The only exception to the rule was if a serious felony were committed. But university officials rarely invited police onto their property, as they feared overwhelming backlash from student activists.
Through the new legislation, officers will be granted entrance if called upon by any member of the public.
By enacting the law, Mitsotakis’ recently elected administration fulfilled one of its main pledges to improve public safety. The administration argued the new law is necessary in order to discourage potential criminals from committing violence, vandalism and drug-trafficking at universities.
“University grounds are public spaces, just like streets and squares, where when danger looms we all seek police assistance,” Mitsotakis said during parliamentary debate (see full video below).
Police had been effectively banned from entering Greek universities since 1982, which marked nine years after a violent crackdown by Greece’s 1967-1974 military regime — also known as the Junta — against pro-democracy student protests.
The infamous November 14, 1973 student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic University was crushed three days later when the army stormed the complex by using a tank to flatten the gates. The incident left 23 students dead.
After the Junta ended in 1974, the November 17 uprising was widely credited with influencing its collapse. The protests also established a trend of prominent left-wing influence in Greek state universities.
Athens Polytechnic school students carry a blood-stained Greek flag during a rally marking the 45th anniversary of the 1973 student uprising. (Photo / Costas Baltas, Reuters, File Photo)
But as years passed after the initial “no-go” ban in 1982, left-wing political activists reportedly began disrupting everyday university life with criminal activity — the main argument which has been pushed by New Democracy in support of its new legislation.
“During a typical student’s life, he will see faculties controlled by a manner of different groups, drugs and basements full of petrol bombs and hoods,” Mitsotakis said.
The Polytechnic University has been left especially vulnerable to vandalism — particularly graffiti — which remains visible from the outside.
On the anniversary of the November 17 uprising, the university often gives shelter to anarchists and other young protestors as they throw Molotov cocktails at police — who are legally unable to enter school grounds.
In 1995, anarchists vandalized the site of the 1973 uprising during a sit-in. Over the past few years, as Greece has struggled economically, the Polytechnic has continued to serve as a makeshift stronghold for anarchists during street battles against police.
Watch Mitsotakis’ Parliament Speech
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The Greek  passed contentious legislation on Thursday allowing for the creation of a campus police force and disciplinary council to end the tradition of violence at Greek universities.  The decision, passed 166–132 in a parliament of 300, was opposed by many students and professors, who claim it would stifle freedom of expression.

Changes proposed included establishment of a campus police division, restriction of entry into university grounds, and formation of a "disciplinary council" empowered to suspend or expel students.

A  spokesperson called university campus violence "timeless"; and said "the police will drive out extremist political groups and guard the infrastructure, finally making the university a safe place".

Prior to the vote, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the centre-right New Democracy political party which first introduced the legislation, told lawmakers  in the world do we see images ... of historical buildings being vandalised".

Many incidents of unrest have occurred at Greek universities, including a 1973 student revolt at  against the 1967–1974 military .  The government forcefully repressed the uprising, resulting in the death of at least 26.  Due to another protest in 1990–91 against high school reform pushed by Mitsotakis' father , one teacher died.  In October, a rector was taken hostage by hooded .

In 2019, the government repealed a restriction in place since 1982 that had effectively prevented police from entering university grounds.
Opponents of the introduction of police at universities have described it as stifling freedom of expression, which the government claimed is "ridiculous".  At recent demonstrations, protestors have chanted "Bread, education and freedom", a common anti-junta slogan of the 1973 uprising.  In January, Athenian police used tear gas to break up a protest which was defying lockdown restrictions.

Many Greek professors have also opposed the idea, with Professor of State Theory and Law at  Dimitris Kaltsonis claiming, in remarks to , "there is no need for special police to control the campuses".  Oxford University's  (UCU) stated on Twitter "its solidarity to Greek colleagues ... opposing the creation of such a special university police force, which is unlikely to respond to the most pertinent problems of Greek higher education institutions", and that the then-proposal was "alarming and not in line with best practice."

Some recent demonstrators have called for "more doctors, fewer police".  Eurostat data from 2016–2018, which a spokesperson for the Ministry for Citizen Protection called "inaccurate", showed Greece had the second most police officers per capita of any country in the European Union.  The spokesperson said the government is "investing in the quality of education as well", but emphasised "police on campuses is not a choice, but a necessary move".

€23 million was recently budgeted for Greek law enforcement to better "face contemporary challenges, such as COVID-19 and external threats".

Left-wing opposition party  has criticised the legislation as an attempt to make universities "sterile and unfree".