Greece wants every civil servant to become familiar with basic AI tools within four years, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Friday, outlining a plan to bring artificial intelligence into everyday government work.
Speaking as he arrived at a European Union leaders’ meeting in Dublin on Friday, Mitsotakis set a three-to-four-year timeline. He called artificial intelligence “a tool that can be invaluable in improving productivity in the public sector.”
The prime minister also wants AI used to speed up public procurement, the process through which government agencies buy goods and services. His government plans to introduce measures to improve transparency in those contracts and raise the issue during Greece’s presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2027.
The announcement builds on a pledge Mitsotakis made in September, when he called for all public employees to be trained to use AI tools within three years.
Greece builds toward four-year basic AI goal for every civil servant
Greece has already started preparing government workers through partnerships with Google and Microsoft. The Interior Ministry renewed its AI training agreement with Google in February, extending the program through the end of 2026.
Θα αφιερώσουμε ένα ολόκληρο έκτακτο Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο για τα ζητήματα της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης. Η Ελλάδα εδώ και χρόνια έχει βρεθεί στην πρώτη γραμμή της ανάπτυξης μιας εθνικής στρατηγικής για μία τεχνολογία η οποία, πράγματι, έχει τη δυνατότητα να αλλάξει τα πάντα.
Η τεχνητή… pic.twitter.com/1k2KvDL3Sh
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) November 13, 2026
The ministry shared that AI courses recorded 35,839 participations in 2024 and 2025, including workshops on practical applications and writing prompts. The figure counts training participations rather than individual employees.
A separate Microsoft partnership, renewed in March, has recorded more than 9,400 participations in training covering AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity and other digital skills. Greece’s national public administration training center is involved in organizing the programs.
The civil service effort comes as the EU presses ahead with its AI Act, which requires organizations using AI systems to take steps to ensure workers have appropriate AI literacy. Greek officials also presented work on a proposed public-sector AI skills framework at an October meeting.
At the Dublin summit, European leaders discussed AI’s effect on economic growth, jobs and public trust. Mitsotakis also raised concerns about children’s exposure to addictive social media algorithms, pointing to Greece’s planned ban on social media access for children younger than 15 starting Jan. 1, 2027.
