On 8–9 December 2025, the Court Team of the First Instance Court of Thessaloniki adopted the measures which will be implemented in the next three years in the framework of the Action Plan for the Reduction of backlog and efficiency improvement. Also, they defined the timing of the deployment of main actions for the beginning of 2026. On the second day, the Court team was introduced to the change-management and communication plans.

The validated Action Plan is aligned with the CEPEJ Backlog reduction tool designed to help courts identify structural delays and adopt concrete measures, from case-flow management to optimal use of digital tools, to reduce pending caseloads and ensure timely justice.

By adopting this Plan, the First Instance Court of Thessaloniki commits to concrete, measurable, and monitored improvements in case-handling processes for 2026–2028. This progress reflects a concrete step-by-step approach of the CEPEJ project, aiming at allowing effective ownership  of the proposed changes by local actors.

This activity was organised within the framework of the joint EU/CoE project “Supporting the reduction of backlog in the First Instance Courts of Athens and Thessaloniki (pilot courts)  ”. The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.