Editing Costas Simitis (section)

=== Internal issues ===
[[File:PASOK MPs in the Greek parliament during 2009 budget discussion.jpg|thumb|Costas Simitis in the [[Hellenic Parliament]] during budget discussions in 2009]]

In 2000, Simitis was embroiled in a dispute with the Archbishop of the influential [[Greek Orthodox Church]], [[Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens|Christodoulos of Athens]], when the Greek government sought to remove the "Religion" field from the national ID cards carried by Greek citizens on the grounds that the Hellenic Data Protection Authority recommended so; its decision also included the "Nationality" field, but was not implemented following a subsequent EE directive to the contrary. Christodoulos opposed the decision, claiming that the action pursued deviously the religious de-identification of the Greek nation. Faced with the government's robust but unpopular stance, he organized two massive demonstrations in [[Athens]] and [[Thessaloniki]] alongside a majority of bishops of the Church of Greece. Simitis's attitude gained faint-hearted support even within his party, but he found a surprisingly militant ally in the ''Eksychronismos'' opinion makers. Kostas Karamanlis, the opposition leader, signed a petition, organized by the [[Church of Greece]], calling for a referendum on the matter and signed, too, by more than three million citizens. However, the inclusion of religious beliefs on ID cards, even on a voluntary basis, as the Church had asked, was deemed unconstitutional by the Greek courts.