Press release informing about the results of the meeting between the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the mayors of the islands with a population of up to 5,000 inhabitants, which took place on Wednesday, 15/06 at the Mansion of Maximou, was issued by the Municipality of Kythera.
The Mayor of Kythera, Efstratios Harhalakis, as President of the Islands and Cohesion Policy Committee of the KEDE, coordinated the discussion that followed.
The following is the press release of the Municipality of Kythera and the introductory statement of Mr. Harhalakis during the discussion.
«The Mayor of Kythera Mr. Efstratios Harhalakis, met on Wednesday 15 June, with the Prime Minister Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in the context of the meeting held at the Maximos Mansion with the 42 mayors of islands with a population of up to 5,000 inhabitants. The meeting was attended by the Ministers of Interior Mr. Makis Voridis, Shipping and Island Policy Mr. Yannis Plakiotakis, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Interior Mr. Minister of Interior Mr. Stelios Petsas, the Deputy Minister of Environment Mr. George Amyras, the President of KEDE Mr. Dimitris Papastergiou and Secretaries General of Ministries.
The discussion was moderated by the Mayor of Kythera, as President of the Islands and Cohesion Policy Committee of the KEDE, who in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee his introductory statement referred to a number of institutional issues of island municipalities, such as transfers and mobility, building services, spatial planning in connection with the carrying capacity of the islands, the Decentralised Administrations and the licensing procedures for municipal projects.
In conclusion, Mr: «As President of the Islands and Cohesion Policy Committee of the KEDE, I would like to thank the Prime Minister, the members of the Government and all their colleagues for today's meeting, hoping not only to promote solutions and solutions for our islands, but also to consolidate such meetings, aiming to transform islandhood from a problem to a strong national competitive advantage».
The 42 island Mayors analysed to the Prime Minister and the members of the Government the major issues facing their islands, such as the staffing of health, security and civil protection services, the staffing of municipalities, their technical competence, the problems of using the seashore and the old seashore, transport, the transport equivalent, the «ANTONIS TRITSIS» programme and other financial programmes, as well as various institutional issues.
In the end, the President of KEDE Dimitris Papastergiou, raised the issue of lifeguard coverage of the islands and the need for new emergency funding for the operation of municipal water supply infrastructure, such as desalination, whose energy costs have skyrocketed.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as well as the Ministers present, gave answers and pledged that similar meetings will continue.»
