Angry with the Deputy Minister of Environment Economou (+Video)

The Mayor of Kythira, Mr. Efstratios Charhalakis, who addressed the pressing issue that has arisen regarding the Designation of industrial aquaculture zones in island and coastal municipalities by Dimitris Oikonomou, Deputy Minister of Spatial Planning and the Urban Environment. The planned creation of Organized Aquaculture Development Zones, initially in 25 island and coastal areas across the country, has sparked a wave of reactions from municipalities and localcommunities, the first of which came from the mayor of Poros, Mr. Yiannis Dimitriadis, in which We had mentioned this on December 4.

In his remarks, Mayor Charhalakis described the issue as extremely serious and, first and foremost, a matter of institutional importance. He referred to the deputy minister, saying that he had treated the representatives of KEDE with sarcasm and in a very rude manner, while he wondered whether, given his tone, the deputy minister «…he wants to beat them up»! He accused him of not being elected and noted that Minister Hatzidakis and Prime Minister Mitsotakis should at least bring him back to his senses.

The mayor of Kythira continued to criticize Mr. Oikonomou and the government in general (with some exceptions), saying the following: «We, the mayors, are asking to meet with ministers. Not the deputy ministers of each ministry, dear colleagues. As mayor, I am requesting to meet with the minister specifically regarding a matter within the minister’s specific within his specific area of responsibility, and I have no intention of meeting with his secretary, advisor, or anyone else from his office.». He then expressed his anger at the way the government has treated him personally: «»I am personally outraged as well—not only by this specific behavior but also by issues of my own.".

At the end of his remarks, the mayor of Kythira returned to the case of Mr. Oikonomou and directly accused him of conflict of interest, while he emphatically stated that he is «an issue that must also be raised with the Prime Minister himself.».

The Mayor of Kythira and Chair of the Islands Committee of K.E.D.E. argued fully the a related proposal by the Chair of the KEDE Spatial Planning Committee and Mayor of Katerini, Mr. Kostas Koukodimos, according to which K.E.D.E. expresses its its firm opposition to the establishment of POAY without the involvement of local communities and without giving binding consideration to the views of the municipal councils.

In addition, among other things, we learned from the mayor that K.E.D.E. has decided to participate in the «National Coordinating Committee of Organizations Affected by the Development of Fish Farms» represented by the mayors of Poros, Mr. Ioannis Dimitriadis, and of Xiromero, Mr. Ioannis Triantafyllakis.

The Mayor of Kythira’s full remarks

«This is a very serious and institutional issue. It affects all island and coastal municipalities; and even if it doesn’t concern all 332, it certainly concerns all island and coastal municipalities as a whole, because these 25 areas are, in principle, just the first 25.  Later, of course, there will be others. I have been very troubled by the following:

Last week, during the teleconference we had with the Minister and Deputy Minister of the Environment, the mayors of Attica, led by Mr. Patoulis, raised the issue again, and on behalf of the mayor and from me, from me, very superficially, But the mayor of Poros got to the heart of the matter. So, Mr. Chairman, We were met with a sarcastic remark from Mr. Oikonomou which, in my view, must be addressed at the institutional level. What Mr. Oikonomou said is unthinkable; he essentially said it in a very harsh and very ugly way: «…we’ll talk it over with KEDE». That's what he said. So he's going to beat us up. I don't know what he's going to do.... In short, the relevant deputy minister—and I would like to remind him here that he is not an elected official, whereas we are elected by our local communities—, He lashed out at her, and not in a way that was at least inappropriate. And here, his minister and his prime minister should at least call him to order.

A second issue that really bothers me is that We, the mayors, are asking to meet with ministers. Not the deputy secretaries of each ministry, dear colleagues. As mayor, I am requesting a meeting with the minister regarding a specific matter within the minister’s purview and specific responsibilities, and I have no intention of meeting with his secretary, advisor, or anyone else in his office.. And I’m not referring exclusively to this government, nor is this a partisan or ideological issue. Historically, under all governments, it has been unthinkable for mayors to request meetings with ministers and for ministers to refer them to just anyone, whether relevant or not. And finally, I would like to ask: Do ministers receive mayors based on the population of each municipality?;

I'm sorry to say this, but I am personally outraged as well—not only by this specific behavior but also because of my own issues. There are ministers—and you know this—who anyone can go see without an appointment, and I’ll even name names: Mr. Theodorikakos and Mr. Livaniou. They’re very approachable, and their offices are wide open to everyone. But unfortunately, there are also ministers who neither answer the phone nor schedule appointments with mayors, and instead refer you to some «X» or «Y» official.

This must stop, and mayors—whether it’s the mayor of Athens or the mayor of Agathonisi— regardless of population, must be able to meet with the minister to discuss any issue of concern to them.

And I’ll wrap up with this as well. Mr. Koukodimos’s proposal states the following: «The municipalities in which the establishment is planned POAY »were included in the latest batch of municipalities that will receive funding for the preparation of local urban plans." I believe that KEDE should request a written explanation from the relevant ministry regarding this matter. How does the fact that these specific municipalities are included in the latest batch for the preparation of local plans relate to the planned establishment of the POAY?. As chair of the Islands Committee, I stand in complete solidarity with this resolution and these decisions, and I repeat, I was very disturbed by the behavior of Mr. Oikonomou, who clearly has a conflict of interest in this matter. and I think it's a an issue that must also be raised with the Prime Minister himself. This is a very serious matter; since he is the researcher responsible for these specific studies, he cannot, as the competent Deputy Minister… First of all, I don’t know if he is the competent authority; an issue has been raised. Mr. Hatzidakis is referring to Mr. Oikonomou there. There is a conflict of interest; that much is clear. Local communities cannot be excluded from these processes, and Mr. Oikonomou should be asked in writing to explain what he meant by his statement last week that KEDE says one thing and does another. He was holding a piece of paper in front of him—he had it right there—which was apparently KEDE’s decision on spatial planning, and he was mocking KEDE. That bothered me a great deal, and I’ll conclude with that—thank you.».