An emergency grant to all the municipalities of the country, totaling 140 million euros within the week, announced the Minister of the Interior Theodoris Livanios, speaking at the last pre-conference dialogue held by the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDE), in view of the annual regular conference that will be held in Rhodes November 7-9.
Mr. Livanios also mentioned that the municipalities will simultaneously receive 90 million euros for their overdue debts and 20 million euros to cover court decisions.
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Also, an additional – fifth – installment will be given for 2024 to cover the operational needs of the schools.
The Minister of the Interior also announced that by Tuesday the Code Committee of the Ministry of the Interior will be formed for the reform of the Self-Government Code and its first meeting will take place before the KEDE conference.
The Minister of the Interior Theodoris Livanios at the KEDE meeting
For 2025, he said that the Central Autonomous Resources (KAP) will increase by 53 million euros, an amount that will cover the increase in salary costs.
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The president of KEDE, Lazaros Kyrizoglou, for his part, focused on the finances of the municipalities, noting that the municipalities “are still unable to face the operating costs, as they have been deprived of statutory resources, they have been burdened with the steep increase in energy costs and the unfair imposition of the burial fee”.
He emphasized that the KEDE raised the issue of the finances of the municipalities as an imperative to the government, requesting the payment of an additional 450 million euros for 2024 and a brave increase of the CAP in 2025, the return of the burial fee money, the return of the statutory funds to the municipalities and the repeal of article 44 of Law 5000/2010, which establishes a maximum ceiling of 3.528 billion euros for the CAP.
He underlined that the KEDE expects the promise given in the meeting with the prime minister, for additional financial support in the amount of approximately 250 million euros, to be implemented soon.
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Referring to the issue of municipal staff, he requested a partial lifting of the suspension of recruitment in the municipalities, recruitment of staff especially in the municipal police, immediate continuation of the implementation and operation of the employment program for the unemployed 55-67.
Regarding the drinking water management issue, the president of KEDE stated that the KEDE-EDEA and EETAA proposal-study has been submitted, which provides for the operation of a DEWA in each prefecture and the Board of Directors. of the new scheme to belong 100% to the Local Government.
For energy, he noted the Local Government’s standing position that municipalities should prioritize energy communities. “It is not possible, he said, that there is no space in the network for the electricity that the municipalities will produce and that they cannot use this electricity to reduce their operating costs”.
In closing, Mr. Kyrizoglou emphasized that “everything that was raised in the pre-conference dialogue will be discussed, codified and will constitute the new assertive framework of the Self-Government, the implementation of which we will pursue permanently and steadily. And if all this is not done, we will change the “fiddle”, we will exert more pressure until the government and political system take us into account. Because we are right about everything we ask for, the Constitution provides for them, they apply in Europe, they can be done here too.”
The chairman of the Islands and Political Cohesion Committee of KEDE, Efstratios Charchalakis, mayor of Kythira, referred to the many and “terrifying”, as he described, problems facing the municipalities.
Mr. Charchalakis classified demographics as the most important problem, quoting his research findings according to which from the census of 1951 to that of 2021 only 19 islands increased their population, among them Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Evia . On the contrary, in more than 100 inhabited islands in 1951, a decrease or even absolute nullification of the permanent population was observed.
Referring to overtourism, he emphasized that temporary overpopulation causes huge problems in all municipalities that receive tourist arrivals.
“Which water supply and sewage networks, which roads, which LANDFILL will be able to bear the burden of this population burden on the islands?” he wondered and added:
“A study of the carrying capacity of the public infrastructure is required for all island municipalities, from which the necessary infrastructure projects will emerge in order to prevent over-tourism and its inability to manage from destroying the natural, built and man-made environment that we are trying so hard to preserve”.
The proposals of the Tourism Development Committee of KEDE for targeted actions that make up an integrated tourism policy, contribute to sustainable development, respect the special character and cultural identity of societies and spread its benefits to as many people as possible were submitted by the chairman of the Tourism Development Committee of KEDE, Antonis Kambourakis.
Photo snapshot from the pre-conference dialogue held by the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece
In particular, the proposals concern
-More substantial participation and contribution of Municipalities in the National Development Planning for Tourism and the promotion of quality forms of tourism
-New modern road and maritime networks, communication, transport, water drainage networks, better waste management, are to strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism product
-Increasing resources for the improvement and upgrading of all public infrastructures in all tourist areas, especially on the islands, as well as the creation of new quality infrastructures, with brave support from the state to make the increase in tourism GDP a reality.
-Transfer of the Resilience Fee to the Municipalities.
– Recruitment of specialized staff, equal and quality training of tourism professionals in sustainable tourism practices
‘-Direct involvement of municipalities in the promotion of tourist destinations, the promotion of the local tourist advantage of the brand name, every corner of our country that has a unique tourist interest
-Electronic digitization of all services that can and should be at the service of guests.
-Housing for working health civil servants, military, teachers, at an affordable rent, on a twelve-month basis. Sufficient to positively assist the provision of services and not to prohibit the residence in the rental.
The strong concern that the growing tension in the Middle East will result in an increase in refugee and immigrant flows in the immediate future and that there will be immediate serious problems in managing and dealing with them was expressed by the chairman of the Migration, Refugee and Crisis Committee, Michalis Erotokritos, mayor of Kasos , noting that arrivals have already increased to the islands of the North Aegean, the Dodecanese, Crete and Gavdos.
In recent years, energy issues have acquired a high weight factor for Local Government as municipalities are called upon to manage increased energy costs, energy production from renewable energy sources, the need to adapt to climate change, emphasized the chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, Eleftherios Raviolos. mayor of Karystos.
Waste and its management have always been an integral part of the Local Government’s daily operations. However, today the municipalities are called upon to manage much more complex and difficult situations mainly due to the distorted situation, as it has been formed in previous years, by the Central Services of the States, but also due to the methodical effort that is made periodically by the responsibilities of the Local Self-Government A’ To be removed and assigned to the competent Ministry of Environment and Energy, emphasized the chairman of the Water Management and Circular Economy Committee K. Zervas.
Finally, regarding the “Water” issues, Mr. Zervas, commenting on the decision of the Ministry of the Interior, who, under the pretext of dealing with the water shortage and without having drawn up and delivered to KEDE and EDEA any draft law, as he had promised, makes statements for forced mergers of the DEYA, which are contrary to the Constitution and the Laws governing their operation, as well as the protection of their operational and property rights. He also pointed out that KEDE “has submitted a specific and operationally documented solution for the DEYA, which the competent Ministry of Environment and Energy must see with due attention”.
Source: www.zougla.gr
