- The municipalities of Kantanos-Selino and Kissamos warn of a severe legal vacuum regarding the Natura 2000 sites of Western Crete.
- Previous temporary protections expired after the Ministry approved a scientific study, but the final Presidential Decree is missing.
- Local authorities demand immediate transitional laws to protect Balos, Elafonisi, and Falassarna from arbitrary exploitation.
“To make it understandable to the citizen, the approval of the study is simply the first step. For an area to acquire full and permanent legal protection, the issuance of a Presidential Decree is required,” the mayors stated.
They also highlighted the damning admission from the state’s own control mechanisms:
“The approval of a Study constitutes a scientific preliminary design of documentation. It does not constitute a law of the state and is not directly enforceable by the services. Prohibitions, land uses, and inspections become mandatory only after the final issuance of the Presidential Decree.”
The “Parallel Universes” of Environmental Protection
The Ministry of Environment and the local municipalities of Western Crete are currently operating in two completely different realities. On one side, the Ministry views the approval of the Special Environmental Study (ΕΠΜ) as a massive victory, claiming it provides all the necessary protection for the region. On the other side, the local mayors and the Ministry’s own inspectors are sounding the alarm.
The inspectors sent an official document stating the exact opposite of the Ministry’s political announcements. They clarified that an approved study is merely a scientific draft. It is not a law of the state, and it cannot be enforced by any authority. Without the final Presidential Decree, the areas are legally unprotected.
Famous Beaches at Risk
This bureaucratic limbo directly threatens some of the most iconic tourist destinations in Greece. The legal vacuum currently covers Balos, Gramvousa, Elafonisi, Falassarna, and the “Apata Vouna” (Untouchable Mountains) in the White Mountains.
Until recently, these areas were shielded by temporary Joint Ministerial Decisions (ΚΥΑ). The local authorities begged the Ministry to extend these temporary rules until the final decree was ready. The Ministry refused, assuming the newly approved study was enough. However, a 2020 law that previously forced authorities to respect the study before the decree was passed has been repealed. The result? The old protections are dead, the new law does not exist, and the study has no legal teeth.
The Peloponnese Precedent: A Wait That Never Ends
The mayors are terrified that this legal vacuum will become a permanent state of limbo. To prove their point, they point to the Peloponnese. The Natura study for Laconia and Messenia was approved in March 2023. Over three years later, the Presidential Decree is still nowhere to be found. The local authorities in Western Crete are desperate to avoid ending up in the same endless bureaucratic waiting room.
The municipalities are demanding clear, stable solutions to protect the natural environment and the tourism product. They want a strict timeline for the Council of State to review the decree, regular updates on the process, and an immediate temporary legal shield to stop any arbitrary actions while the bureaucracy grinds at a snail’s pace.