The importance of the fertile exchange of views between the government and the local government was indicated
The prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis He presented today at a inter -ministerial meeting with a delegation of the Hellenic Network of Resistant Cities, with the aim of further improving the cooperation between the central government and the municipalities to enhance the resilience of cities and suburban areas, especially in terms of civil protection.
During the meeting, the importance of the fruitful exchange of views between the government and the local government in the formulation of citizens’ protection policies was highlighted, while examining ways to enhance constructive cooperation.
Also, according to government sources, new media and tools available for civil protection, such as a new hazard map, which will detail the risk of the risk of forest fires on the basis of scientific criteria, were also evaluated. Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Yiannis Kefalogiannis presented the benefits of adopting the new map, adding that work on training is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
The network was also considered to undertake the detailed record of, inter alia, the firefighters, project vehicles and the trained volunteers of each municipality throughout Greece.
In this way it will be possible to draw up a database which will allow the “mapping” of the capabilities of local government and the best design of future supplies to fill any gaps, based on the needs of each area that will be reflected on the risk map.
The members of the network presented proposals for more effective prevention of natural disasters, especially fires, with municipal media, but also for better response to local authorities in the event of a crisis.
Among the proposals discussed were the establishment of local crisis management centers, which could cover the area of ​​responsibility for individual municipalities or groups of municipalities, the best preparation of local authorities in the field of Civil Protection and the upgrading of the education of municipal employees who are responsible for safeguarding it.
In the context of the meeting, it was emphasized that, despite the particularly difficult this year’s pyroteo -state conditions, burnt areas in Greece since the beginning of the year are about 4.5% less than the average of 20 years. On the contrary, the European Union is up 208% compared to the average of 2006-2024.
With these facts, it was emphasized that, in addition to the broader enhancement of the country’s firefighting potential in recent years, the best cooperation between central services and Local Authorities has produced significant positive results.
At the start of the meeting, the prime minister noted: “Welcome, I have found the initiative you have taken, as the concept of resilience must now be involved in all public policies.
I would know that in principle we can not understand this concept but in cooperation with Local Government, especially on issues related to civil protection issues, where I think we have made significant steps to institutionalize a much better cooperation.
I would also like to express my satisfaction that many of the fertile, innovative ideas, which we have now incorporated into our central planning came from local government initiatives, for example, issues such as the air -hazarded forest fires.
So I’m very interested in watching these initiatives you have taken, to see how we can better institutionalize our cooperation with specific measurable results.
And of course, since we are virtually at the end of the firefighting season -I hope the rains for many different reasons -we will have the opportunity with the minister to make a comprehensive presentation, but the balance in Greece in relation to what was made in Europe. We are moving around the average of twenty years, when in Europe I think they have been burned on average three times as much as the average of twenty years.
In a very difficult years, that is, we managed and had results, which were respectively other years. This means that there has been a significant progress, but it is obviously our obligation, especially on civil protection issues, to constantly improve. “
The meeting was also attended by the government, the Minister of Interior Thodoris Lebanese, the Minister of Environment and Energy Stavros Papastavrou, the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Yiannis Kefalogiannis and the Deputy Minister under Prime Minister Thanasis.