The prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the Bunas part of his tour of the Regional Unit of Evritania, where he had a discussion with young people who left large urban centers and chose a different life in small mountain villages in the country.
The discussion took place in the context of National Strategy for Regional and Local Developmentwhich will result from a continuous consultation with the local and productive bodies of each Regional Unit -in some cases even on the specific issues of each municipality.
The Prime Minister discussed with the people who took the step towards the decentralizationfor policies of the present and the future concerning demographic, water management, planning, investment and jobs, special care for mountainous and island areas, the primary sector in combination with food adequacy, agricultural and aggravation, her.
See the discussion at the Fournas Cafe:
To achieve growth and decentralization, the government has integrated the mountainliness in its design, which for the first time is an autonomous and distinct axis of the government canvas. For this reason, the government will present by the end of 2025 the overall planning for mountainousness based on local development plans drawn up in collaboration with local communities and national horizontal policies.
With targeted funding tools and special programs, many of which are already implemented (described in detail in the attached note) and which enhance local entrepreneurship, mountain investments, agrotourism and innovation, new farmers who decide to settle in mountainous areas, mountainous areas, in these areas.
The discussion was co -ordinated by journalist Dimitris Kyriazis.
The importance of promoting alternative forms of tourism in mountainous areas
“In Greece we have never had a constituted mountain policy and, above all, support for small villages and communities in mountainous Greece … So we created the network of 38 small mountain municipalities so that we can also discuss with their own local authorities and how to see their own initiatives and how we can see their own initiatives, Tools, European, so that we can support these policies, “said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
And he continued: “At the moment, the President of the European Commission will announce its thoughts on the next European budget from 2028 to 2034 … This is ultimately translated into money that is up to us to use them in the right way in order to do something that is a pillar and core of European politics, At the level of countries, regions and intra -regional inequalities. Because another to live in Lamia and another to live in the bakery. “
Speaking about the importance of alternative forms of tourism and actions in the mountainous areas, which are particularly important with the advent of climate crisis, such as ecotourism or cycling tourism, the prime minister said:
“We can and must support such actions and I am sure we will see a very increased interest, not only by Greeks who are increasingly discovering our mountains, and there I would say that Evritania was at the forefront, the wider area of Karpenisi, in this kind of tourism, but also from this kind of tourism.
The residents’ housing issue
During the discussion with the residents of Fournas about the housing problem they face, as many are looking for a professional home and a permanent home – both difficult to find – and even existing homes are either in poor condition or abandoned.
“One of the problems we were called upon to solve concerned the boundaries of the settlements and the misinterpretation created by the so -called zone C, the external boundaries of the settlements, that is, as they were engraved by the prefects a few decades ago. We had to deal with a number of judicial decisions that have essentially legally “threw” the boundaries of these settlements, resulting in a dangerous precedent that concerns all the settlements of the country. Fortunately, we were able to deal with it in an open dialogue with the Council of State.
Now essentially all the villages under 700 inhabitants will follow the existing boundaries of the settlements. In this way, any ownership of any property in the village could potentially be structured. .. But finding a roof remains an issue … “said Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Mitsotakis for agricultural subsidies: Some sailors have been carried out in the system holes
Participants in the discussion also raised the issue of lack of knowledge at the state level for existing funded programs.
“If there was a state care for me, which could in some way be a man who is in a big city who, in my opinion, I know they want to come to the province, if there was something that knew there was an organized structure, which could be more easily aware of them,” Kostas Prokopiswhich deals with the production of olive oil.
“This debate is taking place at a time when the atmosphere has been burdened by the revelations about agricultural subsidies. And to tell you the way I feel it: Unfortunately for decades now all the primary sector, with the responsibility of all of us, I do not exclude myself, it has rotated more than we need to get subsidies and less about how to use the subsidies to make it more competitive and more competitive.
And of course, in the holes of the system there were many savagery who eventually deprived money from those who are really fighting … So when the young farmers’ programs do not all end up in young farmers, it means what money is missing from young farmers, to reach out to the pockets.
“This is also a personal bet, we will fix it. Because technology now helps us a lot and with intersections and with the potential to be able to really identify what is going on in the primary sector.
But it would be very interesting, and what you say matters, if we could take advantage of all these positive examples that I hear today as a database to transcend this knowledge and this experience to others who can want to do exactly the same, “Kyriakos Mitsotakis added.
“We pay 10,000 euros for relocation to the villages of North Evros”Furthermore, the prime minister, in response to Stefanos Costopoulos, who decided to relocate from Germany to the Greek province in order to have a better quality of life, the prime minister referred to the state’s motives to such initiatives.
“At a time when there is a lot of talk about what we call .. quality of life … We want to make it easier and this is our obligation as a state, these choices can be made without feeling that if you make this decision it takes a huge risk … our job is to give it a lot of motivation … To expand it if it is successful in Northern Evros, where we have large demographic and national issues, where we give cash, we pay 10,000 euros for relocation to the villages of North Evros. We want to see what the response will have. And if this is a sufficient motivation, because it facilitates some important first relocation costs, see how we can find financial tools to be able to expand it, “he said.
And he continued: “And to come back to the discussion of financial tools, now is the time to set our priorities and in view of the next European programming period, to ensure that we find horizontal funding tools for mountainliness, which can be covered by basic infrastructure to such actions, to do so in Life in the village not just a nice romantic quest, which will collide with a very harsh reality, but easier. “