The resolution reads as follows:
"The Prime Minister 'overlooked' local government during his speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair. None of the demands presented by the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece (KEDKE) were addressed, and municipalities were excluded from sharing in the surplus, which amounts to 8 billion euros. The Prime Minister mentioned local government only once, and that was to penalize it by stripping municipalities of their authority over urban planning departments.
After the government neglected urban planning departments for six years, leaving them understaffed and underfunded, it has now recalled them—only months after municipalities, through their urban planning departments, thwarted government plans to urbanize cities through the National Spatial Planning Code (NOK).
The Athens City Council fully supports KEDKE's position and calls for all necessary measures to be taken to ensure the effective operation of modern urban planning departments, which should remain under the authority and responsibility of the municipalities.
Regarding the corruption issues cited by the Prime Minister, we remind him that the Municipality of Athens is the one that has consistently fought corruption, dismantling the entrenched networks of the past.
Municipalities, when equipped with the appropriate institutional tools and staff, are fully capable of managing urban planning departments with transparency and efficiency."
Furthermore, during yesterday’s City Council meeting, a resolution was approved by a majority, expressing solidarity from the Municipality of Athens to the Mayor of Kaisariani, Ilias Stamelos, and the municipal councilors, who are facing disciplinary charges for supporting the municipal workers in their jurisdiction."
