Despite significant opposition from the local community, the Ministry has expressed its inability to proceed with issuing the Ministerial Decision to suspend building permits in the area, as the municipality has not yet provided the exact protection boundaries for Sarakiniko (the polygon with the coordinates proposed by the Spatial Planning Framework).
To address this, the Secretary General of Spatial Planning and Urban Environment at the Ministry of Environment and Energy sent an urgent letter on February 7, 2025, to all seven Decentralized Administrations of the country. The letter requested them, within their respective areas of responsibility, to identify locations with exceptional landscapes that require protection until the completion of urban planning, to prevent further incidents like "Sarakiniko." However, the response to date has been described as "limited."
The Ministry has pointed out that Milos Island has Natura areas covering more than 30% of its total land area. According to the established procedure, approval for the Strategic Environmental Impact Study (SEIS) of the Spatial Plan is issued by the Directorate of Environmental Licensing (DIPA) within the Ministry. On June 1, 2023, the Municipality of Milos submitted the SEIS to DIPA. After reviewing the document, the Ministry initiated a public consultation on July 7, 2023, and later, on January 23, 2024, notified the Municipality of Milos of the negative opinions received, citing "significant omissions in the planning regarding the protection of archaeological sites and high-yield agricultural land." Since then, the Municipality has taken no further action toward the approval of the Spatial Plan, leading to the process remaining incomplete by the deadline set by the legislative framework, which is March 31, 2024.
It is worth noting that urban planning is now advancing through the Special Urban Planning Plan, as part of the "Konstantinos Doxiadis" program.
