Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met on Friday with 114 mayors and the Greece 2021 organising committee. He invited local governments to propose projects that answer local needs and serve them for the long term.
At the teleconference meeting, the premier said all proposals to commemorate the anniversary will look to the future and be part of the larger development project Antonis Tritsis. Proposals should “meet future challenges – such as basic environmental or digitization infrastructure – or relate to skills or modern takes on our past,” he said, adding that “this effort must embrace all of Greece.”
Greece 2021 chairperson Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said the committee had contacted 332 town and regions. Of these, 114 submitted 383 proposals, and of these 151 relate to development. They involve environmental and energy issues, viable urban transport, training centres and digital museums.
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She said that the committee’s initial resources total 50 million euros, and 102 projects in 59 towns and regions – worth 36 million euros – could proceed immediately.
Among other comments, the premier also asserted that any towns under high alert during the coronavirus pandemic will be financially supported, and that retail trade stores will remain open as long as preventative coronavirus measures are observed. He warned that winter will be difficult in terms of infections, as more people will spend it indoors, but called on mayors to convince younger generations especially to keep to the hygiene and social distancing measures.
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The meeting was attended also by the Interior minister and the umbrella union of cities and towns, KEDE.
