Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis chaired a cabinet meeting at the Maximos Hall, on Monday morning in Athens with the ongoing wildfires taking center stage.
Addressing his ministers Mitsotakis said the state apparatus was in the first line of battling several wildfires burning across the country, highlighting that the services had shown better coordination in dealing with the fires.
“We had a tough June due to weather conditions, with high drought and unusual winds,” stated Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while urging vigilance and caution, “as this summer is expected to be particularly dangerous.”
“We witnessed the great importance of using drones for early detection. The better coordination of the Police, local authorities, and volunteers,” Mitsotakis noted.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis continued by noting that despite the difficult conditions, the burnt areas and damage were limited compared to the magnitude of the threat, citing data from the fires in Parnitha and Stamata which showed that less than 1,000 hectares were ultimately burned.
The Premier said that due to the increased fire risk, the deadline for citizens’ declarations to clean unkept land plots had been extended by a fortnight.
Greek PM Mitsotakis pointed to initiatives undertaken by the government for a more effective and efficient absorption of EU funding linked to the climate crisis citing the transfer of forest services to the Ministry of Environment.
On the issue of the Supreme Council for Civil Personnel Selection (ASEP) – an independent body tasked with objectively selecting public servants – the Prime Minister stated that interventions were aimed at expediting the procedures and addressing inherent shortcomings plaguing the system.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized that “Our goal is simple, to make everything move more rapidly,” mentioning that candidates would initially apply for a specific position they were interested in, so they would not reject the offered position later on. Both the documentation and the verification of the submitted documents would be done digitally, with the support of the Ministry of Digital Transformation. “The applicant will submit their paperwork and take tests, regardless of whether a competition is ongoing at that time.”
