According to a new law passed by parliament, local authorities, including municipalities and district administrations, will continue to be responsible for supervising emergency buildings until March 31, 2025. The decision was made after considering a proposal from the Internal Affairs Committee and was supported by all 45 MPs.
The Chairman of the Committee on Internal Affairs, AKEL MP Aris Damianu explained that at the moment, the regional self-government bodies (RGBs) are not ready to take on this important task. In this regard, the powers of local authorities are extended so that the RGBs have time to prepare and can start performing this function from April 1, 2025. He emphasized that this is the last postponement, and all structures responsible for the reform should have already completed the preparatory work.
DIKO MP Panikos Leonidou, who initiated the discussion on this issue, noted that without the adoption of the law, a security threat could have arisen, since the EAOs would not have been prepared to manage emergency facilities, which would have created risks for people’s lives. In his opinion, over the past three years, the responsible structures have not taken sufficient steps to prepare, and the parliament had to take on the responsibility of eliminating this gap in the legislation to protect citizens.
Some MPs, including DISY MP Nikos Sikas , expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to complete the necessary procedures. They agreed to extend the powers of local authorities for only six months, noting that this should not be taken as permission for further delays. MP Andreas Themistokleous added that the EAO should have been given more time, at least a year, to fully prepare.
Chairman of the EDEK party, Marinus Sizopoulos noted that regional authorities do not have sufficient personnel and resources to properly monitor emergency buildings. He stressed that the responsibility for this lies with the previous government, which proposed the bill without taking into account all the necessary aspects.
DIPA MP, Marinus Musiuttas added that the first priority should be to take care of the well-being of citizens, rather than looking for someone to blame. He noted that transferring the responsibility for monitoring emergency buildings to regional authorities will only add to the problems, since most residents of such buildings are not interested in their repair, and local authorities will be able to cope with this task more effectively.
