From the editorial team of the Kefalonian Globe
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A decision imposed by the centre
The recent ministerial decree on off-site construction confirms a worrying trend: the concentration of power and decision-making without dialogue with the people directly affected. Once again, the decision was imposed under pressure from the Council of State. But what is the role of the Council of State?
The CoE is not an elected body, nor does it have democratic legitimacy to set policy priorities. Its role is to check the constitutionality of laws - not to determine where and how we can build our houses. Yet an advisory body has ended up determining policy decisions that change the lives of thousands of citizens.
In simple terms, thousands of areas on our islands are rendered unbuildable.
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A double rupture: economic and local
This decision strikes at the core of our local development model. For decades, the Greek islands - especially in the Ionian Sea - have relied on a fragile balance between tourism and agriculture/industry. These two pillars require flexibility in land use: housing for workers and professionals, small hospitality units, workshops, warehouses, production areas.
This decision - rigid and detached from the local reality - freezes any such initiative. It does not support tourism, at least not sustainable and quality tourism. It does not favour rural development. It does not encourage the return of young professionals. It does not create jobs. It does not enhance local communities. It is a policy without direction.
So how do we expect young people to return to our villages when they cannot even build a house in their own country?
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Financial disaster for smallholders
The financial hit to small owners is huge. Thousands of families are seeing their only asset - one or more plots of land - lose all value overnight. Land that has been passed down from generation to generation, that has been painstakingly maintained, is suddenly devalued, without compensation, without transitional provision, without any warning.
This policy is a blatant injustice against the middle and popular class. It is a form of indirect expropriation. And what's worse? The same land that ordinary citizens are forbidden to build on is often 're-used' - with special exceptions and procedures - by large investment entities. Our experience confirms this: one set of laws for the many, another 'loopholes' for the few.
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Local authorities on the sidelines
The ministerial decree is in stark contrast to the effort of municipalities to complete Local Urban Plans (LEPs). These plans require years of consultation, technical studies and citizen participation. They are tools for democracy and sustainable planning, tailored to the needs of each region.
And yet, in one move, the government removes all meaning from them. If building rights are removed before the TPAs are even approved, what is the point of the whole process? The municipalities, the planners, the residents who actively participated are being belittled and ignored.
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What is the real objective?
In this confusion, the question that arises is legitimate: what is the real objective behind this decision;
Is it just incompetence? Or is there a strategic choice? Is the aim to weaken smallholders in order to facilitate the big players in the market? Is it an 'ecological alibi' to present Greece to Brussels as a country that protects nature, while in reality it is paving the way for grandiose tourism projects?
Or is it a clever "sterilization" of the countryside to make it easier to massively cede it to strategic investors with government blessings?
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We know our place better
We, the islanders, know our place. We know which land can accommodate new life, which must be protected, where there is infrastructure, where there is need. We are not asking for impunity. We ask for justice, dialogue, participation.
We do not want our islands to become postcards without people. We want development with respect for the environment and our culture. We want life, not window dressing.
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What needs to be done
This decree must be denounced, challenged, revoked. The municipalities, the associations, the active citizens must unite. Residents must be informed, mobilised.
What is at stake is not a legal detail. It is the right to live on our land, to build our future on our land, to pass on value and prospects to our children.
The government must understand that the unity of the country is not built with contempt for the regions. Environmental protection is not an alibi for social injustice. And the rule of law requires participation, transparency and respect for local democracy.
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We are not spectators. We are the guardians of our land. And we will continue to fight for it.
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