Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou had a meeting this morning with the President of the Social Democrats-EDEK Movement, Marinos Sizopoulos, at the Ministry of Interior.
After the meeting, the Minister of Interior, in his statements to journalists, after thanking the President of the Movement for their meeting, said that it was part of the process of informing all parliamentary parties on issues related to the Ministry of Interior. He said that the aim is to listen to their suggestions, "let alone those of the parties that collaborated for the election of the President of the Republic."
He noted that during the meeting they exchanged views on issues related to the reform of the Local Government, as well as on housing policy issues. "I informed the President about the 'BuildingZO' programme for refugee settlements, as well as various other issues related to the Ministry of Interior," he added.
"Our goal is to institutionalise this dialogue and this effort at regular intervals, because it is of mutual benefit," the Minister noted.
"We receive inputs on the various issues of interest and at the same time inform the policies of the Ministry of Interior, and this is to the benefit of all parties involved," the Interior Minister said.
For his part, Sizopoulos thanked the Minister for the constructive meeting, stating that the meetings will continue in a spirit of mutual understanding and constructive assistance on the part of the EDEK, "mainly to help and contribute to the formulation of the best possible proposals and decisions concerning social issues that fall within the scope of the Interior Ministry's responsibilities." He informed that as the EDEK submitted proposals, such as the revision of the policy on land plots, in the context of contributing to the housing policy, the creation of a single body for the management of water supply and sewerage, so that there are no different tariffs per region.
Asked whether the Minister of Interior is concerned about the appeal of the Municipality of Aglantzia that is pending before the Court, in view of the amendments that the Ministry of Interior is proposing to the bills that will be submitted for voting in the House of Representatives on Local Government, Mr. Ioannou replied that the Ministry of Interior is proceeding on the basis of the timetable that has been set. If and when the Court's decision is different, it will be assessed accordingly, he added.
Asked to comment on the simultaneous holding of the European Elections and the Local Government Elections, and whether any difficulties and the many ballots are a cause for concern, the Minister replied in the affirmative.
He noted that he had been informed by officials - and had also informed the President of the EPP - that holding the elections at the same time posed risks "and this is something to be concerned about". He added that this issue will be raised this afternoon at his meeting with the representatives of the parliamentary parties of the Parliamentary Internal Affairs Committee "precisely to look at the various changes we are proposing". He clarified that these changes are not changes that change the philosophy, but changes to improve the Local Government Law," he added.
Asked if there is a possibility that the two elections will be held on a different day, the Minister stressed that this issue will not be discussed, it will simply be raised as a concern.
He noted that a different meeting could be held "to evaluate this possibility" because, he said, "there is indeed a concern among the officials about the fact that both elections will be held on the same day."
Asked to mention the risks involved, the minister clarified that it involves complex elections, with many ballots and there is a risk of mistakes being made. He reiterated that this issue will be assessed, based on the concerns expressed in recent weeks.
In response to another question on the progress of the implementation of the Roadmap of Local Government Reform, Mr. Ioannou said that last week he had a meeting with the representatives of the Executive Committee of the Union of Municipalities, while he continues to meet with the officials every week. "We are on track and the timetables are being met at the moment," the Interior Minister concluded.
(EFYs)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
