​Central

The Ministry of Environment and Energy  is responsible for :

• Maintaining and improving the quality of the environment;
• Promoting the sustainable development of energy and mineral sources;
• Planning and monitoring a national policy on Energy and Climate
• Promoting the use of energy from renewable sources, of energy efficiency, and decarbonisation:
• The rational, sustainable and environmentally friendly use of  non-renewable energy sources and minerals ;
• Establishing mechanisms and criteria for the protection, maintenance and replenishment of biodiversity, of climate, of the atmosphere and of the soil:
• Promoting sustainable development in all public policies and programs;
• Moderating carbon emissions, adjusting to climate change and protecting the ozone layer;
• Registering national carbon emission and submitting all data to the relevant international authorities.
• Monitoring air pollution and improving atmospheric quality
• The licensing of projects that are relevant to sustainable development.
• Conserving and recovering balance, harmony and diversity in Greek wildlife and ecosystems;

The special standing committee of the Hellenic Parliament for the protection of the environment is responsible for drafting legislation and parliamentary scrutiny.

Regional

Local

Municipal authorities are responsible for:

• The development of local programmes to protect and enhance the natural, architectural and cultural environment, in the framework of national and European policies;
• The operation of the municipal forests;
• Assisting the relevant fire department by all appropriate means available to tackle fires, especially in forest areas;
• The protection and management of the regional (soil and inland) water resources from extensive fisheries and pollution;
• Local water supply, irrigation, and sewage systems;
• The establishment and operation of municipal laboratories;
• The cleanliness of all common areas of their territorial area,
• The removal and the management of waste;
• The sanitation of all common spaces;
• Waste management and the construction, maintenance and management of sewer systems;
• Managing solid waste
• Preventive and repressive measures to protect public spaces, especially the dumpsite, in the  event of fire;
• The establishment and operation of slaughterhouses;
• The study, management and execution of housing and urban development programmes;
• Measures for the restoration and rebuilding of local areas where mineral resources exploitation has occurred or areas where facilities of waste management are installed;
• Issuing building permits;
• Participating in town planning, regional planning and land use as provided by law;
• Monitoring architecture, structural, electrical and thermal studies as well as maintaining tax records for industrial buildings;
• Definition of sites for cemeteries and provision of an opinion for setting cremation sites;
• The issuance of building permits, control studies and imposition of fines for making illegal constructions in the legislation;
• Monitoring the “Clean Beaches - Clean Seas Programme" which is launched by the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change; and
• The preliminary proposal for the redevelopment of a certain area. 
• Dealing with outdoor advertisement in order to ensure environment protection.

The Municipalities also have consultative responsibilities:

• Before government authorities issue any administrative regulation concerning environmental protection, regulatory or spatial plans, decision on plant location and other activities, they should consult the municipal councils of the municipalities or communities or the boards of Associations of Municipalities and Communities in the region in which the measure will apply;
• The central government cannot decide on expropriation, disposition, or any kind of intervention or restriction in the administration and disposal of municipal or communal lands, works, services and water for irrigation or drinking without prior consent of the relevant municipal council (Art. 77).

Responsible ministries/bodies

Ministry of Environment and Energy
 

Sources

Law 3463/2006 (OJ Α 114/30.6.2006) 'Code for Municipalities and Communities', Article 75.

Law 3852/2010 (OJ Α 87/7.6.2010) 'Reorganisation of Local Government - Kallikratis Programme', Art. 94 and 186.

Law 4042/2012 (OJ A 24/13.02.2012).

Ministry of Environment and Energy according to Presidential Decree 132/ 2017 (O.G. 160/ 30-10-2017)

Open Society Institute, Territorial Consolidation Reforms in Europe, drafted by Pawel Swianiewicz, 2010, Budapest.