Environment Ministry

After Environment Ministry measurements last week pointed to a decrease in air pollution in Greece following the imposition of restrictions on movement, new data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) points to drops in pollutants in major European cities that are under lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Atmospheric pollution has dropped significantly over the past week, according to the Environment Ministry's pollution counting network, with officials attributing the drop to the reduction of traffic on the roads amid the government's "Menoume Spiti" (We Stay at Home) campaign to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

A new bill }submitted for public consultation by the Environment Ministry aims to streamline the management of Greek areas that are protected under the European Union's Natura 2000 network.

The Environment Ministry }has announced a two-month extension to the suspension of new construction licenses for tall buildings in the central Athens suburb of Makriyianni, at the foot of the Acropolis.

However, it said that the extension will not be implemented by presidential decree as is usually the case regarding building regulations but through an amendment in the existing law. 

President Klaus Iohannis will participate on Friday in the launching event of the National Forestation Campaign called "O padure cat o tara" ("A forest as big as a country"), which takes place in Uliesti, Dambovita county. The event will also be attended by Interim Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, Prime Minister-designate Florin Citu and Interim Environment Minister Costel Alexe.

Public consultations began on Wednesday on a new bill introduced by the Environment Ministry that seeks to modernize environmental legislation.

The bill will change regulations regarding land uses, environmental licensing and the management of protected areas.

The European Commission said it sent a letter of formal notice to Greece on Wednesday over its failure to produce a national plan to control air pollution.

Member-states are required under EU directives to draw up and implement programs to limit their annual emissions. They had until April 1, 2019 to present the plan to the EU.

An organization dedicated to healthy seas is calling on the Environment Ministry to conduct an investigation into the quality of the water in Ermoupoli port on the island of Syros after discovering worryingly high levels of heavy metals on the seabed.

Eldorado Gold is seeking to make substantial changes to the contracts for the mines in Halkidiki, while searching for a strategic investor that will help share the cost of an investment plan that is proving too expensive for the Canadian company to undertake on its own.

Some 115,000 baby caretta caretta (loggerhead) sea turtles made it to the sea in Turkey this summer, according to a report released by the Environment Ministry.