The Press Office of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance issued the following announcement:

The Land Services of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance conducted more than 10,000 inspections of citizens’ complaints regarding beaches and coastlines throughout the country  during the month of July . In the last week alone, over  5,000 inspections of complaints were carried out  throughout the territory. In total, over  1,100 businesses were inspected , while during the last week, extensive inspections were carried out in collaboration with the Hellenic Police and local municipalities in more than  290 businesses . The complaints examined came mainly through the MyCoast application but also through telephone calls from citizens to the local Land Services.

The general picture from the mass inspections of recent weeks is  clearly improved compared to previous years  as the majority of businesses operating on the beaches have complied with the new rules and the new legal framework.

However, the inspections of the complaints also revealed several violations, ranging from the absence of signs to the overrun of the occupied space by additional umbrella seats, other constructions as well as cases where the occupation was arbitrary without a concession contract. All the prescribed administrative fines were imposed on all the businesses where violations were found. The fines imposed so far exceed a total of  1,150,000 euros , while the process of imposing the remaining fines and administrative measures in the inspections carried out is also underway.

It is noted that the  7 regions of the country  that collected the most complaints nationwide and were inspected as a priority are the following:

• Halkidiki : 1,873 complaints were examined, of which 234 in the last week. The inspections were carried out in 19 beaches and 148 businesses, of which 8 beaches and 53 businesses in the last week alone. It is noted that for the first time in such a short period of time, all the busy beaches of Halkidiki have been inspected by teams of the Land Service with the assistance of the police, and in some cases more than once, while the inspections are set to continue. The remaining number of complaints concern new ones that were submitted after the autopsies and which in their vast majority are anonymous.
• Eastern Attica : 1,396 complaints were examined, of which 1,157 in the last week. During the inspections at 20 beaches and 58 businesses in the area, 12 violations were found and a corresponding number of administrative measures were imposed.
• Preveza:  873 complaints were examined. The inspectors’ teams proceeded to inspections at 6 beaches and 35 businesses, where three violations were found.
• Dodecanese : 754 complaints were examined, of which 591 in the last week.  Drone flights were also carried out in the waters of Kallithea and Faliraki  to capture the current situation. From the checks carried out on 14 beaches and 25 businesses, 7 violations were found.

• Cyclades: The Cyclades are receiving a relatively low number of complaints this year. Around 450 complaints have already been checked. Indicatively, in Paros, almost all complaints were checked with on-site inspections in collaboration with the Municipality of Paros, where on-site inspections were carried out at around 10 different beaches and 37 businesses, where only one violation was found. The violation was identified on Kolymbithres beach, where an arbitrary occupation of a beach without a contract was found, and the Land Service issued the required administrative measures (immediate removal act within 48 hours), a fine of 51,000 euros and instructions to the municipality to seal the area. According to a police document, the offender immediately removed the umbrella seats and the occupied section was returned to the public. On Agia Anna Kalafatis beach in Mykonos, following an inspection by the Land Service, a fine of approximately 190,000 euros was imposed on a business owned by the same businessman whose premises were sealed by the Public Property Authority a few days ago.

• Corfu : 352 complaints were examined, of which 27 in the last week. From the inspections at 4 beaches and 6 businesses, 5 administrative measures were imposed.
• Chania : A total of 199 complaints were examined. From the inspections at 7 beaches and 19 businesses, 8 violations were found, and the issuance of administrative measures is in progress.

Record concession contracts this year

It is worth noting that this year  the number of concession contracts for the use of parts of the seashore and beach broke a record and far exceeded the initial targets set by the Land Services . This was largely contributed to by the new electronic auction system that allows entrepreneurs who meet the criteria and conditions to participate in them under terms of transparency and meritocracy.

Initial estimates were that up to  1,200 concessions of coastal and beach sections would be carried out this year . Ultimately, their number exceeded  1,800  (of which approximately 1,650 were successful and 150 were unsuccessful), resulting in the exploitation of more coastal and beach sections compared to previous years,  always within the framework of the legality defined by the new institutional framework.

The electronic auctions that were deemed infertile (approximately 150) concern concessions for which there was either no interest or the successful bidder withdrew shortly before the signing of the contract. Such cases are observed over time, without however significantly affecting the tourism product of each area, as there may be other existing concessions on the same beaches. For example, on the beach of Kalo Livadi in Mykonos, where 2 sites were declared infertile during the electronic auction, however there are 5 other existing concessions on the same beach. Also, on the beach of Almyrida in Chania, 1 site was declared infertile during the electronic auction, however there are 9 other existing concessions, which cover almost 40% of the beach. Also, on the beach of Fyriplaka, Chania, during the electronic auction, 1 site was declared barren, however, there is already an existing concession, which covers 30% of the permitted use of the shoreline.

Finally, regarding the direct contracts of neighboring businesses , the number recorded this year is the highest ever recorded as they exceed  2,300 leases . This is mainly due to the fact that businesses understood the new institutional framework and the determination of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance to bring order to a largely anarchic landscape and rushed to the local Land Services in order to sign contracts even for sections of the coastline and beach that had never before applied for concession. In addition, some businesses applied for the conclusion of supplementary concession contracts in order to be able to legally utilize more square meters of coastline and beach.

The inspections are set to continue even more intensively in the coming period, giving priority to those areas with the most citizen complaints as well as those where there is a multitude of branded complaints.

SOURCE: https://www.e-forologia.gr/