Today’s visit is not accidental. Kyriakou Mitsotakis in the mountains of Karditsa and, in particular, in the municipality of Argithea, where at noon there will be a presentation of a special development plan for the municipalities of Agrafo Evrytania, Limni Plastira Karditsa and Argithea Karditsa, which form a cluster of mountainous areas with a great growth prospect.

The attention of the government to mountain municipalities is wider and concerns the whole country. Last May, Kyriakos Mitsotakis had a meeting with 33 mayors of the network of mountain municipalities – the so-called “mountain community”, during which issues such as the progress of the implementation of development programs were discussed, the country’s small mountain municipalities, the needs and problems they face, as well as prospects for the development of these territories. This was followed by the formation of an interministerial committee headed by a state minister. Aki Scherzo and participants, among others, Deputy Minister of the Interior Stelio PechaDeputy Minister of the Environment George Amiras and the Mayor of Anoia and Chairman of the KEDE Highlands Committee Socrates Kefalogianniwith the aim of drawing up a “strategic mountain plan” at the highest government level.

According with information from “K”the data of the 2021 census collected so far, the results of which have not been officially published, testify to the huge problems of the mountain municipalities, since the population of the small mountain municipalities has decreased by about three times compared to the entire territory of Greece. a particularly worrisome element is its significant reduction female population in these municipalities. The more general desertification of the countryside adds another very large problem regarding the primary sector, crop production as well as livestock production affecting the livestock sector. Today’s presentation of the development program by the Prime Minister Municipalities of Agrafo, Limni Plastira and Argithea represents a “model” of development against the main problem facing the mountainous regions of Greece: their desolation due to the large reduction in the number of people living in these areas.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis today presents the development program for the municipalities of Agrafo, Limni Plastira and Argitea.

Special Fund

Mr. Mitsotakis, even before his election as prime minister, spoke of the need for a targeted strategy for the mountainous countryside, whose needs are very different from those of the rest of the country. During this period, for example, the mountainous regions are already in great need for heating, as the temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius. According to the information, the prime minister’s mind is to develop a coherent horizontal policy for mountain areas, which, as the mayors of mountain municipalities told the prime minister during the discussion in Maximu, is “a matter of national priority.” “.

Among other things, Kyriakos Mitsotakis seems to be considering setting up a special fund for the mountains, which will raise funds from various financial instruments (NSRF, PDE, Recovery Fundas well as, in particular, financial instruments such as the Antonis Tricis self-government program) so that this coherent policy is carried out in a coordinated manner, and in the same context, the appointment of a person who will have a strong political mandate as Prime Minister can also be considered for implementation of the government’s coherent plan for mountainous Greece.