OUR list of unsuitable beaches for swimming in Atticawhich was published a few days ago, caused a little surprise among those who often visit the beaches of Attica.

Among the seven declared “unsuitable” by the Panhellenic Center for Environmental Studies (PAKOE), there are also two lively Glyfada beaches: “Akti B” – Maros streets and Diadochou Pavlou / “Delfinia” restaurant. Customer Parking” and “Shore B/Beach End”. The paradox is that both beaches have waves. blue flags.

“We do not know by what criteria and specifications PAKOE measures and in which laboratories. They don’t send us a document stating what exactly is being measured, how they are measuring and when they will come for measurements, ”the mayor of Glyfada told K. George Papanicolaou. He notes that the beaches of Glyfada have been repeatedly qualified by PAKOE as unsuitable, while over the past seven years the same beaches have been awarded Blue Flags. “And precisely because the Blue Flag criteria are very strict and the measurements are constantly taken, the municipality believes that these PAKOE lists, which are widely distributed every summer and are constantly reproduced on the Internet, defame us,” stresses the mayor of Glyfada.

OUR Daria Nefeli Vurdubaan oceanographic ecologist and head of the Greek Society for the Protection of Nature’s Blue Flag program tells K that the way water is measured is very specific.

As he points out, the Ministry of the Environment and, in particular, the General Secretariat for the Environment and Waters with the local water departments that exist in the regions are responsible for the relevant measurements. “Therefore, we take into account the official measurements of the state, which are carried out by private laboratories certified by ESYD (National Accreditation System)”, notes Ms Vurduba, specifying that the measurements are made on the basis of a specific European directive (2006/7/EC), which establishes very strict conditions for sampling and its frequency.

“The only competent person that can conduct inspections and publish results on the suitability / unsuitability of beaches is the state,” says the Secretary General for the Environment and Waters. Petros Varelidis. “Therefore, we are considering the possibility of taking legal measures to provide reliable and reliable information to the public,” he told K.

It is noted that the results of the above laboratory analyzes for Attica will be published at the beginning of the week on patt.gov.gr.

Position PAKOE

PAKOE, as listed on its website, is an independent private non-profit organization “known for its matches”. The press release for the list of eligible and non-suitable beaches notes that: “The determination of microbes is carried out in PAKOE certified laboratories by experienced scientists. Sampling is also carried out by teams of dedicated volunteers with at least ten years of experience.”

In conversation with “K”, President of PAKOE Panagiotis Christudoulakis states the following: “We also follow the measurement path of the European Directive. This year we took a total of 776 samples, 247 in Attica and 529 in other regions of Greece. Of these 247, 21 specimens in Attica are unusable. However, we are much better than last year and the year before.”

Asked how one can find “unsuitable” Blue Flag beaches, Mr. Christodoulakis replies: “We have no relationship with the municipalities, we have been doing our job continuously for 44 years. The Ministry of Environment of Attica accepts about 400 samples, of which 401 are eligible. The General Secretariat for Water Resources represents the respective government, and the respective government is more interested in tourism than in the suitability of the beaches. In Attica, the percentage of unfit this year is 8.5%. Did they all have to fit in order for us to be happy?

Intense dispute between KEDE and PAKOE

However, KEDE (Central Union of Greek Municipalities) sees certain reasons and motives in the PAKOE lists, even talking about financial extortion by NGOs of the mayors of various regions of Greece. In fact, on 03/21/2023, KEDE issued a statement accusing PAKOE of numerous illegal activities.

It is mentioned, for example, that the mayor of Agistrion, Yiannis Athanasiou, complained that “7.12.2016 PAKOE asked us to pay for the events because, according to his measurements, the municipality was one of the cleanest beaches. After our refusal, a publication was made about their unsuitability.

In addition, the mayor of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni, Grigoris Konstandellos, noted that the NGO “has repeatedly approached the local authorities in the past, as there are many complaints about the practice of extortion, while this issue has also been raised by the judiciary, when a number of Mayors of Sterea in Greece complained directly that PAKOE was extorting money from them and supplying unsuitable water. In our municipality, we have repeatedly seen PACOE measurements that do not agree with the corresponding measurements of certified state bodies, at the same time, the municipality accepted proposals for cooperation with the body in financial exchange, never, apparently, giving a positive answer.

The President of PAKOE, in turn, replies that what is mentioned in the KEDE announcement “is malice and lies” and notes that they have filed a lawsuit and a lawsuit against the mayor of Waris-Voulas-Vouliagmeni, as well as against KEDE.

Finally, regarding the mayor of Glyfada, who this year saw two Blue Flag beaches on the PAKOE list, he tells K that he will file a lawsuit against PAKOE against the president of KEDE. Dimitris Papastergiou tell K that he will support those municipalities that sue NGOs.