Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis responded to a letter by “Mamma Mia!” movie director Phyllida Lloyd who had voiced strong opposition to the coastal area development and privatization plans for Greece. Her letter, addressed to Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni expressed admiration for the country’s natural beauty and noted that it’s one of the last destinations in the world which remain unspoiled by commercial tourism.

Mr. Hardouvelis responded as follows:

“Let me first congratulate you for your excellent work in ‘Mamma Mia’. Your movie has introduced the Greek islands to a global audience with great skill, sensibility and humor.

Let me assure you that we are most certainly not privatizing our coastline. The relevant provision in the law that was just approved by the Greek Parliament is limited to the acceleration of the delineation of the Greek coastline. This is a project that is 70 years overdue, as less than 10% of the Greek coastline is clearly delineated. The delineation of the coastline improves transparency and frustrates illegal activities that destroy the coastline and the environment. It is the inability to clearly define the coastline which invites arbitrary building activity and other uncalled private uses. The new law would prevent all this.

We need to have available high quality, official data that will inform our policy making and make possible its implementation. Such data, as in the case of the coastline delineation, also enable political parties, the public and NGO’s to take an informed position on both policy adoption and policy implementation by the government of the day.

I want to thank you for your interest in Greece, and in the Greek environment, which I certainly welcome.”