The timeline of significant legislative initiatives planned for the near future by the Ministry of Environment and Energy—covering energy, environmental, and spatial planning matters—was outlined by the Minister, Mr. Stavros Papastavrou, in an interview on Monday during the main evening news broadcast on Alpha TV.

Starting with the international tender for hydrocarbon exploration in the South Crete 1 and 2 areas, Mr. Papastavrou emphasized that the Ministry aims to complete the process by the end of the year, so that seismic surveys can begin in 2026 by the selected contractor. He noted, “The demonstrated interest by U.S. energy giants Chevron and ExxonMobil in Greek maritime territory is a strong indication that there may be commercially exploitable resources in Greek waters, to the benefit of Greek citizens who will enjoy the resulting returns.” Responding to a question about potential Turkish reactions, Mr. Papastavrou pointed out that the interest of American multinationals could strengthen Greece’s position and referenced Libya’s recent announcements regarding its maritime blocks, “which showed complete respect for our median line.”

Turning to the issue of the New Building Regulation (NOK) and addressing the possibility of legal action by developers at the European Court, Mr. Papastavrou stressed that the government will respect any decision of the European Court, just as it respects rulings by Greece’s Council of State (CoS). “For decades, Greece suffered from regulatory vagueness, legislative fragmentation, and arbitrariness—realities that hindered rational urban planning. Today, we are creating 227 Local Urban Plans and 18 Special Urban Plans, which will lead to urban planning coverage for 80% of the country. This historic reform will be completed by codifying urban planning legislation for the first time and digitizing the Cadastre,” stated the Minister of Environment and Energy.

At the same time, he noted that within the next 10 days, the Ministry will submit a Presidential Decree clarifying key issues—such as the definition of “commencement of works”—to avoid misinterpretations. “In the current climate of regulatory vagueness, the Ministry must establish legal certainty, so every property owner and builder clearly understands what is valid and what is not, thereby boosting construction activity,” Mr. Papastavrou underlined.

He paid special attention to settlements with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants and to CoS decisions in 2005, 2017, and 2019 that annulled the authority granted to Prefects in 1985 to define settlement boundaries. As he explained, the CoS ruled that Prefects should not have such authority due to a lack of scientific competence, and the boundaries they set were often arbitrary. “Out of the country’s 10,000 settlements, there are 150 in Rethymno and Pelion where the CoS annulled the Prefects’ boundary decisions, meaning no building permits can currently be issued there,” he stated, adding that this puts other settlements at risk in the event of legal challenges—a problem now addressed by the Presidential Decree. “The issue lies in Zone C—the zone at the edges of settlements—which the CoS did not accept in the Presidential Decree. For this zone, and to establish legal certainty, we are moving forward immediately with a legislative regulation that will align with existing law and jurisprudence, while also supporting small settlements and decentralization. At the same time, it will address concerns raised by Members of Parliament in our parliamentary group,” he added.

The Minister also addressed the new Marine Spatial Planning announced by the government, emphasizing that the protection of marine zones and ecosystems is a key priority for the Ministry. Laying out the next steps, he referred to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ announcement at last year’s 9th “Our Ocean Conference” held in Athens, regarding the creation of two marine parks in the South Aegean and Ionian Seas. These will move forward swiftly, with related Presidential Decrees to be issued within 2025. “As the Prime Minister stated, trawlers will be banned in these parks, and an advanced electronic monitoring system will be put in place to safeguard the ecological sustainability of these marine areas,” he added.

“For the first time, we have a strategic plan for how to manage our seas and the human activity within them. It’s something we owe to future generations,” concluded Mr. Papastavrou.