The Greek Council of State (CoS) issued a ruling on Thursday practically overturning a decision by outgoing  minister Panos Skourletis to temporarily shut down the gold mines in Skouries, Chalkidiki prefecture, northern Greece. The Council of State said that the reasoning behind Skourletis’ decision to suspend the works at the mine was unsubstantiated.

It should be reminded that the Greek government decided last week (clearly for political reasons leading up to the snap elections) to repeal the mining permit on grounds technical study violations. The Council of State said in its decision that even though Skourletis’s decision upheld the letter of the law, it could not be deemed in any way a reason to suspend the operations of the mine.