REPORTS
The government disregards environmental protection with an unconstitutional amendment that facilitates off-plan construction
The last minute, irrelevant amendment was submitted on July 19, 2021, the night before the main bill was due to be voted on. With it, the government established the right to build on plots of 750m2 and above outside the town plan. Previously, the law allowed building outside the town plan only on plots of 4000m2 and above. The amendment was added to a bill concerning waste management and recycling and this was of course after the bill had completed the initial legislative process in the relevant parliamentary committee and consultation processes. The bill was passed into law as 4819/2021.
Apart from the fact that in this case the rules of good legislation for amendments provided by the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament were not observed, the new urban planning regulation also violated the rules of public consultation as well as the legislation for open government, since it was never posted, as required by law, on the website opengov.gr, but was literally submitted to Parliament overnight.
This regulation paved the way for a large increase in off-plan construction, which historically is one of the most serious causes of environmental degradation and biodiversity destruction in Greece, where there are an estimated at least one million houses built off plan and without the proper permits. In the last decade, successive governments have tried to solve this problem through legalization procedures, however, this amendment changing the planning regulations encourages further construction in areas outside of the town plan.
The amendment provoked reactions both to its substance and to the illegal procedure followed for its adoption. In a letter to Parliament, the Association of Greek Urban Planners and Surveyors (SEPOH) expressed “real disappointment and anxiety for the future development of Greece,” denouncing “the unacceptable process that continues to be applied regarding the legislative procedure.”
SEPOH noted that, “the continuous amendments to the urban, spatial and environmental provisions, and in particular the amendments to the recent ‘reform’ laws 4685/2020 and 4759/20 without substantive justification and, above all, without any possibility of consultation, highlight the lack of a structured planning policy and ultimately the submission of urban and environmental planning to opaque interests.” They requested the withdrawal of the urban planning provisions as well as the amendments “to allow the necessary time for their thorough study and evaluation by all stakeholders.”
Despite the reactions from the political arena (indicative: A vicious and short-sighted urban planning regulation, Stefanos Manos, TA NEA, 22.07.2021), the Greek government proceeded to vote on the amendment, creating a more unfavorable framework for the protection of the environment from off-plan construction.
Aiming at the adoption of rules for good and transparent legislation that adhere to the rule of law, Article 74 paragraph 5 of the Constitution and Article 101 paragraph 5 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament stipulate that ministerial amendments to proposed bills must be submitted up to three days before the start of the debate in the Plenary or the relevant parliamentary committee, and prohibits amendments that are irrelevant to the main object of the bill.
The purpose of the above rules is to allow enough time for the proper legislative and consultation processes to be followed, allowing input both from MPs and from the public – of any regulation proposed by ministers in the form of amendments. The practice of submitting last minute amendments bypasses scrutiny procedures and ultimately represents a lack of accountability in the legislative process concerning laws that may affect the rights and lives of millions of citizens.
Despite the existence of rules and laws governing the entirety of the legislative process, including amendments, the government ignored these rules and submitted an amendment that was both irrelevant to the main bill and was not submitted in a timely enough manner to undergo parliamentary or public scrutiny.
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