A coordination meeting was convened by the Minister of Climate Change and Civil Protection, Yannis Kefalogiannis, with all relevant stakeholders for better coordination of the mechanism and optimal preparation in view of the winter period.

The Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yannis Kefalogiannis, said that “what is important is to see clearly what issues create difficulties each year in the management of severe weather events, such as floods, snowfall and frost, so that we can deal with them in a timely and effective manner.”

At the same time, he spoke about the five main axes that concern from preparation to the coordination of all stakeholders and the monitoring of the forecasts of the National Weather Service, which must “identify the weaknesses and reduce them in time,” noting that “only in this way we can make decisions with uniform criteria and avoid confusion to citizens or services.”

In the context of the meeting, which will be followed by others, issues of better preparation of all institutions and effective coordination of their efforts to deal with potential problems from severe weather phenomena from flooding, snowfall and frost were also discussed.

The meeting, which was also held via videoconference, was attended by the Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Mr. Evangelos Turnas, the Deputy Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection responsible for State Relief, Mr. Kostas Katsafados, the Secretary General of Civil Protection, Mr. Nikos Papaevstathiou, the Secretary General of Natural Disaster Rehabilitation & State Relief, Mr. Peter Kabouris, the Chief of the Fire Brigade, Lieutenant General Theodoros Vayas, the Deputy Chief of the Fire Brigade, Lieutenant General Georgios Markoulakis, the Chief of Staff of the Fire Brigade, Lieutenant General Athanasios Balafas, the Inspector General of Southern Greece, Lieutenant General Christos Platas, the Inspector General of Northern Greece, Lieutenant General Theodoros Kosmidis, the Commander of the Unified Coordinating Centre for Crisis Management (ESKEDIK), Major General Dimitrios Briolas, as well as high-ranking officials of the Fire Brigade.

The representative of the General Staff, Commander of the Construction and Natural Disaster Response Command, Lieutenant General Michael Kluvas, the Deputy Chief of the National Guard, Lieutenant General Paschalis Syritoudis, the Regional Governors of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Mr. Stavros Arnaoutakis, the President of KEDE Mr. Lazaros Kyrizoglou, the President of the Civil Protection Committee of KEDE Mr. Vlassis Siomos, representatives of the Regions of Attica, North Aegean, West Macedonia, Epirus, Thessaly, Ionian Islands, Central Macedonia, South Aegean, Peloponnese and Central Greece, the President and CEO of DEDDIE Mr. Mr. Anastasios Manos, President and CEO of EDMIE Mr. Yannis Maniatis, CEO of EYDAP Mr. Charalambos Sahinis, President of EDEFA Mr. George Marinakis, the General Manager of E.A.G.M.E. Mr. Dionysios Goutis, the Managing Director of New Road and Attiki Odos Mr. Rodiacos Antonakopoulos, the Managing Director of Olympia Odos Mr. Costas Papandreou, the Director of Operations and Maintenance of the Moraeus Road Mr. Alexandros Panagakos, the Operations Manager for Traffic Management of the Rio Bridge Mr. Theodoros Koutsogoulas, the representative of Egnatia Road Mr. Thanasis Tsaltsanoglou and the Managing Director of the Aegean Road Mr. Dimitris Mandalozis.

Theodoros Koutsogoulas, the representative of Egnatia Road, Mr. Thanasis Tsaltsanoglou and the Managing Director of the Aegean Roa,d Mr. Dimitris Mandalozis.

In detail the statement of the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Yannis Kefalogiannis:

“Our purpose is not to analyze the obvious. We all know what prevention means and how operational preparedness is organized. What is important is to see clearly which issues create difficulties every year in the management of severe weather events, such as floods, snowfalls and frost, so that we can deal with them in a timely and effective manner. Experience shows that the biggest challenges are found in five key areas:

The ambiguity of responsibilities between regions and municipalities, especially on critical issues such as stream cleaning, maintenance projects and snow removal, leads to delays and practically blocks the response. Coordinating Bodies exist precisely to prevent such situations, as long as they are utilized promptly.

In the management of critical infrastructure, a clear picture and prioritization is required to keep open “lifelines” such as hospitals, health centers, airports, ports, and schools. These are issues that need to be clarified before a crisis.

The need for a common reference basis for weather forecasts, with universal adherence to official forecasts and EMF Emergency Reports. Only in this way can we make decisions based on uniform criteria and avoid confusion for citizens or services.

On procedural delays. Every year, especially during snowfalls, issues arise with delays in machinery leases, salt availability, and fleet maintenance. These are not issues of knowledge; they are issues of time and procedure. When they are delayed, the operational chain breaks down in practice.

Finally, there is a need for unified coordination between all stakeholders, from transport infrastructure to energy networks, so that they do not operate in a piecemeal fashion but as part of a single plan. In major events, problems are not limited to traffic or local damage. Electricity networks, transport, and public transport are affected. TEN-T, ADMIE, OSE, motorway concessionaires – all must be part of the planning, not operate in a piecemeal fashion. This is where gaps in cooperation often occur.

These are the points that require attention and are the goal of today’s discussion: to identify the weaknesses and reduce them in time.