NEW CIRCULAR FOR FOREST MAPS: GRASSLANDS AND NEW OBJECTION COMMITTEES!

The new circular gives instructions to the Decentralized Administrations and the Forest Directorates for the immediate establishment of Objection Examination Committees (EPA), with the their new compositions, consisting of a president Lawyer and members Forester, who must be an employee of the State or N.P.D.D. or a body of the wider public sector and a private Engineer, with the specialty of Agricultural Surveyor Engineer and Civil Engineer (with the right to sign a topographic diagram), and no longer by a given majority of Foresters, in order to proceed directly to the examination of objections. Therefore, in the new Committees which

In the new circular of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it is underlined that from the EPEAs. in the consideration of objections, “property matters shall not be raised or considered, nor shall property rights of the State or private individuals be affected. In the event that the objections concern a private grassland area recognized against the State (cases 5a and 5b of article 3 of Law 998/1979 [A’ 289]), the recognition is established, so that the area is automatically excluded from the application of the provisions of the forestry legislation”.

In the same circular, signed by Mr. Arabosis “it is pointed out that the EP.E.A. is responsible for checking the admissibility of objections, the existence of a legal interest by the objector for the area included in the forest map, as well as those included in paragraph 4 of article 15 of Law 3889/2010 (A’ 182) and then the control of its forest, grassland or non-forest character, in accordance with the written provisions of the forestry legislation, the jurisprudence formed on them, the relevant decisions and instructions of the Ministry of Environment. [such as e.g. 183185/1282/07.06.2019 circular (AD: ΣΤΤΟΤΟΤΟΤΟΤ4653Π8-BΥΚ)]’. In other words, a clear instruction is given for the implementation of the circular, which was issued in 2019 as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, by Sokratis Famellos, accepting the relevant opinion of the Forestry Technical Council, which, among other things, provides that:

-“Regarding submitted objections which have been examined and since the EP.E.A. have not completed their work and still exist, for the unified response to the crisis on the objections, they will check the possibility of reissuing decisions, so that areas covered only by phryganic vegetation, are assigned as “grassland” and registered in the fields of the forest map with the corresponding indication, according to the technical specifications for its preparation and the cases described therein”. the Arabosis circular refers to the examination of the pending objections from the posting of the forest maps of the period 2017-19. The problems highlighted by the new postings of the Forest Maps, as announced by the Minister of Forestry Kostas Skrekas, will be examined on a new basis in the next period, while as is known, the Ministry of the Environment has announced a six-month horizontal extension, in order to make corrections to the forest maps. In the meantime, a new decision has been issued based on a new opinion of the Technical Council of Forestry, which was accepted by the Deputy Minister of Forestry, Giorgos Amyras, which provides that the lands that were agricultural in the past and because of the abandonment, asphalt and scrubby vegetation grew are not classified as forest . A decision that causes reactions from foresters and its application is considered unconstitutional. See the ecopress report here

The fees of lawyers, engineers, foresters and employees

To the Forest Directorates, to which the new circular is notified , it is pointed out the necessity of regularly supplying the EPEA with a sufficient number of objections to achieve the timely and valid total sanction of the forest maps, while mentioning the decision of the Ministers of Finance – Environment and Energy (KYA) which determines, with funding from the Green Fund, a monthly compensation for participation in an Objections Examination Committee (EPEA), for its President, members and secretary, as follows:

Chairman lawyer, four hundred euro (€400).

Member forester public employee or N.P.D.D. or body of the wider public sector, two hundred and fifty euros (€250).

Member engineer, two hundred and fifty euros (€250).

Secretary public servant or N.P.D.D. or body of the wider public sector one hundred and fifty euros (€150).

The decision also states that: “The total of the above compensation per person, with the exception of the month August, is paid if the minimum mandatory number of participation in four (4) meetings per member is observed per month, combined with the completion of examination of twenty-five (25) cases per meeting and a total of one hundred (100) cases at the end of each month.

Exceptionally for the month of August, on the condition that 100 cases are examined by the EPEA, compensation is paid, equal to the fraction of the number of cases in the examination of in which the member, the president or the secretary participated for the total number of cases examined in the month by the EPEA, on the monthly compensation of the corresponding member, without requiring compliance with the above conditions (participation in four (4) meetings per member and completion of examination of twenty-five (25) cases per meeting).
The month in which the above is observed means the calendar period of thirty (30) days from the commencement of operation of the Committee for the Examination of Objections (EP.E. A.).

The above monthly compensation is paid once the Committee has completed the examination of all one hundred (100) decisions at the end of the month. Otherwise, no compensation is paid. See the ecopress report here

Arabosis circular

The entire circular, signed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Arab Affairs Konos Arabosis on the subject: Establishment of EP.E.A. after the entry into force of articles 48 and 49 of Law 4685/2020 is as follows

With par. 1 of Article 49 of Law. 4685/2020 (A’ 92) the composition of the Committees for Examining Objections against the content of the Forest Charter was amended, replacing the third and fourth paragraphs of paragraph 1 of article 18 of Law 3889/2010.

By the Ministry of the Interior/DDEY/92364/2651/25.09.2020 Decision of the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy (B’ 4367), CHAPTER 8 “CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION” was amended , SUPPORT OF P.E.A.” of 146776/2459/21.10.2016 Decision Y.P.EN. (Β’ 3532′), and the specific qualifications, as well as the selection process of the President and the members of the EPEAs, as well as their operational issues, were specified, based on the new institutional framework.

In addition, with the Ministry of the Interior/DDEY/94828/2723/02.10.2020 H.A. (Β’ 4525) defined the matters of preparation, operation and maintenance of the Register of substitute members of the Association of Independent Trade Unions, as well as the procedure for their replacement.

Also, with the Ministry of the Interior/DDDEY/125557/3591/30.12.2020 (YODDD 1106) Joint Decision of the Deputy Minister of Finance and the Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, a monthly compensation was determined for participation in an Objection Review Committee (Ε.Ε.Α. ) of article 18 paragraph 1 of Law 3889/2010 (A’ 182), for the President, its members and its secretary, in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 8 of the same article above and the conditions for its payment were specified. 2021″ and the allocation of a €10,000,000 credit for its implementation”, was included in Measure 5 of Priority Axis 4 of the Green Fund’s Financial Program “Protection and upgrade of Forests in 2021”, as Action 3 entitled “Compensation expenses of Objection Examination Committees ( EPEA) against the content of the posted forest maps” (ADA: ΠΣΤΥΛΧ46Ψ844-Α3Ω), in order to be able to allocate credits for the compensation of EPEA

<p style "text-align: justify?" the Green Fund, to the relevant Decentralized Administrations, which, after collecting from the Directorates of Coordination and Forest Inspection and checking all the necessary data for the meetings of the EPEAs, will send every six months to the Green Fund a transfer with the total amount , which must be paid to the Decentralized Administrations, which will pay the corresponding amounts to the beneficiaries (ref. the 6643/02.10.2020 document of the Green Fund).

It should be noted that the EPEA is responsible for checking the admissibility of objections, the existence of a legal interest by the objector for the area included in the forest map, as well as those included in paragraph 4 of article 15 of Law 3889/2010 (A’ 182) and then the control of its forest, grassland or non-forest character, in accordance with the written provisions of the forestry legislation, the jurisprudence formed on them, the relevant decisions and directives of the Ministry of Health. [such as e.g. 183185/1282/07.06.2019 circular (AD: ΦΣΤΟΤΟΠ4653Π8-ΒΥΚ)].

During the examination of the objections, no ownership issues are not considered nor are property rights of the State or private individuals affected. In the event that the objections concern a private grassland area recognized against the State [cases 5a’ and 5b’ of article 3 of Law 998/1979 (A’ 289)] recognition is established, so that it is automatically excluded from the application of the provisions of forest legislation the area.

The operation of the EP.E.A. is governed by the provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure ratified by the first article of Law 2690/1999 (A’ 45) and is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of Law 3889/2010.

Based on the above and given that the forest maps have already been posted and in order to proceed with the examination of the pending objections, proceed immediately with the establishment of the new EPs .A.

The following will also be mentioned in the preamble of the Establishment Decision:

• Paragraph 12 of article 48 of Law 4685/2020 (A’ 92).
• H 776/09.02 .2021 decision to assume the Obligation of the Green Fund with a/a 49 in the book of Approvals and Payment Orders of the Service, (AD: 6ΤΑ46Ψ844- IXHD).
• H 756/07.02.2021 YA on the subject “Approval of the Financial Program of the Green Fund “Protection and upgrade of Forests for the year 2021″ and the allocation of a credit of €10,000,000 for its implementation”, (AD: ΣΤΥΛΧ46Ψ844-Α3Ω).
• The certificate of termination of the previous EPEAs
• The Ministry of the Interior/DDEY/125557/3591/30.12.2020 Joint Decision of the Deputy Minister

Finance and Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy (YODDD 1106).

• The fact that the alternate members will come from the EPEA alternate members register. of paragraph 1 of article 18 of Law 3889/2010 and of the Ministry of the Interior/DDEY/94828/2723/02.10.2020 YA (B’ 4525).

In the body of the Establishment Decision, mention will be made:

• For the conditions and the conditions for payment of compensation, provided for in paragraph 8 of article 18 of Law 3889/2010 and in YPEN/DDEY/125557/3591/30.12.2020 Joint Decision of Deputy Minister of Finance and Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy (YODDD 1106).
• For the territorial competence of each EPEA. which may concern one or more local or municipal communities (former municipal or community departments) or a Municipality, as they are defined after Law 3852/2010 (A’ 87), to which the posting of forest maps concerns.