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TAIPED “backs down” from controversial sale of Elafonisos beaches Local residents and environmental groups in uproar over TAIPED listing of the island's twin beaches Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The twin beaches in Elafonisos, Simos and Sarakiniko, in the southeastern corner of the Peloponnesus are renowned for the crystal clear waters and golden sand, attracting thousands of tourists every year. Each year the beaches are praised by international media, with the Guardian selecting it as the top Greek beach for 2013.
The area is also protected under Natura 2000 guidelines due to the rare cedar forest, endemic flora and sand dunes. The TAIPED listing also notes that there are a number of archeological, legal, environmental and forest limitations in place.
As expected, the government’s decision to sell the twin beaches – along with 109 other prime plots of land and beaches – so that private companies can have exclusive use rights for 50 years has caused a major controversy from local residents, as well as international environmental groups. The scientific advisor of the island’s municipal authorities St. Deligiannidis argued that the government can lift any development limitations by referring to the medium term program of 2011 or the Finance Ministry’s recent bill on shore and coastline development.
The privatization fund has responded that it despite listing the beaches in its online portfolio, where it proposes the construction of vacation homes and hotels, it does not intend to carry out any sale without taking into consideration environmental and local community concerns. Mr. Deligiannidis remarked that the local community will not consider any possibility of privatizing the beach and argued that the sale would be an environmental crime .Click here for more on the Vima.gr
The area is under the protection of the European program "Natura 2000" due to the endemic plant species that exist on the island’s beaches and the wider area of Elafonisos. According to Elafonisos Association of Scientists, the beach of Simos is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Mediterranean, while it has been included in the list of the top ten beaches of the world. The Mayor of Elafonisos, Panagiotis Psaromatis with a letter to the president of Taiped Constantinos Maniatopoulos and the Greek Finance Minister, Yiannis Stournaras, expressed his opposition to the government’s plans. "We will by all means continue to protect our unique and sensitive natural environment," he said.
Indeed, Paradise beaches Come and Go , As History Shows
In the early 1970s, Famagusta was a top tourist destination, with golden sands, high-rise hotels and shopping precincts, frequented by the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor...
... but today, it is a ghost town - the hotels, beaches and boats abandoned. SEE MORE BY DAILYMAIL
The backlash involves a 50-year lease of the best beaches of Elafonissos island, Simos and Sarakinos, which locals stress are protected under the EU's Natura 2000 network of protected areas, as is the entire island, which is noted for its unique plant life. The idyllic tourist resort, with virgin, white sand beaches, lies in the Laconian Gulf, near the eastern tip of the Peloponnese. May21, 20`14, MORE
The idyllic tourist resort, with virgin, white sand beaches, lies in the Laconian Gulf, near the eastern tip of the Peloponnese. May21, 20`14, MORE
Our Paradise on Sale : Elafonisos
But based on a medium-term bailout deal passed by parliament in 2011, the real estate privatisation scheme provides that such 50-year leases will provide investors with exclusive use of the beaches and seashores.
The lease scheme was necessary due to legal complications in the sale of state-owned real estate. More,for all the accurate legal detailS report
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On sale Everything you know as Greece, by the "merchants of the Nation"...
Liberation: Greece sells all
“Greece is selling whatever it can in order to lighten the debt due to the innumerable demands of its creditors,” writes the journalist Nathalie Dubois in the article entitled “Greece sells all, Greeks in the wind.”
By this shocking title, La Grèce vend tout, les Grecs vent debout’ he French Libération newspaper has produced a double page dedicated to the privatization efforts in Greece
The magical Greek island of Elafonisos, located in the southern edge of Peloponnese, will be included in the portfolio of the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (Taiped), a salet hat already caused widespread reactions
Taiped is selling 175 acres of the breathtaking beaches of Sarakiniko and Simos. Locals as well as international environmental organizations are protesting against the sale of the beautiful island.
In 2013, British daily The Guardian placed Elafonisos first on a list of top ten areas with the most beautiful beaches in Greece while the German magazine Geo-Saison has described the island as "a paradise on earth." The same website wrote that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, after the purchase of the Greek island Oxia in the Ionian Sea, is planning to buy seven more islands located in the Echinades group, Ionian Sea.
The family of the Emir has already bought half the island of Petalas and will soon proceed in purchasing the whole area. The acquisition of Petalas is considered very important as it is the biggest island in the Echinades group. (ANSAmed).
Our Sacred on Sale:
Thermopylai, the Land of the 300 Battle, by its Hot Springs
Our "unique in the World" on Sale
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The most famous beach in Zakynthos, Navagio beach, with its clear waters and the historic shipwreck lying on the sand, has attracted thousands of foreign and Greek tourists over the years.
Recently, there were reactions following word about an old local family that supposedly owns the property titles to the area surrounding Navagio beach and is considering to sell it. Howver, property titles for the beach itself belong to the Greek Church.
According to Greek news, the Public Revenue Service of Zakynthos has filed a 9 million euro contract and 400,000 euros as a deposit for the transfer tax, however, the tax service claims that the property is worth double its current value.
The company that is allegedly planning to buy the area around Navagio beach is an international real estate company related to the Emir of Quatar, while the seller is the last descendant of an old noble family of the island, who have owned the titles since the 17th century.
- See more by greek reporter
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