Greece's Karagiannis appointed to coordinate final stage of local governement reform

The Director-General of the Central Union of Municipalities of Greece, Yiannis Karagiannis, has been appointed as the expert to coordinate the provision of Greek expertise to the Republic of Cyprus for the implementation of the final stage of local government reform.

Greece’s and Cyprus’ Interior Ministers, Makis Voridis and Nikos Nouris, made the announcement on Monday, June 27 during a press conference in Athens.

Speaking at the press conference, Nikos Nouris explained that the Republic of Cyprus initiated a reform process in the field of local government in March. As he noted, the aim of this reform is to provide the best possible services to the citizens at the lowest possible cost.

"We have a short transition period ahead of us until June 2024. During this period, we considered that the experience of the great Kallikrates reform by the Greek authorities could provide us with a good guide," the Cypriot Interior Minister noted. "Our work starts from today to establish the way of operation and cooperation between the two sides,” he said.

On his part, Makis Voridis stressed that Yiannis Karagiannis was chosen both because of his extensive experience in local government and because of his legal knowledge.

Greek Interior Minister also noted that a transnational agreement is likely to be required to regulate the issues of cooperation between the two countries in this area. "We are optimistic and happy. We are sure that Greece will also benefit from this cooperation," Voridis concluded.