The Movement of Ecologists – Citizens’ Cooperation has urged the cabinet to reject a request for a planning permit for a monastery built without permission at Cape Greco, inside a Natura 2000 protected area, the party said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Ecologists called on the body that examines planning deviations, and then the cabinet, to take into account the positions of the relevant state departments and turn down the deviation being sought for the Holy Monastery of Saints Ephraim and Aikaterini. They also called for decisions already taken to demolish the illegal structures and restore the environment to be carried out.
The Department of Environment and the Town Planning Department have both opposed the requested deviation, according to the party, and it has already been pointed out that the required environmental assessment procedures were not followed. The site is of particularly high environmental value and lies within a nature protection zone, the party said.
The Ecologists expressed strong concern about how the process was developing. They argued that legalising unauthorised works after the event, particularly in protected areas, sets a dangerous precedent and undermines both environmental law and the principle of equality before the law.
Respect for the Church and its social and spiritual role cannot mean applying the law differently, the party said, adding that the rules that apply to every citizen and organisation must be enforced without exception, regardless of who has broken them.
The party first raised the issue in April 2024, when it called for the illegal structures to be demolished, the area to be restored and the law to be fully enforced. It said its position had not changed.
