Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a 45-day extension of the deadline for clearing surplus vegetation from plots of land, during his visit to the climate crisis and civil protection ministry on Thursday. With the fire season beginning on May 1, the prime minister was briefed on the preparation of the state mechanism to respond.
Mitsotakis noted that the fire department's forces were this year greater than ever, while the number of volunteers is also increasing. He also stressed the great importance of clearing land of undergrowth, noting that this had indisputably protected properties and assisted the fire brigade last year.
"It was right to give an extension until June 15," said the prime minister, urging a greater degree of plot clearance as part of a collective effort against fires, a phenomenon that becomes ever harder to tackle.

The prime minister was welcomed by Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Kefalogiannis.