With a unanimous decision, the Municipal Council of Athens gave the “green light” for the immediate sealing of 10 catering establishments which, following inspections, were found to be in violation of the law applicable to the occupation of public spaces and the development of benches and seats .

The Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Police and Common Areas, Vasilios Koromantzos, suggested the closure of shops for a few days, pointing out that this possibility is now provided by the law which provides that in the case of continued arbitrary occupation of public space, the Municipality has the right to impose double the fine or the sealing of the store from one to five days.

“This measure will henceforth be applied. Today we choose as the first message and until everyone is informed, the closure should not exceed three days. Let those who still break the law get the message. We will continue to monitor the arbitrary occupation because in this way we also protect the common space, but we also protect those entrepreneurs who want to operate legally, from the unfair competition caused by the arbitrary and excessive occupation of the common space.”

Mr. Koromantzos announced that similar decisions will be made at the next meeting of the Municipal Council.

It is recalled that the “quiver” of the Municipality of Athens has been significantly strengthened following the adaptation of Article 51 of Law 5027/2023, which now allows municipalities not only to impose fines, but also to temporarily lock shops in cases where there is relapse.

8 of the 10 stores that are temporarily closed are located in Kolonaki, one in Apostolou Pavlou and one in Koukaki.