After the statements of the elected Mayor of Athens, Haris Doukas, regarding the company “Anaplasi SA”, the Minister of Culture, Lina Mendoni, commented on the matter in the broadcast of journalists Nikos Hatzinikolaou and Antonis Dellatola, on Real Fm 97.8.

“We are in a different environment, with priorities and financial tools. The renovations are necessary for many cities across the territory. There are so many cases, we can go into so many examples if you have the time. So what the Government is doing is expanding the scope of the company. The company no longer concerns Athens, but concerns the entire territory, it can concern any city. This company, that is, with the four Ministries as shareholders, can do projects in any city in the country that we want to highlight its cultural character through the integration of archaeological sites, historical monuments or a series of other projects that it can do according to its statutes » emphasized the Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni.

As Mrs. Mendoni reminded, “Anaplasi SA” was never a municipal company: “In previous years, already in the 90s, there was the company “Unification of Archaeological Sites of Athens”, which was a State company, with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Environment as main partners at that time. The projects were done, at some point this company closes and, in 2018, a new public company is established – a public company – with partners the Ministries of Environment, Culture, Public Works and Interior, in order to serve projects similar to those of the consolidation of archaeological premises, in Athens”.

“I repeat, it is a public enterprise, a public company. The law, the new one, which now imposes the selection of administrations, and rightly so, with objective criteriainviolable procedures so that in every public institution they are the best, precisely for this reason, regardless of who is here, who is there, whether it is Mendoni, whether it is Bakoyannis, Hatzinikolaou, Doukas, the process now of the administrations of public bodies will be done with the new institutional framework, which was ratified by the Parliament, a month ago.

Therefore, it neither changes hands nor is it a scandalous amendment. Whoever was Mayor, could no longer manage the State company himself or anyone of his choice. Neither the Minister’s nor anyone else’s. We are now entering an evaluation of objective administrations, this is through ASEP, this is the new institutional framework”, added the Minister of Culture.