Filenews 21 March 2025 - by Michalis Hadjivasilis
They finally found a solution after two rounds of confrontation in the Parliament, between the Ministry of Justice and the Union of Municipalities over the lampratzies.
However, it still remains unknown whether this year the new regulations will come into force, or whether we will have an Easter with lampradzias with what was in force until today. In today's extraordinary meeting at the Ministry of Justice, which was attended by the president of the Union of Municipalities and Communities, Andreas Vyras, officials and representatives of the Police and the Fire Service, the golden ratio that was sought on the issue was found.
As the Minister of Justice Marios Hartsiotis told Filenews, there was unanimity that the custom must be preserved and institutionalized and a discussion followed regarding the issues for which the Union of Municipalities and Communities had raised objections at the last session of the Committee on Legal Affairs.
After a fruitful discussion, the minister adds, all the points in dispute have been overcome, resulting in an agreement that we are proceeding with the reformulation of specific points of the entire bill, the philosophy of which does not change. The bill was agreed to be sent back to Parliament as soon as possible and again in its urgent form, after its content has been finalized based on what has been agreed. "I would like to express my satisfaction based on the outcome of today's session and my thanks to the Union of Municipalities for the spirit of cooperation they have shown."
Based on the agreement reached, the applicant for the lighting of a lamp will be a representative of an ecclesiastical, local or other official authority and not just anyone, as the original bill provided. Also, the supervisor, who will be a person from the local authority, will have the role of monitoring and informing the Police of the process and not of checking whether the conditions of the license granted are met.
It was also agreed that the timber would be procured and transported to the point where the lamp would be lit, the applicant-organizer and not the Municipalities, as provided for in the original bill. Finally, the provision that forced the local authorities to have a fire extinguisher near the lampragzia is eliminated, since it was decided that if everything is done there will be no risk of causing a fire, so there should be no fire extinguisher nearby.
Finally, it was decided that provincial meetings between Municipalities, the police and the fire brigade will follow for coordination, whether this year's lamps will be lit with the current regime, or with the new legislation that will be attempted to be voted on immediately.
