Meeting to be held over restaurants’ outdoor seating

Municipalities in Greece may grant an extension beyond the end-September deadline for the removal of extra restaurant tables and chairs in public areas, which had been placed outside due to coronavirus restrictions.

The Central Union of Greek Municipalities (KEDE) will meet on Friday regarding the possibility of an extension.

The amendment allowing proprietors to use public spaces has been in effect since May 2020 to support businesses in the face of the pandemic and help them observe prescribed distances between tables/seats. 

Most requests for seating expansions in 2022 were not approved, according to Vassilis Koromantzos, Athens’ deputy mayor for the Municipal Police and public spaces. In 2020, after the first lockdown measures were lifted, 180 permits were issued, 293 in 2021, and 126 in 2022. He said businesses were under great financial pressure in 2021 as they had been closed for seven months.