112 emergency number mechanism to upgrade
The Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Ministry is to propose a bill that will upgrade the operation and importance of the 112 emergency number.
In the context of restructuring civil protection to create an integrated crisis prevention and management mechanism, the ministry will be able to take preventive or emergency measures at a central level.
In particular, the ministry will have the ability, through 112, to enforce curfew, suspend events and obligations to attend work, while it will also be able to revoke annual leave and shut down schools.
According to the information, the purpose of this new bill is to keep municipalities and regions in check for compliance with their obligations, while strict penalties will be provided for those who do not comply.
At the same time, the ministry will have the leeway to assign to other ministries and services the implementation of the projects, even in the form of urgency bypassing bureaucratic procedures.
Finally, the Hellenic National Meteorological Service, the National Observatory, the Earthquake Planning & Protection Organization and other agencies will become subordinate to the ministry and participate in a risk assessment committee that will be set up and deal with the monitoring of dangerous natural phenomena as well as taking preventive measures.
