Five mayors refuse to give budget data

Five mayors from various parts of Greece said on Monday that they will not cooperate with the government’s request to provide budget details for the next three years.

The Interior Ministry has asked all municipalities to forward their spending plans for the 2016-19 period but mayors of the Athenian suburbs of Kaisariani, Petroupoli and Haidari as well as the port city of Patra and the island of Icaria have refused to take part in protest at the cuts to the public funding they receive.

The mayors claim their municipalities’ central government funding has been slashed by 62 percent over the last five years and that this has led to many basic services such as nursery schools and garbage collection being put in doubt.