Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis talks with members of the public during a previous visit to Fourna, in Evrytania. [Prime Minister's Press Office]
The government is preparing a strategy aimed at strengthening mountain and island communities, seeking to improve living conditions and encourage relocation to areas facing demographic and development challenges.
At a cabinet meeting, Thanasis Kontogeorgis, who oversees regional policy for the government, presented the “Region 2030” strategy for mountainous and island regions. Greece, while widely viewed as an island nation, is also the EU’s second most mountainous country and the third most mountainous in Europe.
The plan, expected to be presented after the Thessaloniki International Fair, includes nearly €1 billion in funding and incentives designed to attract residents to mountain communities. The government has also established a Special Secretariat for Mountain Areas.
The measures target Greece’s 2,321 mountain communities, home to 733,680 people. Nearly 100,000 residents live in mountainous areas on islands, facing what officials describe as the combined disadvantages of mountain and island geography.
