Greece Ministry of Environment defends Antinero forest protection program

The Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy has issued a response to recent allegations regarding the Antinero forest protection program. Addressing claims of a ‘scandal’ involving the artificial splitting of contracts and the loss of European funds, the Ministry stated that the program's effectiveness should be judged by its overall results and field data.

The Ministry clarified that the approximately €667 million figure cited in reports does not refer to a single contract or tender, but represents the total budget for forest prevention and protection actions over the last five years. During this period, interventions have been carried out across more than 900,000 stremmata of forest ecosystems nationwide.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Antinero V-PLUS phase includes 19 contracts with a budget of €81.98 million. These funds are designated for specific field works, including fuel management, maintenance of forest road networks, firebreaks, cleaning critical ecosystems and archaeological sites, and the upkeep of forest infrastructure and water reservoirs.