Thessaloniki tried really hard to advance to the final phase of “European Green Capital 2014” but efforts proved vain in the end. Bristol, Frankfurt and Copenhagen managed to go to the finals, leaving the Greek city disappointed.
In his letter to the Thessaloniki Mayor, the Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission announced the results, without omitting praise for Giannis Mpoutaris for the good quality and completeness of Thessaloniki’s application file.
Kostas Zervas, Deputy Mayor of Environment, Life Quality and Free Spaces of Thessaloniki, expressed his content for Thessaloniki’s effort, and particularly the excellence of the city’s application.
“We won experience and knowledge in regard to international practices in the sector of sustainable development, as well as recognition of our administrations’ efforts to make Thessaloniki better for its citizens,” he said.
“The financial crisis and the political instability don’t help of course,” he explains. “Every coming Minister of Environment in the future should fully realize the significance of developing the city environment and support the local government, which is responsible for the implementation of such policies,” he concludes.
Even if Thessaloniki doesn’t become the “European Green Capital 2014,” the efforts made so far are still praiseworthy and the municipality should never give up trying to make the city “greener.”
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