The Ministry of Culture informed that it won the legal dispute it had with the Association of Greek Archaeologists for a property on Ermou Street and achieved the validation of the revocation of its concession.
As the Ministry informed on Tuesday, “the full text of the 761/2024 decision of the Council of State was transmitted, which validated the revocation of the concession – on behalf of the YPPO – to the Association of Greek Archaeologists (SEA), of the Ermou property 134-136, which has been characterized as a “work of art” and is a proclaimed newer monument”.
The said building in Thisio housed the SEA.
According to the decision, the revocation of concession was deemed legal, “as it was documented from the documents of the case file that the Ministers of Culture – in 1982 and 1996 – granted the property exclusively to S.E.A. for actions of the archaeologists – its members, compatible with the monument”.
As it was pointed out, the two ministers “never gave SEA, neither directly nor indirectly, the right to dispose of the property to third parties for their own actions. Nevertheless, S.E.A. granted the monument systematically and for a long time, to third parties for their own activities of any nature”.
Also, and based on the press release, “the decision expressly mentions and takes into account the following:
1. The actions of third parties inside the monument, which the (then) President of the S.E.A. with her letter 120/4.8.2023 (indicative: Annual celebrations of Alsace, Mexico, various bazaars, school events, book sales, etc.),
2. The actions of third parties within the monument, which were established by the National Transparency Authority and/or proved by the evidence of the case file (indicative and for a fee: Sales of yoga products, party of Photojournalists of Greece, pie cutting of the inhabitants of Kastaniana, feast of Ikariotes , meeting of the Union of Accountants etc.),
3. The written statement from 4.8.2023 of the (then) President of S.E.A. to the Minister of Culture that the event of 18.7.2023 about the wreck of Pylos was an event of third parties, and furthermore that S. E.A. had agreed that the third party organizers, the musicians and even the visitors of the event, would undertake the guarding and arrangement of the monument,
4. The subsequent illegal concession of the monument by S.E.A. to third parties, even after the withdrawal of the concession by the Administration. The decision indicates that S.E.A., after the revoked decision, made the monument available to a group identifying itself as the “March 8 Assembly”, which organized a party for feminism,
5. The written invitation from 11.8.2024 of the Minister of Culture to S.E.A. to submit, if he wishes, a request for granting a property as a seat and the no. 153/15.9.2023 document of the (then) President of S.E.A., with which he declared to the Minister that S.E.A. he wanted a property, not for headquarters, but only for temporary housing and especially for the specific period until the decision of the Supreme Court is issued. (S.E.A. acknowledges this choice in the Press Release dated 31.10.2023).
It is noted that the Ministry allocated to S.E.A. property at 19 Panos Street, in which S.E.A. he placed his file and library, while he undertook in writing that he would return it to the Ministry exactly on the third calendar day, after the issuance of the Supreme Court’s judgment, without any disturbance or other procedure. However, S.E.A. violated even this temporary concession, as the 761/2024 decision of the SC has already been published since 29.5.2024, but S.E.A. has not delivered the property at 19 Panos Street, until today.
Finally, regarding the trade union rights that S.E.A. claimed to have, the Court found that the basic condition required by law for a union to be considered a trade union, namely its registration in the Trade Union Books of the country, does not even exist. It is pointed out that SEA has never denied the fact that it has not been registered in the Books in question, but stated that it considers this finding of the Court as “insignificant” (31.5.2024 Press Release).
Following the above, the Supreme Court of Cassation concluded that S.E.A. it can freely carry out activities, in accordance with its statutory purposes, but not within the monument of Ermou 134-136, the concession of which it systematically violated”.
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