New rules of procedure for KETHEA

Question for written answer  E-002086/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos (NI)

An order by the Greek Government dated 30 September 2019 plans to abolish the right of KETHEA, a therapy centre, to self-govern. It will also give the government the power to intervene in appointments to the Board of Directors and decide on the centre’s rules of procedure. The order sounds the death knell for the centre, downgrading ‘dry’ therapeutic programmes by introducing a so-called ‘harm reduction’ policy and, as dictated by the EU’s dangerous policy, paving the way for total reconciliation with the social phenomenon of drug addiction. The new reactionary rules of procedure allow for this downgrade or abolition of KETHEA’s therapeutic philosophy, as well as the merger and abolition of units and divisions and their understaffing in the name of ‘cost-benefits’.

Such moves have long been part of a deliberate strategy on the part of Greek bourgeois governments and the EU, accompanied by constant national budget cuts.

The rules of procedure allow for power in an appointed Board of Directors to be over-centralised and removes participation in decision-making, which has been a key feature of KETHEA’s therapeutic offer for so many years.

In the light of the above:

• 1.What is the Commission’s view of the fact that the new operating rules and the implementation of the EU Action Plan pave the way for government intervention in KETHEA by abolishing its therapeutic philosophy and effectively removing its ability to self-govern?
• 2.How does the Commission view the need to preserve the centre’s character and strengthen its activities with new units, permanent staff and full and sufficient funding?