Summary

The Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, has formally written to the Regional Union of Municipalities of Crete to state that his municipality will not allow a temporary migrant accommodation facility within its boundaries. He cites two reasons: a genuine lack of suitable infrastructure, and the local community's clear opposition as recorded by the Municipal Council. While firmly rejecting the site proposal, Koukianakis stresses that his municipality remains open to broader humanitarian dialogue on the issue at a regional level.

Apokoronas says no: municipality refuses to host migrant reception facility

Apokoronas has drawn a firm line. Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis has sent an official letter to the Regional Union of Municipalities of Crete and its president, Georgios Marinakis, making the municipality's position absolutely clear: Apokoronas will not propose, provide, or accept any site for a temporary migrant accommodation facility within its administrative boundaries.

Two reasons, no ambiguity

The municipality's refusal rests on two concrete arguments.

The first is practical: Apokoronas simply does not have the right infrastructure. There are no suitable buildings or available sites that meet the minimum requirements for safety, hygiene, functionality, and dignified living conditions.

The second is democratic: the local community of Apokoronas has made its opposition clear, a position that has been formally recorded through debate at the Municipal Council.

Not anti-humanitarian — but firmly against this specific location

Koukianakis is careful to frame the rejection in terms of local capacity, not hostility toward migrants. "This position is not directed against the humanitarian management of the migration issue, nor does it challenge the obligation to treat every human being with dignity and respect," he writes. The objection is specifically about placing a facility in a municipality that lacks both the necessary infrastructure and the social consensus to support it.

A question of local democracy

The mayor uses the occasion to raise a broader point about how decisions affecting local communities should be made. "Local government cannot be bypassed, and local communities cannot be treated as mere recipients of decisions," Koukianakis says. He argues that any planning process must be built on genuine institutional dialogue, respect for the particular character of each place, and the democratically expressed will of residents.

Open to dialogue, closed to this site

Despite the firm rejection, Apokoronas says it remains willing to participate in a responsible and humanitarian conversation about the issue at the level of the whole of Crete. But on the specific question of hosting a facility within its own borders, the municipality's position is, in the mayor's words, non-negotiable.

Clear "NO" from the Municipality of Apokoronas to the siting of a temporary migrant accommodation facility

September 22, 2026, 1:56 PM

Charalampos Koukianakis: "Apokoronas has the right to decide its own future. We do not propose, provide, or accept any site for the specific facility."

With a clear, categorical, and substantiated position, the Mayor of Apokoronas, Charalampos Koukianakis, has sent a letter to the Regional Union of Municipalities of Crete (P.E.D. Crete), to the attention of its President Mr. Georgios Marinakis, concerning the investigation of sites for the installation of a temporary migrant accommodation facility in Crete.

The Municipality of Apokoronas does not accept the siting of the specific facility within its administrative boundaries and does not intend to propose, provide, or accept any site for this purpose.

The municipality's position rests on two clear and substantive grounds: lack of suitable infrastructure — there is no suitable building infrastructure or available space in the Municipality of Apokoronas that meets the required conditions of safety, hygiene, functionality, and dignified accommodation.

The local community of Apokoronas does not accept the installation of the specific facility, as has also been reflected in a relevant discussion of the Municipal Council of Apokoronas.

Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis underlines that this position is not directed against the humanitarian management of the migration issue, nor does it challenge the obligation to treat every human being with dignity and respect. It concerns specifically the siting of a facility in a place where, according to the municipality's data, the necessary infrastructure does not exist and the required social consensus is absent.

At the same time, the Mayor emphasises the question of the institutional role of local government and the democratic participation of local communities.

"Local government cannot be bypassed and local communities cannot be treated as recipients of decisions; every plan must be based on institutional dialogue, respect for the particularities of each place, and the democratically expressed will of the citizens," notes the Mayor of Apokoronas.

The Municipality of Apokoronas declares that it remains available for a responsible and humanitarian dialogue at the level of Crete, while maintaining, however, its non-negotiable position regarding the specific siting.

The position of the Municipality of Apokoronas is clear: there is no suitable site and we do not accept the creation of the specific facility within the administrative boundaries of our Municipality.

From the Municipality of Apokoronas.