Corfu΄s silence
Hydrocarbon exploration in the Ionian is moving from plans to permission, the communities have stated their positions, and Epirus has issued its opinion. The drilling has a specific position. Does Corfu?
The paradox surrounding the Asopos-1A is not that the hydrocarbon exploration process in the Ionian is moving forward. It is that, as the project takes on increasingly concrete characteristics, Corfu’s institutional silence becomes ever more pronounced.
This is no longer a general discussion about energy resources. There is a specific Block 2, a specific location opposite the Diapontia Islands, an Environmental Impact Assessment and a permitting process. The project has moved from the geopolitical debate to administrative action.
And this is where the contradiction begins.
The Region of Epirus issued a positive opinion by majority vote. The Municipality of Igoumenitsa has also stated its position. In Corfu, the presidents of the communities of Central Corfu and Diapontia Islands have taken a clear position against the project.
Yet, the higher we move up the institutional ladder, the weaker the voice becomes — until it disappears altogether.
And yet, this is precisely the moment when political responsibility is required. Not when the permitting process has been completed and the decisions have effectively been set in motion. Now, while the Environmental Impact Assessment is being examined and there is still institutional scope for opinions, questions, observations and conditions to be put forward.
No one is asking local government to determine whether commercially exploitable deposits exist beneath the seabed. Nor is it being asked to replace the scientists. It does, however, have a duty to examine what such an undertaking would mean for an island whose economy depends critically on the sea, the environment and tourism. It should demand clear answers about the risks, the protective measures and how a potential accident would be dealt with. And then it should state its position.
“We don’t make the decision” is not enough. Having no decision-making authority is one thing; having an institutional responsibility to take a position is another.
The communities have taken a position. Epirus has issued its opinion. The process is moving forward.
And at this point, the question becomes remarkably simple:
The drilling site has a specific location — the place where it will take place. Does Corfu have a position?
GIORGOS KATSAITIS
