The government admitted that it is entangled in the meshes of bureaucracy and recognized that the time-consuming state procedures cause delays in the execution of big development projects. In his interview to StockWatch, Transport Minister, Nicos Nicolaides said that “bureaucracy hems in the state in the procedures that the state itself imposed”. However, he insisted that the target for the hastening of the degree of execution of the development projects from 70% to 85% will be achieved because it is based on many small projects that are easier to be carried out.

Mr. Nicolaides referred to a series of changes that have been made for the hastening of the expropriations and the coordination of the various services and he did not exclude the promotion of legislative regulations to overcome the bureaucratic obstacles. “We have to track down the problems and if necessary to amend the institutional framework so as to hasten the procedures”, Mr. Nicolaides noted.

Analyzing his plans for the public transport, the Minister said that he like to try new methods and asked for the citizens’ understanding in the enforcement of “2+” measure. He insisted that all competent authorities were informed about the measure but admitted that several citizens were not and that’s why the adoption of the measure will be extended.

Although Mr. Nicolaides wanted to keep a distance from the deliberations on the sharing out of the semi-governmental organizations among the coalition parties, he hinted that in such cases quality and not quantity matters.

Responding to the question on the motives of the persons who are appointed in the semi-governmental organizations, he said that they are linked to the mood and wish to offer.

Finally, the Minister talked about the Council of Ministers and the cooperation among the Ministers and declared that in 16 months only, the government managed to produce a significant amount of work.