A new non-compliance report was issued by the Plenary of the Council of State for the well-known case of a hotel in the center of Athens that obstructs the view of the Acropolis. Following an appeal by the applicants, the Council of State found that the hotel management has not yet implemented decision 2102/2019, which provided for the demolition of the illegal last three floors.
The Plenary had ruled in 2019 that the building permit for the construction of a ten-story hotel 33 meters high, with 3 basements, a planted roof and an uncovered swimming pool, causes damage to the Acropolis monument. The decision provided for the demolition of half of the 6th and the entire 8th, 9th and 10th floors of the building.
Delay by the Decentralized Administration of Attica
According to the new minutes, the Decentralized Administration of Attica must in the immediate future ensure the completion of the tender process and the signing and smooth execution of the contract to be concluded with the contractor of the demolition study.
As stated in the decision, the Decentralized Administration of Attica in the period that has elapsed since the issuance of the 3/2025 Council Minutes resolved the financing issue and proceeded, albeit with a significant delay, to the announcement and conduct of the tender process for the study of the demolition of the arbitrary part of the disputed building.
Financial penalty for non-compliance
The Compliance Council, taking into account that the procedure began as early as October 2021 without being completed, determined the amount of 5,000 euros, which must be paid to the applicants as a penalty for non-compliance with the decision of the Plenary Session of the Council of Europe.
The penalty was imposed after considering the actual data and the specificities of the specific compliance case, and especially since the stakes of the specific case are the protection of the most important monument of classical antiquity.
The Council reserved the right to examine the progress of the procedure at a subsequent meeting.
