*By Fotis Kollias
A study commissioned by the European Parliament paints a bleak picture of the situation in the Greek countryside and suggests investments. What is “transport on demand”.
Only by substantially strengthening Local Government Organizations (LGOs), investing in infrastructure for children, health and transport, but also with symbolic initiatives (such as the creation of model kindergartens or health centers) can Greece break the vicious cycle of desertification of the region. A study submitted a few days ago to the European Parliament (“Improving Essential Services in the EU regions: The role of Cohesion Policy”) points out that in Greece the demographic tsunami threatens to desert entire regions.
This phenomenon reinforces a vicious circle: the absence of adequate services pushes residents to abandon their areas, which in turn makes it even more difficult to maintain these services.
The situation in Greece is made even more difficult by the geographical peculiarities (it combines mountainous areas with dozens of islands) that make the provision of a series of social services by the public much more expensive.
The data presented in the study
While the average population density is moderate in large urban centers, in the mountainous and rural areas of Greece the density often falls below 50 inhabitants per square kilometer! Geographic isolation is intense, especially in island regions, while most regions of the country are in a state of persistent population decline.
What is “transport poverty”
The study uses another indicator to measure the quality of life in the Greek region: travel time by car. For residents of remote areas in Greece, distance from basic services translates into “transport poverty”, a concept that gained legal status in 2025. Greece has a number of “remote areas”, where more than 50% of residents need more than 45 minutes by car to reach the nearest urban centre.
“Right to Stay”: The right to stay in one’s place
The European Commission is promoting the strategic concept of the “Right to Stay”. This means that EU policies must ensure the ability of people to stay in their communities rather than being forced to move due to economic or demographic pressures. For Greece, this requires tackling “transport poverty”, as reliance on the private car is overwhelming, due to the absence of alternative public transport networks in many areas.
The “thorns” in the health sector
In the health sector, inequalities are chaotic. The most critical element is that a large percentage of the population in the mountainous and island regions of Greece is more than 30 minutes away from the nearest hospital. Many health centers outside urban centers face staffing problems and a lack of modern equipment, although serious efforts have been made in recent years to upgrade them.
Childcare is directly linked to the ability of young families to remain in the region. In Greece, accessibility presents gaps, as many parents in the region need more than 30 minutes to reach an adequate educational structure. This lack directly affects the housing choices of families and the local job offer and contributes to the vicious cycle of desertification. Young families do not have access to adequate educational infrastructure and leave the province. Thus, the latter is losing young and skilled people, making it unattractive to investors.
With aging in full swing, care needs in rural areas are exploding. In rural areas, the high concentration of elderly people requires quality healthcare and social care services, which are often the most difficult and expensive to provide in mountainous areas.
The measures that can be taken
According to the study, in Greece, mountainous areas and insularity act as “multipliers of inequalities”. It is proposed to continue investments in road infrastructure, mobile health units and telemedicine, which do not simply “replace” services, but reduce spatial barriers at the very point where geography turns into social exclusion. The problem is that many projects are completed but local authorities do not have the money and staff to maintain them or maintain an acceptable level of quality. In the future, it is emphasized, investments in equipment should be approved only if they are accompanied by a binding staffing plan and through community programs.
The study proposes the establishment of a “Guaranteed Access Time” to specific services. Greece is called upon to define a “minimum list” of social services, in health, education, etc., with strict geographical criteria. The State must guarantee that no resident of the Pindos mountains or the small islands will be more than 30 minutes away from an adequate primary health structure.
To address “transport poverty”, i.e. the lack of an adequate transport network, it is proposed to finance innovative solutions, such as “on-demand transport”, especially for areas of Greece with low population density, in order to remove the exclusion of the elderly. In essence, there will be buses or vans or smaller vehicles that will circulate upon request by a specific number of residents of a village or town.
Source: iefimerida-gr