A ministerial decree approving the environmental reports for hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation west and southwest of Greece’s island of Crete was signed on Tuesday by the Environment Ministry.

Speaking to state-run Athens-Macedonia news agency (ANA-MPA), Environment Minister Giorgos Stathakis said the relevant reports need to be ratified by Parliament before the end of the summer.

He said the reports call for the creation of an environmental unit to assess the impact of hydrocarbon exploration on the environment and the concerns put forward by local communities while outlining the cooperation with relevant observatories and state authorities.

Stathakis emphasized that seismic surveys will be carried out under a detailed set of parameters designed to protect the marine environment that will be laid out in an Environmental Action Plan.

