ABSTRACT
The access of an issue to the political-administrative agenda, e.g. the list of issues which will be the concern of decision-makers, usually constitutes the starting point of any public policy. The initiatives contributed to transferring the international sensitivity for environmental problems into the Greek political-administrative system. The centralising tradition of the Greek political-administrative system is only partly responsible for the inadequacy of field services. The increased responsibilities in environmental policy entrusted to the second-tier local government at the prefectural level may serve to strengthen its administrative capacity. In the Greek context, the start of environmental policy is considered to be an amendment on environmental protection that was included in the 1975 Constitution. The low priority placed on environmental policy is clearly reflected by the corresponding public expenditure, as percentage of the GDP. In order to identify the specific problems of environmental policy in Greece, further reference to the socio-political context is needed.
