To receive the Blue Flag, all participating municipalities, hotels, marinas and boats must implement the strict criteria which are required by this internationally acclaimed quality- standard. These include, among others, excellent water quality, cleanliness of the beaches, provision of life-saving and other facilities, the undertaking of educational activities related to marine and coastal habitats, and the protection of the beach area.
Prerequisite for a beach to be applicant for the Blue Flag is to be an officially designated bathing area. Moreover, it is mandatory that within the proposed for the award area, there is a sampling point.
Water quality
Microbiological analysis of the samples are carried out by accredited microbiology laboratories. For the classification of the results follows a statistical processing of 4-year results, as defined in Article 4 and Annex I of Directive 2006/7/EC. The analysis results are posted to the Special Secretariat for Water website (http://www.bathingwaterprofiles.gr), updated on a monthly basis and the managers are required to retrieve the results relating to their beach and to put them up on the Information board. In no case may the samples be apart in time for more than 30 calendar days.
First year of participation in the Programme - "applicant beach/marina/SBTO"
Prerequisite for a site to be awarded, is the compliance with all the criteria for one bathing season. During that period, the site is organized in accordance with the criteria of the Programme, having the same infrastructure and providing the same services with an awarded one. As with the awarded sites, a visit is performed by the Programme’s auditors to determine whether the criteria are fulfiiled and the National Operator provides technical advice to achieve full compliance with the criteria. The administrator shall put up on the Information board, a special poster on which the site nomination for the "Blue Flag" award is mentioned.
Application and award
HSPN, as the National Blue Flag Operator, sends guidelines to all applicant site managers for the application form. The application form is completed online and the deadlines are specified annually by the National Operator and communicated at the beginning of the application submission period. All the applications are reviewed for completeness and any gaps are indicated to the site managers in order to complete them within the time limit.
The results of the review of the applications are forwarded to the National Jury of the Blue Flag Programme, in which representatives of the competent Ministries and Services, of Local Authorities and other relevant bodies with the Programme participate. The NJ examines the applications and draws up a report forwarding its proposal, with information on beaches, marinas and SBTOs promoted for the award, to the International Jury, based in Denmark.
The International Jury, shall in turn examine the reports and recommendations forwarded by the National Juries of the countries participating in the Programme and decide on the awards of the nominated sites of each country, for each award period. The International Coordinator and the National Operator, reserve the right to refuse or withdraw the award of any site of which the manager is responsible for infringements of national environmental regulations or otherwise acts contrary to the objectives and the spirit of the Blue Flag Programme.
Auditing at the Blue Flag period
All the awarded sites are visited during the Blue flag period, from National and International auditors to check whether the criteria are fulfilled. The visits could be with or without notification to the site manager, as it clearly stated at the criteria.
Non-compliance and withdrawal of a Blue Flag
If a site that has Blue Flag accreditation does not comply with the Blue Flag criteria, the flag may be permanently or temporarily withdrawn from the site. There are several degrees of non-compliance:
- A minor non-compliance is where there is a problem with only one criterion of minor consequence to the health and safety of the beach user or to the environment. When minor compliance occurs and can be immediately rectified, the flag is not withdrawn and the non-compliance is only registered in the control visit report. If however, a minor compliance cannot be fixed immediately, the site is given 10 days in which to comply fully with all criteria. The flag is withdrawn until all problems are rectified and it is noted on the Blue Flag homepage.
- Multiple non-compliances relates to non-compliance of two to three criteria but of minor consequence to the health and safety of the beach/marina user or to the environment. When multiple non-compliances occur, the beach/marina is given 10 days in which to comply fully with all criteria, the flag is withdrawn until all the problems are rectified and the homepage is updated accordingly.
- Major non-compliance is where the site does not comply with one or several criteria, the result of which can have consequence to the health and safety of the beach/marina user or to the environment, as well as the general perception of the beach/marina and therefore the Programme. When met with major non-compliance, the flag is withdrawn immediately and for the rest of the season. The site is registered as 'withdrawn' on the Blue Flag homepage, and the information board should clearly indicate that Blue Flag status has been withdrawn.
In all cases of non-compliance, the National Operator must immediately inform the local authority/site operator about the observed areas of non-compliance. Information about the reason for a withdrawal of the flag must be posted clearly at the Information Board. The local authority/site operator must inform the National Operator of re-compliance with the criteria and present the appropriate documentation needed. The flag can then be raised at the beach again. The National Operator should also consider a follow-up control visit to check that the site does comply. In the event that the local authority/site operator does not ensure and document re-compliance with the criteria within 10 days, the National Operator must ensure that the Blue Flag is withdrawn for the rest of the season at the beach.
