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The municipal authorities in Patras have removed the European flag from the municipal building. The empty space is now filled with a flag with the emblem of the city. So, from now on, two flags of the municipality and the national flag of Greece in the middle will flutter in front of the building.

In statements to the local online edition thebest.gr, municipal government spokesman Andreas Antonopoulos gave grounds for the decision by saying, "The flag of the European Union was removed because it is a symbol that people hate. This is due to the fact that the European Union is working against the interests of the peoples in Europe and Greece's participation in it is the source of all the misfortunes that have stricken our country and nation. European policies adjust the economy to the needs of the market economy, which creates mass poverty and unemployment."
 
According to the site patrasevents.gr the municipality's decision to remove the European flag is not due to the difficulties faced by the new Greek cabinet in the discussions with Greece’s lenders but in compliance with the ideology of Mayor Kostas Peletidis and his team.

Several months earlier, the anthem of the Greek National Liberation Front EAM - ELAS that was founded in 1941 on the initiative of the Communist Party of Greece could be heard in the municipality of Halandri in Athens during a student parade marking the anniversary of Greece’s involvement in World War II.

The anthem is the melody of Russian song "Katyusha" with a text in Greek.

The event had provoked many reactions from various commentators who accused the municipal authority in Halandri in inciting attitudes from the time of the fratricidal Greek Civil War (1946-1949).

Mayor Simos Roussos who was elected with the support of SYRIZA and the far left Antarsia party responded to them that the anthem was "the 26th or 27th melody" out of 27. He wondered why it had provoked such reactions, stating that "some believe that we must go back to the time before 1982" (when the Greek government at the time recognised for the first time the contribution of the National Resistance in the fight against Nazi Germany and its allies - author’s note).

He justified his decision with the fact that, during the first celebration of 28 October in 1944, the parade involved EAM - ELAS units that marched to the sound of songs that are considered as controversial today.