ATHENS – Earthquakes that regularly rock Greece, most of them minor, haven’t affected the structural integrity of the historic Parliament building, the institution’s current President Konstantinos Tassoulas said, adding it’s checked after seismic activity.

He was responding to National Technical University Professor Panayiotis Karydis, who told the state broadcaster ERT there are 10 cracks inside the 178-year-old building, and another at the main entrance, above the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.

Karydis said they were created by earthquakes and the construction of the underground garage to accommodate those authorized to be in the Parliament and have a close place for their vehicles in the crowded Syntagma Square area.“I do not claim that it is dangerous because I have not conducted an assessment, but it means more attention is required,” Karydis, who heads the NTUA’s laboratory for anti-seismic technology, told ERT, adding that “without timely and correct interventions, every static problem becomes worse.”

Tassoulas told journalists that, “There is no issue, nor any alarm” regarding the stability of the building.

“Every modernization project that has been done in the Greek Parliament has improved and enhanced the structural integrity of the building,” he said, adding that during the construction of the underground garage engineers added support columns that strengthened its stability further.