water privatization greece

... work with eager Greek political parties to balance the books by selling off public water. “Right now it’s a state company where the management is political appointments with no water service experience, running the company poorly before they move on to another party position.”. To simplify matters you can divide Greece with a line through the center. The cooperatives would play a co-management role with the public water utility and serve as water watchdogs, stewards of the public good. Plans for Privatization of Greek Water Companies “freeze” June 30, 2014 Very Mix Comments Off on Plans for Privatization of Greek Water Companies “freeze” 87 Views The project to privatize the Public Water Companies in Thessaloniki (EYATH) and Athens (EYDAP) is been on hold after the State Council ruled that the water has to remain “under strong state control.” While ancient Greece is seen as the seminal civilisation that provided the very foundation of modern Western culture, there is considerably less unanimity as to why it entered into decline in the first place. … By Maria Paradia for Occupy - In late September 2016, the Syriza administration laid the groundwork to begin Greece's water privatization, achieving a majority of 152 parliamentary votes and enacting series of new measures to transfer the state-run water companies of Athens (EYDAP) and Thessaloniki (EYATH) into a privatization superfund. As engineering lead on Lots 3 and 6, Black & Veatch will turn outline solutions into sustainable designs by utilizing modular and digital engineering capabilities. The Irish anti-water charges campaign became ‘inspirational' to the people of Greece, according to Maria Karagianni, a member of Syriza's youth wing, who was closely involved in the three yearlong running anti-privatisation campaign which culminated in a referendum in May 2014 in which the people voted overwhelming "Okh'I" -- no in Greek. 4.2 The Issues and challenges of Privatization in Greece Privatization is seen as a valuable tool for promotion of the … “They’re not threatened.” Not yet anyway. Unsurprisingly, this has impacted heavily on each and every aspect of the country's water sector. “Although the people’s message after two elections (6th of May and 17th of June) was clearly that of renegotiating the debt and the measures imposed by the Troika,” said Theodoros Karyotis, a member of Initiative 136, “the new government continues to apply the Troika program.”. The sustainable desalination project, due to complete mid-2021, will create 20,000 liters of clean drinking water using the heat and power of the sun. by the UNU Office of Communications, Greeks Stand up to Protect Their Water from Privatization, “Buying back the public, 136 euros at a time”, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, http://onthecommons.org/magazine/greeks-stand-protect-their-water-privatization, Water and Sustainable Land Use in the Wakhan Valley. In such a swift and fast moving situation it's of course impossible to predict what the outcome is likely to be. But as Prof. Bieler reported, even if companies increase their holding of water rights, unionized water workers and citizens who regard water as an essential commons will fight on. Thessaloniki draws its drinking water from both springs and the Aliakmon River. Greece: Water Privatisation Battle. For example we need improved irrigation technologies. Yet, like its finances, mismanagement has left the country's 230 different municipal utilities in need of help. The main objective is to examine the perceptions of stakeholders concerning privatization as a water governance model and its contribution to water sustainability. In Portugal, privatization of water in the area Pacos de Ferreira, has led to the increase of the price of water by 400% in a few years, rising by 6% every year. 53–70, Jingumae 5-chome,Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-8925, Japan Tel: +81 3 5467 1212Fax: +81 3 3499 2828, Designed and Developed While Greece’s Communist Party is against privatization of EYATH, they don’t agree with the idea of community cooperatives. Black & Veatch extends its AMP7 role with Thames Water. Water and sewerage is under public management in Greece. Ironically, the country is in fact endowed with abundant water resources of 58 billion cubic meters per year, of which the country uses just 12%. “Citizens sympathized with our activism. Australian water program creates opportunities for US technology companies. Today, Greece is the epicenter of privatization. Which considering the Privatization EUR 50 Billion worth of assets by 2015 program again, the Greek economy will be able to reach the same debt ratio by 2025 without the privatization program if primary surpluses by 2014 are above 7.5 percent, this level however seems realistic. Under economic collapse, Greece has been pressured by the EU to privatize the biggest water companies, while people already suffering from rising taxes and prices in social services imposed by the Greek government and the European partners. The union badly wants to stop the threatened privatization, but if it does proceed, the cooperatives will do their best to hold the company accountable. Greeks Stand up to Protect Their Water from Privatization by Our World 2.0 is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.Based on a work at http://onthecommons.org/magazine/greeks-stand-protect-their-water-privatization. While Athens receives its water from a series of reservoirs, some of which are located 200 km away, some small islands are supplied with water from tankers. So when it comes to droughts it depends on which part of the country you are talking about. The aim of this article is to investigate the organization of water cooperatives in Greece for the first time, as promoted by a spontaneous social mobilization called Initiative 136. “A public utility is what we want to create with Initiative 136,” said Marioglou. As foreign investors eye their public utilities, water workers scramble to create cooperatives. Greek activists were moved by a show of solidarity at an October meeting of the European Water Assembly in Florence. Greeks Stand Up to Protect Their Water From Privatization. Since then, the Ministry has adjusted the target, planning to sell off 100 percent of its holdings in the two state companies. It has never simply been a campaign to protect state jobs. Some of the important points that have been raised in these arguments are as follows: Profiteering: The most obvious disadvantage of water privatization is profiteering. [quote quote=”We are not fighting for our jobs, we fight for our water, for poor people who really now cannot pay the water bill.” type=”text” author=”George Archontopoulos, EYATH workers union president”]. Veolia, Northern Ireland Water partner to manage COVID-19. They support continued state ownership. The company’s value is estimated at 50 million Euros, while the country’s debt exceeds 400 billion.”. This article appears courtesy of On the Commons and contains some editorial adjustments by Our World 2.0. An intricate diving operation was required to successfully upgrade the mixing operation at Scottish Water’s Wastewater Treatment Plant. Greece is under enormous pressure to privatize its water system. Facility in Dumai, Indonesia will have a capacity of 50 liters per second (180m3/h), consisting of 120 NX Filtration dNF80 membrane modules. Section 4 explores the privatization efforts of the two largest public water companies of Greece, namely the Thessaloniki Water Supply and Sewerage S.A. (EYATH) and the Athens Water Supply and Sewerage S.A. (EYDAP). But if the state doesn’t want EYATH, so be it. Other left parties argue that the public shouldn’t have to buy the company from the state — it’s already theirs. For what is happening in the water sector is clearly intimately bound up with what is happening higher up the economic and political chains. Edit the famous song title from the film Grease and you have Greece Lightning. The country’s massive privatization program is a condition of its third bailout. It captures people’s imagination broadly, countering the fear, cynicism and uncertainty caused by the Greek political system and the debt crisis. Tens of thousands protest against austerity in Greece. “To fix a leaky pipe, they make a big hole to make more money. A Technology Roadmap has been created by the Australian and New Zealand water sectors through W-Lab – a WSAA initiative delivered by technology and business consultancy Isle Utilities. Purdue-led team advances in national solar desal innovation contest. Why should we be obliged to ask a shopkeeper to use their rest room? Doing so the EU Commission goes again for privatization of water in Greece. However, after a 2006 tour of EYATH facilities, reports George Archontopoulos, president of the EYATH workers union, company officials asked, “Why do you have [such] cheap water here in Thessaloniki?” Archontopoulos hopes that the financial crisis will make clear that water cannot be a counted on as a reliable profit center. Thessaloniki’s citizens do. ", Kouvelis adds: "Broadly speaking we have to take on board the notion that water is part of the renewable energy source of Greece - especially in terms of the smaller hydro power stations that can and need to be developed as much as possible.". Initiative 136 is not an effort to preserve the status quo. ... Minister of Environment and Energy of Greece Kostis Hatzidakis announced plans for a quick sale or partial privatization of companies in the energy and mining sectors. Kouvelis adds: "The key issue, in my view, is that we need a full restructuring of how agriculture is carried out in Greece.". They should give it back to people or install drinking fountains or build public toilets. Greece’s economic woes continue to pile up, with key public utilities such as water now on the chopping block of privatization. Surprising to many, Greece is endowed with abundant water resources of 58 billion cubic meters per year. All this will be further compounded by the lack of a concrete … So the basic situation is not complicated - we don't have the water where and when we require it.". Jeremy Josephs is freelance contributor for WWi magazine. In June 2010, the Ministry of Finance announced that through the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, the Greek government would reduce its shares in EYATH and the Athens State Water Utility (EYDAP), from 74 percent to 51 percent. Greece wouldn’t be the first place to privatize public water utilities during a fiscal crisis. Despite the severe social crisis in Greece, EYDAP and EYATH have been providing high quality, essential services at one of the most affordable tariffs in Europe. The 600 MLD facility is one of the largest RO plants in Saudi Arabia and the largest project in LG Chem’s history. Water privatization has been at the receiving end of some major criticism. The Los Angeles Times reports, "Under intense pressure from international lenders, Greece on Sunday announced a new set of austerity measures to meet deficit reduction targets and stamp out speculation that it would be forced out of … Forward dive for long-lasting Landia mixers at St Andrews. A mainstream media poll showed significant support for Initiative 136. Only a percentage of stakes will be sold to private investors, while the majority will remain to the state; it has already returned to the state from the Greek Privatization Fund HARDF. In a counter-strategy to allowing the Greek state selling off shares to private investors, Initiative 136 organizers are knocking on neighborhood doors to interest Thessaloniki’s households in buying a share for 136 euros each — which explains Initiative 136’s name. Sweetheart contracts with politically-connected contractors, for example, are commonplace. For as the Greek government appears to be tiring of European demands to get its financial act together, so its leaders have been looking towards Moscow rather than Brussels. Farmers protested and burned an EYATH facility, demanding that the company only take as much as flowed naturally. Sulzer overhauls main pumps in water station pumping to ensure decades of reliability. All rights reserved. As to privatization backers’ claim that EYATH’s sale would help Greece pay off debts, Theodoros Karyotis, an Initiative 136 member, said, “This is a silly excuse. The government's plan was to privatise both EYDAP and EYATH - the previous government announced that it would reduce its share in the two companies to 51% as part of a broader Hellenic Privatisation Program. InEight awarded five-year software transformation contract by Sydney Water. Russia may well be prepared to throw some money towards Greece but at what price? We are not fighting for our jobs, we fight for our water, for poor people who really now cannot pay the water bill.”. He asserted the government would soon introduce the so-called target model so that power producers … But since the program was presented by the previous socialist Papandreou cabinet rather than the new left-leaning and ruling Syriza party, the plan is now officially "under review". Yet, like its finances, mismanagement has left the country's 230 different municipal utilities in need of help. This seems an entirely appropriate analogy for the thunderbolt which has befallen the Greek economy in recent years. The full privatization of water companies EYDAP in Athens and EYATH in Thessaloniki has been cancelled. `` while the country 's 230 different municipal utilities in need of help from the film Grease and you Greece... — and much criticized station pumping to ensure decades of reliability left the country ’ the! 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