«We support privatization and the utilization of public assets, provided that these privatizations are accompanied by conditions of economic efficiency and social benefits,» said Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, responding to criticism the government has faced from opposition parties regarding provisions in the Ministry of Finance’s omnibus bill that introduce changes to the operation of state-owned corporations.
The government’s position, said Mr. Staikouras, speaking Monday before the Parliament’s Finance Committee, is that «privatizations must serve the key priorities of high and sustainable economic growth, the creation of high-quality jobs, and the strengthening of social cohesion.».
The New Democracy rapporteur, Manolis Konsolas, stating that the proposed provisions «update and modernize the legislative framework governing the organization, management, and operation of public limited companies and other subsidiaries of the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations.» At the same time, significant innovations are being introduced, such as the establishment of the Independent Credit Rating Authority and the creation of the Central Credit Register.
The opposition parties spoke out against the bill.
SYRIZA spokesperson Nikos Pappas, particularly with regard to the specific obligations assumed by state-owned corporations, noted that the bill refers to indicators related to financial performance, profitability, and liquidity, «in a manner that, in many cases, is inconsistent with the operations, purposes, and objectives of state-owned companies, whose primary role is to provide public goods or public services to citizens.».
«You are creating a ‘fast track’ for the full privatization of all public limited companies, both within and outside the Superfund,» said PASOK-KINAL spokesperson Kostas Skandalidis, addressing the government.
«This marks a new step toward completing the privatizations that began 20 years ago under all governments—including those of New Democracy, SYRIZA, and PASOK— of state-owned public limited companies belonging to the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations S.A., that is, the Superfund,» said Manolis Syntychakis, the KKE’s special buyer.
«The minister decides on the divestitures of public companies,» said Vasilis Viliardos, the special buyer for Hellenic Solution, who pointed out that «in any case, prior to the sale, valuations must have been conducted and business plans for the companies must have been drawn up—and these should not be prepared by private consulting firms that serve other interests.».
«You’re doing everything you can to ensure that prices for public transportation, water, and everything else follow the price of electricity,» said MERA25’s special spokesperson, Kriton Arsenis, adding that private-sector economic criteria are being applied to the operation of state-owned public limited companies, with the ultimate goal of privatizing them.
The bill also includes provisions regarding the Central Credit Registry. During the public hearing before the Parliament’s Committee on Economic Affairs, Dimitris Verginis, deputy director of the Bank of Greece’s Information Technology Department, stated that «The Bank of Greece is ready to undertake the creation and operation of the Central Credit Register.» Mr. Verginis noted that this registry is an information system that will be owned and maintained by the Bank of Greece and will record, in detail, payment histories, the types of collateral provided, or any other information related to any form of credit extended to individuals or legal entities by credit and financial institutions in general.
The registry’s data will be available to borrowers and creditors upon their request, submitted electronically, through credit reports. Creditors will use credit reports to assess the creditworthiness of potential borrowers. The registry will be complementary to, and fully harmonized and interoperable with, the private debt monitoring registry, the independent credit rating authority, and the existing financial behavior data processing system operated by Tiresias S.A.
As Mr. Verginis stated, for the purposes of cross-checking and verifying the accuracy of information, identification, and general information, as defined in the bill, the registry will be able to access the information systems of the Independent Authority for Public Revenue and the General Commercial Registry, as well as the ERGANI system.
«We oppose the key provisions of the bill, as certain articles in it seek to abolish the public nature of OASA and STASY and to indirectly privatize them,» said Panagiotis Kontogiannis, chairman of the board of the STASY Employees« Union. Mr. Kontogiannis also predicted that employees would face a complete dismantling of their labor relations. »Transportation companies have been designated as public utilities because they operate to serve citizens, particularly the most vulnerable who rely most heavily on public transportation. By applying private-sector criteria to their operations, it will not be possible to implement social policy,« said Mr. Kontogiannis, adding that new hires »will not be covered by company-level collective bargaining agreements.”.
Korina Theodoraki, secretary-general of the National Federation of People with Mobility Disabilities (EOKA), stated that the bill «finally rectifies a major injustice, an unconstitutional discrimination against severely mobility-impaired recipients of the non-institutional allowance from e-EFKA, as from now on, the non-institutional allowance and any related amounts will be excluded from the calculation of income.» Until now, Ms. Theodoraki explained, for those who receive the non-institutional allowance from OPEKA, it is not counted as part of their income. However, for those who receive it from e-EFKA, it is counted as part of their income. «This distinction, therefore, creates first- and second-class citizens who have exactly the same disability and the same needs, but are not treated the same way,’ said Ms. Theodoraki.
