Tsipras: amendment by SYRIZA for non-payment of the indexation clause

The President of SYRIZA Progressive Alliance, Alexis Tsipras, had a meeting today with the Bureau of the Plenary of the Bar Associations, on the deadlocks faced by citizens from the electricity bills and the indexation clause, on the occasion of their initiative for legal action against the legality of the indexation clause.

After the meeting, Tsipras made the following statement to the press:

«Our country is unfortunately champion in wholesale electricity price in Europe. And the only country in the European Union that passes on to the consumer almost 100% of the cost of sky-high profits and obscenity.

Today I visited the Athens Bar Association because they took an initiative, together with other bar associations, to appeal to the judiciary on the so-called indexation clause. This trick that increases, doubles, triples, triples the electricity bills to the consumer. The indexation clause is unreasonable and illegal. It is a ploy to pass all the costs on to the consumer and to ensure that providers and producers have no business risk.

The outcome of this case in the courts is the crucial battle for the consumer in the coming period. Tomorrow we will take the initiative by filing legislative amendment, which will give consumers the option not to pay the indexation clause until its legality is decided in the Greek courts. And we call on the government to stop whistling indifferently and on all parties to support this initiative. We live in a state governed by the rule of law, in a favoured state, and we cannot allow irrational and illegal practices to burden the citizen, to the point where households and businesses today have an existential problem. Because the penalty is greater in many cases than the salary and pension.

And when households and businesses cannot make ends meet, then the laws must be enforced. So this initiative of the IBA and other bar associations, the consumer association, EKPIZO, we support. And the initiative to bring the issue to parliament and create a legislative framework to protect citizens in the next period will be the initiative that will enable us to escape from this terrible pressure that is currently the entire Greek society in relation to the exorbitant bills.

Earlier, Tsipras, at a meeting with the presidency of the Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations, stressed that «what people who do not know anything about law understand is that they see a bill that comes about the same in terms of the amount of electricity and the cost and an indexation clause increasing it three times», underlining that «this has driven people crazy and we think it is absurd». In support of this, the President of SYRIZA PS stressed that «the 99% of increases, which are artificially made and create sky-high profits, is passed on to the consumer», noting that «this is only happening in our country».

He added that «when the bill that comes exceeds the salary, income or pension, we are talking about a large category of our fellow citizens who are not just struggling, but have exceeded their limits,» noting that it is «law-abiding citizens, who have never left a bill unpaid for so many years, but at the moment cannot afford». He added that if these people who can not cope with a power cut proceeds, «then we will face a social phenomenon crisis».

For this reason, Tsipras asked whether the indexation clause is not only «absurd» but also «illegal», noting that with the help of Justice, citizens can find their right «so that those who have thought up this trick are forced to take it back, in order to normalize the life of citizens».

Finally, in this context, he congratulated the President of the Plenary of the Bar Associations, Mr.Verveso, for the initiative he took against the indexation clause, stressing that «it is very important for a professional association to highlight issues that concern not only the guild but also society».

For his part, the President of the Plenary of the Bar Associations, Mr. support vulnerable households and citizens to cope with the huge increase in energy tariffs, including at the legal level.

In this context, it explained that stand by the collective action of EKPIZO against energy companies and at the same time they are using all legal weapons in order to support the citizens in their individual lawsuits, and that a template lawsuit is being designed that will be sent to lawyers all over the country to be used in the representation of citizens.

Finally, he stressed that lawyers as professionals are also under suffocating financial pressure from the increased tariffs that reach the equivalent of two rents.