http://www.athensnews.gr/issue/13480/52758
The idea that PM L-Pap has the consensus of the three major parties is a joke - does Pasok have consensus among itself ?
The idea that PM L-Pap has the consensus of the three major parties is a joke - does Pasok have consensus among itself ?
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 HELLENIC Transmission System Operator (DESMIE), which manages the public electricity grid, suspended on January 24 the power trading and supply licences of Hellas Power SA and Energa SA because of unpaid debts to it and the state-owned Public Power Corporation (PPC). Both Hellas Power and Energa, the largest private-sector electricity suppliers in Greece with a combined total of around 200,000 customers, are controlled by the Russian-Arab equity fund Worldwide Energy Ltd. The Energy Regulation Authority (RAE), which made the announcement, did not specify the nature or size of the debts. RAE invited the two suspended companies to attend a hearing on January 30 to discuss the possible permanent revocation of their licences. Customers of the two companies will be served by PPC as supplier of last resort for three days until they choose their preferred supplier, according to the RAE statement. Worldwide Energy denied last week’s reports that Hellas Power and Energa owed 200 million euros to DESMIE and PPC, the latter of which accounts for some 95 percent of the electricity bought in the wholesale market. But other local market participants voiced concern that in the event that Energa and Hellas default on the sums owed, DESMIE might try to recoup the money from other private companies in the wholesale or retail market. Energa and Hellas said they were prepared to make a payment of around 27 million euros but found their bank accounts frozen by the finance ministry’s financial crime squad (SDOE). Worldwide Energy said it would claim compensation of around 340m euros because of damage suffered by its companies through “regulatory and market distortions, monopolistic practices” and other actions by DESMIE and PPC, detrimental to the opening of a competitive market. Energa and Hellas said in a statement on January 25 that their customers should rest assured that they had paid back to the state the property tax paid through their electricity bills and accused RAE and Energy Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou of closing the energy market to competition from the private sector at a time when both the troika and the European Commission are seeking its liberalisation. “There are obvious political expediencies and responsibilities in the framework of serving a monopoly establishment and other sectoral interests,” the joint press release noted, implicitly linking it to the planned privatisation of the state’s stake in PPC. The process of market closure began in October 2011, the two companies said, “when PPC and DESMIE decided to freeze the activation of all new customer accounts under the pretext of unpaid property taxes”. They said they would appeal the DESMIE decision to the EU directorate for competition. and.... http://www.athensnews.gr/issue/13480/52759 AIMING to strike a blow at rampant tax evasion, the government published on January 22 a list of 4,152 debtors, each of whom owes more than 150,000 euros to the state - a total debt of nearly 14.9 billion euros. The list does not include those who have already made arrangements for settlement of their debts. The figures are shocking - 15 people owe 3.2 billion euros to the Greek state. A single individual, Thessaloniki accountant Nikos Kasimatis, owes 952 million euros in taxes. Kasimatis, who tops the list, is already serving a prison term over illegal VAT refunds. The list with the biggest individual debtors was compiled last November, but the ministry of finance needed clearance from the Hellenic Data Protection Authority before going public with the information. The list also includes well-known businessmen such as Yiannis Raptopoulos (owner of auto assistance company Express Service), Pavlos Psomiadis (former president of Aspis insurance company), Yiorgos Batatoudis (former president of PAOK athletic club), Tolis Voskopoulos (legendary singer) and Sami Fais (sales businessman), whose enterprises are described below. Ministry officials have played down hopes that publishing the list will lead to a major reduction of the outstanding 14.9 billion debt, claiming that only 10 percent of the almost 15 billion euros will be collected at most in the end. and hope springs eternal for L- Pap .... Papademos claims reforms consensus PM heads to Brussels with party leaders’ backing but questions remain about demands for wage cuts 
Papademos met Sunday for 2.5 hours with PASOK’s George Papandreou, New Democracy’s Antonis Samaras and the head of the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) Giorgos Karatzaferis. Papademos said there had was “absolute convergence” between him and the party leaders on the structural reforms and austerity measures Greece needs to adopt to move closer to agreeing a new bailout. “We are fighting hard together to secure the country’s position in Europe and the euro, and the community of developed countries,” said Papademos. “United, we can succeed.” Papademos wanted a show of support ahead of his meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels. However, sources said that all three party leaders raised objections during Sunday’s meeting to one of the controversial measures that Greece’s lenders, also known as the troika, have proposed. Papandreou, Samaras and Karatzaferis are all said to have urged the premier to reject the proposal for cuts to the minimum wage and private sector salaries. Samaras reportedly produced a chart showing that such a move would deepen Greece’s recession by 3.5 percent of gross domestic product. The three party leaders also expressed concern about an apparent German proposal for tighter European control over Greece’s budget. Papademos will have more convincing to do in Brussels as there appears to be serious skepticism about Greece and its ability to meet the targets the troika is setting. In an interview with the Dow Jones newswire Sunday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said that Greece might not qualify for a new bailout unless it can overhaul its economy and public sector.
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