Brussels, 27/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - Greek media reported on Monday 26 May that the Greek state council has ruled that the privatisation of Athens water company, EYDAP, is unlawful.
The Greek state was planning to cede 34% of its 61% stake in EYDAP as part of the Greek privatisation programme that the troika of lenders (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) says is not proceedings fast enough. The state council says that turning a public company into a private company in order to make a profit places uncertainty on the provision of a high-quality, affordable public service.
On Tuesday 27 May, the European Commission said that it had not seen any details of the decision. Economic and monetary affairs spokesman Simon O'Connor said that, when it has been officially published, the decision would be examined by the HRADF privatisation fund to assess the implications.
Last week, the European Water movement urged parties interested in buying a stake in Thessalonica Water to withdraw and on 18 May, 98% of 218,000 people who took part voted against the privatisation of Thessalonica Water. (EL)