The assurance, once again, that water will remain a public good was made by the Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostas Skrekas, who referred both to the issue of the elections and to the issue of illegal construction in Mykonos and other tourist areas.

Referring to the recently passed water bill, the Minister of Environment and Energy categorically stated that “water has been and will remain a public good. Water according to the bill we passed last week and as expressly stated in article 3 will be provided by public and municipal water supply agencies. For the first time in a Greek law, we have explicitly defined who are the agencies and organizations that will provide drinking and irrigation water in the country.”

According to what Mr. Skrekas told ERT, the bodies responsible for the distribution of water are the public companies (EYATH, EYDAP), the municipal water supply companies and the Water Improvement Organizations (OEB, TOEB). There can be no doubt. “We have closed any backdoor that may exist,” the minister added.

An independent Public Regulatory Authority will control water charges

“Until now there was no explicit wording on who the water providers are,” he added, describing the legal framework that existed until recently. “Because water is currently provided by public monopolies and is a public good, we should protect Greek consumers in terms of water quality and prices. There should be accountability, control and transparency from public bodies as well,” he said. He added that the services of the ministry find that there is no systematic control by the water supply companies, while there are also municipal companies that charge up to twice as much for water.

And as he argued, “all this will now come under the control of an independent, Public, Auditing Authority”.

“From now on we have to look forward and we have to see what we have to improve in this place,” added the Minister of Environment and Energy.

“Red Line” in Arbitrary Settlement in 2011

Mr. Skrekas also referred to the issue of arbitrary construction in tourist areas, culminating in Mykonos and the state of lawlessness that has prevailed for years now, saying that for the State the “red line” in settling arbitrary is 2011″.

And as he said that from this period onwards no one can fix the arbitrariness he has erected and he will either have to pay a maintenance fine or proceed with permanent demolition.

“Right now we are trying to create a platform so that any change we have on the ground with aerial photographs that will be collected at regular intervals can be established if we have the construction of an arbitrary structure or not,” noted the minister. “Urban planning abuses will be controlled with the help of technology,” he added.

He clarified that the necessary funds have been secured and it will start operating in the near future.

With reference to what has already been built, he emphasized that the ministry gave the possibility to the Inspectors and the Central Service for checks and imposition of fines regarding arbitrary construction.

Auditing helps to enforce the law

“What we have changed and brought the possibility of checks to the central service to stop arbitrary construction” added Mr. Skrekas pointing out that the control helps to comply with the law.

“We will start immediately from Mykonos to find out what abuses have been done, starting first with the complaints that have been made and checking the aerial photos from 2011. So, society sees that what we want to do is taking shape,” he added.

Speaking about the building inspectors who will slowly enter the inspection process, he emphasized that the goal is to stop the pathogenicity of arbitrary construction once and for all.

“Until now, the control has been carried out by the local urban planners. We gave the possibility and brought the possibilities of control and fines to the Central Service to be able to stop arbitrary construction in our country”, said Mr. Skrekas. And as he pointed out, all this will be proven in practice.

We continue to support households in April as well

The Minister of the Environment also referred to the energy prices, saying that they are gradually deescalating, although there is still concern about next winter and how the price of electricity will move.

“The rapid de-escalation of the wholesale price of electricity has brought a reduction in retail prices. As a government, we continue to support households in April as well, with prices from suppliers approaching pre-crisis levels”, explained Mr. Skrekas.

He even noted that for the first time there is absolute transparency in energy prices, while he also referred to the abolition of the Adjustment Clause, saying that consumers can change provider without any charge.

What did he say about the election time?

“The prime minister determined that the elections will be held in May, so it matters little whether they will be held on the 21st, the 28th or the 14th,” said Mr. Skrekas regarding the time of the elections in response to a question as to why the date of the elections has not yet been announced their.