The unanimous acknowledgment of the need to implement a comprehensive national plan with targeted support measures for the sustainable development of Thrace, but with different ideological approaches to the priorities and the productive economic model to be implemented, was completed on Wednesday night in its plenary session. Parliament, the debate on the report of the cross-party parliamentary committee on the development of Thrace.
Closing the discussion, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Sports, Nikos Giatromanolakis, underlined that “the conclusion of the committee reflects the characteristics of Thrace, which may be disadvantages today but advantages can be made”.
“It is up to the government and the Parliament, all together, to take advantage of the findings and try to lay the foundations for long-term sustainable development of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. “From now on, the plan must be implemented in clear ways and with measurable results”, the Undersecretary stated characteristically.
For their part, the Opposition parties rejected the proposal of the governing majority, talking about vagueness and wishful thinking.
The general rapporteur of ND, Thodoris Roussopoulos, emphasized the strengthening of education, so that, as he said, there is no school dropout of children.
At the same time, he stressed the need to focus the effort “on the political encouragement of all-day schools, on the modernization of minority school infrastructure and on the strengthening of the more active participation of women in universities”.
“What we want is to upgrade the services provided in education, so that everyone has equal opportunities and is not a tool of propaganda,” said Mr. Roussopoulos.
He also spoke about the urgent need to solve the problem with the property titles of the community of returnees, while referring to the issue of the election of religious leaders, stressed that the Ministry of Education is working on a modernized institutional framework and added that “Greece is positively evaluated, the mufti is appointed as a state official and the mufti is a public authority “.
For his part, the former Minister of Education and MP of SRIZA, Nikos Filis, described the proposal of the government majority as “wish lists without specific projects and schedules” while he pointed out that “the government, when talking about investments, means in the interests of investors , and not of the area “.
SYRIZA MP Natasa Gara accused the government of being absent from the real problems of the region and stressed that the discussion is not only topical, but also necessary for the immediate support of the Thracian society, and the change of the production model and of the strategic development plan.
“Global developments demand that Thrace be a pillar of stability and development in the wider region. However, we can not agree with the logic of privatization of the port of Alexandroupolis. The text includes only verbal reports and communicative wishes for the development of Thrace “, Mrs. Gara underlined, while she also raised the issue of the election of muftis, emphasizing that they must have the wide acceptance of the Muslim minority.
“The conclusion is a stapling of proposals, without specific schedules and goals. “By repeating the failed policies of the past, it perpetuates instead of alleviating inequalities,” he said, adding:
“Reality and politics refute the conclusion of the majority. SYRIZA submitted its own proposal with a holistic strategic plan for the development of Thrace, which makes it a pillar of stability, development and cooperation. “We need a plan with specific goals, which will utilize the potential of Thrace to play an important geopolitical and strategic role in the wider region”, concluded Ms. Gara
The general rapporteur of KINAL, Andreas Loverdos, expressed his disagreement with the conclusion of the majority, as he said, there was no separation of institutional and development issues, noting at the same time that “there were noble intentions in the committee, but the attempt to common agreement of the parties “.
“In terms of development, we generally agreed. However, we disagree with the fact that institutional issues were included in the proposal. “We want to solve the problems and not to give birth to them”, said Mr. Loverdos.
The special spokesman of the KKE, Giannis Delis, pointed out that “the increased problems in the region are due to the timeless lack of substantial measures and policies for Thrace”, while he accused the government of operating in a piecemeal and communicative manner.
“For the KKE, the starting point for the path of development of Thrace was and is the right of the people to live peacefully, without racist hatred and racial discrimination, and with the guarantee of their human rights. All this is contained in our conclusion. “The starting point for all bourgeois parties is different, and it does not aim at the popular needs, but at the capitalist development and the profitability of business groups”, said Mr. Delis.
The parliamentary representative of the Hellenic Solution, Konstantinos Boubas, spoke of “different ideological approaches to the development trajectory of Thrace”, stressing that his party’s proposal is linked, among other things, to tax incentives, implementation of the island clause, modernization of the road and railway network, but also the establishment of a militia.
The representative of MeRA25, Sofia Sakorafa, pointed out that there are many common structural points between the proposals of the parties but also big differences.
“The memorandum has almost banned the sustainable development of the region and now it needs intensive effort, political will, and commitment,” he said, adding that the development plan would not be effective unless there was full respect for minorities and no emphasis was placed on their education.
The parliamentary representative of KINAL, Costas Skandalidis, spoke about a fundamental ideological difference between the conclusion of the majority and the conclusion presented by his party, in terms of the hierarchy of interventions and the development strategy of the region.
“Today’s proposal is not a development perspective. The committee should have been preceded by a discussion with regional bodies and local councils in order to link the project. Everything was turned upside down, so it did not result in a national program. There is no prioritization of interventions. “It cannot be implemented unless the so-called executive state with a democratic division is changed,” he added.
ND MP Evripidis Stylianidis stressed that Thrace could become an ideal international investment destination.
As he said, the conclusion has taken into account many proposals of bodies of the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, as well as suggestions of special technocrats.
He also emphasized the initiatives of both the deputies and the interventions of the chairman of the committee, Dora Bakoyannis, who achieved, as he said, important results.
Among other things, Mr. Stylianidis referred to the 12% offset for the companies in the area that was due since 2010, to the regulation of the mortgage loans of the Pontians and the voting of their national pension and to the financial approval of the railway “Egnatia”.
KINAL MP Chara Kefalidou described the ruling majority’s finding as “a report of ideas and a source of inequality in a mutilated region”.
For his part, the parliamentary representative of ND, Giannis Vroutsis, described the opposition parties’ criticism of the indefinite text and wishful thinking as “sham”, stressing that “the issue of the development of Thrace should unite and not divide”.
“The reasons invoked by the opposition are pretentious and partisan. It is a 224-page report that dispels the myth that proposals from parties or local authorities are not included.
There was a dialogue, for 20 months the proposals were discussed with all the ministries and all the chambers of all five prefectures and the institutional bodies “, Mr. Vroutsis objected.
“This text can be used as a basis and a compass for the sustainable development of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. “It is an inextricably coherent holistic plan of sustainable development intervention with targeted interventions”, said Mr. Vroutsis.
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