Finance Minister Yiorgos Papakonstantinou on Wednesday defended the liberalisation of the "closed professions", speaking in Parliament. Papakonstantinou added that presidential decrees will define which of the protective clauses currently into force will continue to be active in order to ensure public interest.
He reminded that the opening of closed professions was a pre-election pledge that was undertaken in the past by the two major political parties (Pasok and New Democracy) but never implemented, and as a result "Greece is now trailing behind" the rest EU states in this area.
He rejected the argument that the abolition of minimum fees will lead to downgraded services. As regards the absence of a list with the professions set to be liberalised, he stated that a list will be prepared if this is deemed necessary by responsible ministries.
Commenting on the proposed draft law, main opposition New Democracy (ND) rapporteur MP Marios Salmas stated he is "open, but wary", adding that the government has presented no study on the consequences, both social and financial, the proposed changes will have on each profession.
Communist Party of Greece (KKE) MP Angelos Tzekis expressed concern that the changes proposed will "clear the way for the establishment of large companies that will find their way into all professional sectors".
Popular Orthodox Rally (Laos) MP Makis Voridis warned that by "abolishing the minimum fees for professionals like physicians, lawyers or engineers, the quality of the services offered will be jeopardised".
Finally, leftist Syriza MP Dimitris Papadimoulis stressed that no study on the consequences of the reforms has been prepared by the government accusing it of proceeding with the opening of roughly 400 professions through presidential decrees and with no prior consultations.
Independent MP Dora Bakoyannis expressed her support of the draft law, stressing that "good professionals are not defined by the size of the fees they charge".
source: ana
