The government is aware of the injustices created by the concession contracts for the construction of new national highways and examining ways of correcting these through a renegotiation
of the contracts, Prime Minister George Papandreou said in Parliament on Friday. At the same time, he stressed that lawlessness and refusing to pay road tolls were not a solution.The prime minister was replying to a question tabled by the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) Parliamentary group leader Alexis Tsipras, who had referred to the "criminalisation of the civil disobedience movement over the road tolls".
Tsipras accused Papandreou of rushing to appease contractors in fear that they would turn against the government.
"We had to wait a year for the loan contract between the country and the IMF but just a handful of days after contractors convened, you rushed to turn into action their wish that the civil disobedience movement be criminalised," he noted.
Papandreou, in his reply, admitted that some 'interests' were still living off the contracts of the previous era but stressed that these would be the last because the government had set up an authority to ensure transparency in public contracts. He also stressed that the government was attempting to 'salvage' the bad contracts signed by the previous government so that the projects concerned might be carried out, while criticising the Left for encouraging people to act without regard for rules and law.
"There are contracts that are not to our liking. But they were signed by a Greek government and the Greek State has put its signature to them, with international companies. If the contracts lapse [the Greek state] will pay penalties and our country's credibility will be damaged," he added.
He agreed with Tsipras that the agreements were problematic, however, with citizens paying tolls for roads not yet built and local population paying "in ways not proportionate to their movements".
"We recognise this and are seeking solutions within the bounds of our legal and financial capabilities, in order to arrive at better solutions in the framework of renegotiations. But we will not accept that the solution is lawlessness," Papandreou stressed.
source: ANA-MPA
