Parliament: The Committee on Production and Trade passed the s/n Ratification of Program Contract with ‘METAVASI SA’ and ‘PPC SA’

“The policy that we have announced and are implementing changes the production model in the areas that are de-lignitized and is a great opportunity and challenge to create sustainable jobs for the residents” stressed the Deputy Minister of Development and Investments Nikos Papathanasis at the conclusion of the discussion of the bill “Ratification of the Program Agreement of par. 4 of article 155 of Law 4759/2020 between the Greek State and the anonymous companies with the distinctive title “METAVASI SA” and “PPC SA” in the Production and Trade Committee of Parliament.

Nikos Papathanasis said that the programs designed by private and public funds will bring a total of 7 billion euros to these areas. Referring to the bill, he said that it determines the procedural issues of the transfer of land from PPC to METAVASI SA. He emphasized that this contract is the key tool for economic diversification and the immediate restoration of the de-lignification zones of Western Macedonia and Megalopolis.

The deputy minister, going through the articles of the contract and responding to the comments of the opposition MPs, pointed out that the cost of the transfer from PPC to METAVASI SA and of the restoration has not been reflected by the GLC, as this will be done free of charge for the State and will be paid from the Recovery Fund.

He emphasized that the government has taken all those political provisions to cure the diseases, to change the production model, to bring businesses to these areas, to create new jobs, so that the residents of the areas are not forced to leave. He pointed out that during the years of the previous SYRIZA-ANEL government, more than 3,000 people per year were forced to leave the area as the lignite production decreased by 50%, while the lignite units were closed because there was no modernization of them.

Mr. Papathanasis said that the difference between ND and SYRIZA is that at the end of its term, what the previous government had done more and more was signing the creation of a Green Fund.

On the contrary, he said, the ND government in three years and not four has created the National Strategy for the Just Transition. The Interim Program, Law 4872/21 on the Just Developmental Transition. The creation of a Special Service for the Just Developmental Transition. The Program was approved by the NSRF. The Map with the addition of 10% territories. The special measures to support businesses coming to the regions for strategic investments. The special regime. We had the approval of the Green Fund in 2018, 2019 and 2020. The proposal for the residents of Akrin. This, said the deputy minister, is politics in action and not in words.

The positions of the parties

With different approaches, the positions of the rapporteurs and special buyers of the parties in the bill of the Ministry of Development and Investments “Ratification of the Programming Agreement of par. 4 of article 155 of Law 4759/2020 between the Greek State and the anonymous companies with the distinctive title “TRANSFER” S.A. and “PPC S.A.” during his discussion at the Parliament’s Production and Trade Committee.

The ND was in favor of the draft law, while all the opposition parties voted against it. The bill is expected to be introduced for discussion and voting next Friday in the Plenary.

The ND rapporteur, Stratos Simopoulos, spoke in favor of the draft law, stressing that “commitments with clichéd phrases about the Green Transition are meaningless if they are not accompanied by actions” and “the ratification by the Parliament of this programming contract is a concrete action”. It links the Recovery Fund with the restoration of the lands in the areas to be lignitized. It foresees all the arrangements so that the process is carried out with absolute transparency and within the time frames set by the Recovery Fund. It uses the expertise of PPC and its partner companies so that the restoration can be done quickly. The model chosen is for PPC to create the company “Metalignitiki S.A.” in which the lands to be rehabilitated are transferred together with some that do not need rehabilitative. The company “Metavasi S.A.” absorbs the shares of the company “Metalignitiki S.A.” and undertakes the cost of de-lignitization with funds from the Recovery Fund. In general, the ND MP emphasized, “it is a functional scheme with Metavasi S.A. as the employer and PPC as the contractor, with funding from the Recovery Fund. It is the best way for the State to move forward very quickly”, noting that “the government must “catch up” and it will do so. The phrase “we did not catch up”, does not belong to our vocabulary”.

The rapporteur of SYRIZA, Theopistis (Peti) Perka, stated that we cannot agree with this Programming Agreement as it “overtly serves the interests of PPC at the expense of the lignite areas”. He criticized the government for talking “about the de-lignification of the regions at a time when in practice it has done nothing”. You see, he said, unemployment is increasing and the area is being deserted. He wondered if you are finally “moving forward or just picking up your de-lignitization announcements? Are you not keeping up with the new repowerEU trends. You have no plan for existing plants. The 2022 horizon has been extended at least until 2023? When will Ptolemais 5 start operation?” ?”. The MP noted, among other things, that “we are the first country to proceed with violent and frontal de-lignitization”. Also, that the right is granted to PPC to do zoning beyond and outside the local communities. He underlined that “the ND’s assurances about the full restoration of the lands and their return to the local community have already been denied”. He pointed out that the experience in Western Macedonia shows that several mines were abandoned in the state they were in on the last day of their operation, without having been restored and without any care. Mrs. Perka added that unfortunately there is absolutely no provision for the mines of Achlada, Vevi, for the settlements of Valtoneri, Akrin, etc. This contract, said the SYRIZA MP, is “to the detriment of the Greek public and to the benefit of PPC S.A. It is unacceptable that you serve the interests of PPC so blatantly at the expense of the lignite areas. And it is a lottery for the PPC literally, as Mr. Georgiadis had also stated”.

The special buyer of PASOK – KINAL, Apostolos Panas, declared his opposition to the bill as, as he said, “it faces the course of the green just transition as business as usual, without guarantee”. He emphasized that clear answers are needed to the anxieties and concerns of residents and workers in lignite-bearing areas. He asked for convincing answers as to why the current Environmental Conditions of PPC S.A. were abolished, the key point of which is the restoration of the mine lands, as well as for the planned land uses, which instead of the 3% of the area provided for in the current Environmental Conditions Terms for Photovoltaics, it changes and becomes 33% and is given for Photovoltaics of 2 GW. The MP of PASOK – KINAL, argued that the Convention does not solve problems. He underlined that “the climate-neutral economy, which we aspire to achieve with decarbonization, is not a politically neutral course. It is a course with a strong political sign, with the citizen at the center and co-shaper”. For PASOK – KINAL stated that “the big issue is to make the fair transition “green”, with the promotion of RES but also socially just”, “unfortunately, however, the government treats the lignite-bearing areas almost as collateral losses, while he cares for the many”. The Sustainable Transition Clause is absent, while we, he added, insist on maintaining the Energy Brand Name of the areas with new content, ensuring district heating in the cities and the complete regeneration of lands as well as the environmental restoration of landscapes, with co-configuration and consent of local communities “.

The special buyer of the KKE, Leonidas Stoltidis, opposed the Convention arguing that “the de-alignment policy promoted by the bill moves along the lines of the EU policy for the “green transition”, with which ND, SYRIZA and PASOK agree. He called the policy criminal. of delignitization, which leads to the economic withering of entire regions and makes electricity very expensive for the people. He argued that “the use of lignite could be done by limiting carbon dioxide emissions and using hydroelectric means”. On the contrary, the KKE member of parliament observed, they are being promoted only projects for RES that destroy forests and encroach even on NATURA areas or for LNG which is much more dangerous for the environment. He emphasized that “the people are sinking into energy poverty to shield the profits of the groups. Energy as a commodity and the pursuit of capitalist profit are the obstacles to energy sufficiency for the people.”

The special buyer of the Hellenic Solution, Vassilis Viliardos, voted against the bill, accusing the government of continuing to promote the failed model of our dependence on natural gas, instead of energy from domestic lignite, from hydrocarbon mining, geothermal or the construction of nuclear plants , as we have suggested. Insist, said the MP, on the scandalous model of the energy market by the “Hatzidakis stock exchange” cartel and the “political fraud” of the abolition of the readjustment clause, on subsidized RES with imported mechanisms that destroy the natural environment. He described the current contract as a continuation of the commitments made by the prime minister, ignoring the residents and the affected areas. He estimated that the delignitization will be paid for by the usual sub-balances.

The special buyer of MeRA 25 Kriton Arsenis voted against the bill saying that it is an unimaginably photographic Convention, which is why the government is also bringing it to the Parliament to pass it into law so that no proceedings are initiated regarding the responsibility of ministers. The provisions of the Convention, he argued, serve specific interests. Releases PPC from the obligation of rehabilitation and transfers it to “METAVASI S.A.”. Essentially, this is a contract – a gift for the next owner of PPC, as the cost of the restoration will exceed one billion euros. The harbinger of this Convention, said the MP, is the further privatization of PPC.

SOURCE: APE-ME