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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-03-28Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Gov't approves draft law on renewable energy sourcesA Greek inner cabinet meeting on Tuesday gave the green light to a draft legislation aimed to speed up licensing procedures and reforming a framework for the production of electric power from renewable energy sources.Speaking to reporters, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas, said the draft law was creating a new reality and was a landmark development in electricity production from geothermal sources, windpower parks, hydroelectric stations, etc. Greece lags very much behind in the use of renewable energy sources, with energy production currently at 615 MW in the sector, compared with 18,430 MW in Germany and 10,000 MW in Spain. The draft law, approved by the inner cabinet meeting, simplifies licensing procedures, raises five-fold the guaranteed market price, expands the market time from 10 to 12 years, reduces licensing deadlines, clears the way for pending applications and raises a special duty for municipal authorities hosting such enterprises. Sioufas said the government would offer tax incentives to households and enterprises to use electric power from renewable energy sources, along with tax incentives for natural gas use. These incentives would be included in a tax draft bill to be tabled by the end of the year, Sioufas said. Commenting on reports that Public Power Corporation was seeking a 7.5 pct increase in its electricity rates, the Greek minister categorically dismissed such reports. "Electricity rate policy is determined by the Development ministery each summer after a recommendation by PPC and the approval of the Energy Regulatory Authority. There is no such recommendation," Sioufas said. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. [02] KKE announcement targets main parties, GSEEThe working class is facing a new wave of offensives that affect all aspects of a working class family's life, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) Political Bureau said on Tuesday in an announcement that launched a full-scale assault on the two main parties and the majority of the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE), Greece's largest umbrella trade union organisation.KKE said ruling New Democracy was implementing the policy it had announced, which had in any case promised 'peanuts' to the majority accompanied by privatisations, 'incentives' for capital and "capitalist restructurements that it calls 'reforms'. This had been done with the support of main opposition PASOK, which for the most part had paved the way for the measures that ND was now continuing, the announcement added. Regarding GSEE, meanwhile, the party said that the majority of the trade unionists basically supported the anti-working-class policies and its actions formed part of PASOK's populist-opposition effort in the framework of the two-party game. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |