Greek Parliament votes in controversial bill on energy

A controversial bill aimed at restructuring the energy regulatory authority to include water and waste management was voted in the Greek Parliament on Tuesday.

The Communist Party of Greece and PASOK-Movement for Change (KINAL) called for roll-call votes on the bill as a whole, and on a series of articles related to the transfer of supervision of water resources to the new authority, respectively.

Of 211 who voted, 156 approved the bill and 55 rejected it. (The SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance party abstains from votes.)

The Environment & Energy Ministry’s bill was titled “Renaming of the Energy Regulatory Authority to Waste, Energy, and Water Regulatory Authority and expansion of its jurisdiction with powers over water services and urban waste management, enforcement of water policy – Modernisation of legislation on the use and production of electricity from renewable energy sources through the incorporation of EU directives 2018/2001 and 2019/944 – Specialised regulations on renewable energy sources and the protection of the environment.”

During the two-day debate on the bill, the opposition claimed that the government aimed to privatise water control, while Environment & Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said water is a public resource and remains under public control.

Several organisations have also protested the bill’s rushed processing in Parliament and its regulations related to protection of the environment from renewable energy resource investments.

READ MORE: NATO chief urges members to boost defence spending as only seven hit target, including Greece.