New obstacles to sell-offs
Greek ministers are trying to raise fresh obstacles to foreign investments despite the prime minister’s invitations to investors to put their money in Greece.
A ministerial decision signed on Wednesday by Environment and Energy Minister Panos Skourletis rejected the application that Eldorado Gold subsidiary Hellenic Gold submitted in September regarding the completion of the licensing process for the mining unit at Stratoniki (Mantem Lakkos).
Market observers noted that the Canadian company has already forwarded the issue to its legal department so that it can take recourse to the Council of State again.
At the same time, the management of railway service operator Trainose – obviously with the approval of Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis – has started making changes to the company’s organizational structure just before Italy’s Ferrovie takes over. It appears that the last-minutes changes are aimed at “helping friends.”
Another issue is the privatization of the Cassiope plot in northern Corfu, which started some five years ago and even now, when it is about to be completed, is facing delays: Although it should be finished by next Wednesday, some new paperwork demanded by the government means the process will be prolonged further.
