In Brief
EETT imposes new fine on Vodafone over wiretapping The telecoms regulator yesterday fined the Greek unit of British mobile giant Vodafone 19.1 million euros for violating network regulations in a wiretapping scandal that rocked the country last year. The fine is the second handed to Vodafone Hellas over the case after a 76-million-euro penalty imposed by Greece’s communication privacy watchdog last December. Some 100 Vodafone cellphones in February 2006 were found to have been compromised by an illicit network that tapped sets used by Greek Premier Costas Karamanlis, his wife and several ministers from June 2004 to March 2005. Yesterday, the national telecommunications regulator EETT accused Vodafone of breaching regulations on the protection of telecommunications privacy, network maintenance and quality, and consumer protection. (AFP) Vivartia may have broken Greek competition rules Greece’s biggest food group Vivartia may have broken competition rules, the country’s competition watchdog said yesterday, adding it would examine whether the company should face a fine. Government investigators accused Vivartia of possibly violating laws by setting frozen vegetable retail prices and abusing its dominant position in the market, and suggested it should face a fine, the watchdog committee said in a statement. The committee said the investigators’ accusations were not binding and it would start examining the case early next year. (Reuters) Energy savings. Greenpeace Hellas yesterday said in a statement the government is in possession of a comprehensive study with specific proposals for energy saving in buildings, particularly public ones, which it can use to draft a national energy performance program. The statement was in response to reports that the European Commission is taking Athens to the European Court for failing to submit such a program by the June 30, 2007 deadline. Infotech-Deutsche Bank Listed IT systems support firm Alfa Grissin Infotech said yesterday it had signed an agreement with Deutsche Bank for the joint development of wind and photovoltaic parks in Greece, Bulgaria and Poland. Bulgaria nuclear plant Sofia is seeking a 600-million-euro loan from the European Investment Bank and the EU’s Euratom to build a 2,000-megawatt nuclear power plant at Belene, the government said yesterday. The Socialist-led government decided to grant a state guarantee for the loan, which will be taken up by state-run utility NETC. NETC which will keep 51 percent in the Belene plant which it is estimated will cost over 5 billion euros. (Reuters) Romanian CO2 plan Romania expects the European Commission to approve its plan for allocating carbon dioxide emissions rights to industry for 2008/12 within a month, hoping to avoid large cuts in quotes, Environment Minister Attila Korodi said. Romania plans to allocate 478 million tons in the second period of the bloc’s emissions trading scheme, against 84 million tons it set for 2007. (Reuters)
