PM defends handling of law on state deals
One day after receiving a rap from Brussels over Greece’s controversial ban on media barons bidding for state tenders, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis yesterday insisted that the government had handled the matter well, but implied that minor changes might be made to the new law. At a press conference at the end of a two-day European Union summit in Brussels, Karamanlis said the government would not waver in its key anti-corruption drive, of which the law on tenders is the most important component. «Our political will to fight interwoven business and political interests, and to impose transparency, remains inflexible,» he said. On Tuesday, the European Commission ruled that the law, passed on January 20, contravenes EU regulations on public procurement, as well as the EC Treaty, and launched the first stage of the infringement process against Greece by sending a formal warning – which was received yesterday afternoon. Athens now has a tight, two-week deadline to defend the law. Karamanlis said Athens «is seeking points of agreement with the Commission.» Asked what the government would do if the Commission went ahead with a major threat to freeze EU funding for construction projects affected by the new law – which comes into effect in July – the PM said that the ruling conservatives would defend public interest by all means available. According to government sources, this signals willingness to tweak the law if necessary, without, however, watering down its main components. The law implements a constitutional amendment passed by the previous, Socialist government in 2001, which stipulated that the control of media companies is incompatible with the execution of public contracts. A stricter version of a similar law passed by PASOK, the new legislation bans anyone who holds 1 percent or more in a media company from bidding for state contracts. This drew complaints from Greek and Italian firms, which resulted in the EC action. Karamanlis insisted that his government had dealt with the matter competently. «The government did what it had to do,» he said. «The political responsibility belongs to the entire government and, above all, to the head of government. There is no question of the matter having been badly handled.» Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, who drafted the law, said «it will not be difficult» to prove that the law, and the constitution, are compatible with EU regulations. PASOK leader George Papandreou called on the government to scrap the law, while Communist Party chief Aleka Papariga urged defiance toward Brussels.
