Champagne-priced water set to return?
Ending three years of relative order in the pricing of soft drinks and bottled water, the government has abolished the stricture on manufacturers to display recommended prices on their products. The Development Ministry decision, taken last month but made public yesterday, was dictated by European Union objections to the restrictions imposed in March 1999 on the sale of soft drinks and bottled water. Manufacturers were obliged to display a recommended price for their products after ministry officials received thousands of complaints regarding profiteering, particularly during the summer at tourist destinations – where a small bottle of water could cost four times as much as in an Athens supermarket. Another victim of the EU representations is the ban on the sale of drinks in glass bottles or metal cans at sports venues, passed to deprive hooligans of choice missiles.
