CoS “listened” to the people: The first big win for water belongs to all of us

Since the beginning of the disclosure of the government’s intention to privatize water services, throughout the changes in leadership in EYDAP and TAIPED until a few days ago, a struggle with the use of law and logic was given against the enclosure and grabbing of the collective good of water. After almost three years, the citizens who signed the European Citizens ‘Initiative, these who were informed and passed this information to others, all those who formed a proper and documented opinion about the risks of privatization through our arthrography, argumentation and campaign, the citizens’ movements in Thessaloniki and the county, we can all, without exceptions, feel proud of the first major victory which was won by the citizens united.

Watching closely during all this time the legal proceedings of the case of the residents and associations recourse to the Council of State and thinking how could we help in this effort, we never stopped all this time to contribute voluntarily, yet with professionalism, in this “unequal” race of informing people and creating alliances in Greece and abroad, with the help of alternative media, newspapers, radio and media abroad. This campaign in favor of rationality and documented reasoning, qualities that are both missing from the public dialogue, was successful in shaping a trend against privatization formed by the beliefs of the majority of the Greek people as expressed not only in polls but also by the overwhelming 98% “NO to EYATH privatization” of the referendum of Thessaloniki. We believe that this trend is reflected in the decision of the State Council at its highest level, which is its plenary session.

The protection of our water from further commercialization and privatization is now a fact and these policies, that would be almost irreversible and turn us further away from our vision for democratic and rational management on a non-for-profit basis of our most valuable of the commons, our water, were averted. The decision of the Council of State for EYDAP is both historic and bold. However, no court decision, even with these characteristics, cannot stand politically strong if it does not express the public’s “sense of justice” and does not take into account the majority of citizens and their will, towards which their institutional representatives (mps and governments) are sometimes deaf.

We are very happy about this decision and let us hope that this “coinciding” concept of the public interest, between the citizens and the one in need to be defended by the institution of Justice, will extend beyond the water to other sectors affected by the regimes of “emergency” so as not to abandon the ideal of the Rule of Law.

Here below you can find a summary of the decision of the Council of State and the link where the entire decision is published.

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