tagged: copy drugs in Greece, criminality, DEH electricity cuts, emergency property tax, Greece, Health sector, January 23 2012, list of Greek dodgers, PSI, state hospitals, what's up in greece

What’s Up in Greece on Jan 23/12?

Posted by keeptalkinggreece in Very Mix

The PSI is up (again) or down, depending from which side you’re looking at it. The two sides insist on their positions. The Troika wants a smaller coupon (interest rate) and a bigger ‘Haircut’ , the private creditors say ‘we made our proposal, take it or leave it’ (IIF Dallara). And Greece is sitting between them looking forward for a non-default solution. The Eurogroup meeting on Monday in Brussels will most likely end in a deadlock.

The Troika is pressing for austerity measures worth 7 billion euro. Greece’s lenders want the usual things: opening close professions, cuts in the labor costs, cutting expenditures in the public sector, the state-run enterprises and banks, selling off utility enterprises. The Troika wish list is long and is the same since Greece summer 2010, when Athens got the financial aid.

750,000 civil servants will have to go through written exams and oral interviews in the context of abilities valuation. Whether those unable to pass the tests will be dismissed is not known. The trick to fool the Troika will cost several €€€ to the taxpayers as there will be private companies deciding on the future of the Greek public sector.

Health Minister will prescribe to Greek patients no more original drugs but ‘copy drugs’ (generics, authorized copy of a medical product) at a 80% decreased price. His aim is to save 900 million euro within 2012. There will be also cuts in the medical expenses. If there are still patients left in Greece in 2013, the ministry might think of some other ways to get rid of them.

At the same time, state institutions seem unable to control the situation in the state hospitals. Patients are still asked to pay 5 euro entrance fee at the state hospitals emergencies, although the Minister said it’s illegal. And still state hospitals request that patients bring medicine from the pharmacies in some cases like the injection drug for Multislice Computer Tomography. General Secretary of Labour  Dretta told private Skai TV this morning, that’s illegal and patients should refuse to meet the hospitals request. Buy or Die…

Gordian Knot…

A long list with 4.151 tax dodgers owing the Greek state 14,877,807,564 EUR, that is almost€15 billion , has been published by the Finance Ministry. The top dodger, an accountant,  is an enterpreneur in Thessaloniki. His debt is 900 million euro. The man is currently in prison and will stay there for several hundred years. 30 people owe more than 50 million euro each. The Greek state would call itsslef lucky to be able to collect 1/5 (20%) of the debts. Combating tax evasion is a clear matter of political will..

Supermarket chain LIDL Hellas withdrew packages of FRESHONA-Mushrooms (expire date 31.12.2014) for containing dangerous micro-organismssons.

State power company DEH will start cutting off the electricity to those subscribers who have not paid the emergency property tax. The cuts will be according to income criteria. As of today, owners of poreprties in value zones over €2,500 per square meter will have to operate with candle lights. However the cuts will be applied not in households but only to enterprises.

Criminality is still out of control. Four people were murdered within 24 hours in several parts of Greece. The motive? Robbery.

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