ening remarks, Androulakis stressed that “there must be respect for Local Government and for local elected officials.” He said this means a Local Government that is not “the long arm” of the current Maximos Mansion (the Prime Minister’s office), but one that has all necessary resources to provide daily services close to citizens.
Androulakis made clear that “we obviously disagree with everything the government is discussing about changing the electoral law.”
He added that the priority is the energy issue. “We must finally move to European standards: there should be priority connection terms for Renewable Energy Sources in municipalities so that operating costs fall and citizens receive services at lower cost. And, of course, every responsibility transferred to Local Government must come with the corresponding resources.”
The opposition leader also argued for a pilot allocation of ENFIA (property tax) to local authorities, saying it “can work by creating a long-term culture in the management of local taxes, with an eye to the future and to other models existing in the European Union, and thus allow us to implement reforms.”
Androulakis recalled that PASOK is the party that legislated major, pioneering initiatives to strengthen Local Government. He welcomed the presence of Paris Koukoulopoulos, former KEDE President, and praised him and Kostas Askounis for having served in difficult times and for striving, with a realistic and rational oppositional stance, to reach agreements for the benefit of citizens and Local Government.
Attending the meeting on behalf of PASOK were Panagiotis Doudonis (responsible for the party committee on Interior Affairs), Paris Koukoulopoulos (responsible for the party committee on Finance), Kostas Triantafyllos (Secretary of the Local Government Sector) and Giorgos Palaiodimos (Secretary of the Finance Sector).
