The government is aware of the injustices created by the concession contracts for the construction of new national highways. The government is now examining ways of correcting these through a renegotiation of the contracts, Prime Minister George Papandreou said in Parliament on Friday. He also stressed that lawlessness and refusing to pay road tolls were not a solution.
The prime minister was replying to a question tabled by the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) Parliamentary group leader Alexis Tsipras, who had referred to the “criminalisation of the civil disobedience movement over the road tolls”.
Tsipras accused Papandreou of rushing to appease contractors in fear that they would turn against the government.
In an amendment tabled as a rider on Friday, the government has converted refusal to pay road tolls into a traffic violation that carries a fine of 200 euros and other penalties, while not paying fares on public transport has been made a misdemeanor.
(source: ana-mpa)
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