Simitis set to stir up PASOK once more

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Simitis set to stir up PASOK once more
PASOK looks set for a new round of high-level infighting after former Prime Minister and current PASOK MP Costas Simitis wrote yesterday to the party’s current leader George Papandreou to complain about his stance on the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty.

In a letter that Simitis made public, the ex-premier expressed surprise that Papandreou has given his backing to the idea of holding a referendum on whether Greece should sign up to the treaty, which replaces the doomed EU Constitution.

Simitis said that Papandreou’s decision is not in keeping with the policy of the governments of his father, Andreas, and Simitis himself, which had always opted for the ratification of treaties to take place in Parliament.

Simitis said that putting the treaty to a referendum could weaken Greece’s position in the EU. Parliament was expected to ratify the treaty late last night.

The move by the former prime minister is seen as having more to do with him striking out directly at Papandreou rather than an objection to his stance on the treaty.

Papandreou, who survived a leadership challenge late last year, is expected to respond in kind to Simitis and there is speculation that he could throw the deputy out of the party.

PASOK is set for a turbulent ride over the next few days, as it emerged from sources yesterday that the prosecutor investigating the Siemens bribery scandal has evidence that a former Socialist minister had irregular dealings with the company.

Prosecutor Panayiotis Athanassiou allegedly discovered four unpaid invoices in the ex-minister’s name during a search of the company’s offices earlier this month.
phantis.com

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Greece ratifies EU treaty ahead of Ireland referendum
AFP
Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2008
ATHENS - Greece's parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, hours before a crucial referendum in Ireland where the charter's future is hanging in the balance.

The Greek parliament approved the treaty by 250 votes to 42, with the ruling New Democracy conservatives and main opposition Pasok socialists endorsing the text.

"The treaty will make the European Union more effective to meet new challenges," Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis told the chamber.


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"Greece hopes for a rapid ratification by all states to avoid delay in its implementation," he said.

The opposition KKE Communists, Syriza leftists and the small nationalist party LAOS voted against the treaty, demanding that it be put to a referendum.

Leftist demonstrations were held against the treaty in Athens and the northern city of Salonika on Wednesday.

Pasok leader George Papandreou said his party supported the treaty "for a more democratic and social Europe" but called for a referendum to ensure that the Greek people were fully informed of the terms of the charter.

All 27 EU nations must ratify the wide-ranging treaty if it is to come into effect on January 1 as planned. With Greece, 18 states have completed so far, or all but completed, that process.

The parliaments of Estonia and Finland overwhelmingly approved the charter earlier on Wednesday.

The Lisbon Treaty replaces the EU constitution which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005, plunging the bloc into the worst crisis in its half-century history.

Ireland is the only country to hold a popular vote on the treaty, and opinion polls suggest Thursday's vote there could go down to the wire.

The two last opinion polls in Ireland suggest supporters and opponents are virtually neck-and-neck, while hinting the "no" camp has more momentum.
phantis.com