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Greece’s Parliament rejected a constitutional objection filed by PASOK against a provision in the Environment and Energy Ministry’s bill that transfers certain water-related powers from local government organizations to the utilities EYDAP and EYATH.

Opposition parties argued the move represents a further step toward privatizing water as a public good, and questioned whether it conflicts with the constitutional guarantee of local government administrative and financial autonomy.

Responses of opposition MP’s

PASOK’s Panagiotis Doudonis argued that shifting these responsibilities away from local authorities could strip them of the asset base they rely on to manage water supply regionally, and questioned what Parliament’s own scientific service had concluded on the matter.

SYRIZA’s Theofilos Xanthopoulos linked the bill to a pattern of recent government interventions in independent bodies, arguing that municipal water management sits at the core of local government’s role.

The Communist Party’s Nikos Karathanasopoulos dismissed PASOK’s objection as opportunistic, arguing the government is simply aligning with EU policy, though he said his party supported the challenge on the grounds that such moves accelerate the commodification of water resources.

Response within the government

Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou rejected the constitutional concerns, saying the Constitution gives lawmakers broad discretion over how responsibilities are distributed among public bodies, and that water supply need not be treated as strictly local.

He argued the current fragmented system of 735 separate local water organizations has failed to guarantee water quality in some areas, citing residents in Sithonia dealing with E. coli-contaminated water.