Press Review July 22: The brain drain continues

Over 140,000 young scientists and professionals have emigrated from the country over the past 4 years; Nikos Maziotis refuses to enter a plea; a forged high-school diploma industry is uncovered in the public sector; more price hikes are coming for electricity bills; and new draft legislation is a ticking timebomb for the country’s forests. Image by Sinistra Ecologia Libertà via Flickr.

The Press Project
22 Ιουλίου 2014 | 11:33:32

	EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON Loss of young scientists About 140,000 Greek young scientists and professionals have emigrated in the last 4 years. According to the Labour Institute of the General Confederation of Workers (GSEE), during the years of the crisis the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon has greatly intensified.
	KATHIMERINI Arrested terrorist refuses to enter a plea over his crimes Nikos Maziotis responded with a political statement to the magistrate who went to the Korydallos prison in order hear his plea. Maziotis refused to provide any explanations over the criminal charges which have been levelled against him. “The members of the ‘Revolutionary Struggle’ don’t enter pleas [apologias] he appears to have said. He was remanded in pretrial custody while he is already facing a sentence of 50 years imprisonment over his role in ‘Revolutionary Struggle’. At the same time Anti-terror police are continuing their search for his accomplices and the group’s hideout.
	ETHNOS An industry for falsified diplomas Hirings with falsified credentials in the civil service and local government The production of forged high school diplomas was revealed by the first audits which were completed by public administration inspectors over falsified credentials in the files of public sector workers. Revealing evidence is uncovered by the public administration inspectors. In just one municipality of Attica, one in ten workers was found to not have the required credentials.
	TA NEA A double electric shock for PPC bills An increase of 11% for 2,000,000 vacation homes from the 25th of July Price changes for 7,500,000 consumers in September Millions of consumers will have to meet double price hikes in the cost electricity. Aside from the bills for vacation homes which will rise by 11%, new price rises are coming for all consumers via common benefit services.
	ELEFTHEROTYPIA A time-bomb for forests as well The Citizen’s Observatory for Sustainable Growth sets three red lines for the protection of forests in its missive to MPs: 1.) for their to be no change in the framework for public forests, 2.) for all forests that succumb to wildfires to be automatically reforested and 3.) to maintain constitutional protections for forested areas. The Observatory has noted 11 grey areas in the sweeping draft legislation and underlines that the legislative interventions of the past years, ‘attempt to remove even the few legal protections of the environment.”