Anarcho-Capitalist News: Greece's PM flags selling off islands

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has suggested his government could sell or lease some of the country's islands to help revive a state asset sales plan central to receiving international funds to prop up his country's failing economy.

He told Le Monde newspaper that uninhabited Greek islands could be used to generate revenue.

''On condition that it doesn't pose a national security problem, some of the isles could be used commercially,'' he was quoted by the newspaper as saying. ''It would not be a case of getting rid of the isles, but of transforming unused terrain into capital that can generate revenue, for a fair price.''

Mr Samaras vowed to speed up asset sales and structural revamping, such as changes to labour markets, after meeting Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the group of euro-area finance ministers, on Wednesday. Greece is behind on money-raising targets tied to €240 billion ($A287 billion) of rescue packages in the past two years.
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''The state asset sales process must be relaunched,'' Mr Juncker told reporters. ''I do not ignore that this privatisation process is swimming in difficult waters given the fact that the rumours of the exit of Greece from the euro area are spread around day after day.''

Selling public land is politically sensitive in Greece. A proposal by members of the troika, who represent the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to increase revenue from asset sales, including property, drew opposition from then-premier George Papandreou, who said in 2011 he would legislate to prohibit such sales.

In 1996, Greece and Turkey almost went to war over who owned the uninhabited islet of Imia.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/greeces-pm-flags-selling-off-islands-20120824-24s19.html#ixzz24WPjXN00

Anarcho-Capitalist News: Greece's PM flags selling off islands

Anarcho-Capitalist News: Greece's PM flags selling off islands

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