Μake us preferred on GoogleGreece’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. 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. Response within the governmentEnvironment 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.