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Greek PM vows 'green development' for fire-hit region
Athens (AFP) Oct 11, 2009 Greece's new Prime Minister George Papandreou on Sunday pledged a "green development" plan for a southern region ravaged by fires two years ago. The fires in 2007 killed 67 people and scorched around 170,000 hectares (420,000 acres) of land and forests in the Peloponnese peninsula. "A law will be passed for the redevelopment of the region centred on a viable plan for green development, which will be a model for the whole country," said Papandreou during a visit to the region. He added that the project was "an initial effort to attract international interest for offers and investment in the region." Greece's last government -- which lost power to Papandreou's socialist Pasok party last week -- had handed out aid of around 130 million euros (190 million dollars) to about 36,000 people affected by the fires. The European Union and other groups also gave donations. The Peloponnese was the region worst hit by the ferocious blazes, but a further 10 people were also killed outside the peninsula. Meanwhile the new Greek finance minister vowed on Sunday to tackle the country's ballooning debt as a "national priority", a newspaper reported. "We are a country with enormous deficits and the debt has passed 100 billion euros during the past five years," Finance Minister George Papakonstantinou told newspaper Eleftherotypia. Measures would be adopted "against wasting public money and tax evasion", he said, which included targeting companies which operate offshore and the Greek Orthodox Church, a major property owner in the country. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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