Appropriating Nature in Crisis-ridden Greece: Deepening Neoliberal Capitalism, Part 2

ABSTRACT

This is the second paper in a two-paper series in which we present how the ongoing crisis in Greece has been used to accelerate the neoliberal restructuring of Greece with serious implications for the appropriation of nature. In this paper we focus specifically on particular aspects of the austerity programs that relate to natural resources and natural conditions. We examine changes to the business environment and ongoing privatization schemes to show how the Greek austerity programs benefited private capital with significant concessions of natural resources. By discussing relevant specific cases, we concretely show how austerity programs have had far-reaching adverse consequences for the living conditions of working people and their access to natural resources.

KEYWORDS:

• Political economy
• nature
• neoliberalism
• Greek crisis
• environmental implications

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 By 2013, the minimum requirements for inclusion into the fast-track law had already gone down to 100 million's worth of investments or 150 jobs (Greek Government Gazette 2013).

2 These consist of an already constructed mall in Athens, four tourist real estate development projects, a gold mining project in Thraki and five “green investments” (solar parks). See the full list at http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/default.asp?pid=173&la=1, accessed August 28, 2016.

3 See https://next.ft.com/content/2f437b52-e7aa-11e5-a09b-1f8b0d268c39, accessed June 8, 2016.

4 See http://www.kathimerini.gr/501299/article/oikonomia/epixeirhseis/antidraseis-sthn-tropologia-gia-tis-ependyseis-se-fwtovoltaika, accessed July 6, 2015. See also http://www.euro2day.gr/news/economy/article/1144105/epidothseis-rekor-gia-dyo-fotovoltaikes.html, accessed July 6, 2015.

5 In contrast, the old airport of West Berlin (Tempelhof) was returned to the public in May 2010 and had become the German capital's biggest park (a 300-hectare space). Berlin city–state planners had proposed an urban development project but in a referendum held in May 2014 64.3 percent of the voters chose to keep Tempelhof as a public park. Athenian activists against Helliniko privatization could only rejoice at such an outcome, notwthistanding the irony of annihiliation of democratic politics in Greece by “neocolonial”-type MoUs. See also Fahey (2015).

6 See http://web.tee.gr/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/elliniko-TEE-tel.pdf, accessed June 14, 2016.

7 See http://www.tni.org/article/resisting-water-privatisation-under-austerity, and http://www.econews.gr/2014/05/26/nero-idiotikopoiisi-115060/, accessed August 27, 2015.

8 See http://www.epsu.org/a/9019, accessed April 22, 2015.

9 See https://www.tni.org/en/article/leaked-eu-memorandum-reveals-renewed-attempt-at-imposing-water-privatisation-on-greece, accessed August 27, 2015.