There are people who believe that they can make generalized statements without any cost. By doing so, they assume, that populism has no limits for as long as it is effective. But the problem exists, and it’s actually serious, when it is experts who hear these statements. Now we have the tangible example of the hydrocarbons. When someone says that they will not touch a small lisencing round about three marine plots, while they will change the official major lisencing round regarding the twenty marine plots of the Greek EEZ, in order to pressure foreign investors, they give the impression that, that can be done without any cost.
It is therefore interesting to analyze what happened with the small lisencing round.The facts are simple. The statements alone were sufficient, so that finally all foreign companies would leave the lisencing round.
More specifically, the Italian Enel, the angloollandiki Shell, the French Total and the Spanish Repsol left the lisencing round.
It is interesting to note that they are all European companies.
In any case, the lisencing round has no longer any foreign candidates and this alone is costing Greece. This issue, should be clearly understood by all.
Because, all those who believe that they will pressure the foreigners to our advantage, what will they do now that they are not even candidates.
But the most serious problem is our major lisencing round, regarding the twenty marine plots, because we need to have large scale applications if we really want utilize the Greek EEZ, and in this context to play an important role for Greece, for the labour force, for our economy.
For this reason what’s needed is high strategy.