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A
new documentary explores the way with which the water privatization
lobbyists try to exploit the countries of the European periphery that
have been suffering from the brutal neoliberal policies imposed by
Brussels-Berlin axis:
At
a time when Europe is going through a crisis that is not solely
economical but also a crisis of moral values, millions of European
citizens demand a response to a crucial question: is water for the
European Union a commercial product or a human right? Until today,
the European Institutions have not given a clear answer. The EU has
still to recognize water as a human right, as the UN did in 2010.
At
the same time, cities, regions and countries all around the world are
increasingly rejecting the water privatization model they had adopted
for years and are remunicipalizing services in order to take back
public control over water and sanitation management. In Europe, the
majority of the cases have been recorded in France, home of the most
powerful and influential private water multinational companies of the
planet. Nine cases have been recorded in Germany.
Although
Berlin and Paris have recently taken back public control over their
water services, the financial and political European elites are
demanding from Greece, Portugal and Ireland to privatize their public
water systems. Provisions about water can be found in every M.o.U,
Greece, Ireland and Portugal have signed with the Troika and it’s a
common stipulation provided in every bailout agreement signed between
the debt-ridden countries and their lenders.
Up
To The Last Drop follows the money and the corporate interests
during a period of four years in thirteen cities of six EU countries.
It’s a documentary film about water that reflects contemporary
European values and the quality of the current European democracy.
In
September Emmanuel Macron arrived in Greece with the elite of the
French neo-colonialism, that is, representatives of French companies
like Suez, Total, EDF, Sanofi, Orpea, Bpifrance, Engie.
As
reported by the Guardian
in 2015, "Germany has been criticised for pushing Greece to
sell off its water utilities when many of Europe's largest cities,
including Berlin, are buying back theirs".
Specifically:
Under
the terms of the bailout agreement approved by the Greek parliament,
Greece has pledged to support an existing programme of privatisation,
which includes large chunks of the water utilities of Greece’s two
largest cities – Athens and Thessaloniki. France’s Suez and
Veolia, the world’s two largest water companies, will be among
those interested in Greece’s utilities if the government’s shares
are sold off. Yet in France – another of Greece’s creditors –
as many as 49 cities have bought back their water since 2000.
“It’s a financial colonisation,” said George Argovtopoulos
[President of the Thessaloniki water company trade union]. “It’s
an attempt for companies in the north of Europe, the rich countries,
to own monopolies like water systems, electricity and gas, in the
poor southern countries in Europe. It’s a game of power and money.”
In
other words, when the multinational corporate neo-colonialists find
significant resistance inside the developed countries, they turn to
colonies like Greece which are being destroyed by the neoliberal
policies. They become a paradise for these 'investors' who come to
buy ridiculously cheap and get away with huge profits, through
tax-breaks, devastated labor rights, significant rise on water
prices.
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