PM meets with mayors, governors over on bill that transfers their capital to BoG

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday promised that his leftist government will soon overturn a bill, which was ratified on Friday, ordering the transfer of public entities' cash reserves to the Bank of Greece, essentially an effort to keep the general state funded in the short term.

"We had a constructive and useful meeting with the prime minister. We were told that the measure is an emergency and temporary action that will change with a relevant amendment soon," said Kostas Agorastos, head of the Regional Association of Greece (ENPE).

Agorastos said the fact that the measure is of an emergency nature changes the way in which ENPE will react. "From the moment that he spoke clearly, that the move is a tool that the country requires for the negotiations (with creditors) to end (successfully), then we will help the government," he said, who added that his group is satisfied provided that the decision does not become a practice in principle.

The prime minister's meeting with mayors and local government authorities follows a controversial parliamentary act obliging municipalities and other state-related bodies to transfer the majority of their operational capital to the Bank of Greece for use by the government on Friday.

The act, which exempts health and pension funds, unleashed a fury of opposition that included verbal abuse and heavy charges of wasting valuable time while the economy was worsening.

Ruling coalition parties Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) and Independent Greeks (ANEL) passed the act under emergency voting procedures with 156 votes.

A total of 260 deputies took part in the roll-call vote (in principle and on article 1), as proposed by main opposition New Democracy and Communist Party of Greece (KKE). Voting...