ATHENS — Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas highlighted importance of the measures announced for the transition of mining areas after the phasing out lignite in his interview with Antenna TV on Tuesday, describing the government's plan as a "revolution" that gave a new lease of life to Western Macedonia and the city of Megalopolis in the Peloponnese.

The people in those areas could see no future once the Public Power Corporation (PPC) plants there shut down, he noted, but the announcements made by Environment and Energy Minister Kostis Hatzidakis on Monday had once again given them prospects.

Petsas stressed that the support for Western Macedonia had been increased from just 500 million euros in the previous programmes to a package of five billion, which was real and not "theoretical". Two billion were already waiting for 11 investment plans, he said, while Megalopolis will be getting 500 million euros, "which is a real revolution."