Siemens and Greece agree to be "friends" again

A deal has been struck between Siemens and the Greek state, Vima revealed on Saturday. The deal will see the infamous Siemens scandal case permanently close and allow the numerous public works the company is involved in to finally proceed.   An agreement was reached on Thursday, Vima reports, the final version of which will be brought before Parliament.   An official apology by the company for its conduct is included in this, together with 700 new job positions, 170 million euro in investments and 100 scholarships.   The company has made it clear that it intends to inject 100 million euro into its Greek branch within the year, thus helping it steady itself during a difficult time. The branch employs 600 employees.   Furthermore they have declared their intention to build a new factory on Greek soil, which will create the aforementioned 700 new job positions.   According to Vima, Siemens will also invest 190 million euros in scholarships, extensive training programmes and public sector network strengthening with the view of helping Greece fight corruption.   Finally, they agreed to give up any claims for the combined total of seventy nine and a half million euros that they up until now were claiming they were owed from their involvement in hospitals and a number of other public sector companies and works.   On the opposite end, the Greek state has now formally withdrawn any intentions to continue the various cases of money laundering brought against the company until now and also resigns from any further pressures into collecting a number of fines from Siemens.   For the deal to go through, the two sides completed a total of fifteen high level meetings as of the 21st of December 2011, while the out of court settlements that have been agreed will effectively bring an end to a legal saga that has dominated Greek public attention for a number of years.   All of the above however, also translates into the fact that none of the involved parties will face any form of punishment for their documented involvement in the Siemens scandal.