Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 13-05-22

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] PM Samaras briefs president on results of China-Azerbaijan trip

[02] PM receives Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, discusses 'mutual cooperation'

[03] PM Samaras to address New Democracy pre-congress June 9

[04] SYRIZA on PM's statements

[05] ND accuses SYRIZA of 'mixed messages' on anti-racism bill; SYRIZA position clear, main opposition replies

[06] Bill on antiracism a must, DIM.AR leader Fotis Kouvelis

[07] Greece seeing 'end of tunnel' according to 'La Repubblica'

[08] US State Dep't annual report warns about Golden Dawn's 'anti-Semitism, racism'

[09] SYRIZA-EKM leader meets GSEVEE presidency

[10] Defence Minister in Moscow on Wednesday

[11] Foreign minors should not be detained for long time, Ombudsman says

[12] European Parliament lifts immunity of Greek EuroMP

[13] Entry to Parliament only through metal detectors from Tuesday

[14] FM Avramopoulos sends condolences to U.S. Secretary of State

[15] The highest bidder will buy DEPA/DESFA, Stavridis says

[16] Tourism minister holds meeting with Chinese journalists

[17] Environment, town planning key aspects for growth policy, Environment minister tells conference

[18] Greek banks' dependence from ECB, ELA funding operations up in April

[19] Premium production down 13.2 pct in domestic insurance market in Q1

[20] Six Greek mediators certified by China's Central Chamber

[21] Papoutsanis reports improved Q1 results

[22] Novartis Hellas reports lower 2012 results

[23] J&P Avax signs 125-mln-euro contract in UAE

[24] Greek stocks end sharply lower

[25] Greek bond market closing report

[26] ADEX closing report

[27] Foreign Exchange rates - Wednesday

[28] City of Athens free cultural events for the summer - and beyond

[29] Ionian Islands celebrate 149th anniversary of incorporation into Greece

[30] Four shells discovered at Vouliagmeni beach

[31] Detainee escapes after testifying

[32] Cloudy on Wednesday

[33] The Tuesday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

[01] PM Samaras briefs president on results of China-Azerbaijan trip

"We have stabilised the country in Europe. Now we are stabilising it on the world map. Opportunities, openness and investments. This is how I think we shall fight unemployment, which is the biggest problem in the country," the prime minister said.

Receiving Samaras, Papoulias noted that the Greek premier had had "a very good trip," with Samaras replying: "There will be others."

"We must create an opportunity for Greece and Greeks. In this way it is made clear that Greece is dynamically returning to areas where it is worth having contacts in order to create investment opportunities to reduce unemployment, especially among the young," the premier added.

Samaras also emphasised the need to follow up the effort and replied to the president's questions regarding the situation in Shanghai, noting that both the Chinese and Azeri presidents were pleased to receive an invitation to visit Greece.

The Greek prime minister carried out an official visit to China on May 15-19, meeting the country's new political leadership, and a brief working visit to Azerbaijan on Sunday, where he had a meeting with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, before his return to Athens.

[02] PM receives Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller, discusses 'mutual cooperation'

According to an announcement issued by Gazprom, the two sides held talks on the "excellent cooperation in the sector of natural gas and expressed their interest in further developing mutually beneficial cooperation".

Gazprom is among the companies planning to bid in an international tender for the privatisation of the Public Gas Corporation (DEPA).

According to sources, Gazprom intends to submit a binding offer for DEPA but they did not specify whether agreement was reached on the demands made by the Russian side concerning the terms of the tender, such as the letter of guarantee required of participants and the debts toward DEPA.

The same sources said the talks with the government included discussion on the terms and prices for the supply of natural gas to Greece in the framework of an existing contract that expires in 2016.

Gazprom's announcement said that natural gas deliveries to Greece began in 1996 and, according to preliminary figures, total deliveries for 2012 came to 2.5 billion cubic metres.

[03] PM Samaras to address New Democracy pre-congress June 9

The first two days of the pre-congress will be devoted to party officials' meetings with local government officials. A day-long meeting on national issues will be also held on Saturday, while Samaras' address will be preceded by speeches by party and the party's youth organisation (ONNED) officials and a presentation of the results of meetings held with local administrators.

The regional officers of the party will be decided by a vote on Sunday.

On Sunday, May 26, the party will hold elections for president of ONNED; Thessaloniki area residents will be able to vote locally.

[04] SYRIZA on PM's statements

SYRIZA added that with "this failed policy, not only is Mr. Samaras not combatting unemployment, as he states hypocritically, but on the contrary, he swells it, leaving thousands of households without any income and sending young scientists to migration."

[05] ND accuses SYRIZA of 'mixed messages' on anti-racism bill; SYRIZA position clear, main opposition replies

ND sources cited the positions expressed SYRIZA spokesman Vassilis Moulopoulos in December 2011, before a Parliamentary committee then discussing an anti-racism bill brought to Parliament by then justice minister Miltiadis Papaioannou.

Noting that the present version of the anti-racism bill was based on the Papaioannou bill and harking back to Moulopoulos' statements, ND challenged the main opposition to explain "when it had been right, with its current positions or with those expressed by Moulopoulos".

Quoting from the committee minutes, they noted that Moulopoulos had then warned against attempts to "criminalise" actions such as refusing, praising or belittling crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and warm crimes, noting that such an approach would be "unproductive and dangerous" and risked restricting freedom of speech and the free movement of ideas.

"The major problem for Greece is racist violence, not racist speech," Moulopoulos had said, while in other statements before the committee, he described existing legal statutes as "adequate to punish the specific acts."

The question remained moot, since the Papaioannou bill never made it beyond the committee stage and was never brought before the Parliament plenum. ND had expressed objections to it at the time, while the party said that it would now wait for the report of the committee processing the bill before stating its position.

Replying to ND, SYRIZA accused the party of blocking the anti-racism bill's course through Parliament "and doing everything in its power to lay down the carpet for the rise of Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi)".

Regarding the contents of the draft bill, the main opposition stressed that its position was clear:

"It is necessary to establish and implement a strict legal framework that acts to deter racist violence and puts an end to immunity for crimes against migrants," the party said.

At the same time, the announcement added, SYRIZA differentiated between acts of propaganda paving the way for crime and the dissemination of even the most repulsive ideas, on the grounds that it was extremely dangerous to restrict the freedom of expression. It also noted that a legal framework alone could not be a reply to racism, unless it was accompanied by actions to fight the social and economic causes that generated racism.

It further noted that in 2011 when Moulopoulos had been speaking, ultra far-right and openly anti-migrant Golden Dawn had not been elected to Parliament and racist violence had not reached such a peak.

[06] Bill on antiracism a must, DIM.AR leader Fotis Kouvelis

In statements to the agency, Kouvelis said, "An antiracism regulation is a must, and no political tug of war is acceptable on such an issue." He added that democracy may be tolerant but it has rules, "and these rules must be respected by all."

Commenting on the role of his party as a junior member of the ruling coalition, with New Democracy and PASOK, the DIM.AR leader said that it would have been very easy "to move to the parliamentary seats of the minor opposition, but there would have been no political stability or a prospect of exiting the crisis, which was present and is still here, to a lesser degree. That is a responsible Left."

He asserted that although unemployment was "a great wound" for Greece that could not be resolved overnight, the course of the economy "will change at end-2013 and Greece will be able to partly return to markets in 2014."

Kouvelis also called for European political leaders to "resist Germany's choice to maintain the model of austerity and strict fiscal adjustment," as continuing these policies would bring "results that do not help resolve the huge problems faced by countries and their populations."

[07] Greece seeing 'end of tunnel' according to 'La Repubblica'

In an article entitled "Greece sees the end of the tunnel" in the newspaper "La Repubblica" on Tuesday, Italian journalist Ettore Livini joined the ranks of European analysts seeing a return of hope in the crisis-stricken country.

Livini noted that the Greek stock market is "flying" and spreads on Greek bonds are falling rapidly, to the applause of the country's troika of lenders (the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund).

At the same time, he adds, Greek society remains in a "state of emergency" after five nightmarish years of deep recession that "burned" a quarter of the country's GDP.

Stock brokers, however, have already returned their verdict and decided that the painful austerity imposed by Greece's creditors has brought results, the journalist noted. As evidence he cited a 134 pct rise in the stock market in the past year, a recent upgrade of the country's credit rating by Fitch, a state budget surplus in the first quarter of 2013 and the fact that hedge funds are busy snapping up Greek bank shares.

But no one in Greece is breaking out the ouzo yet, Livini noted, as GDP recorded its 19th decline in the first quarter, posting a cumulative 28 pct decline since 2008, and unemployment surged to 27 pct overall and 64.2 pct for young people, with 3.4 million Greeks living below the poverty line.

The article points to optimistic predictions from Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Brussels, the beginning of the privatisation process after several false starts, a start to dismissals from the public sector and even an improvement in tax revenues. At the same time, it notes that ordinary Greeks have benefited little from the emerging signs of recovery, with the troika announcing the need for additional sacrifices of 4.0 billion euros from 2014.

[08] US State Dep't annual report warns about Golden Dawn's 'anti-Semitism, racism'

The US State Department issued its annual Report on International Religious Freedom (2012) on Monday, highlighting the role of extreme-right Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avghi) party in the rise of racist and anti-Semitism incidents in Greece.

The report, presented by Secretary of State John Kerry, reviewed the state of religious freedom in Greece and said that "expressions of anti-Semitism increased after voters elected members of Golden Dawn to parliament."

It added that "although government leaders publicly condemned some anti-Semitic and racist incidents, observers called on the authorities to do more to counter hate speech and the violent actions of the extreme-right party's members."

The constitution of Greece and other laws and policies protect religious freedom with some restrictions, it said in its review of the policies in place: in practice, it said, the government generally respected religious freedom, "although it imposed restrictions affecting members of non-Greek Orthodox religious groups. The government granted privileges and legal prerogatives to the Orthodox Church that it did not afford other religious groups, such as preferential taxation and an institutionalized link to the government."

Construction of a government-funded mosque in Athens approved by the parliament in 2011 did not begin, it noted, although the government took steps to create an architectural model and secure permits and funds.

"Members of Golden Dawn, a political party openly espousing anti-Semitism and racism and linked to violent attacks against individuals perceived to be immigrants, were elected to parliament," the report said, calling the party "an openly anti-Semitic and xenophobic political party" elected to the national parliament for the first time, with almost 7 percent of the vote.

The government publicly condemned some anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim incidents, such as vandalism and destruction of religious monuments. However, observers such as the European Jewish Congress and the Anti-Defamation League called on the authorities to do more to counter Golden Dawn's anti-Semitic rhetoric and violent actions, it said, and pointed out that party leader Nikos Michaloliakos "publicly and repeatedly denied the Holocaust and often gave Nazi salutes at public events. During an October plenary session of parliament, a member of Golden Dawn read passages from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

The report mentioned incidents of Jewish cemetery defacements, mentioning swastikas drawn on the door of the Jewish cemetery in Ioannina in April and vandals defacing the wall of the Jewish cemetery in Drama with swastikas and anti-Semitic slogans in September.

"Human Rights Watch and other groups alleged the police took little action to curb violent Golden Dawn activities," it noted. "In October the parliament voted to lift the immunity of three Golden Dawn members of parliament so that they could be investigated for criminal offenses. Law enforcement authorities suspected the party spokesperson of involvement in a 2007 armed robbery, and suspected two other members of property damage during September attacks against immigrants."

The Greek Orthodox Church exercised significant social, political, and economic influence in Greece, the report said, while some non-Orthodox citizens complained of being treated with suspicion or being told they were not truly Greek when they revealed their religious affiliations to other Greek citizens. Members of non-Orthodox religious groups reported incidents of societal discrimination. Members of the Muslim minority in Thrace were underrepresented in public sector employment, and no Muslim military personnel advanced to officer ranks, it added.

The US ambassador to Greece and other U.S. officials met with senior government officials, including the secretary general for religions, municipal leaders, and members of parliament, to promote religious tolerance and diversity, and to urge the government to speak out more strongly against the anti-Semitic and racist rhetoric and violent actions of Golden Dawn, the report said. Officers from the embassy and the consulate general in Thessaloniki met regularly with representatives of religious groups to discuss religious freedom and interfaith dialogue, visited religious sites throughout the country, and investigated reports of societal discrimination.

The government invoked the law against blasphemy in two cases. In September the cyber-crime police arrested a 27-year-old man and charged him with blasphemy and insulting religion for setting up a Facebook page using a name that played on the name of a legendary Mount Athos monk, while in November the Metropolitan of Piraeus filed a blasphemy complaint against the director and actors of the theatrical play "Corpus Christi," which portrayed Jesus and the Apostles as gay men.

An Athens prosecutor pressed charges, but no trial date was set. The theater cancelled performances of the play a few days after its October premiere due to violent protests by some Greek Orthodox priests and Golden Dawn supporters. Several Golden Dawn members of parliament blocked the entrance of the theater and clashed with police on opening night. Police charged one member of parliament with intervening in the arrest of a protestor, the review said.

The report quoted the National Statistics Service as estimating the population of Greece at 9.9 million. "The government does not keep statistics on religious groups. The U.S. government estimates that 98 percent of the population self-identifies as Greek Orthodox," it said.

The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, it noted, created an officially recognized "Muslim minority," estimated at 140,000 to 150,000 (approximately 1.3 percent of the total population) residing in Thrace. Additionally, NGOs estimate that between 500,000 and 700,000 Muslims from Albania, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Syria, and North Africa reside in the region of Attica, which encompasses Athens. Other religious groups include Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Old Calendarist Orthodox, Jehovah's Witnesses, among others, the report said.

[09] SYRIZA-EKM leader meets GSEVEE presidency

"We have to realise that if demand on the market is not boosted, unless the internal devaluation programmes are scrapped, unless memorandum policies are abolished, then small and medium-sized businesses will not recover," he said.

The failure of SMEs will result in job losses, higher unemployment and conditions of humanitarian crisis for more than a million Greeks, if one also considered the families of small business owners, most of whom were currently unable to pay for their social insurance contributions and had no medical care, he added.

He called for a substantive discussion on the viability of the OAEE pension and welfare fund for the self-employed, which he claimed was one step before collapse and without immediate measures would lead to further cuts to already slashed pensions.

Tsipras also emphasised the need for greater liquidity in the market, without which SMEs could not survive, repeating a proposal for a special-purpose, development bank to support SMEs.

GSEVEE President Giorgos Kavvathas said he had briefed Tsipras on issues concerning collective labour agreements and the problems faced by OAEE, noting that 350 freelance professionals and small business owners that were currently uninsured had to be reactivated to bring funds to OAEE.

[10] Defence Minister in Moscow on Wednesday

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu and French Defence Minister Jean Yves Le Drian will also address the congress.

During his two-day visit to Moscow, Panagiotopoulos will meet with his Russian counterpart and other Russian government officials.

[11] Foreign minors should not be detained for long time, Ombudsman says

The letter stresses the need to reduce detention time of minors to a minimum as required for registration of their particulars and referral to a reception centre or reunification with relations, as this is also stipulated in international treaties.

In the early days of the year, the Ombudsman visited the Detention Location for Foreign Minors in Amygdaleza, Attica prefecture and found out that that minors were kept for up to as much as four months. Among them were international protection beneficiaries, on the basis of the Geneva Convention.

For this reason, the independent authority stresses to the ministry that "living conditions of minors in detention locations are distant from those corresponding to their age needs and rights."

The issue of treating unaccompanied minors in Greece has preoccupied the Ombudsman in the past as well, and the authority has repeatedly visited detention centres and hosting locations for unaccompanied minors and has summed up his views in a Special Report.

[12] European Parliament lifts immunity of Greek EuroMP

The European Parliament approved the lifting of immunity for PASOK Eurodeputy Spyros Danellis, following his own request, to stand trial for two court cases dating back to 2004-2005.

The two cases coming up for trial date to the time Danellis was mayor of Hersonissos, a town east of the main city of Iraklio on the island of Crete, and involve local projects.

In the first case he was jointly charged with two deputy mayors for their handling of two stores in a hotel complex at Anisaras. The case was split into two in order to allow for Danellis' immunity lifting; the deputy mayors were tried in July 2012 and unanimously declared innocent.

In the second case, he was included in a suit involving 56 residents of Langadas that was filed by the contractor assigned to process 52,000 trees cut to build the dam of Aposelemis. Again, this case was split, and all defendants in one of the two split cases were found unanimously innocent by the court.

[13] Entry to Parliament only through metal detectors from Tuesday

All entrances to Parliament are equipped with magnetic gateways, which were previously used for the staff and various aides.

[14] FM Avramopoulos sends condolences to U.S. Secretary of State

According to a ministry announcement, Avramopoulos also expressed "the Greek people's support to our friends the American people".

Financial News

[15] The highest bidder will buy DEPA/DESFA, Stavridis says

In comments made in Greek radio, Stavridis said there were certain issues, such as a letter of guarantee.

"The Russians' initial letter of guarantee - at 20 pct of the first offer of 900 million euros - was extremely high," he said. "Thus, the value of the letter of guarantee was lowered to become more rational. Another big problem in the energy market is that because of the crisis everybody owes to everyone. It is the government's obligation and up to government will to find a solution to the problem."

[16] Tourism minister holds meeting with Chinese journalists

A prolonged discussion was held during the meeting on the big changes that are taking place in Greece over the past two years. The minister stressed that the two peoples have many common elements that they can utilise with a mutual benefit.

Kefaloyianni further said that Greece will participate in the international tourist exhibition that will be held in China in October. She also assured the Chinese journalists that Greece will activate all the agreements that have been signed between the two countries since 2006.

The Tourism minister called on the Chinese journalists to promote Greece in their country and stressed that all the necessary measures are being taken that will facilitate the attraction of Chinese visitors to Greece.

[17] Environment, town planning key aspects for growth policy, Environment minister tells conference

The minister said the plans included a "radical reform with a long-term range" relating to the land cadastre, forest maps, unauthorised construction and the environmental balance, town and spatial planning, inspections, intervention in forests and the special spatial plan for tourism.

Among the ministry's immediate goals was the 'unblock' chronic problems faced by building associations in order to attract capital for private construction and boost the construction sector in order to create jobs.

[18] Greek banks' dependence from ECB, ELA funding operations up in April

A report by the country's central bank said that funding of Greek banks by the ECB and the Bank of Greece rose to 94.3 billion euros in April, from 91.95 billion euros in March. This development basically reflected a capital outflow from Greek banks at the height of a banking crisis in Cyprus. Greek banks raised their dependence from the Bank of Greece's emergency lending assistance mechanism (ELA) to 33.4 billion euros in April, from 21.22 billion in March. Bank officials expect this trend to change in May.

[19] Premium production down 13.2 pct in domestic insurance market in Q1

The report said that premium production in life insurance contracts dropped 23.6 pct, general insurance production was down 4.5 pct and vehicle contracts production fell 8.8 pct in the January-March period.

The report was based on data offered by 61 insurance companies which accounted for 95.4 pct of all premium production, of which 22 were life insurance companies with a market share of 99.3 pct and another 50 in the damages insurance sector with a market share of 92.5 pct.

Premium production totaled 1.0 billion euros in the first three months of 2013. The vehicle insurance sector is the biggest business in the damages category with a premium production of 290 million euros (47.6 pct of total), followed by the fire sector (108 million euros and 17.7 pct).

[20] Six Greek mediators certified by China's Central Chamber

Commenting on the accreditation, president of the Greek centre Ioanna Anastasopoulou said it was "an important distinction of Greek mediation in view of an expected flow of business deals between Greece and China."

The Hellenic Arbitration and Mediation Centre was founded in 2006 and has since been developing a unique and pioneering expertise, offering mediation services as well as training programmes in collaboration with foreign organizations.

[21] Papoutsanis reports improved Q1 results

The company said its after tax profits totaled 36,000 euros in the January-March period from a loss of 213,000 euros last year. EBITDA was a positive 335,000 euros up 27 pct from 2012.

Consolidated turnover rose 4.4 pct to 3.4 million euros in the first three months of the year, from 3.3 million euros in 2012, of which 20 pct were brand products, 20 pct product sales to hotel and another 60 pct industrial sales. Papoutsanis said around 39 pct of its annual turnover were exports. Gross profit margin rose to 25.1 pct in the first quarter from 18.9 pct in 2012.

[22] Novartis Hellas reports lower 2012 results

The company reported operating losses of 9.88 million euros. Pre-tax earnings totaled 1.02 million euros, while net results reported a loss of 3.49 million euros last year, from net gains of 10.49 million euros in 2011.

Novartis completed a share capital increase plan last year, while its bank debt fell to zero.

[23] J&P Avax signs 125-mln-euro contract in UAE

Athina ATE recently signed another contract, worth 30.1 million euros, with a consortium which is building a nuclear power station in the UAE.

[24] Greek stocks end sharply lower

The Big Cap index dropped 5.54 pct and the Mid Cap index ended 1.67 pct lower. Folli Follie (3.13 pct), Korinth Steel Pipes (2.19 pct) and Hellenic Petroleum (1.09 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains among blue chip stocks, while National Bank (26.75 pct), Eurobank (26.07 pct) and Piraeus Bank (21.48 pct) suffered heavy losses.

The Commerce (3.08 pct), Personal Products (0.71 pct) and Oil (0.64 pct) sectors scored gains, while Banks (18.93 pct), Technology (6.36 pct) and Food (5.21 pct) ended sharply lower. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 107 to 52 with another 20 issues unchanged. Loulis Mills (20.23 pct), Teletypos (19.66 pct) and Alpha Grissin (19.66 pct) were top gainers, while BIS (30 pct), Pairis (27.87 pct) and National Bank (26.75 pct) were top losers.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Industrials: -0.91%

Commercial: -0.15%

Construction: -0.15%

Oil & Gas: +0.64%

Personal & Household: +0.71%

Raw Materials: -0.63%

Travel & Leisure: -2.55%

Technology: -6.38%

Telecoms: -4.81%

Banks: -18.93%

Food & Beverages: -5.21%

Health: -4.95%

Utilities: -3.58%

Financial Services: +0.68%

The stocks with the highest turnover were National Bank, Bank of Piraeus, Alpha Bank and OTE.

Selected shares from the FTSE/ASE-20 index closed in euros as follows:

Alpha Bank: 0.56

Public Power Corp (PPC): 7.99

Coca-Cola: 21.42

Hellenic Petroleum: 9.30

National Bank of Greece: 1.15

EFG Eurobank Ergasias: 0.36

OPAP: 8.05

OTE: 6.92

Bank of Piraeus: 0.36

Titan: 14.50

[25] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates moved lower. The 12-month rate fell to 0.47 pct, the nine-month rate was 0.38 pct, the six- month rate eased to 0.29 pct, the three-month rate was 0.20 pct and the one-month rate was 0.11 pct.

[26] ADEX closing report

[27] Foreign Exchange rates - Wednesday

U.S. dollar 1.305

Pound sterling 0.861

Danish kroner 7.564

Swedish kroner 8.688

Japanese yen 134.31

Swiss franc 1.266

Norwegian kroner 7.619

Canadian dollar 1.341

Australian dollar 1.334

General News

[28] City of Athens free cultural events for the summer - and beyond

The following programme was announced by the mayor of Athens: