Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-02-22

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

Monday February 22, 2016

CONTENTS

[01] President Pavlopoulos sends message of unity and solidarity to the Greek people

[02] "Parallel programme" passes in Greek Parliament

[03] PM Tsipras puts an end to scenarios over Greece's exit from Schengen

[04] Labour Min Katrougalos optimistic first program review to be completed by March 27

[05] An ecumenical government is not the solution to the problems, ND leader Mitsotakis says

[06] The main mission of NATO in the Aegean will be surveillance, Alternate Civil Protection Min Toskas says

[07] IMF needs to understand that Greece is a European country, FinMin Tsakalotos says

[08] Agriculture Minister calls on farmers to see together with the government the large initiatives needed

[09] No Afghan national crosses Greece-Fyrom buffer zone at Idomeni since 11 am

[10] Weather Forecast

[11] Athens Headlines at a glance Politics

[01] President Pavlopoulos sends message of unity and solidarity to the Greek people

Pavlopoulos is visiting Ioannina for the celebration of the 103rd anniversary of the liberation of the city from the Turks on 21 February 1913.

"The history of Epirus is an integral part of the history of our Nation, the Nation of the Greeks," Pavlopoulos stated and pointed out the true national characteristics of Epirus and its people from the post-Byzantine period onwards, that send rather instructive messages for the people and nation.

[02] "Parallel programme" passes in Greek Parliament

The bill was withdrawn in December after pressure from Greece's creditors.

The Syriza-ANEL coalition government voted in favour of the programme. Opposition New Democracy, Golden Dawn and Union of Centrists parties voted against the programme, while the Democratic Coalition, the communist KKE party and To Potami voted "present".

[03] PM Tsipras puts an end to scenarios over Greece's exit from Schengen

Speaking in Parliament, the prime minister said that any provocation or attack against the country will not remain unanswered, and harshly criticised the main opposition on the refugee issue and the economic policy.

He also accused New Democracy of protecting fraudsters and underlined that all cases under investigation, such as the Siemens case, will reach to the end.

On the refugee issue, he stressed the Greece reflects the EU human side, adding that our country is at the forefront, despite the difficulties and against the existing xenophobic and extreme ideas, which makes us proud of.

Tsipras reassured that scenarios over Greece's exit from the Schengen zone were dismissed in the recent EU summit. On the closure of borders, he said that unilateral actions will not be made acceptable.

Regarding the role of NATO, he said that the country's sovereign rights are protected.

Finally, he ruled out the possibility of early elections.

[04] Labour Min Katrougalos optimistic first program review to be completed by March 27

Katrougalos, who participated in a conference on the prospects for cooperation on employment organized in Erfurt by the Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow (Die Linke), in collaboration with the president of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament Thomas Handel (Die Linke), he stressed that there is great interest from both sides in transferring know-how from Germany, particularly as regards educational technical training programmes.

Asked about the negotiations with the creditors on pension reforms, he said that the technical staff is expected to arrive soon in Athens and added that progress has been made. "The negotiation is harsh," he admitted but there is agreement - at least with the Europeans - on the basic issues. And the IMF, he added, has not raised questions as regards the structural elements of the reform.

Katrougalos reiterated the European Commission's estimates that the first program review will have been completed by March 27 and the Catholic Easter and therefore the law will pass in Parliament. "Once the partners return, I believe that we are close to a deal. The bill will be immediately submitted to Parliament," he added.

The minister also expressed optimism over the outcome of the meeting between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the representatives of farmers on Monday.

[05] An ecumenical government is not the solution to the problems, ND leader Mitsotakis says

He also cleared out that he does not trust Alexis Tsipras and he could not co-govern with him.

Mitsotakis stated that he is not asking for elections. "I do not participate in election talk that causes political uncertainty," he said and added: "I am sure I will win the elections whenever they are held ... there is a strong momentum for New Democracy. May aim is, of course, selfmajority, but this does not mean I will not seek collaborations."

The leader of the main opposition lashed out at Tsipras accusing of having adopted a dangerous policy in the first half of the year, either as a result of ignorance or arrogance. As he said, he led the country very close to the total destruction and hurt the Greek economy significantly.

Regarding New Democracy's policy, he said that it changes and it promotes a totally different political speech. "The main challenge is the organisational restructuring of New Democracy," he stressed.

[06] The main mission of NATO in the Aegean will be surveillance, Alternate Civil Protection Min Toskas says

"NATO will be responsible for the surveillance and observation of migratory flows and then it will notify Frontex, which will act mainly in the Greek territorial waters and will oversee whether the Turks respect the agreement and allow boats to come to our islands or not," he explained adding that NATO will not get involved in identification procedures.

He underlined that Greece and Turkey's sovereign rights will be respected. "Turkish ships will not act in Greek territorial waters, and Greek ships will not act in theirs," he stated.

Toskas confirmed that Greece has met its commitments as regards the hotspots on islands and the reception centres on the mainland.

On the return of refugees, he said: "We cannot accept any more people. We are more than willing to accept these people on humanitarian basis, but agreements need to be made for their return in Turkey or other countries. We are not talking about asylum seekers, but economic migrants."

[07] IMF needs to understand that Greece is a European country, FinMin Tsakalotos says

He also underlined that the basis for the discussion cannot be other than those agreed last summer.

"The IMF must understand that Greece is a European country which has references to the EU acquis and that any obstruction in the negotiations complicates the government's strategy to escape the vicious circle of measures-recession-new measures," Tsakalotos stressed.

The Finance Minister estimated that the program review will soon be completed and added that the creditors should not ask for further fiscal measures and pension cuts when the economic performance and the revenues are higher than expected. "We have red lines on the issue of pensions and fiscal adjustment," he explained and noted that part of the discussions for the completion of the evaluation concerns the management of the expenses earmarked for dealing with the refugee problem.

He stated that there is no reason for a new recapitilisation of the banks, but as regards the debt, he proposed a political solution that will not transfer the technical solution in the future. "This is the only way to boost demand and support investors," he stressed.

Tsalakotos also said that the government's new development law will be presented in spring.

[08] Agriculture Minister calls on farmers to see together with the government the large initiatives needed

Ahead of the meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday, Apostolou stressed the importance of consensus from all sides in order to find solutions to the problems adding that the government has done its best to improve its proposals on tax and social security issues.

He said that the bill presented by the government reinforces, through incentives, the collective forms of organization of production and processing in order to "eliminate the factors that have contributed to the depreciation of the cooperative movement", and help them "survive in the current highly competitive global market environment, by creating healthy cooperative enterprises", achieving low cost production and better prices for their products.

General News

[09] No Afghan national crosses Greece-Fyrom buffer zone at Idomeni since 11 am

In addition, the refugees that are allowed to cross the buffer zone need to show an id or a passport along with the documents of the Greek authorities.

According to the police, the procedure is very slow and there are around 1,500 refugees at Idomeni while 4,000 have already disembarked from the 80 buses that have stopped at a gas station at Polykastro.

[10] Weather Forecast

[11] Athens Headlines at a glance

PROTO THEMA: 2,000 refugees enter Greece every day, 200 of them leave Greece

TO VIMA: Greece in a 'minefield'

ETHNOS: Decision cancels memorandum cuts in salaries and pensions

REAL NEWS: (Finance Minister Euclid) Tsakalotos' criticism over the role of IMF

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Memorandum, refugees, polls: (PM Alexis) Tsipras' nightmare

RIZOSPASTIS: An antipopular-labour response is needed

AVGHI: In front of the solution

VRADINI: Retire before you become 60

EPOCHI: Open borders for the time being

DIMOKRATIA: Conflict in the Aegean

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