Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-07-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Tsipras to Warsaw for NATO summit on Friday, Saturday

[02] The country's image abroad has changed, gov't sources say

[03] Dep FM Mardas met series of potential investors during China visit

[04] Debate on electoral law bill starts in parliamentary committee

[05] ND will not vote bill on new electoral law, its spokesman Koumoutsakos says

[06] Potami: Greek society pays the bill for the government's 'utter chaos'

[07] PASOK leader: 'Mr. Tsipras just spoke idle words'

[08] ND proposal for parliamentary inquiry on economy and 'Plan X; to be discussed on July 26

[09] Priorities of the Slovak Presidency discussed between Alt. FM and Slovak envoy

[10] Regling: ESM to present proposals for short-term debt relief for Greece in coming weeks

[11] ECB lowers emergency funding cap for Greek banks by 2.5 bln euros

[12] Greek state's overdue debt to the private sector up in May

[13] Gov't releases details of 13,730 individuals, businesses with overdue debts to the state

[14] Greek unemployment rate fell to 23.3 pct in April

[15] Employment in Greece up 2.1 pct in 2015 and will continue rising, OECD report

[16] 15,435 businesses folded in first five months of 2016, says Chamber

[17] Greek CEOs more optimistic in Q2

[18] Alpha Bank loans to media total ? 311 mln, CEO tells parliament

[19] Tourist arrivals in Rhodes up in June

[20] Greek stocks end slightly higher

[21] Greek bond market closing report

[22] ADEX closing report

[23] Top scientists gather in Thessaloniki for Nanotexnology

[24] One in four Greek parks given substandard score by citizens in WWF survey

[25] Work on building mosque in Athens' Votanikos district can continue, top court says

[26] "1%: Privilege in a Time of Global Inequality" hosted at Athens International Airport

[27] Agrotourism festival in Epidaurus

[28] Winemakers on Greek island turn to Chinese market

[29] Twelve injured, one seriously, in bus-truck collision in western Greece

[30] Trains on strike from Friday until next Tuesday in Greece

[31] 57,123 identified migants and refugees in Greece on Thursday; no new arrivals in the last 24h

[32] Fair on Friday

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

[01] PM Tsipras to Warsaw for NATO summit on Friday, Saturday

The prime minister's schedule starts with the reception of NATO heads of state and government at 13:40 local time. He will then attend the NATO leaders' meeting between 15:30 and 18:30 and a working dinner at Poland's presidential mansion from 20:30 to 23:00.

On Saturday morning Tsipras will attend a special session devoted to Afghanistan from 9:00-11:00, a lunch for heads of state and government, defence ministers and foreign ministers at 11:00 and then take part in a second North Atlantic Council meeting between noon and 14:00.

The Greek prime minister will also be at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) at the level of Heads of State and/or Government from 15:00-16:30 before departing for Athens with the Greek delegation at 18:30

[02] The country's image abroad has changed, gov't sources say

According to the same sources, the multidimensional foreign policy followed by the government is bearing fruit and the visits to Beijing and Shangai as well as the goverment's overtures to Russia, Iran, Israel and Egypt had very positive results.

?"The current government policy is like a tree that has deep roots in the Western world, in Europe, but with branches to the East, according to the national interests", the sources said and added: "What we achieved in Beijing had never crossed the mind of (former prime minister Antonis) Samaras. And we did that because we improved the state of the economy."

Making an evaluation of the visit in China, the government sources noted: "We have achieved three out of three: Important agreements with Cosco, the Chinese giant Alibaba and advanced technology company ZTE. Only Cosco is expected to invest in the port area of Piraeus nearly one billion euros in infrastructure projects aimed at upgrading the cruise sector, increasing the number of containers, strengthening the shipbuilding sector, and creating a huge parking that will contribute significantly to solving the parking problem in Piraeus."

"Our aim is unemployment to return to normal levels," the sources underlined.

Regarding collective labour agreements, they said that they have all European progressive forces on their side adding that nobody has asked for mass layoffs. The same sources stressed that Greece will have turned page in the second half of 2017.

Asked on everyday problems, they said that important work is being made on the health sector despite the difficult conditions.

Regarding the refugee issue, they stressed the importance of the EU-Turkey agreement adding that a way will be found to secure it.

[03] Dep FM Mardas met series of potential investors during China visit

He started with a visit to the massive World Commerce Valley "Yianjiao" - International Trade City exhibition centre last Sunday, where a Greek pavilion has been set up. While there, the minister presented a plan for an "Art Island" to two Chinese investors that have already decided to invest in Greece in the sectors of tourism, food and culture.

Mardas also met a representative of one of China's largest construction firms to explore the potential for cooperation with Greek companies in the Middle East and Africa. The meeting ended with a decision to explore the options further when a top executive of the Chinese firm visits Greece in the near future.

The deputy minister also visited the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), one of China's three major foreign affairs organisations, which aims to promote friendship and mutual understanding between the Chinese people and foreign nations.

[04] Debate on electoral law bill starts in parliamentary committee

On the start of the debate, Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis submitted a legislative improvement which divides article two of the draft in two separate articles, to distinguish the abolition of the 50-seat bonus granted to the first party from the proposal to maintain the 3 pct threshold for entering parliament.

This change is believed to be a gesture of goodwill towards the Communist Party which will want approve the abolition of the bonus but vote against the 3 pct threshold, on which it has expressed its opposition.

[05] ND will not vote bill on new electoral law, its spokesman Koumoutsakos says

"ND will win the elections" said Koumoutsakos noting that the government's proposal threatens to drag the country to lack of governance.

[06] Potami: Greek society pays the bill for the government's 'utter chaos'

When asked how it plans to proceed, the source said the government has not changed its position adding: "Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent."

Potami responded: "Mr. Tsipras liked Mao's quote. No problem. Only the bill for the 'utter chaos', which is SYRIZA-ANEL's daily dogma, is not paid by neither him, nor his party; but by Greek society."

[07] PASOK leader: 'Mr. Tsipras just spoke idle words'

"Mr. Tsipras, who is in the clouds, spoke idle words," Genni-mata stated. "But landing back to the harsh reality he has created for the Greek people won't leave him much room for fairy tales," she added.

[08] ND proposal for parliamentary inquiry on economy and 'Plan X; to be discussed on July 26

Speaking after a meeting of the Conference of Parliament Presidents, Voutsis said that the plenum will debate the draft bill on changing election law in two sessions, on July 19 and on July 20, when the vote will take place.

[09] Priorities of the Slovak Presidency discussed between Alt. FM and Slovak envoy

During the meeting, emphasis was put on current issues, including the refugee issue, the economic crisis and the future of the European Union, in light of the new state of affairs arising from the outcome of the UK referendum.

Financial News

[10] Regling: ESM to present proposals for short-term debt relief for Greece in coming weeks

Regling described the three short-term measures: "One is to smoothen the repayment profile," he said adding that "because there was a repayment, the average maturity is only 28 years and we're allowed to go up to 32 years".

"So we can work with that and relatively quickly adjust some of the repayments in order to avoid big jumps in repayments in certain years, and smoothen the profile," he said.

The second proposal is to look at ways to reduce interest rate risk for Greece. "People expect that interest rates will go up in the future, and we're talking here about a 30-year period, and so we're working on ways to protect Greece."

The third measure is to eliminate an expected jump in interest rates in the year 2017 on a small part of the Greek debt. "And that will save a few hundred million euros," Regling explained.

Asked when he will present his proposals for these three measures, he replied: "We have the mandate. Over the next few weeks, certainly before the end of the year."

[11] ECB lowers emergency funding cap for Greek banks by 2.5 bln euros

The move reflected an improvement in the liquidity conditions in the Greek banking system and the stabilisation of private sector deposit flows, it said.

[12] Greek state's overdue debt to the private sector up in May

Debt to social insurance organization accounted for the biggest part of the state's overdue debt, 3.067 billion euros in May from 2.875 billion in April, followed by state hospitals' overdue debt (1.259 billion in May from 1.181 billion in April).

Under an agreement reached between Greek authorities and the institutions, in the framework of the first review of the Greek programme, the Greek government was expected to immediately begin repayment of its debt to the private sector using part of the sub-tranche of the loan received by ESM.

[13] Gov't releases details of 13,730 individuals, businesses with overdue debts to the state

The lists were published on the http://publicrevenue.gr portal on separate web pages for Legal Entities and for Individuals. Those on the list are those whose debts are in arrears for longer than 12 months and who have failed to respond to e-mails inviting them to contact the tax office and arrange a settlement.

Not included are companies and individuals who have made and kept up with payments on a settlement for their debts and cases where a court has ruled that payments must be suspended, as well as individuals in the case where there is an ongoing court case concerning their debts.

The biggest company debt on the list was that run up by the Akropolis brokerage at roughly 8.5 billion euros, mostly linked to its involvement in the structured bonds scandal, and the now defunct national carrier Olympic Airways (1.35 billion euros). The biggest debt by an individual is 1.26 billion euros.

[14] Greek unemployment rate fell to 23.3 pct in April

The statistics service, in a report, said that the number of unemployed totaled 1,115,443 in April, down 7.5 pct from the same month last year and 1.8 pct lower compared with March 2016. The number of employed people grew 3.0 pct to 3,676,880 in April, from April 2015, and edged 0.7 pct up from March this year.

The unemployment rate among women was 28.2 pct in April from 29 pct in April last year, while among men it fell to 19.3 pct from 22.2 pct. The unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group fell to 47.4 pct in April from 51.7 pct in April last year, followed by the 25-34 age group (29.4 pct from 32.8 pct), the 35-44 age group (20.5 pct from 22.2 pct), the 45-54 age group (19.5 pct from 20.5 pct), but rose in the 55-64 age group (to 19.3 pct from 17.2 pct) and in the 65-74 age group (to 12.5 pct from 10.7 pct).

Among the country's regions, Epirus-Western Macedonia recorded the highest unemployment rate (27.6 pct in April from 26.8 pct last year), followed by Thessaly-Central Greece (26.9 pct from 26.2 pct), Macedonia-Thrace (25.1 pct from 25.6 pct), Crete (23.5 pct from 24.3 pct), Peloponese-Western Greece-Ionian Islands (23.1 pct from 25.3 pct), Attica (22.5 pct form 25.7 pct) and Aegean (15.4 pct from 16.1 pct).

[15] Employment in Greece up 2.1 pct in 2015 and will continue rising, OECD report

OECD said, however, that the current employment level was nine percentage points lower compared with 2007 levels (before the crisis) and that this difference was the largest among OECD member-states. "The employment deficit is still large in Greece, Ireland and Spain (where the difference is currently 9, 7.9 and 8.5 percentage points). Although it is encouraging that employment is rising fast enough in these countries that have been hit mostly by the crisis, a full recovery of job positions is still far and there is a danger that it could not be reached before a new recession," the report noted.

The unemployment rate in Greece fell to 24.2 pct in 2015 from 25.9 pct in 2014 and was projected to fall further to 23.9 pct and 22.6 pct in 2016 and 2017, respectively, the OECD said.

Real wages fell during the crisis, with the real hourly pay falling 22.5 pct in the last quarter of 2015. OECD said that hourly labor productivity in Greece as 21.1 pct lower.

"The work of healing the labor market is done by half: return to work but at a cost," Angel Gurria, secretary-general of OECD said.

[16] 15,435 businesses folded in first five months of 2016, says Chamber

However, Kollias said, the "most tragic" is that the government announced on Thursday a further increase in arrears and tax refunds of the State towards the private sector, totaling 7.029 billion euros.

"The government must immediately cut tax rates, proceed to resolve the issue of NPLs and repay its obligations, as it demands of tax payers," he added.

[17] Greek CEOs more optimistic in Q2

Greek CEOs, however, expressed concern over issues such as NPLs and developments in the domestic labour market. The EASE/CEO Expectation Index grew to 132 points in the second quarter from 124 in the first quarter of 2016. The current economic condition index jumped to 134 points from 114 points, while the percentage of CEOs saying that the country's current economic condition improved grew to 10 pct from 2.0 pct in the previous quarter, while those saying that economic conditions deteriorated fell to 67 pct from 80 pct.

The current economic condition of the sector improved to 123 points from 113 points in the first quarter, while the expectation index for each sector grew to 136 points from 124.

The current economic condition of companies' index grew to 108 points in the second quarter from 100 points in the previous period, while the current investment spending index also rose to 103 points from 92 points.

The current employment index rose to 104 points in the second quarter from 96 in the previous quarter.

[18] Alpha Bank loans to media total ? 311 mln, CEO tells parliament

He said all these loans are serviced except one, for which the contract has been terminated. Mantzounis also said his bank hasn't granted any loans to political parties.

"Until recently, the loans to media were serviced normally, both the capital and the interest. All there is is some delays. For companies that don't cooperate, we proceed to terminate the contract and we have already done that in one case," the CEO explained, adding that he's referring to the media group "Teletypos SA".

He said Alpha Bank is in ongoing negotiations with the company's shareholders to find a solution, such as a share capital increase.

[19] Tourist arrivals in Rhodes up in June

A total of 345,996 tourists arrived by charter flights last month compared to 316,981 tourists the previous year, up 9.15 percent.

The higher increase was recorded in arrivals from Britain (22.63 pct), Germany (11.68 pct), Sweden (15.74 pct), Russia (15 pct) and Israel (59.32 pct).

[20] Greek stocks end slightly higher

Eurobank (8.73 pct), Alpha Bank (4.23 pct), National Bank (3.45 pct) and Grivalia Properties (2.90 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains of the day among blue chip stocks, while Ellaktor (4.35 pct), Terna Energy (3.92 pct), Athens Water (2.77 pct) and Jumbo (2.59 pct) suffered heavy losses.

Among market sectors, Banks (4.38 pct), Telecoms (2.48 pct) and Real Estate (1.91 pct) scored big gains, while Personal Products (2.04 pct) and Construction (1.91 pct) suffered losses. National Bank and Piraeus Bank were the most heavily traded securities of the day.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 40 to 37 with another 23 issues unchanged. Boutaris (20 pct), Lavipharm (11.11 pct) and Trastor (10 pct) were top gainers, while Alpha Trust (9.91 pct), Karamolegos (8.78 pct) and Newsphone Hellas (8.33 pct) were top losers.

[21] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates were largely unchanged. The 12-month rate fell to -0.063 pct from -0.062 pct, the nine-month rate was -0.129 pct, the six-month rate was -0.189 pct, the three-month rate was -0.293 pct and the one-month rate was -0.366 pct.

[22] ADEX closing report

General News

[23] Top scientists gather in Thessaloniki for Nanotexnology

It explores the opportunities in the emerging fields of Nanotechnologies & Organic Electronics and it includes a powerful community that brings together over 2,000 researchers, scientists, engineers, business and technical professionals to promote research and industrial collaborations and technology transfer by networking and matchmaking.

The event has a significant impact on the economy of Thessaloniki. "The direct economic impact, however, is the smallest benefit. The largest one is the positive aspect about Greece as so many important scientists have gathered in the city for the last 13 years," the director of the Laboratory of Nanotechnology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dr. Stergios Logothetidis, said to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

He also estimated that the investment part of the development of nanotechnology in Thessaloniki will have started in the next one-two years.

[24] One in four Greek parks given substandard score by citizens in WWF survey

Out of the total, only 664 greenspaces received scores above the "pass" mark - set at five or above - with the remaining 223 considered below minimum standard.

The head of WWF's 'Better Life' programme Achilleas Plitharas said the survey revealed a very mixed picture, ranging from beautiful and inspiring spaces and small parks that improved local neighbourhoods to areas that were poorly maintained, neglected or even vandalised.

Out of the total, only 48 greenspaces have received very high scores between 9 and 10, among them the Asyrmatos Park in Agios Dimitrios, Alsos Veikou in Galatsi, Georgiadi Park in Iraklio, Crete, Agios Dimitrios Park in Petroupolis, Ippios Kolonos Hill in Athens, Pafsilypos in Karditsa, the Drama Municipal Gardens and Kefalari Park in Kifissia.

The lowest scoring areas, with scores of three or less, were found in Kordelio, Vouliagmeni, Tripoli, Athens, Larissa, Piraeus and Pallini. The Pedion tou Areos Park in Athens, one of the largest in the city that was relatively recently refurbished, just squeaked a pass with a score of 5.04, indicating that the public was not satisfied with the current state of the park.

Municipalities with the highest average greenspace scores included Petroupoli, Tripoli, Ilion, Kalamata, Egaleo, Vouliagmeni, Pefki and Psychiko. The lowest average scores were in Thessaloniki's Neapoli district, Larissa, Nea Ionia, Nea Filadelphia, Evosmos, Piraeus, Pallini and Glyfada.

Plitharas urged municipalities to take note of these results and take action to improve the greenspaces under their care, pointing to the many benefits of access to greenspaces for improving daily life. He said the report has been sent to all municipalities in hopes it will prompt more and better coordinated initiatives in this direction.

"Through WWF GreenSpaces citizens are now able to grade the quality of the greenspaces in their neighbourhood or city. The assessment of the spaces concerns the quality and quantity of greenery, levels of cleanliness and the quality and kind of infrastructure each space offers, on a scale that ranges from 1 (extremely poor) to 10 (excellent)," he noted. The app can be found at the web page http://greespaces.gr.

The WWF 'Better Life' programme is supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation.

[25] Work on building mosque in Athens' Votanikos district can continue, top court says

The 850-square-metre mosque, with a capacity for 300 men and 50 women, was originally scheduled to be built in a 17,000 square metre site in a converted former Navy auto garage in the Votanikos area in central Athens. It was designed to cover the religious needs of Muslims in the Greek capital.

Construction had been blocked by a case filed by 111 residents of the Elaionas district identifying themselves as "Orthodox Christian Greek Citizens", who had asked that the tender for the construction project be cancelled as unconstitutional and illegal.

The court ruling rejected their objections to the mosque's construction as unfounded, noting that no environmental impact study was required for the building of temples and places of worship, while the construction did not result in any deterioration of the local environment and was not incompatible with town planning rules. Furthermore, the CoS noted, the building's adherence to the building code was something that could be checked at a later stage, when a construction permit was issued.

This is the second unsuccessful bid by the same group of residents to cancel the mosque's construction, following a petition to the CoS in 2013 to revoke its funding that was thrown out by the CoS plenum in 2014.

[26] "1%: Privilege in a Time of Global Inequality" hosted at Athens International Airport

The project is a response to the exploding gap between poverty and wealth in the world. The growing inequality between contradictory life conditions is visualized in 20 contemporary works by internationally acclaimed documentary photographers.

The exhibition is held at the level of arrivals and is accessible all day for all passengers and visitors at the airport. It will run until October.

[27] Agrotourism festival in Epidaurus

The festival is based on an innovative, sustainable and integrated into society spirit, combining quality products, the historical role of Asklepios and the ancient port, and highlighting and protecting the archaeological wealth of the area.

The agrotourism festival aims to boost the extrovertness of the Peloponnesian high quality products and the Peloponnesian gastronomy, strengthening the economy of the region.

Cultural events are also organized during the festival weekends of July.

[28] Winemakers on Greek island turn to Chinese market

Thousands of bottles of wine produced by local family wineries on Lesvos, have already been exported to Shanghai in recent years.

Xinhua reporters visited a winery located at Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos, to witness the production process and talk with owner Prodromos Paterellis who recently welcomed Shanghai's Mr. Zhang, who imports Greek wines to China.

Speaking shortly after presenting the winery at a conference on innovation and business development, Paterellis explained why one should choose Lesvos' wines.

The third largest Greek island and the seventh largest in the Mediterranean Sea, it is considered one of the richest ecosystems in the Mediterranean.

Here, the locally produced wine tastes like "liquid gold," the locals claim.

The bottling line at Paterellis family's winery includes a range of machines. In the stainless wine fermentation tanks the temperature should be maintained between 15 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius in order to achieve optimum fermentation.

"This is the most critical point of wine making, when the sugars are converted into alcohol, which is controlled by the stabilizer," Paterellis explained.

Regarding the grape varieties, the local red variety of Lesvos grape is cultivated in the crater of the volcano that created the petrified forest of the island about 20 million years ago.

In the northwestern part of the island, one can find grape varieties such as Fokiano Kalloniatis and Muscat. In the mountainous regions of Megalochori, Plomari, and other villages, the most popular grape varieties cultivated are Mandilaria, Athiri, Assyrtiko and Muscat white.

"Seeking excellent quality, we chose the best areas of Lesbian land to cultivate varieties of unique character to highlight the special characteristics of Lesvos' vineyards," Paterellis said.

The winemaker works at the family winery with his father, sister, and uncle.

Paterellis' father is a pharmacist by profession, but it had been his dream since he was a student to create a winery.

"In 2003, my father started making the building and preparing the field and in 2009 we had our first vine harvest," Paterellis said.

Besides the family vineyards in the villages of Karionas and Megalochori, their winery co-operates with 70 local grape growers.

The winery produces 80 to 100 tons of wine annually and exports 20,000 bottles to California in the United States and 30,000 bottles to Shanghai in China.

"Since 2014, we have participated in wine exhibitions in Shanghai and have received very good reviews," Paterellis said.

Zhang said that during his visit to Lesvos he chose to import the local wine because it correlated with the history and the tradition of the island.

He added that although Greek wines had only reached the Chinese market in recent

[29] Twelve injured, one seriously, in bus-truck collision in western Greece

According to sources, the accident happened when the bus ploughed into the back of the truck in front of it, for reasons as yet unknown.

The ambulance service was immediately mobilised and the 11 passengers on the bus were immediately taken to Agrinio Hospital. All of them, including a 17-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy have sustained only slight injuries. Firemen had to intervene to extricate the bus driver, however, whose injuries were more serious and required hospitalisation.

Traffic on the national highway was interrupted for some time due to the accident, with vehicles diverted onto minor roads.

[30] Trains on strike from Friday until next Tuesday in Greece

The strike will not affect metro trains on the section of the line between Doukissis Plakentias and the airport, which will continue to run as normal.

The railway staff unions have called the strike in protest against a procedure to privatise TRAINOSE and ROSCO, the company in charge of the Greek railways rolling stock maintenance. They also demand the signature of collective agreements.

[31] 57,123 identified migants and refugees in Greece on Thursday; no new arrivals in the last 24h

According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 23,563 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 10,376 are hosted in the region of Attica, 8,523 on the Greek islands and 1,937 are hosted in different areas in central and southern Greece. 6,545 refugees and migrants are hosted in several facilities rented by the UNHCR, 4,679 are staying in non-organised facilities while approximately 1,500 persons are living outside organised facilities.

Weather forecast

[32] Fair on Friday

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

DIMOKRATIA: A contingent mechanism with ten blades on pensions

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Mitsotakis' Plan B

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: The contingent mechanism to be applied on pensions and public sector salaries

ESTIA: The suspicious role of Mr Galbraith

ETHNOS: The first 10,000 properties on sale

IMERISSIA: 6 billion euro black labour

KATHIMERINI: Foreclosures and confiscations for 5 billion euros

NAFTEMPORIKI: Pensions and salaries at the guillotine

RIZOSPASTIS: People's health deteriorates amid heavy debt

TA NEA: Public sector employees hostages of the contingent mechanism

TO PONTIKI: The new electoral law threatens

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