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Sunday, 22 December 2024
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-08-21Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Prime minister Karamanlis to confer with interior minister on MondayInterior, Public Administration and Decentralisation minister Prokopois Pavlopoulos announced that a dialogue would commence with the responsible agencies and the political parties over the country's new administrative map, in an interview with Eleftherotypia appearing in the newspaper's Sunday edition.Pavlopoulos, who is due to confer Monday morning with prime minister Costas Karamanlis, also assured that any unifications decided would be voluntary, and not forced. He said that the government's final proposals would be included in the new government platform for the next four-year term and would be unveiled to the Greek people before the national elections. "The proposals will not be founded on conditions of forced unifications, unlike what (preceding government) PASOK did with the municipalities," Pavlopoulos said. The minister also announced that all immigrants who have acquired 'long-term residency' in Greece will have the right to vote in the next prefectural and municipal elections. Pavlopoulos further denied accusations by PASOK of selective financing of 'blue' municipalities (municipalities with ND-backed mayors), calling them an unacceptable propaganda effort aimed at disinformation in order to cover up PASOK's own blame in the past. "All the information is available on the ministry's website. The municipalities and communities receive the share (of the funding) due to them, and that is why there are no complaints from KEDKE (Central Union of Municipalities and Communities of Greece)," he said, and questioned: "PASOK is making criticism, when nowhere are there any figures on the financing under its own governments?" Regarding the policy to be introduced by the government to relieve low salary and pension earners, he noted that this would be outlined in the prime minister's address next month at the Thessaloniki Interational Fair (TIF) on economic and incomes policy. Pavlopoulos said that the government's concern was to solve the major economic problems faced by low salary and pension earners that arose from the fact that the ND government inherited "an economy in a bade state, with a deficit of 6.5 percentage points, which we reduced to below 3.0 percentage points". "This allows us to exercise a social policy of substance, not because (national) electons are coming up (in 2008), but because this is what the government must do," he said. [02] Former FinMin criticises gov't policyFormer finance minister Nikos Christodoulakis called for former prime minister Costas Simitis (PASOK) to be left out of the inner party bickering because "he is a political capital for the country and may be needed again if Greece finds itself in a major crisis", in an interview with Eleftherotypia appearing in the newspaper's Sunday edition, and in response to press articles rumouring that the former premier was behind the recent moves by the party's reformists."Simitis is suitable for a 'national coach', and not a 'linesman'," Christodoulakis said. Christodoulakis further criticised the New Democracy government's policy regarding denationalisations as reminiscent of the 1970s decade, rather than expressing the needs of the 21st century. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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