Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-03-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Russian President Putin due in Athens on Thursday for oil pipeline deal

[02] PASOK leader begins tour of Thessaly

[03] President Papoulias in Arta

[04] FinMin: Second term will be for society

[05] Feb. inflation at lowest rate in five years

[01] Russian President Putin due in Athens on Thursday for oil pipeline deal

The target set since last September, when the three countries committed themselves through the Athens Memorandum for the signing of the inter-state agreement, was for the project to start within 2008 and to be concluded early 2011.

On Thursday, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas, Russian Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko and Bulgarian Regional Development and Public Works Minister Valentin Cerovski will sign the inter-state agreement which gives the ?green light? to the companies which will participate in the project to proceed in setting up an international construction and management company.

Present at the signing, apart from Putin, will be Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev and Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

[02] PASOK leader begins tour of Thessaly

"We are celebrating today, in the pioneer city of Karditsa, which, with its liberation, shed the light of hope throughout the entire democratic world in 1943," Papandreou said.

"Together, we pay tribute to the struggles of the national resistance, of EAM-ELAS, and these struggles inspire us," he said, adding that "we are also inspired by the values for which they fought, the values of freedom, democracy and progress, values which today give us strength to wage a successful struggle for a just society and for a stronger Greece."

Papandreou commenced on Sunday a three-day tour of Thessaly.

He was due to address a political gathering at the Karditsa stadium on Sunday night, while on Monday and Tuesday he was scheduled to visit the prefectures of Trikala and Larissa.

[03] President Papoulias in Arta

Papoulias attended a doxology on Sunday monring at the St. Theodora church, followed by a procession of the icon.

After the procession, the President was given a tour of the church of the Panaghia Parigoritissa (Virgin Mother of Consolation), which was built in the late 13th century while afterwards, at the City Hall, Papoulias was declared an honourary resident of Arta and the city's mayor, Panayotis Economidis presented him with the Medal of the City.

Replying to the mayor's greeting, Papoulias spoke of Arta's cultural treasure, adding that the Epirotes have shown, throughout history, their disposition for progress, persistence in the effort to upgrade the quality of their lives, creativity and a sense of responsibility.

The Ioannina-born Papoulias said that, as an Epirote himself, he was well aware of the regin's problems and shared the local residents' concerns. "But I also know the abilities of the region. At every visit here, I become a witness of the vitality, outwardness and dynamism of the people of this land. I ascertain that Epirus has great prospects and opportunities to move ahead," the President said.

In fulfillment of an older pledge, Papoulias also visited the Foundatin of Persons with Special Needs 'Aghia Theodora", and was given a tour of the installations, where he spoke with the staff as well as with the children learning various activities at the Foundation.

At an official lunch hosted in his honour later by the Arta mayor, Papoulias dedicated his address to people with special needs, noting that "what we can do to facilitate the struggle and everyday lives of our fellow human beings is, first of all, to work to demolish the walls that frequently isolate them".

"Prejudice and conscious or unconscious rejection are only some of the problems they face," the President said, adding "that both society and the state must become increasingly sensitive to the issue of tackling their problems, because the principle of solidarity is the most important value of our society".

[04] FinMin: Second term will be for society

Elections were not near at hand but still had a long way to go, Alogoskoufis said, noting that now that the public finances were improving "we can place even greater emphasis on social issues".

More specifically, he said that greater funding would be required for the educational reforms, but also for the measures aimed at confronting the inequalities and poverty.

The minister further announced that a uniform minimum salary was in the workings for all the socialy insurance recipients.

As for the drafting of the new state budget, Alogoskoufis said that "there is a serious prospect that it will be drafted on the basis of the new data on the gross national product".

Questioned on the upcoming ND Congress in July, Alogoskoufis said that the ruling party needed to open itself up more to the youths, adding that "under no circumstances" should ND change its strategy of moderation and the middle space.

He further opined that the majority of the ND cadres should choose between party offices and public offices.

To another question, Alogoskoufis said he considered it extremely premature and foolish for one to speak at this time of a succession to ND leader and prime minister Costas Karamanlis, and denied that he had such aspirations.

"I have aspirations where I am, and where the prime minister and the party have entrusted me, to contribute the utmost possible," he said.

Finally, Alogoskoufis called for inter-party agreement on the issues concerning the social insurance and education reforms.

[05] Feb. inflation at lowest rate in five years

According to an announcement issued by the minister and deputy minister, inflation in February stood at 2.7 percent, down from 3.2 in February 2006, and compared with 3.1 percent in February 2005, 2.5 percent in February 2004, and 4.3 percent in February 2003.

Also, of the 61 goods and services that form the so-called 'household basket", 25 presented price increases that were below the inflation rate, against only 15 in the corresponding month of 2004.

Third, the average inflation stood at 3.1 percent (year-on-year) in February 2007, against 3.6 percent and 3.4 percent in February 2003 and 2004 respectively, the announcement said, remaining at the lowest levels of the past five years.

The announcement said that the effort to confront high prices, which existed and still exist, was continuing at an increasing rate.

The announcement said that the government was carrying on with the changes and reforms that tackle the chronic structural weaknesses, improve competitiveness and strengthen health competition, aimed at the continuous reinformcent of growth and further reduction of inflation.

It said the results of those initiatives have been acknowledged by the Bank of Greece which, in its latest report on Monetary Policy 2006-2007 (released in February 2007), noted on page 19 that "inflation in 2007 is anticipated to decline slightly in comparison with 2006, and also in comparison with the average for the six-year period 2001-2006".

"We reitarate," the announcement concluded, that our ally in this effort is the citizen-consumer. Our concern is the citizen."

The announcement sparked a reply by main opposition PASOK Parliamentary Council officer responsible for growth, tourism and shipping issues Christos Papoutsis, who said that the government's ministers were apparently complacently living New Democracy's virtual reality of Greece.

"But the reality of the everyday life of the Greeks is different, tough and hard to bear," he said.

Papoutsis said that the high prices, the government's incomes ppolicy and the impasses on the market had blown the family budgets sky-high and had entrapped the society in insecurity over the future. "This is the reality lived by the Greeks in their daily lives," he said.

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