Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-07-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] Athens Newspaper Headlines on Sunday

[02] Troika says will stay in Athens until measures finalized

[03] Hellenic Steel workers suspend 9-month-long strike

[04] FinMin Stournaras: Long road ahead

[01] Athens Newspaper Headlines on Sunday

Athens' Sunday newspapers at a glance

The package of measures due to be finalized on Monday by the leaders of the three coalition government parties prime minister and New Democracy (ND) leader Antonis Samaras, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left (DIMAR) leader Fotis Kouvelis, and the pressure on Greece by its partners and creditors were the main front-page items in Athens' Sunday newspapers.

AVGHI: "Everything for sale, for nothing".

AVRIANI: "The banking scenery changing drastically".

DEMOKRATIA: "Why Frau Merkel (German chancellor) wants to wipe 'iniquitous' Greece off the map".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Greece and Eurozone at the razor's edge".

EPOCHI: "Heatwave in autumn - ND, PASOK and DIMAR are living in a parallel universe".

ETHNOS: "The 'Athena' plan for closure of 150 university Schools".

EXPRESS: "Tax 'amnesty' for undeclared property".

KATHIMERINI: "Samaras emergency plan for next 40 days".

KERDOS: "The measures put the cohesion of the governmental 'troika' to the test".

LOGOS: "Where the three leaders disagree - Samaras, Venizelos, Kouvelis new meeting on Monday".

NIKI: "Earn good money from time deposits".

PROTO THEMA: "Merkel wants Alexis' (main opposition SYRIZA leader) signature if Greece gets extension".

REALnews: "Secret report for new haircut - Burning IMF document to European Commission on the Greek debt".

RIZOSPASTIS: "Immediate measures for relief of the people against the governmental typhoon".

TO ARTHRO: "Venizelos-Kouvelis leading Greece to bankruptcy - Lack of realism in PASOK-DIMAR destabilizes the government".

TO VIMA: "Salaries, pensions, healthcare being swept away".

VRADYNI: "How to calculate your pension".

[02] Troika says will stay in Athens until measures finalized

Ministry sources said Thomsen informed the minister on this change of plans during a working dinner on Friday.

The same sources said that the climate at the dinner was "exceptionally good" and marked a change in the attitude so far of the representatives of Greece's creditors', with Thomsen cited as telling Stournaras that "we want to help and will stay as long as needed for you to prepare the package".

According to the initial itinerary, the Troika was to depart Greece at end-July and return end-August to see the progress made in the package of measures to cut state spending by 11.5 billion euros over the next two years and in the execution of this year's budget, which timetable would have resulted in a large delay in the disbursement of the outstanding tranche of the bailout loan to Greece.

Stournaras will meet on Monday with the representatives of the three parties supporting Greece's new coalition government in order to finalize the measures still outstanding for the 11.5 euros package, which will be put to a meeting of the three party leaders on Monday afternoon.

[03] Hellenic Steel workers suspend 9-month-long strike

With 115 votes for ending the strike, 14 against and 29 blank votes, the general assembly of the workers' union decided the full re-opening of the Aspropyrgos plant as of Monday, setting as the only condition the withdrawal of police from the entrance to the facility.

In a statement to AMNA, labour minister Yiannis Vroutsis expressed satisfaction with the decision, noting that the plant must open so that the employees will have work. He added that the ministry will contribute to the resolution of the problems that exist, adding that labor peace is a crucial element to securing more jobs.

The entrance to the Aspropyrgos plan was forcibly reopened after nine months on July 20 with police intervention, on orders of a prosecutor, after a court in June declared the workers' strike illegal.

Altercations have ensued on several occasions between strikers, who had initially voted to continue the strike, and police that have been deployed at the facility's entrance.

[04] FinMin Stournaras: Long road ahead

Achievement of the targets of this year's budget and credible fiscal policy measures for the following years, combined with denationalisations, the opening of the 'closed' markets and professions, improved absorption of the ESPA (National Strategic Reference Framework-NSRF) funds, unblocking the funds earmarked for Greece from European Investments Bank (EIB) and speeding up the licensing process for investments could boost the fiscal adjustment and growth and put the Greek economy on a recovery course, Stournaras said in an interview with the Sunday edition of Kathimerini newspaper.

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