Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-08-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] Moscovici, Tsakalotos discuss second program review; no mention of ELSTAT case

[02] Commissioner Moscovici supports EU Commission's position on ELSTAT

[01] Moscovici, Tsakalotos discuss second program review; no mention of ELSTAT case

According to government sources, the issue on the prosecution of former ELSTAT chief Andreas Georgiou by Greek authorities was not discussed by the two officials, who said it may be raised at the EuroWorking Group (EWG) meeting this evening.

Moscovici and Tsakalotos also noted the need to quickly complete the prior actions required for the second program review that will allow talks to start on debt relief.

The second issue discussed was the need to set up a "red phone" (crisis management) for direct communication between Athens and Brussels as a way to resolve any issues that may rise, the same sources said, noting that such initiative would improve cooperation between the two sides.

The third issue was specifying the debt restructuring measures before the end of the year which would show the markets that Greek debt is sustainable. On the same issue, they agreed the review must move swiftly to open the way for decisions on the involvement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The two sides also noted the progress made in terms of meeting Greece's milestones and agreed to complete them as soon as possible, in September. This, they said, would create a positive momentum ahead of the second review this autumn.

Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis and Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis also participated in the meeting.

[02] Commissioner Moscovici supports EU Commission's position on ELSTAT

"The Commission's letter was very clear," Schinas said adding that it was signed by three commissioners (Moscovici, Dombrovskis and Thyssen) and therefore its content cannot be underestimated. The spokesman confirmed that the Commission has already received Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos' answer and expressed his certainty that the issue will be discussed in September's Eurogroup.

He also said that the Commission has underlined the need to implement reforms related to modernising the Greek state and public administration including the need to "depoliticise the Greek government."

"The Commission, as a matter of principle, does not comment on national legal procedures," he stated, but noted that the European Commission is concerned over reports in some media that question the reliability of ELSTAT.

"Eurostat and the Commission are the competent authorities," the Commissioner noted and added that both the letter and the Employment Commissioner's statements last Wednesday stressed that the credibility of Greek statistics in the period 2010-2015 is "beyond any doubt".

Concluding, he said that the Greek programme attaches great importance to the reliability of Greek data and the reliability of the data is in the common interest of the EU and Greece

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