Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 11-08-30

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From: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>

CONTENTS

[01] KAZAMIAS ECONOMY RATING AGENCIES

[02] OMIROU FEARS NEW BURGENSTOCK

[03] CYPRIOT EU PRESIDENCY MEETING

[04] ARCHBISHOP TURKEY

[01] KAZAMIAS ECONOMY RATING AGENCIES

Kazamias referred to the Government`s decision to start giving information abroad to rating agencies, banks and investors concerning the current economic situation in Cyprus and the tragedy occurred on July 11, when a munitions cache comprising 98 containers exploded at the ``Evangelos Florakis`` Naval Base, on the southern coast, near Limassol.

Finance Minister said that after the approval of the first package, a second one will be promoted so that the deficit of the Budget for 2012 not to be higher than 2% with perspective in 2013 to be 0%.

Specifically, the House approved last week, six bills and one proposal which included a two-year (instead of three year) sliding scale contribution for civil servants and employees in the broader public sector earning over 1.500 euros.

A permanent contribution from the pension funds of public sector and broader public sector employees was set to 3 per cent from 2.5 of the gross income after a proposal by opposition parties the Democratic Rally, the Democratic Party and the European Party.

The package of austerity measures, aims to save the government 750 million euros, and comes after a week of intense negotiations with the social partners and political parties.

The House will reconvene on September 15.

[02] OMIROU FEARS NEW BURGENSTOCK

We must warn people because once again we will have to resist to these manipulations , to the risk posed by a new Burgenstock, to impose the people of Cyprus a draft solution worse than the Annan plan, he said.

Omirou said that the unity and the common struggle of the people of Cyprus will not allow such plans, as they didnt allow them on August 15, 1974 and on April 24, 2004.

Burgenstock talks were held at the end of March 2004 in an attempt to get the Cypriot leaders to agree on the UN-proposed solution Annan Plan for a Cyprus solution. The talks included Greece and Turkey, as well as the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities.

[03] CYPRIOT EU PRESIDENCY MEETING

According to an official press release, the meeting was carried out in view of the expected appointment of Permanent Representative to Brussels, Andreas Mavroyiannis to the position of Deputy Minister to the President for European Affairs.

At the meeting organizational and administrative issues were discussed for the intensification of the preparatory work regarding the Cyprus Presidency of the EU.

Present at the meeting were Minister of Foreign Affairs Erato Kozakou-Marcoullis, Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias, General Attorney Petros Klerides, Undersecretary to the President Titos Christofides, General Director of the Planning Bureau Giorgos Georgiou and Ambassador Andreas Mavroyiannis.

[04] ARCHBISHOP TURKEY

The meeting will also be attended by the Primates of the Patriarchates of Alexandria Theodoros, Antioch Ignatius and Jerusalem Theophilos.

The meeting will discuss the unrest in the Middle East and its consequences on the people of the Middle East and particularly Orthodox and heterodox Christians. They will also discuss the convening of the Great Synod of the Orthodox Church.

The Archbishop of Cyprus will be accompanied by the Bishop of Paphos Georgios and Deacon Kyprianos Kountouris. Archbishop Chrysostomos and his entourage are expected to return to the island on Saturday.

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