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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 15-12-29Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>Tuesday, 29 December 2015 Issue No: 5092CONTENTS
[01] Greece passes legislative act to tackle humanitarian crisis in 2016The Greek government has passed measures to tackle the humanitarian crisis in 2016 and help the most vulnerable social groups with a legislative act signed on Dec. 24, government sources said on Monday.According to the sources, the Act show the government's commitment in measures that relieve those who have been hurt most by the economic crisis and which were never cancelled or suspended, as the opposition wanted. The measures passed though the Legislative Act are, among others: Structural reforms needed in Greece, says Verhofstadt BRUSSELS (ANA-MPA/ M. Spinthourakis) The President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Guy Verhofstadt referred to the need for structural reforms in Greece. "2015 was a turbulent year for our continent. Not the least because of the Greek crisis. The people of Greece continue to suffer terribly as a result of years of political mismanagement and clientelism. As I made clear to Prime Minister (Alexis) Tsipras, it is important genuine reforms are now completed, to get Greece growing again. Looking to the future, the rest of Europe must also take steps to help ensure Greece's debt is on a sustainable footing," he posted on his Twitter. [02] Gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili reacts to Schaeuble's comments"Someone must remind (German Finance Minister Wolfgang) Schaeuble that Greece is giving a huge battle of humanism at the EU borders, even in conditions of economic and social crisis after five years of continuous austerity," government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili said on Monday."The vast majority of Europeans recognize it. He prefers to attack Greece verbally, apparently for his own party reasons," she added. Schaeuble told a German paper that Greece has ignored for years the rules of the Dublin Regulation which oblige migrants to file for asylum in the first country of the European Union they arrive in. Speaking to Germany's "Bild am Sonntag" newspaper, Schaeuble noted that his country's courts have ruled that Germany will not be returned to Greece, as behavior towards refugees and migrants was not humane. Commenting on the Greek crisis, the minister also said that only structural reforms will improve the country's economy and that Greeks must not blame others for their problems. "The Greeks should not put the blame for their problems only on others, they should also see how they can do better themselves," he said. "It's certainly not the lack of support in Europe that is missing, but the structural reforms that will make the country competitive," he added. [03] Solution to problems of social security system is raising revenues, not cutting pensions, says gov't spokeswomanGovernment spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili reiterated on Monday the view expressed a day earlier by State Minister for Coordinating Government Operations Alekos Flambouraris that the solution for Greece's ailing social security system is increasing revenues, not cutting main pensions."Therefore, the government is considering alternative proposals to increase revenues in the system, and refuses to proceed with further reductions, as political parties which have already cut pensions eleven times are asking!" she said in a statement commenting on press reports. "Some insisted we implement the proposal of the institutions, which called for the abolition of EKAS [social solidarity allowance for pensioners], reducing the main pension and implementing a zero deficit clause for supplementary pensions," Gerovasili added. [04] New Democracy: Government is lying when it says it won't cut pensionsMain opposition New Democracy accused government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili of lying when she stated that pensions will not be cut again, noting that the budget signed recently by the government foresees new slashes in main pensions."The government included in the budget pension cuts totaling 1.7 billion euros and committed for general cuts of up to 3.2 billion euros," the party said. Furthermore, ND said, instead of giving the 13th pension it had promised, it has proceeded with 13 pension cuts. [05] Government is not considering conscription for women, says SYRIZA spokesmanThe government is not considering imposing an obligatory military service as preparatory experience for women who want to join the police, the fire brigade or the coast guard, SYRIZA spokesman Sokratis Famellos told private radio station To Vima on Monday.Famellos was responding to an article in Greek newspaper Ethnos published on Sunday which quoted National Defence Minister Panos Kammenos as proposing conscription for women who want to join the three aforementioned uniformed divisions, as well as a voluntary military service for all other women and the creation of military high schools. "It is not on the government's agenda right now ... these are opinions ... There are currently no such proposals in the government's pre-election commitments," he told the station. Kammenos' statements in the paper attracted criticism from all opposition parties on Sunday. [06] Alternate Defence Min Vitsas to pay three-day visit to CyprusAlternate Defence Minister Dimitris Vitsas will pay a three-day official visit to Cyprus on Tuesday, December 29.On Tuesday, Vitsas will lay a wreath at the Imprisoned Graves and he will meet with the Presidential Commissioner for Humanitarian Issues, Photis Photiou. On Wednesday, he will visit the General Staff of the National Guard and will have separate meetings with the President of Parliament, Yiannakis Omirou and Defence Minister of the Republic of Cyprus, Christophoros Fokaidis. On Thursday, he will visit the camp of the Greek Force in Cyprus (ELDYK). Then, he will attend the festivities in ELDYK camp to welcome the New Year and exchange greetings with officers and soldiers. On Friday, Vitsas will depart from Larnaca Airport to return to Athens. [07] Refugees from Yemen, Bahrain and Swaziland join the EU relocation programmeYemen, Bahrain and Swaziland have been added to the EU relocation programme.The citizens of the three above countries have the right to submit a request for relocation from Greece to other European countries. Only people from Syria, Iraq, Eritrea and the Central African Republic had that right so far. According to the statistics of the Asylum Service on the relocation programme, 449 people had submitted relocation requests until December 20, 2015; 206 from Syria, 209 from Iraq, 33 from Eritrea and a stateless person. Greece has sent five groups of people so far (82 people in total) to other European countries. More specifically, it has sent 30 persons to Luxembourg, 24 to Finland, 10 to Germany, 4 to Lithuania and 14 to Portugal. The next country to welcome refugees from Greece is Romania in the first quarter of 2016. France will also accept 14 refugees and Hollande another 50. In total, 13 EU countries have offered to host 563 refugees (Luxembourg, Germany, France, Netherlands, Romania, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland, Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland.) [08] Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is on Lesvos recording refugee crisisChinese artists and activist Ai Weiwei is on the Greek island of Lesvos recording aspects of the refugee crisis and speaking with refugees, volunteers and NGO's who are involved in assisting them.The artist has been posting pictures with refugees and migrants waiting to be registered at the identification and registration center in Moria, while today he also uploaded short videos showing refugee boats arriving to Lesvos' shores. According to the pictures Weiwei has posted online, he arrived to Athens three days ago and after a brief visit to the Acropolis and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, he traveled to Lesvos to continue his work. His pictures and videos are being shared on his Instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/aiww/). [09] The Centrists Union has some interesting views, Alternate For. Minister Mardas says"The Centrists Union is a party that has nothing to do with the past. It is a party that has some interesting views," Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas said in statements to SKAI TV on Monday.He cleared out, however, that the issue of a possible cooperation with the party has to do with the government and the prime minister himself. Regarding the government's parallel programme, Mardas said it will proceed, but he acknowledged that they should have been better prepared before submitting it to Parliament. [10] Public sector union ADEDY asks top court to cancel law increasing retirement ageGreece's public sector labour union ADEDY filed on Monday a motion to the Council of State, Greece's supreme administrative court, asking to cancel a law that gradually increases the retirement age in the public sector.ADEDY is specifically turning against a joint ministerial decision signed in October 2015 by Labour, Social Insurance and Social Solidarity Minister George Katrougalos, Deputy Minister for Social Insurance Issues Tasos Petropoulos and Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis. Financial News [11] It is not in the interest of any bank to proceed with home foreclosures, Katselli says"It is not in the interest of any bank to proceed with home foreclosures. The motive for each bank is to keep its clients informed," Hellenic Bank Association president and National Bank's chief Luca Katselli said in statements to Mega TV.She underlined that no bank will sell loans to foreign funds. She explained that banks in 2016 are not the same as the banks in 2010 and ensured that loan holders with non operating loans can find a solution in cooperation with the banks. Katselli expressed optimism that capital controls will be lifted in 2016, adding that Greeks have started gradually to return their deposits in the banks. [12] METKA EGN signs 7 contracts for solar photovoltaic power plants in Puerto Rico and the UKGreek EPC contractor METKA EGN, subsidiary of METKA, announced on Monday it has signed contracts for turn-key engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) for seven solar photovoltaic power plants in Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.The total capacity of the power plants will exceed 116MW while the contract value is approximately 112 million euros. The largest of the contracts is with Oriana Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of the Sonnedix Group, a leading solar energy Independent Power Producer (IPP), for a large scale 57MW project in Puerto Rico. Together with the EPC for the solar plant, which will be completed in mid-2016, METKA EGN will also provide operation and maintenance services. A further six contracts have been signed for projects in the United Kingdom with leading investors, including Lightsource and Moser Baer, both existing clients, and Canadian Solar which is a new client for METKA EGN. [13] Greek stocks end moderately lowerGreek stocks ended moderately lower in the Athens Stock Exchange on Monday with the composite index of the market finding support at the 605-point level. The index fell 0.75 pct to end at 615.31 points, off the day's lows of 608.02 points. The Large Cap index fell 1.16 pct and the Mid Cap index ended 2.11 pct lower.Turnover was a low 53.027 million euros in volume of 195,645,159. Jumbo (4.44 pct), Motor Oil (2.04 pct), Hellenic Petroleum (1.57 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains among blue chip stocks, while Alpha Bank (1.96 pct), Eurobank (1.89 pct) and Piraeus Bank (1.69 pct) suffered heavy losses. National Bank and Piraeus Bank were the most heavily traded stocks with a volume of 51,900,556 and 23,176,305 shares, respectively. Among market sectors, Personal Products (2.96 pct), Oil (1.88 pct) scored big gains, while Real Estate (3.62 pct) and Financial Services (3.43 pct) suffered losses. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 57 to 47 with another 22 issues unchanged. Dromeas (27.19 pct), Fieratex (25 pct) and Boutaris (20 pct) were top gainers, while Mevaco (10 pct), Newsphone Hellas (9.91 pct) and Technical Olympic (9.87 pct) were top losers. MSCI on Monday announced the launch of two new indexes for Greek shares, the MSCI All Greece and the MSCI All Greece Select 25/50. The first index will be a benchmark index for ETFs including a minimum 25 shares, while the second will have additional conditions over the size and liquidity. [14] FYROM's central bank ends measures preventing capital flight to GreeceSKOPJE (ANA-MPA/ N. Frangopoulos)The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (FYROM) central bank ended measures aimed at preventing capital flight to Greece on Monday, saying the country's crisis has eased. The measures had been put in place on June 28 and included, among others, the withdrawal of any deposits held by FYROM banks in Greek lenders or their subsidiaries and the control of any transaction of over 10,000 euros with Greece. [15] Greek authorities reappoint primary dealers in domestic bond marketThe Bank of Greece on Monday announced the names of Primary Dealers which were reappointed to operate in the Greek government bond market in 2016 after a joint decision with the Alternate Finance Minister.The 22 financial institutions are (in an alphabetical order): ALPHA BANK SA BANCA IMI SPA BARCLAYS BANK PLC BNP PARIBAS SA CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS LTD COMMERZBANK AG CREDIT SUISSE SECURITIES (EUROPE) LTD DEUTSCHE BANK AG EUROBANK ERGASIAS SA GOLDMAN SACHS INTERNATIONAL BANK HSBC BANK PLC ING BANK NV JP MORGAN SECURITIES PLC MERRILL LYNCH INTERNATIONAL MORGAN STANLEY & Co. INTERNATIONAL PLC NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE SA NOMURA INTERNATIONAL PLC PIRAEUS BANK SA ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND PLC SOCIETE GENERALE UBS LTD UNICREDIT SPA ADEX closing report The January contract on the FTSE/ASE Large Cap index was trading around its fair value in the Athens Derivatives Exchange on Monday. Volume on the Big Cap index totaled 563 contracts with 16,316 open positions in the market. Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 6,283 contracts with investment interest focusing on National Bank's contracts (3,173), followed by Alpha Bank (456), Piraeus Bank (372), Eurobank (316), MIG (297), PPC (388), OPAP (398), Titan (94), Hellenic Exchanges (85), Mytilineos (118), Hellenic Petroleum (253), Athens Water (72) and OTE (40). General News [16] 314 passengers of Greek ferry stranded on Syros after engine failureThe 314 passengers of a Greek ferry remain stranded on Syros Island, on the Cyclades, on Monday after the vessel's engine failed for the second time during the same route.The Hellenic Seaways ferry "Nissos Rhodes" which left Piraeus on Sunday night and was travelling to Samos, in the eastern Aegean, presented a mechanical failure on its right main engine forcing the captain to return to Piraeus to fix the problem. Early on Monday morning, the ship sailed again for Samos but the same engine broke down again when the boat was close to Syros. The island's coast guard decided that passengers would disembark on Syros and "Nissos Rhodes" would remain in the harbor for a full inspection and until it receives a certification from its classification society. The shipping ministry has announced that passengers will travel to their destinations in other ships of the same company. [17] National Archaeological Museum celebrates milestone year in Jan. 2016 with eventsThe National Archaeological Museum, Greece's largest, is marking its 150th anniversary in 2016 and is celebrating by hosting a series of events on Jan. 4, including the presentation of a new object from the "Unseen Museum".On the day, the museum will present visitors its program for the New Year (18.00-20.00) at the Hall of the Altar, after which curators will reveal a masterpiece red-figure krater depicting the eternal banquet of Dionysus and Nike and their own wish for longevity and a good life. The event will be followed by a musical performance by the Mixed Choir of Keratsini-Drapetsona Municipality and the Mixed Choir of the Association Faraklata of Cephalonia, who will present traditional songs and Christmas carols from the Ionian Islands. To attend the event, visitors will have to purchase an entrance ticket. [18] Cocaine trafficker arrested in ThessalonikiOne of the most wanted persons for trafficking cocaine to Europe was arrested in Thessaloniki.It is a 39-year old person of British nationality against whom a European arrest warrant had been issued for drug trafficking and participation in a multimember criminal organization which he allegedly led. According to the police, the ring was transferring large amounts of cocaine from Spain to the UK. The British was arrested in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, where he was visiting relatives. During the operation at the hotel he was staying, the 39-year old showed false travel documents. Various counterfeit travel documents, ID photos with different characteristics, six mobile phones, two packages of drugs and 2,505 euros were confiscated in his car. A case file has been formed and the 39-year old will be led to the prosecutor. [19] 1,550 refugees arrive at Piraeus port on Monday"Ariadni" ferry carried 1,550 refugees from Mytilene and Chios islands to Piraeus port on Monday.Weather forecast [20] Mostly fair on TuesdayMostly fair weather and northerly winds are forecast for Tuesday, with frost is expected to form overnight and early morning in central and northern regions of the country. Wind velocity will reach 6 on the Beaufort scale. Scattered clouds in the northern parts of the country with temperatures ranging from -1C-12C. Mostly sunny in the western parts with temperatures between 2C-17C. Mostly fair in the eastern parts with temperatures between 2C-18C. Scattered clouds over the islands, 10C-17C. Sunny in Athens, 8C-18C. Similarly weather in Thessaloniki, 2C-12C.[21] The Monday edition of Athens' dailies at a glanceDIMOKRATIA: Who politician was bribed with $2,500,000ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: 10 bombs on pensions, age limits ETHNOS: The model of reducing supplementary pensions ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Mocking with pensions NAFTEMPORIKI: Four critical days for the budget TA NEA: Taxes on banking transactions 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 210 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 210 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: MICHALIS PSILOS Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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