Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-06-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece needs a new set of reforms to boost growth, says FinMin Tsakalotos

[02] Moscovici confident that next Eurogroup will approve disbursement of loans to Greece

[03] PM Tsipras: The first left-wing government must make big changes

[04] Aim is to settle election law issue before summer ends, Voutsis tells press

[05] ND spokesman: Development law can only be seen as a joke

[06] Parliament begins inquiry into bank loans to political parties, media

[07] Health Minister to visit Lesvos on Friday and Saturday

[08] UN's Ban Ki-moon to visit Lesvos on June 18

[09] Council of State to discuss media firm cases against TV licence tender on July 4

[10] ECJ says legal block to mass lay-offs in Greece is incompatible to EU law

[11] Central banker: Greek banking sector is stronger after recapitalization

[12] Elliniko investment will totally change Attica's outlook, Piraeus Bank's chairman says

[13] Poseidon signs agreement with Noble on East-Med pipeline project

[14] Greek unemployment rate eased to 24.1 pct in March

[15] Greek inflation at -0.9 pct in May

[16] Greek industrial production up 2.8 pct in April

[17] Chambers' Union and ACCI chief urges government intervention to end port strikes

[18] Port employees to continue strike, trade unionist says after meeting ministers

[19] Greek stocks end 1.03 pct lower

[20] Greek bond market closing report

[21] ADEX closing report

[22] National Archaeological Museum preparing 150th anniversary exhibition 'Odysseys' in October

[23] ANA-MPA re-designs its logo

[24] Athens through the eyes of tourists

[25] Santorini Experience, a unique sports event to be held on the volcanic island in October

[26] Former Benaki Museum director Angelos Delivorrias elected a member of the Athens Academy

[27] Man burned in his car on Attiki Odos may be indicted publisher Mavrikos, police says

[28] Syrian refugees sent back to Turkey

[29] 58,367 indentified migrants and refugees in Greece on Thursday

[30] Partly cloudy on Friday

[31] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

[01] Greece needs a new set of reforms to boost growth, says FinMin Tsakalotos

"Greece is turning a page. It is breaking the vicious circle of fiscal measures that cause recession, which in turn brings more fiscal measures," the minister said in his speech, adding that the sequence of reforms implemented in the country was wrong. "Greece was asked to complete an ambitious fiscal adjustment program very quickly," he said, which was at the expense of employment and the economy.

He also spoke of the significance of investments, not just for Greece but for Europe as a whole, noting that the low or zero interest rates from which some countries are benefiting must be used to stimulate investments.

Commenting on the benefits or problems of globalization, Tsakalotos said he disagreed with the head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Klaus Regling that all economists agree globalization is good, noting that the main problem is the unequal distribution of profits from increased productivity.

He also said that to fight euro-scepticism you need more than better communication: "There are winners and losers and it must be ensured that losers will have a chance." Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who was in the same panel, said it is cynical to say globalization didn't benefit nations and that it is wrong to give more importance to social inequality versus social mobility.

"More Europe makes sense only if it's more democratic and social," Tsakalotos responded and expressed hope that in the second generation of reforms, Europe will take into consideration the needs of societies.

Asked about the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program, the minister said sounded the alarm on countries with large debts such as Italy and Portugal. "The QE program has problems and will not last forever. We must remember that when it is completed, many economies that have a high debt will have a problem," he said.

[02] Moscovici confident that next Eurogroup will approve disbursement of loans to Greece

In a statement to the ANA-MPA on Thursday, European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici said he was confident that the next Eurogroup will decide to disburse the first installment of a loan tranche to Greece, amounting to 7.5 billion euros.

"I am certain that...at the Eurogroup next week in Luxembourg we will be in a position to decide the disbursement of 10.3 billion euros for Greece, of which 7.5 billion will be given immediately," he said.

While taking part in a panel discussion on structural reforms alongside Greece's Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos at the Brussels Economic Forum, Moscovici said that Thursday's EuroWorking Group meeting will examine the country's progress in implementing prior actions and ratify the discussion that has already taken place.

The Commissioner noted that a very significant step in this direction was made at the previous Eurogroup. "Since then, we have been working seriously and in a positive way to solve any problems that exist, one after the other. I believe we are very close to achieving this," he said, predicting a "good" Eurogroup next week that will "confirm that reforms are progressing in Greece."

Moscovici said that the imminent release of 7.5 billion euros will provide a "real source of oxygen" for Greece's economy and that the goal was still a return to growth, recovery of investor confidence and the creation of jobs.

He said that the Commission forecasts a return to growth in Greece in the second half of 2016 and 3 pct growth in 2017, while noting that these assumptions are based on the success of the Greek programme.

[03] PM Tsipras: The first left-wing government must make big changes

During the meeting, party members had a first general discussion on the constitutional revision and change of the electoral law.

According to party sources, Tsipras said that the Left "should not be regarded merely as the power to best manage the crisis, because if the crisis is managed without vision and great changes it will soon evolve into a crisis in management".

He said the government must therefore implement deep changes to the political system adding that it will aim to consolidate democratic and social rights, and protect public goods as part of the revision.

"The country needs a deep democratic change. We must start a broad process of dialogue towards a new constitution, the 2021 Constitution of Greece," he said.

[04] Aim is to settle election law issue before summer ends, Voutsis tells press

Voutsis said that there will be a discussion of the election system over the coming month "independent of whether Parliament will also be, as it would like, a part of the Constitutional content to be revised." The aim will be the broadest possible consensus so that the new election law decided on by Parliament will have the Constitutional basis to be implemented at the next elections, due to take place three years and three months from now.

Discussion on revising Greece's constitution will begin at the end of August or early September and be concluded after three or four months at least, in accordance with Parliamentary regulations and the Constitution, he added.

On the issue of introducing simple proportional representation, the Parliament president declined to elaborate, noting only that SYRIZA's position on simple proportional representation, the "bonus" for the party with the most votes and a "minimum" percentage for representation in Parliament was known.

Voutsis also referred to the prospect of referendums and stressed that the revision of the Constitution will be carried out by the next Parliament on the basis of article 110 of the Constitution, while noting that the issue might be discussed in the context of the constitutional revision.

"It was a mistake that no referendum had been held for 40 years. This does not mean we will pass to a Swiss-type process. The Constitution itself, in any case, is strict and gives direction," he commented.

The need for the people to express an opinion on individual issues will be a separate process and not concern the vote on revising the Constitution per se, he clarified. "I say this because a misunderstanding concerning this issue arose in recent days," he added.

Voutsis also informed reporters that the agreement for the sale of the Hellinikon site to Lamda Development will be brought before Parliament for ratification after it is signed in November.

[05] ND spokesman: Development law can only be seen as a joke

ND's spokesman said that the government's development law comes in a climate of recession and can't produce results and called it useless because it refers to 600 million euros per year when the state overdue debts have reached 6.7 bln euros. He said that it promotes intransparency and the bureaucracy and finally it punishes the former development law investors.

Referring to ND's proposals on the Constitution revision, Koumoutsakos said that the main and general views were announced by ND deputy Costas Tassoulas and will be the issue of a broad debate until the final decisions are stated.

He sternly criticised both the Turkish Foreign Ministry announcement as well as the Greek Foreign Ministry's reaction on the reading of the Koran in Hagia Sofia.

"Such an answer on serious issues is unprecedented. A vague and unclear answer is unacceptable."

[06] Parliament begins inquiry into bank loans to political parties, media

The committee will next examine Bank of Greece staff and the former governors of the Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATEBank). The members also unanimously backed a proposal by committee chairman Sokratis Famelos for seeking the plenum's approval to extend the duration of the Committee's work by three months, so that it presents its final report in September instead of the original date of June 18.

The members agreed that it would be impossible to examine and evaluate the large quantities of material on the case requested and sent to the committee by the banks and financial prosecutors. The committee will start by investigating the loans given to parties and continue with the loans to media enterprises.

[07] Health Minister to visit Lesvos on Friday and Saturday

According to schedule, on Friday at 13:00 the minister will give a press conference to the local press and at 20:30 will participate in an open debate at a Mytilene hotel on the current political developments, the completion of the review of the Greek programme and the government's next legislative initiatives.

On Saturday, Xanthos will visit the village of Kalloni.

[08] UN's Ban Ki-moon to visit Lesvos on June 18

"I will visit Lesvos to assess the situation and express my solidarity," Ban told journalists speaking at the UN headquarters in New York. "Hundreds of Syrians and other refugees and migrants continue to die in the Mediterranean trying to escape war and persecution," he added.

He will also meet Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens on June 17, before flying to the island.

Ban's visit to Lesvos is part of a European tour that will start on Monday in Brussels, where he will meet with President of the European Council Donald Tusk and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

[09] Council of State to discuss media firm cases against TV licence tender on July 4

In the meantime, the CoS plenum is to discuss a request for the suspension of the licensing submitted by Mega Channel, which raises issues of Community law and constitutionality, on June 17.

The channels that have resorted to the CoS against the planned licensing procedure include Alpha, Antenna, Epsilon TV (E-TV), Mega Channel, Skai, Star Channel and the Television Station Owners Association.

[10] ECJ says legal block to mass lay-offs in Greece is incompatible to EU law

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said on Thursday a Greek law that requests employers to receive approval by the Labour ministry before making collective redundancies is incompatible with EU law.

The occasion for the ruling was the mass lay-offs by cement company AGET Heracles in 2013 after it was acquired by Lafarge Group. Lafarge had submitted a request to the Labour ministry to approve the firing of many workers in its Halkida factory, as part of a company restructuring plan.

The Labour ministry, which takes into account the conditions in the labour market, the financial situation of the company and the interest of the national economy, rejected the request. Lafarge appealed to the Council of State, which in turn submitted a relevant question to the ECJ, asking it whether the Greek law is compatible with the relevant European law on mass lay-offs.

Financial News

[11] Central banker: Greek banking sector is stronger after recapitalization

"These developments allow us to look to the future with greater optimism," he told the press after a meeting with the governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Dimitar Radev.

Stournaras also said the Bulgarian market is very important for Greece's lenders as "the assets of Greek banks in Bulgaria have been only marginally reduced as a percentage of the total assets held by Greek banking groups, in a period during which they have limited their activities."

[12] Elliniko investment will totally change Attica's outlook, Piraeus Bank's chairman says

Commenting on the signing of an memorandum of understanding for an investment project in Hellinikon, the Greek banker said this investment, worth 8.0 billion euros, was moving exactly towards this direction. "The implementation of this investment will totally change Attica's outlook in tourism, real estate and in attracting new investments. It puts Athens among the big capitals of the world. It is a significant step towards economic recovery. Piraeus Bank, as an adviser of Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, sees this investment as a guide for the road we must follow as an economy," Sallas said.

[13] Poseidon signs agreement with Noble on East-Med pipeline project

The agreement covers the support of finalising activities preceding an implementation survey of the project and a viability report.

The East-Med pipeline is a Project of European Joint Interest and its activities are supported by the European Union through a ConnectingEuropeFacility (CEF) programme. Poseidon is also part of a Greece-Italy pipeline project and a Greek-Bulgarian pipeline project (IGB), also CEF programmes.

The East-Med pipeline will have a length of around 1,900 km linking the fields of Eastern Meditarranean to Greece via Cyprus and Crete. It is designed to carry up to 16 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.

DEPA said that all survey showed that project is technically feasible, having state-of-the-art technology and it is a financially-viable option for exporting natural gas.

[14] Greek unemployment rate eased to 24.1 pct in March

The statistics service, in a report, said that the number of unemployed people in the country totaled 1,153,232, with the unemployment rate in the 15-24 age group at 50.4 pct and in the 25-34 age group at 30.6 pct.

The number of unemployed people fell by 68,045 in March compared with the same month last year (a decline of 5.6 pct) and by 0.4 pct compared with February 2016. The number of employed people totaled 3,623,234, up 87,296 compared with March 2015 (+2.5 pct) and up 1,632 compared with February.

The number of economically non-active people totaled 3,281,503, down 1.8 pct from March 2015 and unchanged from February.

The unemployment rate among women was 28.8 pct in March, from 29.4 pct in March 2015, while among men it fell to 20.4 pct from 22.6 pct over the same period, respectively.

The 15-24 age group recorded the highest unemployment rate (50.4 pct in March from 52.1 pct in March 2015), followed by the 25-34 age group (30.6 pct from 33.7 pct), the 35-44 age group (21.2 pct from 23.1 pct), the 45-54 age group (20 pct from 20.3 pct), the 55-64 age group (18.6 pct from 18.9 pct) and the 65-74 age group (11.8 pct from 10.9 pct).

Epirus-Western Macedonia recorded the highest unemployment rate among the country's regions (28.8 pct in March from 27.1 pct in March 2015), followed by Thessaly-Central Greece (28.5 pct from 26.4 pct), Crete (25 pct from 24.2 pct), Macedonia-Thrace (23.9 pct from 26 pct), Attica (23.7 pct from 26.2 pct), Peloponese-Western Greece-Ionian Islands (23.5 pct from 25.8 pct) and Aegean (13.4 pct from 20.8 pct).

[15] Greek inflation at -0.9 pct in May

The statistics service, in a monthly report, attributed this development to price declines in housing (-4.6 pct), durable goods (-1.9 pct), transport (-4.8 pct), entertainment (-1.5 pct), education (-1.3 pct) and other goods and services (-1.3 pct) and to price increases in the food/beverage (0.8 pct), alcohol/tobacco (1.1 pct), clothing/footwear (1.2 pct), health (1.6 pct) and hotel/restaurants (2.7 pct).

The consumer price index fell 0.4 pct in May from April 2016, after a 0.8 pct decline recorded in the corresponding period in 205. Greece's harmonized inflation rate was -0.2 pct in May from -1.4 pct in May 2015 and -0.4 pct in April 2016. On a monthly basis, the harmonized inflation rate was unchanged after a 0.2 pct decline recorded in the same period last year.

[16] Greek industrial production up 2.8 pct in April

The statistics service, in a monthly report, said that the industrial production index rose 2.8 pct in April from a 0.5 pct increased recorded in April last year and attributed this development to a 24.3 pct jump in mining production and a 5.8 pct increase in manufacturing production (tobacco production grew 32.3 pct, oil products rose 13 pct, pharmaceuticals rose 9.7 pct, non-metal minerals rose 18.3 pct and electronics/optical jumped 55.5 pct in the month). Electricity production fell 1.0 pct and water production rose 2.6 pct in April.

The industrial production index grew 0.2 pct on average in the first four months of 2016, compared with the same period last year, while the seasonally-adjusted index grew 4.0 pct in April compared with March 2016.

[17] Chambers' Union and ACCI chief urges government intervention to end port strikes

Michalos said that the government ministers responsible - namely, Shipping and Island Policy Minister Thodoris Dritsas, Economy, Development and Tourism Minister George Stathakis and Infrastructure, Transport and Networks Minister Christos Spirtzis - must find ways to solve the problems created for import and export businesses as a result of the strikes, especially coming right after the closure of the railway link to Europe by migrants in previous months.

"This is yet another extremely serious blow to Greek business people and the viability of their companies," he noted, while adding that the strike coincided with the start of the summer tourism season and the increase in cruise ship traffic as well as highlighting the absence of a container specialist at Thessaloniki port as a result of the strike, which made the situation worse.

[18] Port employees to continue strike, trade unionist says after meeting ministers

"The verbal assurances of the government are not sufficient - we have no path other than to continue our action," he said, while noting that the new environment created at the ports "harboured serious dangers for the workforce."

The employees will make decisions on how to further escalate their action on Thursday, while they will carry out a protest rally outside the Greek stock market on Friday, during a Piraeus Port Organisation shareholders' meeting to approve the new concession contract for the port, he said.

In a message to port employees as he arrived at the Posidonia 2016 shipping exhibition, Dritsas said he had just come from a meeting with the port workers, attended by the other ministers involved.

"We presented the government proposals in detail. They are proposals that protect stable and secure labour relations in the ports and, of course, in Piraeus and Thessaloniki. There are a series of proposals and measures that we have already taken and others that we will take in order to avert any risk of disrupting labour relations," he said.

The minister also noted that the government's proposal "was a very good opportunity" that should not be lost.

In the meantime, Greece's importers, exporters but also cruise operators are up in arms over the continued strike, ahead of the expected arrival of eight cruise ships that will let off and take on 6,600 passengers in Piraeus on Saturday, as well as another 2,000 travellers expected to disembark and visit Attica. The head of the cruise company association has warned that many operators are now considering cancelling planned stops at Piraeus in favour of other ports, including those in neighbouring countries.

[19] Greek stocks end 1.03 pct lower

The index fell 1.03 pct to end at 645.69 points, with the Large Cap index falling 1.29 pct and the Mid Cap index ending 0.70 pct lower. Turnover was a low 54.187 million euros in volume of 51,573,677.

Viohalco (6.58 pct), Piraeus Port (2.03 pct) and GEK Terna (1.96 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains among blue chip stocks, while Jumbo (3.23 pct), Titan (3.06 pct) and Piraeus Bank (2.57 pct) suffered heavy losses.

Among market sectors, Chemicals (2.16 pct), Raw Materials (1.37 pct) and Technology (0.57 pct) scored big gains, while Personal Products (2.69 pct) and Construction (2.05 pct) suffered losses.

National Bank and Piraeus Bank were the most heavily traded securities of the day. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 61 to 44 with another 19 issues unchanged. Varvaresos (19.40 pct), Trastor (19.05 pct) and Epilektos (17.39 pct) were top gainers.

[20] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates were mixed. The 12-month rate was -0.018 pct, the nine-month rate rose to -0.090 pct from -0.091 pct, the six-month rate rose to -0.161 pct from -0.162 pct, the three-month rate was unchanged at -0.265 pct and the one-month rate rose to -0.356 pct.

[21] ADEX closing report

General News

[22] National Archaeological Museum preparing 150th anniversary exhibition 'Odysseys' in October

The exhibition will start on October 3 this year, the date that coincides with the 150th anniversary since the foundation stone for the country's first national museum was laid in 1866.

The year-long exhibition, which is currently in the preparatory stage, will narrate the "large and small adventures of the people that lived in Greece from the neolithic era until Roman times," according to the organisers. It will feature only original ancient artwork, with the exception of a model of the "self-crowned" athlete that will be shown in place of the original, until the latter's return from the United States and the exhibition "The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great."

[23] ANA-MPA re-designs its logo

It also maintained its web address www.amna.gr like the www.ana-mpa.gr, as proprietary name of the ATHENS MACEDONIAN AGENCY online.

[24] Athens through the eyes of tourists

Despite the 17%-20% reduction in tourism in Athens compared to last year, the last minute bookings are on the rise, Elina Myzithra, responsible for Athens Walking Tours in City Contact, said in an interview with ANA-MPA.

For this reason, she added, there is optimism over an improvement in the tourism sector.

Tourists who choose Athens as their destination usually travel from May until early October. However, Greece has lately become a destination for conferences and business meetings, which supports tourism in the winter, she underlined.

All tourists leave Greece with the best impressions. "At the beginning they are all cautious, but they leave the country being happy, satisfied and calm. Some of them believe they come in a state of war, that things are very tense and when they arrive they find tranquility and they have a completely different picture."

[25] Santorini Experience, a unique sports event to be held on the volcanic island in October

Santorini authorities said that the event is a very good promotion of the island to foreign tourist markets.

This year's programme includes open sea swimming from the beaches nearby the volcano to the old port of Fira. Olympic Champion Spyros Gianniotis and the open sea swimming world champion Kelly Araouzou as well as a pleiad of top swimmers will participate in the competitions.

Moreover, Santorini Experience will feature a series of races on the path that links Oia with Fira with view to the caldera.

FOX sports channel of FOX Networks Group will cover the event and broadcast it as a sports documentary entitled "Santorini Exprience". Unique moments and spectacular pictures of the event will be accessible to Europe, Asia, and Africa through Fox Sports TV, according to FOX Group's announcement.

[26] Former Benaki Museum director Angelos Delivorrias elected a member of the Athens Academy

[27] Man burned in his car on Attiki Odos may be indicted publisher Mavrikos, police says

Mavrikos has been arrested a few months ago along with two journalists in his newspaper "Acropolis" on charges of blackmailing executives in public organizations, companies and banks and embezzling the Greek state.

Policemen who arrived at the spot pulled out a burned body from the car that appeared to be of a man but said that only a DNA test can reveal if it is that of the publisher, who had been released on bail pending trail. According to a police officer, the traffic camera in Attiki Odos shows the Porsche Cayenne stopping at the side of the road, on the traffic lane leading to Elefsina, consumed in flames.

Traffic police also said an eye-witness claimed the car caught fire while on the move and then stopped at the median barrier, possibly trapping the driver. The fire department tried to put out the fire but the car had already been destroyed and the driver burned to death. Police has reportedly already ruled out a traffic accident, which leaves all other possibilities open on what caused the car to ignite.

The vehicle is now being examined by the police's bomb disposal unit to find out what caused the fire and whether it was foul play, while the overall investigation is conducted by Attica Police.

[28] Syrian refugees sent back to Turkey

The refugees, mostly families from Syria, left by plane from the island of Chios to Adana, Turkey in implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement.

[29] 58,367 indentified migrants and refugees in Greece on Thursday

According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 26,501 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 14,674 are hosted in the region of Attica, 8,286 on the Greek islands and 2,521 are hosted in different areas in central and southern Greece. 6,385 refugees and migrants are hosted in several facilities rented by the UNHCR.

Weather forecast

[30] Partly cloudy on Friday

[31] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance

DIMOKRATIA: Martial shouts for Hagia Sophia

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Winners and losers

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Secret contingent mechanism and pensions below 1,300 euros

ESTIA: Hilarity over pensions

ETHNOS: New a la carte settlement on fines

IMERISSIA: The four contingent mechanisms

KATHIMERINI: Stroke in justice with multiple effects

NAFTEMPORIKI: Online licencing

RIZOSPASTIS: Mechanism for further reductions in pensions

TA NEA: The President 'burns' the referendum

TO PONTIKI: Marriage with the election law as a dowry

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