Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-02-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] Policy of reforms to continue, employment minister stresses

[02] Farm minister pushes for EU aid to Greek poultry farmers

[01] Policy of reforms to continue, employment minister stresses

Tsitouridis underlined that the ministry's new leadership remains dedicated to a policy of reforms, while noting that reforms with no social references were not feasible.

He said his efforts would fall under those for finding a rational way to combine both retaining the economic and social model of the European Union and the need to survive unrelenting competition.

Regarding the dispute between unions and banks, Tsitouridis reiterated that the government will proceed to politically encourage bankers to exhaust the possibilities for dialogue, while noting that all sides must act in a highly responsible way.

He also underlined that the government's self-evident position was that the employment ministry retained full responsibility for the social insurance system.

The present generation of politicians is answerable to the Greeks of the future and the government is shouldering this responsibility as there is no other choice, Tsitouridis noted.

At the same time, he said that no changes will be made during the current four-year term but dialogue on the social insurance system will be held on all levels: in Parliament between the parties, in the established ways between the social partners and at the Economic and Social Committee of Greece (OKE).

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[02] Farm minister pushes for EU aid to Greek poultry farmers

The Greek minister said that specific Community measures should be taken immediately for Greek poultry farmers in particular, such as withdrawing existing stockpiles and payment of compensation to producers, as well as return on exports for the export of poultry meat to Balkan countries.

The Greek side additionally called for the funding of action to inform the public and consumers concerning the safety and quality of poultry-trade products and the adoption of measures that will support all those affected by the crisis.

Bassiakos briefed the Council on the precautions and safety measures taken by Greece to contain the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus after it was detected in wild fowl and to prevent its spread to domestic poultry.

The Council president, Austrian agriculture minister Josef Proell, clarified that discussion of compensation for poultry farmers would be take place during the afternoon session of the Council and that it would be set individually for each EU member-state, based on the drop in sales. He also noted that the EU had currently decided to compensate farmers if they were obliged to destroy eggs or slaughter their chickens because of an H5N1 infection.

European Commissioner for Health Markos Kyprianou, meanwhile, said further study was needed before proceeding with precautionary inoculation programmes that some EU member-states wished to begin.

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