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Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-02-05
CONTENTS
[01] Papandreou calls for early elections
[02] Hoteliers urge measures avoid crisis in tourism sector
[03] Stocks end 1.63 pct lower
[01] Papandreou calls for early elections
Main opposition PASOK President George Papandreou on Thursday again
called for early elections to avert what he called the "worst",
proposing an agreement for immediate elections within the period until
European Parliament elections or concurrently. Additionally, he
proposed a consensus in the election of the President of the Republic.
Speaking in a press conference in downtown Athens, the former foreign
minister expressed deep concern for the country's course, saying that
its causes are traced to the government policies followed in the last
five years. He underlined that the country is "defenseless" in the
ongoing global economic crisis and said there is no plan designed to
deal with the domestic and the international crisis. He also stated
that the country needs a new course and a new government and outlined
several points he said would reverse this course. Among others,
Papandreou proposed "collectivity and unity" based on a "production
sector alliance" that will support the economically weaker strata as
well as greater meritocracy and transparency in the public sector. He
stated that the measures aimed at pulling the country out of the crisis
will focus on a "market revival and fair redistribution of wealth",
highlighting the importance of a new developmental model based on
"green development" and the importance of a government with a strong
presence in the EU and globally. Papandreou underlined that nothing
will be easy the day after the elections, pointing out that the
country's reconstruction demands collective work.
[02] Hoteliers urge measures avoid crisis in tourism sector
The Hoteliers Association of Athens-Attica on Thursday urged for the
immediate implementation of 14 measures to support the tourism sector,
announced by the Prime Minister and approved by the government, and
called for the introduction of a stable long-term tourism policy, which
will not be dependent on individuals or political parties in power.
The Association said the measures were absolutely necessary to
strengthen tourism enterprises in the country and noted that a crisis -
already hitting the sector - was expected to intensify in 2009 and
2010.
Hoteliers also stressed that the crisis in the Greek tourism sector has
deeper roots and is not a local problem.
Meanwhile, a survey by the Academy of Touristic Research and Studies
(ATEM) said that Greek tourism was entering a very difficult period
this year, with tourist arrivals expected to fall between 4-11 pct this
year, compared with 2008.
[03] Stocks end 1.63 pct lower
Greek stocks lost substantial ground in the Athens Stock Exchange on
Thursday, in line with a decline in other European markets. The
composite index fell 1.63 pct to end at 1,715.57 points, with turnover
remaining a low 103.2 million euros, of which 12.2 million euros were
block trades.
Most sectors moved lower, with the Oil (3.11 pct), Commerce (3.03 pct)
and Telecommunications (2.88 pct) suffering the heaviest percentage
losses of the day, while Food/Beverage (1.82 pct), Technology (1.57
pct) and Insurance (1.19 pct) scored gains.
The FTSE 20 index fell 2.24 pct, the FTSE 40 index ended 0.03 pct up
and the FTSE 80 index eased 1.07 pct. Broadly, decliners led advancers
by 116 to 80 with another 54 issues unchanged.
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