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Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-06-18Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM attends EPP summit in BrusselsBRUSSELS (ANA-MPA - M. Aroni) Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis stressed the need for immediate joint action by European countries to combat illegal immigration as he emerged from a European People's Party (EPP) summit held in Brussels on Thursday."It is an issue of European dimensions, which doesn't concern only those countries that are directly affected and are now having to shoulder the greatest burden," he emphasised. European leaders have gathered in the Belgian capital for the EU summit taking place on Thursday and Friday, where illegal migration is expected to be one of the key issues on the agenda. According to the Greek premier, the issue of illegal immigration dominated Thursday's meeting of party leaders in the European Parliament's right-wing bloc, along with Jose Manuel Barroso's bid for re-election as European Commission president, preparations for the European Council and, of course, the EPP's very successful results in the European Parliament elections. He said that EPP members expressed support for Barroso's re-election for a second term, while the discussion had also focused on the global economic crisis, unemployment, and the crucial issue of climate change in view of preparations for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December. Caption: ANA-MPA file photograph of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. [02] Gov't: Another 5% of OTE to DTThe government intends to activate a provision of the strategic contract signed between Hellenic Telecoms (OTE S.A.) and Deutsche Telecom (DT) allowing the Greek state to sell-off another 5 pct of the utility to DT for the predetermined price of 27.5 euros per share.Economy and Finance Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou announced the decision to DT CEO Rene Obermann on Thursday, during a meeting held at the ministry. Papathanassiou stated afterwards that the strategic agreement, signed last year and ratified in Parliament, provides that the German telecoms giant is obligated to purchase 5 pct of the OTE S.A. shares with the specific price per share if requested by the Greek government. The move will not affect the Greek state's rights as regards control over OTE. The OTE share price, based on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE) closing prices on Wednesday, stands at 11.77 euros -- meaning that the Greek state will collect 674 million euros, compared to 288.5 million euros it would have received based on the current ASE share price (roughly 11.7 euros per share). The Greek state's extra gain will be 388.5 million euros, Papathanassiou concluded. PASOK reaction Conversely, a main opposition spokeswoman on economic policy sharply criticised the development, charging that the government is selling-off more of the state's shares in OTE simply to raise cash. [03] Greek merchant fleet statsThe Greek merchant fleet numbered 2,100 vessels in April 2009 totaling 40,475,472 gross registered tons (GRT), according to figures released on Thursday by the National Statistics Service (NSS). Of those vessels, 624 are freighters (15,118,964 GRT), 540 tankers (23,670,195 GRT), and 936 passenger ships and other vessels (1,686,313 GRT).[04] Athens bourse up 0.91%The Athens Stock Exchange reversed a sharp two-day slide on Thursday, with the general share price index marginally up 0.91 percent to end at 2,182.07 points and turnover at 191.8 million euros, of which 3.1 million euros were block trades.Most individual sector indexes moved upwards, with the biggest gains posted in Health (3.50 percent), Mass Media (2.83 percent), and Utilities (2.72 percent). The FTSE/20 index ended 1.47 percent higher, the FTSE/40 index posted gains of 0.41 percent and the FTSE/80 closed 0.38 percent up. Broadly, advancers led decliners by 110 to 101 with another 47 issues unchanged. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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