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Thursday, 21 November 2024 | ||
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-07-21Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Leftist leader Tsipras predicts Greek defaultAMNA / The leader of the main opposition Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) party, Alexis Tsipras, on Saturday was quoted as predicting the country's default, while also forecasting that the government will "soon present" a return to a national currency (drachma) as a national success.In an interview published with an Athens weekly newspaper (Real News), Tsipras said any re-negotiation of a Memorandum signed by Greece with its EC-ECB-IMF creditors ended on the night of the June 17 election, while charging that any payment extension is "essentially a longer rope with which to hang ourselves." He also criticised the government for abandoning, as he said, any discussion over restoring cuts made to retirees receiving low pensions, re-instituting collective bargaining talks increasing the tax-free ceiling for individual taxpayers. Finally, he sharply attacked Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, saying he is the definition of a finance minister that the EC-ECB-IMF 'troika' would have chosen.amna [02] Deal eyes 1.4 bln euros of EIB funding for Greek SMEsAMNA / The first installments of a 1.4-billion-euro credit line by the European Investment Bank (EIB) for Greece-based SMEs are expected to commence in the autumn, following an agreement worked out on Saturday during a meeting in Athens between EIB President Werner Hoyer and the Greek government.According to statements after the meeting by Hoyer and two top Greek ministers, FinMin Yannis Stournaras, and Competition & Infrastructure Minister Costis Hatzidakis, technical problems were overcome, with a further understanding for EIB funding towards prospective financing of privatisations in the country and public-private sector partnership projects. In a telling statement, Stournaras emphasised that "today it was made clear that (loan) repayments will be made in euros; there was never a reference to the drachma, but this point was not (previously) made clear." The agreement envisions funding up to the end of 2015.www.amna.gr Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |