Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-08-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] Coalition leaders agree on necessity of spending cuts

[02] FinMin: Now we will begin negotiations with Troika

[03] KKE warns of 'barbarous measures' to come

[04] Greece's Iliadis wins Olympic bronze medal in judo

[01] Coalition leaders agree on necessity of spending cuts

At the end of the meeting, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras announced that the coalition partners had accepted the prime minister's argument that Greece must agree to the spending cuts package in order to remain in the eurozone and have the option of negotiating at a later date. In the meantime, the government announced that the finance minister will have another meeting with EU-IMF troika inspectors on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

"Now we will begin negotiations with the troika," Stournaras told reporters and indicated that the decisions made will be announced toward the end of August. Asked whether these measures will include more 'horizontal cuts', the finance minister said he was not in a position to reveal anything yet and repeated that the government must present a credible package amounting to 11.5 billion euro.

Sources from the prime minister's office said that Samaras had relayed the results of his talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, European Council President Herman van Rompuy and EU-IMF troika inspectors and underlined that Greece's options were clear.

The prime minister emphasised that he preferred a choice with positive repercussions, which meant that Greece would remain in the euro and still having the option of extending fiscal adjustment at a later date, rather than the certainty of a negative report and a falling-out with its EU partners that would lead the country into dire dangers.

Democratic Left (Dem.Ar) leader Fotis Kouvelis, when he emerged from the meeting, clarified that the talks had only covered "chapters and not specific figures" but had emphasised that all three leaders were determined to minimise the additional burden the measures will place on the weakest strata in Greek society.

"We will not proceed with measures that add to the burden on society," he said.

Kouvelis said that the Greek government's proposal concerning the troika report expected at the end of September did not mean that the effort to negotiate an extension in the period of fiscal adjustment was being given up and underlined that "the policy agreement of the three political forces supporting the government remains fully intact".

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, head of the larger of the two junior coalition partners, said he had been obliged to agree with the prime minister on the need to find 11.5-billion-euro in spending cuts, given Samaras' claim that he would otherwise be unable to discuss any extension of the fiscal adjustment programme with Greece's creditors and EU partners.

He also stressed that PASOK will not "mimic ND" and lead the country to elections and added that the main concern at present was that there should be no further unjust and obviously horizontal measures, as well as a package of measures to boost liquidity and control prices.

[02] FinMin: Now we will begin negotiations with Troika

He indicated the final decisions on an 11.5 billion euros package of state spending cuts would be announced at the end of August. Asked by reporters whether these measures will include more 'horizontal cuts', the finance minister said he was not in a position to reveal anything yet and repeated that the government must present a credible package amounting to 11.5 billion euro.

Stournaras is scheduled to have another meeting with the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Troika representing Greece's lenders.

[03] KKE warns of 'barbarous measures' to come

In view of the a meeting of the three party leaders supporting the coalition government, it urged Greeks to "wash their hands of the dilemmas and blackmail cultivated by the parties of the EU".

[04] Greece's Iliadis wins Olympic bronze medal in judo

Greek judoka Ilias Iliadis won the bronze medal after defeating Brazil's Tiago Camilo in the -90 kilogram weight division.

Ranked no. 1 in the world in the -90 division, he won a gold medal in the half-middleweight (81 kg) division at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens at just 17 years of age.

Illiadis also won a gold medal 6 years later at the 2010 World Championship in Tokyo in the -90kg category.

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