Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 13-09-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] Venizelos in Italy, meets with premier and foreign minister

[02] SYRIZA leader meets Matvienko; to visit Moscow in October

[03] Two new earthquakes jolt Fthiotida

[04] Greece accepts GDF's donation, cancels 2-mln-euro of debt

[05] Greek dairy Kri-Kri to sell yoghurt through UK supermarket chain

[01] Venizelos in Italy, meets with premier and foreign minister

The main issue of the talks were the respective Greek and Italian presidencies in 2014, the cooperation in the energy sector with the construction of TAP (Trans Adriatic Pipeline) natural gas pipeline, the declaration of a broader European region of the Adriatic and the Ionian and the strengthening of bilateral relations between the ministers of the Greek and the Italian governments.

"Our two presidencies will focus on the Mediterrenean, security, culture, energy and the safeguarding of the our borders," noted Venizelos.

Responding to an ANA-MPA question after the conclusion of his meeting with Bonino, Venizelos said, "We are ready to discuss openly and in a friendly manner and to negotiate with the new German government, on a secure foundation of institutional equality of eurozone and EU member-states. Our common goal is for the European Union to adopt a new growth model, because it is vital for Greece, as it can't bear any more cutbacks and austerity measures".

Moreover, Venizelos clarified that "we are ready for radical and infrastructural changes, but we can't accept the theory that calls for growth without credits, development without job positions, because growth means liquidity, job opportunities and protection of the social cohesion".

On her part, Bonino noted that "the fiscal discipline is the tool, not the goal. It is possibly a means for growth but not an end in itself. We did not discuss the German elections but only the decisions of June's European Summit on the unemployment, which are, of course, a field of action with clear targets for both our presidencies in 2014".

According to Italian Foreign Minister "the policies on the promotion of employment, of small and medium-sized enterprises and of the industrial sector must become our immediate priorities".

In his meeting with Letta, Venizelos referred to the so-called 'democratic deficit' in the EU, to the exteme-right in Europe and to the crisis management in the eurozone and its social consequences.

"The Mediterrenean is not a political choice, but a common geographical and historical fate. We must accept our common European and Mediterrenean fate. It consists of a stable base of our common will to promote a different European dimension, with a new discussion on how to face the crisis and with emphasis on growth and on the creation of job openings," noted Venizelos during his joint press conference with Bonino.

Venizelos is as of this writing meeting with Italian Minister responsible for European issues Enzo Moavero Milanesi.

[02] SYRIZA leader meets Matvienko; to visit Moscow in October

The main opposition leader and the Russian official's discussion focused on bilateral and regional issues.

Tsipras briefed Matviyenko on his party's positions and expressed the political will for an enhancement of the Greek-Russian relations at all levels. On her part, Matviyenko noted, according to information, that Moscow wants to develop the relations between the two countries based on mutual respect.

Tsipras noted that SYRIZA has a different approach than the government's on the privatisations issue, adding that he supports cooperation between countries that can contribute to the economic growth. In this framewor, the SYRIZA leader said that his party does not wish to nor will it become dependent on third parties' stances - such as the EU's - in developing its relations with Russia.

He said that Greece is an EU member and will continue to be so, but this does not mean that it will negotiate with its partners or ask for their permission to cooperate with other countries, he clarified.

According to the same sources, Tsipras will visit Moscow in October.

[03] Two new earthquakes jolt Fthiotida

The first quake, at 8:46 am, measured 3.9 on the Richter scale and the second, at 10:30 am, measured 4.2.

These followed two quakes in the same area on Monday, measuring 4.5 and 4.8 on the Richter scale, respectively.

A strong 5.1 quake that shook the same area in August was followed by over 1,300 aftershocks; of these, 900 have registered between 1 and 1.2 on the Richter scale, while 6 of them were over 4 on the Richter scale. No casualties were redistered at the time, but many old homes were damaged.

[04] Greece accepts GDF's donation, cancels 2-mln-euro of debt

Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras signed a ministerial decision under which the Greek state accepted the donation of Greek state bonds purchased by "Greece Debt Free", and proceeded with the cancellation of the bonds, writing off public debt worth 2.0 million euros from the country's public debt. The Greek minister thanked the non-profit organization for this powerful symbolic initiative and stressed that "such initiatives highlight the timeless power of Hellenism".

Greece Debt Free (GDF) is a non-profit, non-governmental, non-political organisation based in the US, designed to help enterprises and individuals in taking action to help reduce the country's national debt to sustainable levels.

GDF said its aim was to become a transparent platform helping citizens to take the national debt in their hands, allowing them to participate in a democratic and collective solution to the crisis.

[05] Greek dairy Kri-Kri to sell yoghurt through UK supermarket chain

Waitrose has over 300 outlets in the UK, and the cooperation involves Greek-produced yoghurt on a private label.

According to an announcement by Kri-Kri, which is based in the northern Greek city of Serres, Greek-style yoghurt sales in Britain are worth over 200 million euros, with 80 percent of the strained yoghurt produced locally. The sector is expected to rise sharply in the near future.

Kri-Kri has shown a 20 percent rise in sales, according to the announcement, and plans to expand a 5-million-euro plan investment to 8 million euros, to be completed by the summer of 2014.

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