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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-03-02
CONTENTS
[01] The refugee crisis is manageable, FM Kotzias says
[02] Institutions to meet in Brussels on Greek programme
[01] The refugee crisis is manageable, FM Kotzias says
"The main cause of the refugee crisis is the war, and they tend to forget
it and put the blame on us," Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said in an
interview with Skai TV late on Tuesday.
Regarding Austria's stance, he said that "Austria is also based on other
forces that oppose to the German government of Merkel. I would say that
it (Austria) plays the 'dirty game' of many countries that would like
to destroy Merkel or at least her policy."
Kotzias reassured that the refugee flows in Greece are manageable,
adding that Greece can host up to 150,000 refugees. He also suggested
calmness and not panic in addressing the problem.
"The refugee problem is a complex one," he said and noted that nobody
in Europe was ready to accept such a large number of refugees.
[02] Institutions to meet in Brussels on Greek programme
The heads of the institutions will meet on Wednesday evening in
Brussels to reach common ground on the Greek program and "unblock"
the review procedure.
According to EU sources, the European Commission and the IMF still
disagree on the fiscal gap until 2018. Therefore, the EuroWorking Group
advised the heads of the representatives to make another effort to achieve
convergence before the Eurogroup on March 7 so that the program review
starts as soon as possible. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos will
address the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European
Parliament, at 16:00 (Athens time).
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