Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-04-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] Juncker: IMF 's demand for contingency measures is 'unreasonable and unconstitutional'

[02] Pittella calls for Euro summit to stop 'hawks' trying to 'blackmail' Greece

[03] Gerovasili: IMF 'contingent measures' unconstitutional; Greek side's mechanism meets requirements

[04] ND reiterates call for Tsipras' resignation, blames him for additional tax burdens

[01] Juncker: IMF 's demand for contingency measures is 'unreasonable and unconstitutional'

Quoting unnamed sources, the agency said European Commission's VP Valdis Dombrovskis and Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici briefed their colleagues during a meeting of the College of Commissioners on the stalemate of the negotiations between Greece and the institutions, explaining why they were halted.

In an intervention, Juncker accused the IMF of undermining the Eurozone, saying that no democracy would accept such a demand for contingency measures. "No parliament in the world would accept that," he said.

He also added that the two sides are 95 pct close to an agreement and that work is needed to reach 100 pct, and criticized the IMF for its harsh criticism towards the Eurozone.

According to the report, Juncker will also have a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras later in the day during which he will offer his support to the idea that a preemptive plan must be acceptable by all sides.

[02] Pittella calls for Euro summit to stop 'hawks' trying to 'blackmail' Greece

"We cannot ask Greece to take additional measures. This would mean that some 'hawks' want to kill Greece and we cannot allow this blackmail. The stakes are too high for Europe. We should all work to prevent a crisis in Greece in the run-up to the British referendum, especially now that – under extraordinarily difficult conditions – Greece has over-performed on its primary balance target for 2015.

"If the Eurogroup cannot find a way out, despite the efforts of the European Commission, then the political leadership of Europe should take the lead at an extraordinary Euro Summit next week. We want a fair deal for Greece which also includes a discussion on debt relief," Pittella said.

[03] Gerovasili: IMF 'contingent measures' unconstitutional; Greek side's mechanism meets requirements

"The legislation of 'contingent' measures - as insisted on by the IMF - moves outside the boundaries of the Greek constitution and outside the boundaries of the European legal system," she noted. The "fiscal correction" mechanism proposed by the Greek side, by contrast, met all the conditions raised by the Eurogroup last week in terms of being automatic, objective and reliable, while it was also legal to vote into law, she added.

Consequently, the Greek government considered that the agreement to conclude the review can be achieved by accepting the fiscal correction mechanism, which will be accompanied by a specific solution for relieving Greece's debt, Gerovasili said. She noted that the Greek side was prepared to discuss all the legal and economic details of its proposed mechanism but "cannot go beyond it," adding that the talks with the institutions will resume later on Wednesday on this basis.

Referring to the discussion between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and European Council President Donald Tusk, the spokeswoman said Tsipras had expressed his displeasure at the IMF's insistence on measures going beyond the July 2015 agreement and the inability to convene the Eurogroup. The prime minister asked Tusk to convene an emergency EU summit if the inability to convene a Eurogroup meeting is confirmed in the next few hours, she said.

The Greek government welcomed Tusk's statement underlining the need to set a firm date for the next Eurogroup within a few days, considering it extremely positive, she said. It also welcomed a statement by Gianni Pittella, the head of the Socialists & Democrats Group in the European Parliament, who had referred to "hawks" attempting to "blackmail" Greece and said there should be an extraordinary Euro summit if the Eurogroup fails to find a solution.

Gerovasili also announced that the chairman of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee was calling an emergency meeting of the Working Group on the Greek programme.

"The Greek government, fully meeting its commitments to both the Greek people and the lenders, has presented a reliable package of measures. The Greek government is honouring to the letter all that was agreed in July and signed in August with the institutions," she said.

[04] ND reiterates call for Tsipras' resignation, blames him for additional tax burdens

"With [the government's] irresponsibility and unreliability it left room to its creditors and the IMF to demand additional onerous - and not accepted by ND –measures," party spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos said in a statement.

He also said the additional burden is the result of the government's amateur handling of the negotiations.

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