Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-05-09

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

CONTENTS

[01] Eurogroup welcomed measures adopted by Greece, says Dijsselbloem

[02] PM Tsipras to brief President, party leaders on Eurogroup results

[03] Greek program review closes without additional measures, say government sources

[04] Fifteen-meter-long knit scarf marks Europe Day in northern Greek city

[01] Eurogroup welcomed measures adopted by Greece, says Dijsselbloem

He said finance ministers discussed the measures adopted by Greece, the contingency mechanism and the county's debt, noting developments will be discussed again in two weeks at the regular Eurogroup meeting to achieve a final deal.

On his side, Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said important progress has been achieved towards clinching a deal.

[02] PM Tsipras to brief President, party leaders on Eurogroup results

Tsipras is also briefing party leaders, the same sources said.

[03] Greek program review closes without additional measures, say government sources

The Eurogroup recognized the agreement between the institutions and the Greek government and now there is a deal for the conclusion of the first review, the sources said, noting that they also agreed on the country's proposal for the creation of a contingency mechanism which will be activated only if the government does not achieve the budget targets of the program. .

The same sources noted that there was no demand made by the Eurogroup for Greece to legislate precautionary measures. The technical details required for the completion of the staff-level agreement will be finalized by Greece and the institutions in the next few days and will then be presented to the next Eurogroup, they said.

After Greece has legislated and voted the prior-actions, Eurozone's finance ministers will proceed with the disbursement of the second loan installment of the program from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). This installment will cover Greece's borrowing needs until the end of the next review, but will also allow the fast repayment of the state's arrears towards the private sector. This will contribute significantly to improving liquidity in the real economy.

Furthermore, the loan installment will be much higher than the 5.7 billion euros foreseen for the conclusion of the program review.

The same sources also said this is the first time the necessary actions needed to provide debt relief are stated clearly and specify a procedure for the short- the medium- and the long-term.

[04] Fifteen-meter-long knit scarf marks Europe Day in northern Greek city

The scarf, which was knitted by the students' mothers, was made up of individual parts representing the flags of each member-states, which were then knitted together. The students, who participate in the European program "Ambassadors of the European parliament", showed the scarf in the presence of local officials as the anthem of the European Union (Beethoven's Ode to Joy) played in the background.

The mayor of the city, Dimitra Tsanana, and the Head of the secondary schools of regional unity Apostolos Vagenas congratulated students for their message of cooperation and solidarity among the nations of the united Europe.

The scarf will remain hung outside the city hall until Tuesday afternoon.

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