Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-05-10

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Main opposition criticizes PM's 'triumphalism' at cabinet meeting

[02] EIB loan to Creta Farm launches EFSI-backed 'Juncker Plan' for Greece

[01] Main opposition criticizes PM's 'triumphalism' at cabinet meeting

"Every day that passes by, Greece is moving backwards and our government is celebrating," he said, adding that the government has put up a show since the conclusion of the Eurogroup on Monday.

"The fourth memorandum it will sign, the government's second, will be very painful to cover up the provocative triumphalism. The government signs measures totaling 5.4 bln euros which were not necessary. Now it tries to patch things up with painful measures on pension reform and taxes," Mitsotakis said.

[02] EIB loan to Creta Farm launches EFSI-backed 'Juncker Plan' for Greece

"Today we inaugurate officially the Juncker Plan for Greece. It is the first significant act of a plan from which Greece hopes to have huge benefits," Economy, Development and Tourism Minister George Stathakis said, addressing a special ceremony in Athens. "It coincides with a very positive step made in a Eurogroup meeting on Monday and signaled what we have been working on for so long, the idea that a cycle of strong stabilisation of Greek economy was closing to enter a new period of strong, we hope, manageable growth and return to positive economic figures," Stathakis said.

"In this effort towards Greek economic recovery, the European Investment Bank is a strategic partner," the minister said, adding that "the government has made the first steps, presenting the first 42 projects to be included in the Juncker Plan. We still have a lot of work to do".

Elsewhere in Athens, meanwhile, the European Investment Fund (EIF) signed the first two of three deals with Greek intermediary banks and funds to provide 150 million euros of additional investment to very small, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) in Greece, the European Commission announced on Tuesday.

The first agreement, with the Cooperative Bank of Karditsa, is backed by the EU's Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) programme and will cover a loan portfolio of five million euros for 300 micro-borrowers. It will target mainly farmers, young unemployed borrowers, cooperatives and social enterprises, as well as micro businesses active in the green economy.

The second deal, backed by the EU's COSME programme, is a 20-million-euro agreement with the Greek investment fund Diorama Investments - whose capital is management by Deca Investments - that is expected to trigger investments of more than 125 million euros for SMEs.

The third agreement is with InnovFin deal with the ProCredit group, which is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) and will provide 20 million euros to innovative SMEs.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article