Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-06-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM:'End of review will end a great recessionary cycle'

[02] Foreign ministry condemns 'regressive' decision of Turkey to hold Koran readings in Hagia Sophia

[03] Migration ministry issues directives to help Muslim refugees celebrate Ramadan

[01] PM:'End of review will end a great recessionary cycle'

The agreement on Greece's debt will finally and permanently remove uncertainty and create conditions for the country's return to the markets, he added.

"Thanks to last year's dogged negotiations, the issue of Greece's debt is now put on a realistic basis," he said, noting that no debt can be sustainable when based on the assumption of primary surpluses exceeding 4.5 pct of GDP for decades. According to the Greek premier, the European partners realised that the project of European integration cannot proceed when, at the first difficulty, there is a return to national strategies and simplistic and moralistic distinctions between "virtuous" and "prodigal" nations.

In addition, a joint commitment for automatic intervention to the debt whenever this is judged necessary and throughout the period of its repayment will make Greece's debt sustainable and Greece's position within the Eurozone unassailable, he added. A clause limiting annual debt repayments to not more than 15 pct of GDP will ensure that its repayment is made on sustainable terms for Greek society and the Greek economy, Tsipras said.

"Only in this way can there be a correction of the previous years' injustices for the economically weaker [members of society] and funds found for structural investments that will allow us to converge with the industrially developed north," he pointed out.

The prime minister also highlighted the contribution made by shipping to the Greek economy, saying that this represented at least 7 pct of GDP, and the difficulties experienced by the shipping sector as a result of the global economic crisis, where he noted that Greek shipping had successfully adapted to protect itself and absorb the turbulence of an unprecedented crisis. He noted that the growth model of the Greek shipping sector, which had allowed the Greek fleet to dominate on a global level, could act as an example for a new developmental model.

He called on the shipping sector to "relaunch a permanent and constructive dialogue that will help strengthen the contribution of Greek-owned shipping to economic growth, to creating positions of employment and placing the country at the centre of the global shipping industry."

Greek shipping, combined with the country's geostrategic position and the placement of its ports guaranteed the prospects for enhancing Greece's role as a strategic gateway for products and services to Europe, Tsipras noted. The prime minister also outlined plans for investments to improve infrastructure, in order to exploit yet another comparative advantage that will help the country's effort for recovery. He said that these investments would benefit tourism but also business "clusters" based on expanded shipping centres that combined port, shipping and trade services with shipbuilding activities.

[02] Foreign ministry condemns 'regressive' decision of Turkey to hold Koran readings in Hagia Sophia

"Obsessions, verging on bigotry, with Muslim rituals in a monument of world cultural heritage are incomprehensible and reveal a lack of respect for and connection with reality," the ministry said.

"Moreover, such actions are not compatible with modern, democratic and secular societies," it added.

[03] Migration ministry issues directives to help Muslim refugees celebrate Ramadan

According to the ministry, a directive has been distributed to the managers of those centers in which the ministry explains "the temporal and special interventions for those Muslims who want to exercise their religious right without affecting and being affected by the operation of the structures."

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