Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-06-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] Europe will proceed without Britain, says President Pavlopoulos at his meeting with German Vice Chancellor Gabriel

[02] UK vote will have limited impact on Greek economy, Alpha Bank's chairman says

[03] Government of deception and lies, says ND spokesman Koumoutsakos

[04] Katseli criticizes new corporate governance framework for Greek banks

[05] 57,235 identified migrants and refugees in Greece on Thursday; 36 new arrivals recorded in the last 24h

[01] Europe will proceed without Britain, says President Pavlopoulos at his meeting with German Vice Chancellor Gabriel

Pavlopoulos underlined that this ambivalent stance in EU cannot continue adding that Europe and EU will proceed without Britain. Besides EU existed before Britain and will exist after Britain. He also noted that all those that believe in the European vision will give the battle for its completion. It does not matter how big Europe is but how better or how much better it can become.

Greece, as Pavlopoulos said, remains committed to the European Union, and with the people's verdict, in its core, the eurozone and the people do it with many sacrifices, he underlined.

Moreover, Pavlopoulos referred to the refugees issue stressing the need the EU-Turkey agreement to be fully implemented pointing out Greece efforts so far.

On his part, Gabriel agreed with the Greek president's opinion that Europe nowadays is having a difficult time adding that the Europeans must understand that we must support each other. Referring to the British referendum, he supported that Britain's exit should be made immediately because if it delays it will harm both sides.

He also supported that the Greeks need hope to continue and expressed his admiration for the Greek people for all those they endured in the last years.

On the refugee issue, he underlined that Greece assumed huge responsibilities and obligations adding that European solutions are needed clarifying that Greece will not be left alone.

[02] UK vote will have limited impact on Greek economy, Alpha Bank's chairman says

Addressing the annual general shareholders' meeting, Rapanos said "we hope that soon a way will be found for a smooth exit process to limit any negative consequences on economic activity". The Greek banker said he expected the Greek economy to remain in recession in 2016 and to return to positive growth rates in the second half of the year as confidence is expected to be restored and structural reforms were implemented.

Dimitrios Mantzounis, Alpha Bank's chief executive, in his address said that a new agreement reached between Greece and its partners could become the starting point of a course towards a final exit from the crisis, if it was to be fully implemented.

[03] Government of deception and lies, says ND spokesman Koumoutsakos

"Every day the cost is increasing. Tax declarations and Uniform Real Estate Ownership Tax (ENFIA) will follow," Koumoutsakos noted during his briefing to the press on Thursday.

Referring to COSCO, he said that the country is again facing a credibility blow. "The contract with the company tabled in parliament was different from the one signed. The country is being discredited. The responsibility lies within Mr Tsipras and not his ministers Mr Dritsas or Mr Spirtzis," he added.

[04] Katseli criticizes new corporate governance framework for Greek banks

Addressing an annual general shareholders' meeting, Katseli said that adoption of such a model would raise very serious risks to an efficient implementation of challenges faced by Greek banks and undermined their competitive position in a competitive international banking sector.

A successful international practice, followed by all advanced countries and adopted by all large banking groups around the world, has become prohibitive for the country's banking sector, Katseli said, adding that a new corporate governance framework rightly promoted and upgraded banking skills that a board should have and independence from the political system but at the same time it cut the necessary connection to the real economy and deprived the fully needed skills and expertise that a board has to have as a collective body to cope with new challenges.

National Bank's head said that the Greek economy showed mixed signs in the first months of 2016 with positive outlook, if a clime of economic and political stability was to be strengthened. "Within an unstable European environment, an expected stabilization of the Greek economy and of the political environment, the first positive signs of recovery makes us cautiously optimistic. If there were no new unexpected developments, if agreed measures were implemented fully with corrections where necessary and if fiscal and structural measures were included in a credible medium-term programme of productive restructuring, then we could look forward to a gradual but stable improvement of business and investment climate, of purchasing power and confidence in the economy and the banking system," she said.

Commenting on National Bank, Katseli said that challenges were many and urgent. National Bank's basic strategic goals were to recover and expand its profitability, to maintain its leading role in the country's financial system and to play a leading role in the restart of economic activity in the country. The course towards sustainable profitability needs efficient and fast response to a series of challenges, such as the management of non-performing loans.

Leonidas Fragiadakis, chief executive in National Bank, in his address said the bank aimed at further improving its operating profitability, upgrading the quality of its loan portfolio and supporting the Greek economy in exiting a recession. He added that a fair resolution of the non-performing loans issue was an one-way road and stressed that National Bank saw this as an opportunity.

[05] 57,235 identified migrants and refugees in Greece on Thursday; 36 new arrivals recorded in the last 24h

According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 23,687 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 10,208 are hosted in the region of Attica, 8,637 on the Greek islands and 1,954 are hosted in different areas in central and southern Greece. 6,290 refugees and migrants are hosted in several facilities rented by the UNHCR, 4,959 are staying in non-organised facilities while approximately 1,500 persons are living outside organised facilities.

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