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] Greece, Germany to sign deals on supporting SMEs and on energy

[02] COSCO contract will be ratified as planned, Gerovasili says

[03] ND leader Mitsotakis slams government on COSCO deal snag

[04] Cheaper fares to islands worst hit by refugee crisis, from Blue Star Ferries

[01] Greece, Germany to sign deals on supporting SMEs and on energy

Speaking to journalists, he said the time when the focus of the conversation was fiscal policy has passed and now the two sides should be thinking mainly about growth and job creation.

"Last year, Greece stunned, because instead of shrinking, it recorded growth, albeit small. Anyone in Europe who argues that there should be further austerity in Greece, is endangering this anemic growth which is forecast," he said.

For this reason, Sigmar continued, it is important to try and help stabilize Greece's social systems and try to create jobs. "To this direction, on Europe's side, we will do whatever is possible to support investments in infrastructure, digitization and energy and I think the Greek government is doing all it can to this end," he said.

He then went on to describe the program that will promote research and development for small and medium-sized businesses, mainly on issues of innovation. "We will open this program in Greece as well, to fund and support small and medium-sized businesses which focus on innovation," he said, adding that this program is also operating in Israel and Poland.

"I'm certain it will meet with an enthusiastic response from the Greek companies," Gabriel said.

Earlier, he also met with Environment and Energy Minister Panos Skourletis for talks focusing on energy issues. In statements afterward, Skourletis said that the energy sector could be a springboard for a new growth course and an area of close cooperation between Greece and Germany, as indicated by the vice chancellor's presence in Greece.

He said the meeting with Gabriel had been "extremely useful" for exploring the margins and potential for cooperation in this area, while also noting a very interesting conference on renewable energy sources and energy efficiency that will take place in Athens on Friday.

[02] COSCO contract will be ratified as planned, Gerovasili says

"As Shipping Minister Thodoris Dritsas made clear, the furore surrounding [this] matter concerns an essentially non-existent issue," Gerovasili said, adding that the government and the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) have proceeded to make the necessary improvements "in order for the wording of the ratification law to be legally complete."

"The matter has already been fully clarified and the contract will be ratified as planned," she said.

In a letter sent to the Greek parliament's trade committee on Wednesday, COSCO accused the shipping ministry of making significant alterations to the contract that the company had negotiated and signed with the Greek privatisation agency HRADF. The bill ratifying the agreement was being debated in Parliament using fast-track procedures so that it could be passed ahead of the prime minister's visit to China this weekend.

[03] ND leader Mitsotakis slams government on COSCO deal snag

"Never in the history of parliament has any government ever breached a transnational agreement," the main opposition leader said during the debate in parliament. He said the government is incapable of handling investments and accused it of harming the country, noting that instead of making investments a priority, it pushes away the few investors left.

Mitsotakis also said the prime minister is personally responsible for "the actions of is minister" and accused the government of jeopardizing Greek-Chinese relations "which were built with the efforts of many governments" days before the prime minister's visit to the country just to satisfy " a bunch on unionists".

"You failed in investments. You've failed everywhere," he said.

[04] Cheaper fares to islands worst hit by refugee crisis, from Blue Star Ferries

The discount is open to all passengers choosing one of the four islands for their holidays, as well as their vehicles, provided they provide proof from collaborating travel agencies that they have booked stays of least four nights in a hotel or rented accommodation, the company announced in a press conference.

Attica Group CEO Spiros Paschalis said the offer, which will start on Thursday and last until September, was intended to assist the local economies and tourism on the four islands, which were hard hit by the waves of refugees over the last year. He noted that it will be open to both Greek tourists and foreigners and expressed hope that hoteliers and other businesses on the islands will do what they can to promote it.

With the 30 pct discount, the economy class ticket to Chios and Leros falls to 29.5 euros per person, the ticket to Mytilene on Lesvos falls to 32.5 euros and that to Kos falls to 38.50 euros. The price for a car will be 58 euros for Chios, 66 euros for Mytilene and 73 for Leros and Kos, respectively.

Paschalis said that 2015 had been a good year for coastal shipping, partly as a result of the thousands of refugees travelling from the islands to mainland Greece and partly as a result of low fuel prices.

The press conference was also attended by the mayors from the four islands, who welcomed the initiative and said it would help offset a drop in tourist traffic as a result of the crisis. Each presented their island's particular attractions as a tourist destination, such as the Mastiha Museum dedicated to the endemic mastic gum tree on Chios, the Petrified Forest on Lesvos, a UNESCO site, the natural landscape on Leros and the ever-popular Kos, whose 1.5 million tourists each year make it the fourth most popular tourist destination in Greece.

Kos Deputy Mayor Ilias Sifakis said the island had faced a "tsunami" of problems the previous year and had to strike a balance between protecting the refugees desperately seeking help and the island's economic environment and businesses. He noted that migration flows to the island had stopped from the end of 2015.

Lesvos Deputy Mayor Efstratios Tzimis, whose island received the bulk of refugees, noted that Lesvos very quickly created facilities for their accommodation and to preserve the health and safety of the island's residents. In this context, he urged the media not to broadcast older photos and videos they had on file, which were damaging to the island's image.

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