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] Parliament approves COSCO-Piraeus port deal with wide majority

[02] Kouloglou to ANA: European 'Titanic' still on course for the iceberg after Brexit

[01] Parliament approves COSCO-Piraeus port deal with wide majority

The bill was approved by SYRIZA, New democracy, Democratic Coalition, Potami, ANEL and the Centrists' Union, while Golden Dawn and the Communist Party voted against it.

The Communist Party approved however an amendment for the area of Keratsini and the articles on the Coast Guard, except the one on its participation in FRONTEX operations. Golden dawn asked for a roll call vote.

[02] Kouloglou to ANA: European 'Titanic' still on course for the iceberg after Brexit

"The course of the European 'Titanic' toward the big iceberg is continuing and, even though it has already hit one, they are acting as if they felt nothing," he said.

The European United Left - Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) MEP, in an interview given to ANA on Tuesday, had just come from a European Parliament plenary session dominated by a diatribe from UKIP MEP Nigel Farage and the reactions this prompted. According to Kouloglou, the discussion in the European Parliament was "disappointing" and overlooked the underlying causes of the UK vote.

"There was essentially no reference to the reasons that led a majority of Britons to vote in favour of leaving. And the main cause is that the European Union is no longer attractive, due to the policies it implements," he said, while adding that Farage offered an "easy target".

"He is a populist politician; the next day [after the referendum] he admitted to making exaggerations during the campaign and was therefore a very easy target. The main issue, though, is that the discussion offered nothing."

According to Kouloglou, Europe was once again entering the "constellation of the far right," with the exception - mainly due to their history - of a few countries in the European south, such as Greece, Portugal and Spain.

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