Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-04-04

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus talks to resume on April 11, says UN's envoy Eide

[02] Gerovasili: 'Le Parisien' report confirms that 'bloated' Greek public sector is a myth

[03] Easter with the kids at the National Archaeological Museum

[04] Lawmakers who accidentally received one-off pension bonus have returned it, says Labour ministry

[01] Cyprus talks to resume on April 11, says UN's envoy Eide

The decision follows today's meeting between the UN's Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Turkish Cypriot Leader, Mustafa Akıncı, in Brussels and separate talks held by Eide with the leaders of both communities in Cyprus.

Earlier today, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said there is grounds for the resumption of the talks in the near future.

Talks will start at 10:00 on Tuesday.

[02] Gerovasili: 'Le Parisien' report confirms that 'bloated' Greek public sector is a myth

The newspaper's figures, published as the debate on the public sector heats up ahead of the French elections, showed that Greece employs just 7.8 pct of its economically active population in the public sector whereas other countries have public sectors that are double or even triple in size, Gerovasili told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA).

"This is fully contrary to the previous government's narrative about a bloated public sector," she noted, while adding that the current government is attempting to restore the public sector and the prestige of public administration.

Based on Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) figures published in 'Le Parisien' Greece has the second-smallest public sector as a percentage of its population after Japan, where the public sector employs 6.7 pct of the economically active population.

The third-smallest public sector is in Germany with 9.6 pct, followed by Spain (12.3 pct), Italy (14.3 pct), the United States (14.6 pct), United Kingdom (17.4 pct) and France (21.9 pct). At the top of the list were Sweden (26.2 pct) and Norway (29.3 pct).

In her statement to the ANA in response to the newspaper's report, Gerovasili noted that "we have repeated expressed the view that the public sector is today particularly understaffed, while the public sector is 'ageing' after the freeze in new hiring that began in 2009. During the memorandum years, the public sector was targeted, resulting in the implementation of policies that led to dismissals and a deterioration of its services."

[03] Easter with the kids at the National Archaeological Museum

The museum's younger visitors will be able to take part in the programmes "Odysseus' Journey" and "Travelling in time with Odysseus," which include tours of the exhibition, active learning and an Easter handicrafts workshop inspired by the exhibits.

The first activity will be "Odysseus' Journey" and is aimed at younger children, from kindergarten to the second year of primary school. It will take place on Tuesday, April 11 from 11:00 until 12:30.

The second will be "Travelling in time with Odysseus" on Wednesday, April 12 and is aimed at slightly older primary school children, between the hours of 11:00 to 12:30.

Participation is free of charge but places are restricted due to the crafts workshop, so must be booked in advance at the number 213 2144891.

[04] Lawmakers who accidentally received one-off pension bonus have returned it, says Labour ministry

The bonus was intended for pensioners earning less than 800 a month but it emerged that a few MPs had also received it. The ministry said this was due to the automated procedure used to calculate and pay out the amount.

"While the economic efficiency and the surpluses achieved in EFKA enhance the sustainability of social security […] some people tried to focus public debate on the payment of the December bonuses to MPs, for which they were unaware of, as if it was a case of scandalous favorable treatment," the ministry said.

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