The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 10-04-24

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From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Constitutional Law D. Tsatsos "Passed Away"

Constitutional Law Professor D. Tsatsos, 77, passed away at dawn, on Saturday after being treated at Attiko State Hospital intensive care ward since February.

"National Loss"

Dimitris Tsatsos was born in Athens in 1933. He studied Law at the University of Athens and did postgraduate studies the Max-Planck Institute, in Germany.

In 1968 the military dictatorship did not allow him to teach at the Athens University where he was elected assistant professor but the same year he became Assistant Professor of the University of Bonn and professor in 1969.

He was involved in politics and was elected deputy for the first time in the November, 17, 1974 elections as candidate of the Center Union/New Forces and served as undersecretary of Education in the Government of National Unity. During the three-months he served in this post he oversaw the removal of all pro-junta professors from Universities, the setting up of a committee to draw the first draft-bill on higher education institutes and the establishment of the first form of students' participation in Higher Education Administration Boards.

The Coalition of the Left and Progress Forces was formed under his initiative in 1977.

In June, 12, 1994 European Parliament elections, D. Tsatsos headed PASOK party ballot and was elected for the first time as a Member of the European Parliament and re-elected in 1999.

In 1995 the Culture Forum Europa awarded him with the "European Culture" prize in recognition for his struggles for Democracy, participation in democratic constitutional reforms and his efforts for Europe's institutional renewal.

In April 2002 he was awarded the "Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit" of the Federal Republic of Germany for his scientific work and initiative for the improvement of Greek-German relations.

In November 2003 he was proclaimed honorary Professor of German and European Constitutional Law by the Law Faculty of the University of Dusseldorf.

Messages of condolences

National Defense Minister Evangelos Venizelos expressed his deep grief underlining that his death, particularly at this period, is a national loss. His students and friends feel lucky and proud to have had relations with a personality of such dimension and rare quality.

Athens mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis expressed his deep grief and condolences to his family. He said that D. Tsatsos public interventions and compact speech went beyond his science and broadened the horizons of politics and our society.

Sources: ÍÅÔ, ÁNA-ÌPA News item: 35831

[02] Polish President Laid to Rest

Tens of thousands of grieving Poles took to the streets of Krakow to attend the state funeral of President Lech Kaczynski and his wife. The Polish president and his wife were killed in a plan crash last Saturday. Another 94 high-profile Poles perished in the same accident. Several world leaders, however, were forced to cancel their trip to Poland due to the huge cloud of volcanic ash that has tightened its grip over much of Europe. Among the leaders who abstained from the funeral were US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Source: NET, NET 105.8, ANA/MPA News item: 35564

[03] G20: Global Economy Recovering Faster than Expected

The group of G20 Finance Ministers, after meeting in Washington on Friday, came to the conclusion that global recovery has progressed better than previously anticipated. They, however, warned against overconfidence, citing Greece's attempt to avert default highlights the risks posed by mounting government debt. Furthermore the G20 failed to reach a clear agreement on credible strategies to ensure financial firms bear the burden of rescues, excessive risk-taking and promote a level playing-field that led to the worst world financial crisis since World War II.

Warning against Overconfidence

The group of G20 overlooked the thorny question on whether China should appreciate its currency, the yuan, after keeping it down for almost two years to aid exporters. G-20 officials did not discuss any specific currency exchange rates.

In a six-page text released after the meeting, the G20 Finance Ministers and central bankers said " global recovery has progressed better than previously anticipated" adding that their efforts helped put an end to financial turmoil in global economy last year.

Despite the G20 optimistic view, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the G20 that the IMF warned against possible overconfidence.

"We did discuss that some countries made overconfident forecasts about their economies and there was an overall exaggerated optimism" said the Canadian Finance Minister.

Although Greece was not included in the official agenda, it was a top issue during the G20 meeting as well as on the sidelines of the meeting where officials discussed the financial aid mounting to 45 billion euros, the largest ever package to rescue a country.

Finance Ministers said they would not allow debt problems to extend or threaten the EU or the world economy.

European Commissioner for Monetary Affairs Olhi Rehn said that EU officials will have drawn a plan for Greece till the beginning of May.

The G20 group of Finance Ministers and central bankers on the elaboration of credible exit strategies from extraordinary macroeconomic and financial support measures without putting recovery at risk. They, however, stressed that the process was happening at different speeds within and across regions, recognizing that in such circumstance different policy responses are needed.

Divides opened before the talks about whether to tax banks to pay for future rescues and how to rewrite capital rules to prevent taxpayers paying for rescue packages. Britain and the US are trying to usher in new rules for the financial system while Canadian Finance Minister soundly objected to these plans.

Sources: Reuters, ÁNA-ÌPA

Related Article : BBC: Global recovery moving faster than expected, says G20 News item: 35827

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