Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-02-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek public and private healthcare sectors need closer cooperation

[02] Greece's European Commissioner proposes strategy for tackling mercury pollution

[03] Conference for boosting business activity in the Mediterranean region to be held in Athens this week

[01] Greek public and private healthcare sectors need closer cooperation

Addressing a seminar on the healthcare sector, organised by the Union of Greek Insurance Companies, Kaklamanis said that the working group would include representatives of the Health ministry and would use the European experience in drafting new proposals. Kaklamanis stressed that the working group would have to complete its work in a very short period of time.

Addressing the seminar, Mrs E. Hadjiandreou, a professor of Health Management and Policy at the Harvard University, said that Greek insurance companies would cooperate closely with the public sector and stressed that this cooperation was an "one-way" road. Professor Hadjiandreou noted that the Greek healthcare system suffered from a high cost, medical and hospital inflation, two elements creating structural problems to the sector's total cost and citizens' health.

She said that the Greek public healthcare sector was "dangerously unorganised, lacking respect to citizen and with chronic problems, while the private sector was suffering from high cost, leaving the country low in world lists on private insurance spending.

Mrs Hadjiandreou urged for a closer cooperation between the public and private sector in creating an integrated system aimed to reduce hospitalisation costs. She also urged for drafting national quality indexes for a more efficient control of the system.

[02] Greece's European Commissioner proposes strategy for tackling mercury pollution

According to the Commission, low-level mercury pollution that exceeded international accepted safety levels, such as that found in certain fish and seafood, still affected the health of some European citizens, particularly around Mediterranean coastal regions.

Dimas said the Commission was determined to reduce mercury emissions:

"We will take steps to reduce the demand for mercury products inside the EU. We will also take the lead in tackling the global pool of mercury that exists in our environment. The EU is the biggest global exporter of mercury and we have a responsibility to phase out this trade altogether," he said.

The Commission notes that the EU is currently the main supplier for global mercury demand and envisions a total ban of exports by 2011, coupled with global action in cooperation with other countries to control the mercury trade, emissions and the use of mercury in activities like gold mining.

This will be coupled with a reduction in EU demand for mercury, for example in thermometers or mercury fillings used by dentists, finding ways to deal with EU surpluses, such as safe storage of mercury decommissioned by industry and further study of mercury already circulating in society, for example in old products.

Other measures will be to investigate and disseminate information designed to reduce EU emissions, prevent further exposure and improve understanding in mercury knowledge.

While the total quantity of mercury cannot be changed, human activities act to release mercury contained in relatively stable deposits, such as coal, into the air, water and ultimately the food chain, where it turns into more toxic compounds. Such activities include the burning of coal, gold-mining and use of mercury in certain man-made products.

[03] Conference for boosting business activity in the Mediterranean region to be held in Athens this week

Ten ministers and deputy ministers from various Mediterranean countries, as well as 150 businesspeople from Greece and the region, will be participating.

On Friday, February 4, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will be the keynote speaker at a formal dinner that will be held within the context of the conference.

Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis will inaugurate the conference, while a speech by Deputy Foreign Minister Evripidis Stylianidis will follow. Other ministers and deputy ministers are also scheduled to speak during the three-day event.

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