Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-06-18

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

CONTENTS

[01] PASOK accuses gov't that it 'squeezed Greece into a corner' at the EU summit

[02] Cyprus President Papadopoulos to visit Athens soon

[01] PASOK accuses gov't that it 'squeezed Greece into a corner' at the EU summit

He said: "Europe is entering a difficult period. A period where many discussions will be needed with moderation and consensus, to again approach those objectives which render Europe more accessible to its citizens, which creates a sphere of security and confidence for all the peoples of the European Union."

Papoutsis charged:"The Greek government presented itself in these negotiations without a specific plan, without a clear negotiating framework. Nobody knows which, exactly, the objectives were, and what exactly it wished to achieve."

"We in PASOK, from the first moment clarified that we wish for the best, that we are ready to support the negotiations to achieve the best possible objectives. However, the government preferred the methodology of Lucerne, that is, it squeezed Greece into a corner, in a framework which we never learnt exactly what it sought," Papoutsis said.

He went on to say:"However, what we want to stress is that since yesterday the European Union, in its entirety, needs a long period of reflection and substantial discussion. And particularly in our country, Greece, we must redetermine our objectives regarding the European Union."

Papoutsis added that Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis' "responsibility is great," noting that the prime minister himself "chose a policy without transparency and without seeking the consensus of the Greek political forces, particularly on issues concerning the farmers."

Papoutsis said that despite repeated questions by journalists, he did not proceed in making a new commitment regarding the Greek position on the Common Agricultural Policy.

[02] Cyprus President Papadopoulos to visit Athens soon

In a broadcast from Brussels, following the end of the European Council summit in the early hours of Saturday, RIK said that President Papadopoulos and Prime Minister Karamanlis agreed during their meeting on the sidelines of the European Council meeting in the Belgian capital to meet again soon in Athens, to discuss the Cyprus issue and Turkey's European course, in the light of developments in European issues.

During Friday's meeting in Brussels, which lasted for half an hour, the Cypriot president and the Greek prime minister agreed to continue their talks in Athens.

Discussed during their meeting, apart from the Cyprus issue, under the prism of the visit to the region by UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, Sir Kieran Prendergast, were bilateral issues and matters concerning the European Union and Turkey's European couse.

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