Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-10-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece sending aid to India, Pakistan

[02] FinMin satisfied with economic performance

[03] PASOK says government should draw up new budget

[04] Greece ready to deal with avian flu problem

[01] Greece sending aid to India, Pakistan

Meanwhile, a Hellenic Air Force C-130 aircraft was scheduled to depart early Wednesday morning for Islamabad, Pakistan, carrying humanitarian aid for the victims of the killer earthquake.

The humanitarian aid includes medicines, blankets, food and electricity generators.

In his message to the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers, Karamanlis expressed grief over the loss of thousands of lives, and the thousands of missing persons and persons left homeless by the earthquake, adding that Greece was prepared to provide all possible assistance.

[02] FinMin satisfied with economic performance

Speaking to reporters after completion of an ECOFIN meeting in Luxembourg, the Greek minister said he had the opportunity to brief his European counterparts over the government's progress in reducing the country's fiscal deficit by three percentage points of GDP as well as satisfactory economic growth rates in the country in the face of an economic stagnation in Europe. He also said 2005 was the first year after the Athens Olympic Games.

The Greek minister reiterated his cautious optimism over an economic recovery in Europe, with a positive impact for Greece, although he stressed there were concerns over inflationary pressures because of rising oil prices and widening fiscal deficits in Europe.

Alogoskoufis reiterated the government's pledge to cut the country's fiscal deficit below 3.0 percent of GDP in 2006.

Eurogroup and an ECOFIN meetings in Luxembourg on Monday and Tuesday discussed the impact of higher oil prices on growth and inflation.

[03] PASOK says government should draw up new budget

During a press conference about the state of the Greek economy, Papandreou said the government should "stop misleading the Greek Parliament and the Greek people and prepare another budget with a different policy that made use of the resources and capabilities of our country, accelerated growth rates, investments and the absorption of funds from the 3rd CSF".

"For the second consecutive year, the draft budget is rejected by the European Commission. This happened to our country before in the period '90-'93 (when a New Democracy government had again been in power)".

She also slammed the government's draft budget as "anti-developmental" and "unfair", since it reduced the real income of workers for the first time in 12 years, while she stressed the shortfall in revenues and said that this reflected a rise in tax evasion and corruption, engendered by ND's attempts to promote its own supporters.

Papandreou further rejected government plans to securitise future revenues from uncollected tax debts, saying that this could not be the basis for a budget.

[04] Greece ready to deal with avian flu problem

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Kaklamanis said Greece was following specific instructions offered by the World Health Organisation, adding that an informal EU Health ministers council on October 20 would discuss the issue, before the EU reached any decisions by the end of November.

"We don't need to panic, nor to be complacent," the Greek minister said. Kaklamanis said Greece has a plan ready to deal with the problem and expected this to be incorporated into the EU's set of actions. The Greek minister underlined that the national pharmaceutical organisation has already secured the necessary antibiotics to deal with any sign of pandemic.

Kaklamanis said the PM approved his plans to make a more efficient use of the ministry's real estate assets, while he announced that a meeting with Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis, in the next few days, would discuss 2006 draft budget's provisions on social welfare issues.

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