Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-12-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] Alogoskoufis sanguine about economy's outlook

[01] Alogoskoufis sanguine about economy's outlook

Taking the stand after Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, Alogoskoufis stressed that the government - in spite of the "huge difficulties" and "hidden deficits" inherited from its predecessors - had successfully implemented a policy of mild adjustment and managed to reduce the deficits without confirming the main opposition's dire predictions of recession and rising unemployment.

Instead, with a performance unprecedented in the recent history of the EU, the Greek economy had achieved a notable growth rate of 3.6 pct in 2005 while unemployment had dropped by half a percentage point, he added.

According to Alogoskoufis, the coming year was even more crucial and the government's priorities would be to reduce the public deficit to below 3 pct of GDP, to increase productivity and competitiveness through structural reforms and to increase employment with targeted activities for the reduction of social exclusion risks.

He said the immediate goals of the 2006 budget were to reduce the deficit to 2.6 pct of GDP and to further reduce public debt, while reinforcing growth and social cohesion. He also stressed the government's determination to deal with tax evasion, which he described as a chronic structural problem of the Greek economy, with the use of new technologies.

The minister stressed that the government would continue its policy of reforms in order to restructure the Greek economy:

"We are moving things forward and placing the country in a cycle of long-term and sustainable development, creating the conditions for individual and social prosperity," Alogoskoufis added.

Development minister stresses energy policy

Addressing the parliamentary group after Alogoskoufis, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas emphasised the government's energy strategy and stressed that the present government was now making notable progress in several international energy projects, such as the Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline, an undersea pipeline to Italy or the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline.

Sioufas stressed that Greece had "escaped" from the inertia and inaction of the past and that during its 20 months in power, the present government had begun building a "human-centred model for growth that was not built in 20 years of PASOK governments".

Noting that these policies were now beginning to yield results, Sioufas said that the climate was changing and that Greece was now entering a "new developmental track" and "an era of great opportunities".

Mixed messages from employers, trade unions

The parliamentary group meeting was also addressed by employer associations and trade union organisations, with one side pressing for more reforms while the other highlighted the problems faced by workers, farmers and low-income groups.

The head of the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) Christos Polyzogopoulos criticised the government, stressing that the problems of workers were increasing and remained unsolved, while he accused ministers of failing to respond to calls for dialogue and claimed that "not everything" reached the ears of the prime minister.

According to the president of the civil servants' union ADEDY Spyros Papaspyros, meanwhile, the 2006 budget would lead to smaller incomes and more taxes for employees and greater difficulty in meeting rising living costs.

The Union of Greek Industry, on the other hand, said society was ripe for more reforms and that the government should not hesitate and called for further curbs to public spending. This was also supported by Greece's National Trade Confederation (ESEE) President Dimitris Armenakis, who said the programme of reforms could be more daring and called for bolder privatisations.

General Confederation of Light Industry and Commerce of Greece (GSEBEE) President Dimitris Asimakopoulos, meanwhile, underlined the need to incorporate new technologies in the Greek economy and stressed that Greece spent less on research than any other developed country.

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