Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-12-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] ND, Karamanlis hold onto lead in GPO opinion poll

[02] KYSEA agrees to deal for 30 F-16 aircraft from US

[03] Government to change hours of work in public services

[01] ND, Karamanlis hold onto lead in GPO opinion poll

According to the GPO poll, conducted by telephone between December 7-9 on a nationwide sampling of 1,000 people, Karamanlis also held a 12.6 percentage point lead over PASOK leader George Papandreou as "the most suited for prime minister", with 45.8 percent of those polled opting for Karamanlis against 33.2 percent opting for Papandreou.

With respect to voter intent, meaning what party the respondent would vote for if elections were held tomorrow, the ruling ND led with 32.3 percentage points, followed by PASOK with 31.0 percent, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) with 7.0 percent, the Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) party with 4.7 percent, and the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Progress (SYN) with 4.0 percent, while 12.1 percent of the respondents were "undecided".

Premier Karamanlis remained the government's "strong card", with more than one out of two respondents giving him the thumbs up, as 55.1 percent had a positive view of him.

With respect to a government reshuffle, 55.5 percent of the respondents were in favour, while 36.5 percent were against such a move.

Finally, a majority 52.3 percent of the respondents felt that the financial situation of households would deteriorate in the coming months, while 35.9 percent felt it would remain the same, and just 10 percent felt it would improve.

[02] KYSEA agrees to deal for 30 F-16 aircraft from US

The deal, which also provides for offset benefits on an operational level that include contracts for the domestic defence industry, was unanimously approved during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Defence Minister Spilios Spiliotopoulos said that the total cost of the programme will come to â¬1.625 billion and also cover support needs of 60 aircraft of the same type purchased under a previous programme under a contract signed in 2000.

The minister stressed, meanwhile, that the necessary bank guarantees had been obtained for the first time.

KYSEA's decision on Tuesday ensured the absence of middlemen from the specific contract and reaffirmed the government's commitment to transparency in armed forces' procurements, he added, while noting that the additional aircraft would preserve the balance of forces in the region.

Breaking down the cost of the programme, Spiliotopoulos said that â¬1.1 billion represented the cost of the 30 aircraft, while the cost of supporting these and the other 60 aircraft purchased under the previous programme would come to â¬525 million.

The new aircraft are due to be delivered in 2009 and will immediately enter full operational use and be equipped with a self-protection system.

Spiliotopoulos said that the cost per aircraft under the current programme was â¬36.7 million, whereas the cost per aircraft in updated prices under the previous programme was â¬41.4 million.

Additional offset benefits came to 132 pct, compared with 120 pct under the previous programme and would benefit the Greek defence industry, particulary the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (EAB), he said.

The minister also noted that the support programme included spare parts and consumables on each aircraft, which will increase their availability and that a downpayment for the order was due to be paid as soon as the contract was signed.

According to alternate government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros, meanwhile, Greece would not be activating an option to purchase an additional 10 aircraft of the same type that was originally included in the deal.

In response to questions, meanwhile, he told reporters that payments for the aircraft will be recorded in the budget as they occurred.

The spokesman also claimed that Greece was saving a further â¬118 million by promptly placing the order for the aircraft before the production line for the specific model was closed.

[03] Government to change hours of work in public services

Emerging from the meeting, Pavlopoulos said the system of summer and winter timetables will be abolished and working hours for public services will henceforth be either from 8:30 until 16:00 or from 9:00 until 16:30 throughout the year.

He clarified that the changes would not affect services where special conditions applied, such as hospitals or schools, nor affect the rights of special categories of employees. The new system will begin to be applied from next July.

Pavlopoulos said that talks with the civil service union ADEDY will continue in order to facilitate the transition for employees and make necessary changes, such as in day-care centres.

The minister stressed that steps will be taken to avoid disruption and ensure continuity in the working hours of public services, while at the same time bringing them closer and enabling cooperation with European Union services.

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