Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-01-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece needs to reform its pension system, FinMin says

[02] PM meets with alternate culture minister, top ND Euro-MP

[01] Greece needs to reform its pension system, FinMin says

Addressing a seminar organised by the non-governmental organisation "Citizens for the Future", Alogoskoufis said that in 10, 15 or 20 years from now "no one knows right now, there will be a problem unless we take the iniatives needed to defuse this time bomb and to transform the pension system into an opportunity for the country".

The Greek minister noted that a dialogue over the pension system should proceed this year and referred to the three pylons of the government's economic policy, tax reform, a new investment law on growth and regional convergence, and joint ventures between public and private sectors.

Alogoskoufis said the government was promoting a series of legislative initiatives aimed to improve economic performance and solve past problems.

These initiatives are:

-setting up an agency of fiscal auditors to ensure public spending and better management of existing funds,

-making a better use of public sector's real estate assets,

-reforming a law on Community Support Framework and promoting a National Support Framework and,

-supporting the role of a National Council of Exports.

Alogoskoufis said the government was poised to proceed with its reform programme this year and stressed that the public sector was gradually limiting its participation in the country's economy.

[02] PM meets with alternate culture minister, top ND Euro-MP

Karamanlis, in fact, holds the culture ministry portfolio.

Afterwards, the minister told reporters that the premier briefed her over the agreement's implementation, while she informed him of an ongoing process to grant permanent status to nearly 3,000 employees at various ministry-affiliated services and bureaus who over the previous decade or so worked with hourly contracts.

Along those lines, Palli-Petralia said a proposed constitutional revision to grant permanent status employees in the wider public sector the right to advance and achieve promotions is extremely significant.

In an unrelated development, the premier also met on Friday with veteran New Democracy cadre and former minister Yiannis Varvitsiotis at his office, as the latter heads the ruling party's Euro-deputies group in the European Parliament.

EU issues and constitutional revision were reportedly discussed.

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