Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-03-08

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

CONTENTS

[01] Gov't to create commission to study pensions

[01] Gov't to create commission to study pensions

The two ministers, speaking to reporters afterwards, said the government wants the commission chaired by an individual accepted by all political parties, while they stressed that political parties and unions would have their own representatives on the commission.

Alogoskoufis said the pension system was a long-term problem concerning all Greek citizens and stressed that a dialogue on the issue was aimed to create the widest possible political and social consensus, a procedure likely to take more time than the current government's term. The Greek minister stressed a long-term dialogue would begin to define all parameters in the system and the nature of the problem. "This way a solid background will be formed to support the reaching of consensus," he noted.

The commission will draft a report on the pension system. Alogoskoufis reiterated that spending on pensions would reach 22.5 pct of GDP in 2050 from 12.5 pct currently, while budget spending would jump to 15 pct of GDP from 5.0 pct, respectively. The Greek minister stressed that pension funds' deficits totaled 400 billion euros.

Caption: Alogoskoufis, left, and Tsitouridis confer in Parliament on Wednesday, March 8, 2006. ANA / M. Marogianni.

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