Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-04-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] Justice, development ministry issues dominate Inner Cabinet meeting

[02] PASOK on pension funds' management

[03] SE Europe's military chiefs in Thessaloniki

[01] Justice, development ministry issues dominate Inner Cabinet meeting

A day earlier, Karamanlis reiterated his government's emphasis on reforms, stressed that Greece was carrying on with reforms in all sectors, aimed at making the country more competitive, during an address in Athens organised by the City University of London.

"We are obliged to dare making the necessary reforms and prepare ourselves in order to take advantage of all the opportunities," Karamanlis said, warning that inertia, conservatism and persistence on outdated models constituted "recipes for failure".

The new age demands reforms," he added, speaking in the auditorium of the Evgenidios Foundation.

Karamanlis noted that privatisations are continuing, making special mention of the further privatisation of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) and the Post Office Bank, the better use of the public sector's assets, and preparation for the Public Gas Corp.'s (DE.PA) listing on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE).

He further made an extensive reference to the achievements of the Greek economy, placing emphasis on the reduction of the fiscal deficit by give percentage points over the last few years, while at the same time maintaining high growth rates of over 4 percent, and the containment of unemployment to below 9 percent for the first time.

The premier also spoke of the role played by Greece as a commercial and transit hub in the wider region of Southeast Europe.

"Greece is attracting today new and dynamic investments. It is providing significant opportunities for business initiatives in sectors such as tourism, renewable sources of energy, and in general, energy infrastructure," Karamanlis told the gathering.

Karamanlis pointed to the unprecedented activity in the country in the energy sector with the signing of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline deal and ongoing construction of a Turkey-Greece natural gas pipeline and its extension, the Greece-Italy underwater pipeline.

In focusing on the massive role played by Greek-owned shipping interests in the economy, the prime minister said development of an international shipping and business centre on 64 hectares of land in a former Piraeus port area translates into a one-billion-euro investment.

Regarding the equally crucial tourism sector, Karamanlis said the long-term strategy aims at offering significant subsidization and increased incentives for all forms of tourism in tandem with the establishment of new zoning and town planning guidelines for tourism investments.

Finally, the premier said Greece backs the German EU presidency's proposal regarding a new Euro-constitution.

"There is no doubt, furthermore, that all of the Union member-states owe a great deal of their economic and social achievements to the coordination of our forces and efforts, within common trans-national bodies," he added.

Caption: PM Costas Karamanlis. ANA-MPA

[02] PASOK on pension funds' management

A day earlier, PASOK spokesman Petros Efthymiou said "the operation to cover up ths scandal with the looting of social insurance funds is collapsing."

Efthymiou further said that the issue of the social insurance funds "is a major political issue with global originality, since it concerns the seizure of money by one part of the public sector from another part."

According to reports, PASOK will request a Parliament debate on the issue.

[03] SE Europe's military chiefs in Thessaloniki

The summit will be attended by the armed forces chiefs of Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, FYROM and Turkey, as well as the EU military committee chairman and the operational commander of NATO's southern wing.

Military leaders will arrive in Thessaloniki on Tuesday, with Greece's National Defence General Staff Chief, Adm. Panagiotis Hinofotis, hosting a formal reception in their honor later in the evening.

A press conference will take place after the summit meeting on Wednesday.

Caption: Greece's National Defence General Staff Chief, Adm. Panagiotis Hinofotis, right, with his Turkish counterpart, Gen. Mehmet YaÅr Büyükanı, the chief of the Turkish General Staff, during the latter's visit to the Greek defence ministry on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006. ANA-MPA / M. MAROGIANNI.

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