Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-06-02

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Karamanlis inaugurates 'Posidonia' maritime exhibition

[02] FinMin on inflation

[01] PM Karamanlis inaugurates 'Posidonia' maritime exhibition

The prime minister placed special emphasis on the government's policy on privatising the ports of Piraeus and Thessaloniki.

He said that the government's immediate aim is to develop strategic alliances with international managers to enable their dynamic upgrading and further utilisation.

"Offers by international managers who will assume, for a specific period of time, the managing of their container terminals are already at the stage of assessment. The aim is for us to attract private capital and modern know-how. The purpose is to make our ports transit centres in southeastern Europe. To make Greece a bridge between East and West, a modern transit centre, an international trade hub," the prime minister said.

Karamanlis referred to the present aggravated climate due to the international conjuncture and the energy and environmental challenge stressing that the rapid increase in prices of main farm products and consecutive upsurges in international oil prices are affecting the economies of the entire world, increasing the cost of production and transportation, fuelling inflation and compressing growth rates.

He praised the contribution of shipping which, together with tourism, are the most extroversive sectors of the Greek economy.

"They bring in exchange, they bridge the deficit in the trade balance, they create thousands of new jobs, they strengthen our economy and benefit society in its entirety," Karamanlis said.

He further mentioned that Greek shipping manages 17 percent of the international merchant fleet, 20 percent of the international fleet in transporting dry cargo and 23 percent of the international fleet of tankers.

Karamanlis also stressed that maritime exchange flowing into the country is increasing continuously and from 14 billion euros in 2006 it has reached 17 billion euros in 2007, while placing emphasis on the creation of new jobs.

[02] FinMin on inflation

Speaking to reporters, after an Eurogroup council in Frankfurt, the Greek minister said the EU should accelerate structural reforms to boost competition and to benefit from lower prices, while he underlined the need for a coordinated policy in Europe to deal with increased inflationary pressures. Alogoskoufis said in international inflationary shock, caused by high oil, food and raw material prices, has affected all Eurozone economies and global economies. ?The impact is not the same in all member-states, but we agreed that the best way to deal with this impact was a common policy approach,? the Greek minister stressed.

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