Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-07-09

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM meets with Bavarian CSU parliamentary group delegation

[02] Secretariat for Admin. Reform

[01] PM meets with Bavarian CSU parliamentary group delegation

The CSU, which operates only in Bavaria, together with its sister party the Christian Democrat Union, which operates throughout the rest of Germany but not in Bavaria, comprise the second largest party in Germany.

No statements were made after the meeting.

Afterwards, Karamanlis was due to chair a meeting of the Inner Cabinet, with the focus on interior ministry issues.

Caption: Prime minister Costas Karamanlis. (ANA-MPA/O. Panagiotou)

[02] Secretariat for Admin. Reform

Speaking on the Operational Program "Administrative Reform 2007-2013" during the inauguration of the new building, interior minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said that it was the first time that the interior ministry was acquiring Operational Programs, following four years of efforts, in the sector of public administration reforms.

The Program will apply horizontal policies, but also specialized actions in areas presenting administrative arrhythmia and insurmountable problems, he added.

"Public Administration is called on to transcend a series of diehard procedures and mentalities and, at the same time, to properly equip and train itself in order to meet the modern-day developments and acquire a citizen-friendly face," Pavlopoulos said.

The targets of the Program, he added, were: Enhancing the planning and implementation mechanisms of public policies and promotion of the principles of transparency and accountability; Improvement of the quality of legislative and regulatory directions; Improvement of the quality of services to citizens and businesses provided by public services; Reinforcing the policy of human resources development in public administration through structural and institutional changes; Upgrading the quality and efficiency of equality policies and the mechanisms and structures of implementation, monitoring and evaluation on gender equality issues; and Boosting the position of women in the public and social sectors.

Caption: Interior minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos. (ANA-MPA/P. Saitas)

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article