Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-10-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM: Global effort needed to exit crisis

[02] Spiliotopoulos on Greek tourism

[01] PM: Global effort needed to exit crisis

"The international crisis has burdened and will continue to burden the Greek economy. It has caused a delay in the development rates and escalated the high cost of living. We are among the first in the eurozone to have acted so quickly, and so immediately and decisively. Our economy is strongly resisting," stressed Karamanlis.

The premier said that an international collaboration is mandatory, together with policies that will heighten the people's feeling of security, with the focus on the middle and low incomes.

"In this hour, each and every citizen's and family's interest is directly connected with the resistance and the adaptability of our economy. It's the hour of individual and collective responsibility. The following months and years depend on the responsibility that we are exercising" underlined Karamanlis, adding that "the citizens comprehend the radical reversal and repercussions from the crisis. Some refuse to understand that things are changing and continue to engage in petty politics. Those engaging in populism are beneath the circumstances".

"We are not 'giving' the banks 28 billion euros. Whoever claims that is lying and misleading the people" the premier added.

Caption: Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis speaks in parliament on Friday 31 October 2008. ANA-MPA/MARIA MAROYANNI

[02] Spiliotopoulos on Greek tourism

He expressed "the determination of the political leadership of Greek tourism to take all the necessary measures which will safeguard the Greek tourism product against the international economic crisis."

"Our objective is to show yet again that Greece is the country of the Eurozone, which for another difficult year will have a tourism product which will withstand," the minister said.

"The strategy will be two-phased and will include on the one hand specialised strategies for the traditional markets, Britain, Germany and the United States, and on the other, the strengthenining of extroversion of the emerging markets of eastern Europe (Russia, Ukraine etc.) but also other countries such as India, where EOT plans to soon open offices."

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