Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-02-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] Clear plan, steadfast will to handle economic crisis, PM says

[01] Clear plan, steadfast will to handle economic crisis, PM says

Karamanlis, who was speaking at the Maximos Mansion following the presentation of the stability and growth programme by Finance and Economy Minister Yiannis Papathanasiou, pointed out that there are two paths, that of responsibility and that of irresponsibility. He added that there are some who are promising easy and deadlocked solutions, but such solutions do not exist, while these paths lead to deadlock.

The prime minister noted that the government's responsible and stable policy guarantees a better future for all citizens. He said that government policy is based on three axes, in maintaining growth, even with lower rates this year, but with higher rates in the years to come.

Karamanlis also referred to the economy's fluidity programme, to supporting businesses, to boosting public investments and to promoting necessary reforms.

The second target is monetary restructuring by curbing expenditures, limiting extravagance and restricting tax evasion. The third target is supporting the financially weaker to the economy's endurance limits with targeted interventions in socially vulnerable groups, while shielding employment at the same time.

Karamanlis said that social cohesion is the base of government policy and that nothing is easy and nor can it be done from one day to the next and added that everyone must help to overcome this crisis.

"There can be no growth without the support of entrepreneurship, without the restriction of deficits there can be no essential funds to support the socially weaker and without monetary restructuring the reliability of the economy cannot be backed", he said.

The prime minister further said that the economy cannot forge ahead without targeted actions and pointed out that no economic policy can move ahead by itself and a political and social environment that favours consensus is necessary.

It is necessary, he added, that social groups jointly consider society in its entirety and frontal clashes should be avoided since "no to everything" cannot be applied.

Karamanlis underlined that with the new stability and growth programme, following the revision of evaluations of all the international organisations as well, "the government is taking all factors into consideration with a new mixture of policy. No country and no society can handle the international crisis by itself. However, we can, with a specific programme, prevent the grave repercussions with realism and with a stable policy."

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