Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-06-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] Environment minister on policy for hazardous waste

[02] Frontex: Fewer illegal migrants in 2009, 88pct arrived via Greece

[03] Papoulias meets Moubarak

[04] Inflation increase causes

[05] Áthens Newspaper Headlines

[01] Environment minister on policy for hazardous waste

Addressing a seminar on the recycling and management of urban waste in Attica, Birbili said that companies will be invited to submit their proposals on management sites for hazardous waste within a month and a half. Unless they managed to put their proposal into action within six months, however, the ministry would step in and impose a solution, choosing disposal sites based on current legislation.

"If necessary, we will pass legislation for this. The environment ministry will ensure that applications for environmental permits for installations to handle hazardous wastes are examined and assessed extremely rapidly so that they can be carried out. We are determined to support any viable solution that is proposed by the private sector, in accordance with the principle that the polluter pays," she said.

[02] Frontex: Fewer illegal migrants in 2009, 88pct arrived via Greece

Frontex Deputy Executive Director Gil Arias-Fernandez noted, however, that 88 percent of illegal immigrants - almost nine in 10 - that entered the EU in 2009 had come via Greece, up from 75 percent in 2008. While this increase did not reflect a rise in the numbers arriving, it showed that a greater percentage migrants unable to enter the EU using other routes were attempting entry via Greece, he said.

The numbers for Greece showed 14,000 arrests at the land border between Greece and Turkey in 2008, dropping to 10,000 in 2009. Along the sea border between Greece and Turkey, there were 56,000 arrests of illegal migrants in 2008, dropping to 49,000 in 2009.Ana-Mpa

During the first third of 2010, EU authorities arrested 3,500 illegal migrants at land borders and 2,900 at sea, indicating a shift in patterns of entry from the sea to the land borders. This shift was also reflected in figures unveiled by the Greek citizens' protection ministry last week, showing a 50 percent decline in arrests of migrants in the northern Aegean and and 65 percent decline in the southern Aegean. By contrast, arrests on land borders in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace increased by 167 percent (from 2,416 to 6,459). In Epirus, arrests went up from 5,616 in the first third of 2009 to 7,889 in 2010.

[03] Papoulias meets Moubarak

President Papoulias reiterated Greece's friendship and solidarity towards the Arab world and the Greek side's interest in peace in the region. The talks also focused on the role apparently Turkey wants to play in Middle East affairs.

Greek-Egyptian economic relations and their prospects were also at the centre of the talks, with President Papoulias underlining that Greece's financial crisis did not imply a decreased interest on its part for develpments in regions such as the Middle East.

The two presidents had also met in Athens on May 20.

Caption: ANA-MPA file photo of President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias (R) and Egypt's President Hosni Moubarak(L).

[04] Inflation increase causes

The ministry stresses that the change, of the Harmonised Consumper Prices Index "in the event that the taxes for basic products remain stable, is presenting a downward trend, since from 1.9 percent in January 2010 it decreased to 1.3 percent in May 2010."

It added that "the increase in inflation during the first five months of 2010, is mainly due to the considerable changes in the tax burden for products and services, that occurred in the March-May 2010 period."

[05] Áthens Newspaper Headlines

The social security issue and the reversals in labour relations preannounced by Labour and Social Security Minister Andreas Loverdos and labour unions' threat of new strikes in protest, and the Siemens scandal dominated the headlines on Thursday in Athens' newspapers.

ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "Shock with lay-offs and halving of compensations - Block on collective labour agreements - The Presidential Decree unveiled".

APOGEVMATINI: "590 euros salary, 360 euros pension - This is PASOK's Greece - Papandreou's (George, Prime Minister) socialist government devastated everything".

AVGHI: "Massacre for 6.5 million labourers - Three social security bills (private, public sector and auxiliary pensions) raise the retirement age and reduce pensions".

CHORA: "Cannibal politicians and merchants".

ELEFTHEROS: "Hellenic Railways (OSE) former CEO stated: Three former PASOK ministers paved the way to Siemens".

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "Government returns labour relations to Middle Ages - Cheap layoffs and cheaper staff".

ELEFTHEROTYPIA: "Double blow - Limitation of labourers' protection against employers' arbitrariness".

ESTIA: "Inflation a major problem - IMF's recipe torpedoed".

ETHNOS: "Tsunami over pensions and labour - Government advances express procedures".

IMERISSIA: "Major reversals - Everything changes in labour and pensions".

KATHIMERINI: "Severe penalties for tax evaders".

LOGOS: "Labourers in state of war - Collective labour agreements are essentially abolished".

NAFTEMPORIKI: "New era in labour after the reversal in vested rights".

NIKI: "Government's future hanging by a thread - At the razor's edge over labour relations and social security".

RIZOSPASTIS: "PAME (Labour union affiliated to Communist Party of Greece) calls on labour unions to stage a nationwide strike on June 23".

TA NEA: "National heatwave - Heat, smog, strikes and burning measures".

TO VIMA: "Jobless, with half-compensation - Shock measures to facilitate the businesses".

VRADYNI: "Labour before the firing squad - Swift regulation of labour relations via Presidential Decree".

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