Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-08-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] Employment minister on social security

[02] Recession will be milder

[01] Employment minister on social security

The minister further said that "the ministry met its obligations first and before the timetables. We had scheduled the changes before the EU-IMF memorandum and we are proud of this."

Loverdos made special reference during the press conference to the fact that certain clauses in the law on the social security issue are being presented as new measures. For example, as he said, article 11 of the law on the social security issue, according to which a new actuarial study is being processed on the basis of the figures of the social security law regarding a series of issues, is being presented as a new measure. Moreover, the prediction of article 15 on auxiliary pensions, according to which actuarial studies must be made, is being presented as a new measure.

"It is unacceptable that certain clauses of the law on the social security issue are being presented as new measures. Whoever is doing this is misinforming the Greek people. Those who are saying this are lying shamelessly."

[02] Recession will be milder

In announcing the scheme, he said it was different that the one unveiled by the preceding New Democracy government in 2008, saying that although fluidity in the market was the envisioned goal, nevertheless, conditions will be made stricter in order to buttress "the real economy, households and businesses."

Touching on the state of the Greek economy in the wake of several positive reviews, Papaconstantinou said:

"Problems remain, and the Greek economy remains in recession, which however, is shallower than what we could have imagined. The shrinking (of GDP) in the first half of the year is under 3 percent, and for all of 2010 we foresee that it will close that under the projected -4 percent ... Certainly, job spots will be lost in the effort to build an economy that will not be based on clay legs," he said, noting:

"However, we are seeing light in the tunnel after months of complete darkness over the country's prospects; the image has changed," he said.

Moreover, the Greek FinMin repeated that there is no "new memorandum" on the table, only an updated memorandum -- a reference to the agreement worked out with the EU Commission, the ECB and the IMF. He also repeated that there is no issue of a restructuring of the Greek national debt.

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