Athens News Agency: News in English, 10-09-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] FM outlines Greek foreign policy

[02] Illegal fuel trade costs 2 billion euros annually

[03] Greek inflation rises to 5.6% in Aug.

[04] Reports: Unleaded price ceiling to be axed

[05] Tender for 5-star hotel

[06] Stocks end off lows

[01] FM outlines Greek foreign policy

Speaking in a press conference in the presence of Alternate Foreign Minister Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, and Deputy Foreign Ministers Spyros Kouvelis and Dimitris Dollis, Droutsas clarified that the committee will be comprised of foreign ministry officials and academics, while a special role will be played by the National Council on Foreign Policy (ESEP).

In beginning with regional issues, Droutsas referred to the "Agenda 2014" initiative concerning the European prospects of the Balkan countries and his recent visits to Belgrade and Pristina, while in regards to the fYRoM "name issue", he underlined that Greece has proved that it has the necessary political will to find a solution.

As regards the all-important field of Greek-Turkish relations, the FM reiterated that Athens seeks close cooperation with Turkey under the precondition that International Law, Greece's territorial integrity and sovereign rights are fully observed.

"Within this framework, we are ready, we support Turkey's European prospect and its goal for EU accession," he stressed, pointing out that the promotion of a different EU-Turkey "relationship" is not in Greece's interests.

He added that the outcome of a recent referendum in Turkey allows Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to proceed with more decisive reforms in the area of human rights, International Law and the rules of good-neighbourly relations as well as in a solution of the long-standing Cyprus problem.

He also clarified that no EU partner has supported Turkey's "unconditional accession" into the EU, adding that certain partners maintained that "Turkey should not be cut off from Europe" and that "somehow Turkey should be integrated into the EU policies." Droutsas underlined that the only way for Turkey is to "fully meet its obligations for EU accession."

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[02] Illegal fuel trade costs 2 billion euros annually

He also stated that Greece is expecting the outcome of inspections conducted in the period between Oct. 2009 and the first months of 2010 by Greek and Bulgarian authorities on roughly 9,000 fuel tank trucks destined for Bulgaria to determine if there were any incidents of fuel smuggling.

Meanwhile, roughly 500 physicians in the northern seaport city of Thessaloniki alone are involved in tax law violations as shown by recent inspections. A large number of lawyers and other professionals are also included on the list of tax-dodgers.

Kapeleris confirmed that more than 1,100 private pools in the greater Thessaloniki region and the neighboring prefectures of Çalkidiki and Pieria have not been declared to the tax bureaus by their owners. In addition, roughly 220 offshore companies in Thessaloniki and the greater region have in their possession large undeclared real estate property.

Kapeleris revealed that a football manager in Thessaloniki is under the microscope of the SDOE inspectors for undeclared bank accounts of 26 million euros.

The SDOE head stated that only a few of the 1,000 cases concerning Greeks citizens with suspicious accounts of millions of euros in foreign banks have been investigated stressing that it is a time-consuming process.

Meanwhile, the 1517 hotline set up by the finance ministry has already received roughly 15,000 calls referring to suspected tax-evadors. (ANA-MPA)

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[03] Greek inflation rises to 5.6% in Aug.

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[04] Reports: Unleaded price ceiling to be axed

The measure attracted a firestorm of criticism this week by station owners and the press, with critics saying the price ceiling caused some petrol outlets to sell unleaded gasoline at a loss, while other cheaper vendors merely raised prices to reach the ceiling, pegged at 1.47 euros per litre of 95 octane unleaded. (ANA-MPA)

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[05] Tender for 5-star hotel

In an announcement, the Port Authority said the ambitious project aims to fill a void in terms of high-end hotel rooms for the major port city, which currently lacks a large five-star hotel. (ANA-MPA)

The current building includes 30,000 sq.m. of space. The current tender envisions that it will keep its Pagoda-style architectural form. Moreover, the port authority said it will build a new passenger terminal for cruise ships on the ground floor.

The underwriter of the project will have to set up a societe anonyme company and to deposit a letter of guarantee worth 800,000 euros, regardless of the bid price. (ANA-MPA)

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[06] Stocks end off lows

The Big Cap index fell 0.53 pct, the Mid Cap index ended 0.35 pct lower and the Small Cap index fell 1.44 pct.

The Food (2.68 pct) and Financial Services (1.32 pct) sectors scored gains, while Telecommunications (2.68 pct) and Chemicals (2.03 pct) suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 117 to 51 with another 44 issues unchanged.

Edrasi (12.5 pct), Akritas (10 pct) and Perseus (8.70 pct) were top gainers, while Kreka (17.14 pct), Ridenco (16.67 pct) and NEL (16.67 pct) were top losers.

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