Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-04-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] Brussels not pushing for more public-sector lay offs in Greece, official says

[02] Stringent security for PAOK-Panathinaikos Cup final

[01] Brussels not pushing for more public-sector lay offs in Greece, official says

The same Commission official stressed that the Greek economy was starting to stabilise and that the worst was already behind it. He pointed to better-than-expected fiscal figures and noted that the progress made since July 2013 in fundamental aspects of the programme had been huge. At the same time, the official stressed that "the work is not over yet".

In terms of reforming Greece's public sector, the Commission official said that progress has been made but the reforms were not yet complete. Noting that the number of public-sector staff had been reduced by more than expected, the official stressed that quality was more important than quantity in terms of carrying out reforms, adding that for every public-sector lay off there had been one recruitment.

Asked to comment on whether politicians or technocrats were responsible for the cost of bailing out the Greek economy, the official defended the adjustment programme and said that the country's financial state in 2010 had been so bad that some form of adjustment was unavoidable and that there had been no alternative with fewer painful repercussions.

Regarding the shortcomings and failures of the first adjustment programme, the official blamed these partly on 'communication errors' on the part of Greek governments, which failed to defend the measures and chose to point a finger at Brussels instead, as well as on doubts about Greece's willingness and ability to carry out necessary reforms. The speculation about Greece's exit from the eurozone in 2012 also increased the cost of a rescue, the official said.

Asked when Greece will be free of memorandums, the Commission official said that it was too soon to say, adding that a decision on whether to extend the Greek programme after 2014 will be taken in the autumn, when a more complete picture on the progress of reforms and the sustainability of Greece's debt had emerged.

In any case, even if Greece has exited the programme in 2014, the supervision process will continue, the official added.

Concerning the sustainability of Greece's debt, the official said the issue would be resolved during the next review of the Greek programme.

[02] Stringent security for PAOK-Panathinaikos Cup final

At the OAKA stadium in Maroussi, where the match is due to take place, spectators will have to negotiate three zones of security inspections designed to prevent the smuggling of banned items into the game, and to bar entry to those without a ticket.

Supporters of both teams will be escorted by police as they enter the OAKA stadium and will be banned from outdoor meetings in a wide area around central Athens throughout the day.

The security measures were extended to the national highways, as hundreds of coaches and thousands of PAOK fans made their way to Athens for the Cup final match on Saturday. Traffic on the Athens-Lamia national highway had to be diverted at the Afidnes tolls just outside Athens at one point, due to long queues caused by police spot checks on the coaches carrying supporters.

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