Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-12-03

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Troika asks for more time having influence in Greek developments, German MEP Ferber says

[02] Judges Council rejects jailed hunger striker Romanos' furlough application

[01] Troika asks for more time having influence in Greek developments, German MEP Ferber says

"I think that in a country which is in a programme, such as Greece, and where the troika is involved, it is normal to have frictions and problems," Ferber, also vice-president of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, said.

"What we are seeing today is that Greece has delivered a lot. We saw Greece returning to growth this year ... Greece has also strengthened its competitiveness and if it boosts foreign investments, all these measures will create the positive conditions the troika is asking for. Therefore all these frictions will come down. The main problem I see right now is that the troika is asking for more time having influence in Greek developments. It is reasonable that after being in a bail-out programme for 4-5 years, you want to get rid of it. This is something that we have to conclude very quickly because I understand that Greek politicians think that four and a half years are enough and they want to stand on their own feet," the German MEP said.

Ferber, however, underlined that "you cannot get rid of troika while asking for money. These are linked. But if you receive a kind of help from (European Commission president Jean-Claude) Juncker's 315 billion euro programme for some areas, and not for all as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is asking for, then the power of the troika will be limited. A balanced approach is needed, but you are on a good track achieving that."

Asked what the attitude of Germany would be if SYRIZA becomes government, Ferber noted: "Firstly, it is the issue of the Greek President elections. The threshold is very high. If the coalition government does not have the votes to overcome that threshold, then the country will immediately go to elections. But to be serious, seeing the views expressed by SYRIZA, I would say that they do not say anything, they are just making noise. But with noise we do not solve problems and promising Greeks that everything will get better it is wrong. Certainly, the troika cannot give anymore ... But SYRIZA cannot promise things that cannot be implemented as this would cause great disappointment to Greeks."

Ferber noted that if the country goes to national elections as a result of the failure of the government to elect a President of the Republic, citizens will acknowledge that they have a hard way to go, but they will see the light at the end of the tunnel, but this light will be destroyed if SYRIZA comes to power.

The full interview of Markus Ferber is available for subscribers at ANA-MPA webTV.

[02] Judges Council rejects jailed hunger striker Romanos' furlough application

Twenty-one-year-old Romanos has been on hunger strike since November 10 after he was refused a furlough to attend classes. He is serving a sentence for a bank robbery.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article