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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-05-22
CONTENTS
[01] IMF's role 'essential' in Greek debt talks, German finance ministry
says
[02] Pittella: Agreement with Greece must be reached within a week
[03] No party official will risk overthrowing government by rejecting
deal, SYRIZA MEP says
[04] Prolonged uncertainty freezing investments, employment, SEV
report warns
[01] IMF's role 'essential' in Greek debt talks, German finance ministry
says
BERLIN (ANA-MPA/ F. Karaviti) The International Monetary Fund's role is
"essential" in efforts to stabilise Greece, German finance ministry
spokesman Martin Jaeger said earlier on Friday.
He noted that the IMF, along with the European Central Bank and the
European Commission, were the three institutions with which Greece must
negotiate reforms. Jaeger was replying to questions quoting German
press reports that the EU was organising a meeting on Greece without the
IMF's participation. German government's deputy spokeswoman Christiane
Wirtz, meanwhile, said she was "unaware of any such thoughts" and that
all sides were following the agreement of February 20, which demanded
steps of progress by Greece. She noted that there must be agreement
with the three institutions and then the finance ministers must decide.
Asked about Thursday's meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
and French President Francois Hollande in Riga, she clarified that the
decisions and agreements will not be made by heads of government and
that no specific reform proposals were agreed in Riga.
[02] Pittella: Agreement with Greece must be reached within a week
ANA-MPA -- An agreement between Greece and its EU partners must be agreed
upon within the next week which will resolve its liquidity and debt
issues and include implementation of reforms by the Greek government,
the President of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
(S&D) in the European Parliament, Gianni Pittella, said during a press
conference at the offices of the European Parliament in Athens on Friday.
Pittella said this is the message he will confer to Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras at their meeting on Saturday, he told ANA-MPA, adding
that European Socialists are trying to secure the best conditions for an
agreement to Greece so that it won't have negative effects on the economy.
"Both sides have to show the will to reach a good agreement," he said,
adding that the deal should take into account the current situation in
Greece. Pittella noted European institutions cannot demand unrealistic
targets as doing so will so they don't want a deal. He also said the
party is against the logic of a "take it or leave it" deal for Greece,
an opinion which may have been voiced by some people, and that no one
has given the government any ultimatums. Pittella clarified that no
one should discuss a "plan B" or a "Grexit" scenario for Greece and that
all sides are geared towards achieving a deal.
[03] No party official will risk overthrowing government by rejecting
deal, SYRIZA MEP says
ANA-MPA -- SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis said on Friday he believes
that no senior official or wing of the main coalition party will risk
overthrowing the government by rejecting a deal brought for approval
by the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Responding to a question on dissent within SYRIZA, Papadimoulis told
Skai radio there may be disagreements and different views but everyone
will support the government in the end. "Talks, different opinions and
estimations exist within SYRIZA. And in such a difficult negotiation
it's logical and to be expected. But to overthrow the government, or a
denial by SYRIZA's parliamentary group or by the government coalition
to support and implement a deal which the government and the prime
minister personally will bring, no I don't see that. I'm categorical on
this," Papadimoulis said. "I don't think there will be a SYRIZA wing
or senior party official who will want to assume the responsibility,
at this phase, to pull the rug under the prime minister's feet, to help
overthrow the government, to vindicate the scenario of our opponents
for a brief left-wing parenthesis, or to push the scenario which all
our opponents are rabidly promoting both domestically and abroad: the
split-up of SYRIZA," he added. Commenting on the ongoing negotiations,
the MEP said it's now up to the leaders to resolve "knots" in the talks
which will speed up the work of technocrats and prepare the documents
which will be signed by the Eurogroup.
[04] Prolonged uncertainty freezing investments, employment, SEV
report warns
ANA-MPA -- The unprecedented and prolonged period of uncertainty
currently prevailing in the Greek economy has frozen investments and
keeps unemployment at very high levels, as investors await an agreement
with the country's creditors, the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises
(SEV) said in its weekly bulletin on the Greek economy released on
Friday.
"Never before in the modern economic history of the country there
has been such a prolonged period of dynamic instability as the one
currently prevailing in the Greek economy in the last few months of 2014
onwards. The country is in an unbelievable swirl…the economy is in a
downward spiral…the economy is faltering," SEV said in the report. The
Federation noted that the lack of a clear result in the negotiations with
the country's partners and of a credible outlook for the Greek economy was
having a negative impact on economic activity, delaying any investment
initiative and the absorption of thousands of unemployed people. Growth
policy is absent in the current difficult economic conjucture, although
efforts were made to restore restrictions on competition and deregulating
the labour market, the best recipe for a deepening of recession. There
was also a climate of overtaxing the economy with a planned increase in
VAT rates in the tourist industry that could lead to the country to a
deeper recession and higher unemployment. The real estate asset market
is in a stalemate as the liquidation of property is impossible without
any huge loss. Overtaxation of taxpayers will lead to a shrinking tax
base and to an exit of workers and enterprises abroad, SEV noted.
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