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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-07-23
CONTENTS
[01] Konstantopoulou meets PM, stresses 'shared commitments'
[02] New party president to be elected by early 2016, ND decides
[03] Presidency to host luncheon for 41st anniversary since restoring
democracy
[04] Fires continued to rage on Evia, Rhodes and Dragogi on Thursday
[05] Final decisions on re-opening Athens stock market next week,
sources say
[01] Konstantopoulou meets PM, stresses 'shared commitments'
ANA-MPA -- In statements after a two-hour meeting with Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras on Thursday, Parliament President Zoi Konstantopoulou
said that their relations remained cordial, despite her refusal to back
the draft bills that the government had brought to Parliament in order
to launch negotiations on a third bailout for Greece.
"With the prime minister we are linked by ties of comradeship, sincerity
and a common willingness, commitment and desire to defend the rights
of our people, the prospects of this country and the cohesion of the
left and of SYRIZA that some would like to see shredded," she noted.
Konstantopoulou said they had a sincere and in-depth discussion with
Tsipras about the events of the past few days and the "initiatives that
must be taken by the Parliament and institutional representations in
relation to the protection of the things that are the non-negotiable
rights of our people and in relation to defending democracy, which is
being sorely tested in Europe." The Parliament president said that
she had "unequivocally stressed" the "common commitment of the prime
minister and myself to serving the interests of the people, the people's
sovereignty and the result of the people's vote." "At such times when
institutional representations and political positions are being tested,
it is important that the representatives of precisely these institutions
can talk with sincerity and directness, even if they had different
opinions or approaches, to talk openly, reach an understanding and come
up with solutions," she added. According to sources within the prime
minister's office, Tsipras had expressed concern over the institutional
"dissonance" created by her decision to differentiate herself from the
collective policy direction of the government and the Parliamentary
majority that supports her. They said that the prime minister carefully
listened to her views and that the meeting was held in a cordial and
sincere atmosphere. The meeting was requested by Konstantopoulou so
that she might discuss her objections to the procedure followed for
the second package of prior actions passed by Parliament in the early
hours of Thursday morning, which she claimed flouted the Constitution,
and a letter that she sent to Tsipras to request that he convey these
concerns to his European counterparts.
[02] New party president to be elected by early 2016, ND decides
ANA-MPA -- The new president of New Democracy will be elected by the
spring of 2016 at the latest, ND's Executive Secretariat and Political
Council decided unanimously on Thursday. They also agreed that the
election will be carried out in accordance with the new procedure
calling for direct election by the party's grass roots and society,
first used in November 2009.
This gives a right to vote to all those registered as party members, even
if they register right before voting. The party's Political Committee
is due to convene on Friday to approve the decision.
[03] Presidency to host luncheon for 41st anniversary since restoring
democracy
ANA-MPA -- President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos will
host a luncheon for the political party leaders at 14:00 on Friday at
the presidential mansion to mark the 41st anniversary since the fall of
the 1967-1974 military junta and the restoration of democracy in Greece.
The luncheon will be attended by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, main
opposition New Democracy's interim leader Evangelos Meimarakis, the
head of the opposition party Potami Stavros Theodorakis, Communist
Party of Greece (KKE) Central Committee member Athanasios Pafilis (in
the absence of KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas), the head
of the Independent Greeks (ANEL) party Panos Kammenos and PASOK leader
Fofi Gennimata.
[04] Fires continued to rage on Evia, Rhodes and Dragogi on Thursday
ANA-MPA -- Wildfires that started on Thursday were continuing to burn
on the islands of Rhodes and Evia, as well as Dragogi in Ileia.
A forest fire that broke out on the Aegean island of Rhodes was
continuing to rage unchecked on Thursday afternoon, despite the fire
brigade's best efforts to put it out. Rhodes Mayor Fotis Hatzidiakos
appealed to all citizens that owned bulldozers or large tractors to
assist in the fire-fighting effort on the island by helping to open
up firebreaks to corral the flames. He painted a grim picture, noting
that the multiple simultaneous locations of the fire made it hard to get
under control. By the afternoon, the flames had passed the village of
Laerma and were heading toward an agricultural region near the village
Apollonon. Fire-fighting forces were making efforts to prevent the
flames from reaching the fields. In addition to fire brigade forces
on the ground and volunteers, the fire brigade and Greek army had
sent three water-bombing helicopters and an airplane to assist from
the air. The village of Makrykapa on the island of Evia was evacuated
as a precaution on Thursday, due to a major wildfire that broke out
in the area earlier in the afternoon. A force of 19 fire-engines, 50
fire-fighters and a 12-man team on foot, assisted by four water-bombing
aircraft, are currently struggling to put out the blaze.
A fire that broke out on Thursday in Dragogi, in the Andritsaina-Krestena
municipality of Ileia, Peloponnese, is not posing any threat to homes
or inhabited areas, Western Greece Region governor Apostolos Katsifaras
told the ANA-MPA. The fire brigade said the fire was burning an forested
area and was being combatted by forces on the ground, without assistance
from the air. The fire-fighters have so far managed to contain the flames
and lead them away from the houses, with the fire brigade reporting that
"things are looking much better".
[05] Final decisions on re-opening Athens stock market next week,
sources say
ANA-MPA -- Final decisions concerning the re-opening of the Athens stock
exchange will be taken next week, senior finance ministry officials
said on Thursday.
They said that representatives of the Bank of Greece, the Capital Markets
Commission, the stock exchange and the Association of Members of the
Athens Exchanges are currently deliberating on how best to resume the
operation of capital markets smoothly. The main point of dispute is
the limit that will be imposed on domestic investors when it comes
to using their bank deposits for investments in the domestic market,
with three different alternatives under discussion. One idea is that
investors will be able to buy stocks using, in addition to 'new money',
a small percentage (e.g. 10 pct) or a set upper limit (e.g. 5,000 euros)
of their existing bank deposits. Another is that investors will be able
to use their credit balance with stock brokerages, though this sum is
just 30 million euros, while a third is the possibility of transferring
capital from bank accounts to investor accounts using e-banking.
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