Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-05-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] Tsipras, Erdogan discuss EU-Turkey deal, FIR violations in Istanbul summit

[02] Travel receipts down 0.1 pct in Q1, BoG report‏

[01] Tsipras, Erdogan discuss EU-Turkey deal, FIR violations in Istanbul summit

According to government sources, the two sides focused on the management of refugee flows during their 45-minute meeting with Tsipras noting that trafficking rings have been dealt with significantly and NATO's participation is crucial. He added however that there are still problems that need to be dealt with.

The Greek premier also raised the issue of Turkey's airspace violations, the same sources said, noting that he expressed the government's discontent with Turkey's increasing infringing activity in the Aegean. The two sides agreed to activate diplomatic channels to de-escalate the situation.

Tsipras and Erdogan also discussed bilateral cooperation in energy, tourism and transport.

According to the government sources, the two leaders also focused on the Cyprus issue, expressing their support for the ongoing negotiations between Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci which aim at finding a solution to the country's division.

On Wednesday, Tsipras and Anastasiades will meet in Athens, during which the Greek leader will brief his counterpart on his talks with Erdogan.

[02] Travel receipts down 0.1 pct in Q1, BoG report‏

In the January-March 2016 period, the balance of travel services showed a surplus of 90 million euros, up 13.7 pct from a surplus of 80 million in the same period of 2015. This development is attributed to a larger fall in travel payments (down 12 million or 2.6 pct) than in travel receipts (down 1 million or 0.1 pct). Slightly lower travel receipts were mainly due to a decrease of 6.2 pct in arrivals, as average expenditure per trip rose by 6.5 pct. Net receipts from travel services offset 2.2 pct of the goods deficit and accounted for 12.4 pct of total net receipts from services.

In March 2016, as mentioned previously, travel receipts rose by 8.2 pct year-on-year. Looking at the breakdown by visitor's country of origin, receipts from residents of the EU28 increased by 7.2 pct (March 2016: 110 million euros, March 2015: 103 million) and those from outside the EU28 by 9.5 pct (March 2016: 104 million, March 2015: 95 million). Among major countries of origin, receipts from Germany fell by 15.2 pct to 19 million euros, while those from France increased by 27.9 pct to 7 million. Receipts from the United Kingdom also increased, by 40.0 pct to 25 million euros. Turning to non-EU28 countries, receipts from Russia rose by 179.5 pct to 8 million and those from the United States increased by 18.8 pct to 24 million.

In January-March 2016, travel receipts fell slightly by 0.1 pct year-on-year to 515 million euros. This development is attributed to lower receipts from within the EU28 (down 5.4 pct to 258 million), as receipts from outside the EU28 rose by 6.0 pct to 247 million euros. Specifically, receipts from Germany rose by 0.4 pct to 50 million and those from France by 1.1 pct to 14 million euros. Receipts from the United Kingdom also increased, by 5.5 pct to 49 million. Turning to non-EU28 countries, receipts from Russia increased by 44.0 pct to 12 million and those from the United States rose by 28.6 pct to 40 million euros.

The number of inbound visitors in March 2016 rose by 2.5 pct year-on-year to 629,000. In January-March 2016, the number of inbound visitors decreased by 6.2 pct to 1,621 thousand.

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