Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-10-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] The migrant situation is better than last year, EU Commissioner Avramopoulos says

[02] International arrivals to Greek airports soar in Sept

[03] Greeks return to the Mediterranean diet as result of the economic crisis

[01] The migrant situation is better than last year, EU Commissioner Avramopoulos says

However, the situation is still very fragile in Italy, Greece and Bulgaria, but also in other Member States that have to deal with a high number of asylum applications, irregular migrants to return and refugees to integrate, he said.

Avramopoulos welcomes the success of all Member States to deliver on their commitments.

In the last few months, many Member States have increased their efforts on relocation and resettlement, demonstrating what is possible, if the political will is there, he noted.

"I encouraged the Ministers to continue delivering like this, and the Commission will continue supporting Member States with all available means to further accelerate the implementation of the relocation and resettlement schemes, as well as the full implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement," he stated.

The EU Commissioner stressed that migration challenges cannot only be addressed inside Europe, but we have to work with our external partners.

"Today we had a fruitful discussion on the Migration Partnership Framework which is a key element to reduce irregular migration flows and improve returns of irregular migrants. Today, we have not only discussed about the measures to address the immediate needs, but also how to build a more resilient European migration and asylum policy to face future challenges."

Avramopoulos acknowledged that progress has been reached on the reform of Eurodac and to create a new European Asylum Agency, adding "I hope we can reach an agreement by the end of the year."

"Following the official launch of the European Border and Coast Guard last week, we discussed the next steps to fully operationalise the new agency within the coming months. For this, I called on the Member States to be fully engaged to set up for instance the pool of experts. However, better managing our external borders in order to reduce irregular arrivals means also that we have to enhance pathways for people in need of protection to come legally. This is why we had an intensive discussion on the EU resettlement framework."

All these elements are inter-linked and crucial building blocks of a sustainable and future-proof European migration and asylum policy, he underlined.

"Finally, managing our external borders better is also essential to improve our security. The key element here is exchange of information," according to the Commissioner.

"We all agreed that we have to know who is crossing our external borders. For that, we already have proposals on the table for systematic checks of EU citizens at our external borders, and for an EU entry-exit system. These changes to our border management are urgent to improve our security. The Member States and the European Parliament need to move quickly and adopt them into law still this year. I have also informed the Ministers that next month I will propose an EU Travel Information and Authorisation System, similar to the US 'ESTA'," he concluded.

[02] International arrivals to Greek airports soar in Sept

More specifically, arrivals to the main airports of the country rose 7.6 percent in the 9-month period compared to last year.

In Crete, the Ionian islands and the Cyclades arrivals rose 11.3 percent, 12.2 percent and 10.2 percent respectively in September on a year-on-year basis. Arrivals also rose in Athens (14.3 percent) and Thessaloniki (23.5 percent). On the other hand, Kos, Samos and Lesvos recorded a drop of 2.9 percent, 13.7 percent and 44.5 percent respectively.

"The increase in arrivals is thanks to special tourist packages and lower prices promoted by companies in an effort to attract last minute tourists," SETE said.

However, it noted that despite the increase in arrivals, tourist businesses are expected to record losses for another year as a result of over-taxation and reduced prices that undermine competitiveness and threaten their viability.

[03] Greeks return to the Mediterranean diet as result of the economic crisis

The number of people eating in restaurants and fast food chains has dropped significantly compared to 2011. Moreover, people have changed their eating habits as they can no longer buy basic food, according to a survey carried out by the Consumer Protection Centre (KEPKA) in a sample of 1,059 consumers all over Greece.

"The Greeks have improved their eating habits and turned to the Mediterranean diet as a result of the economic crisis," the president of the Consumer Protection Centre, Nikos Tsemperlidis, said in a press conference.

Bread, vegetables and fruits have returned to the family table. On the other hand, red meat, fish, French fries and soft drinks are limited to once a week. Sweets, legumes, pasta, chicken, eggs and milk are consumed a few times a week, while the lamb and goat consumption is limited to once a month.

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