Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-10-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] Council of State starts its fifth session on legality of TV licensing law

[02] Discussion on pensions will not reopen, despite IMF pressure, Katrougalos says

[03] KAS opts to keep medieval repairs of Acropolis' northern fortifications

[01] Council of State starts its fifth session on legality of TV licensing law

According to judicial sources, it is possible the court will not issue a final ruling, but a temporary one, that would give the government time to set up NCRTV'S new board and then convene again to discuss the issue anew.

It is also not certain that this will be the court's last session on the issue.

[02] Discussion on pensions will not reopen, despite IMF pressure, Katrougalos says

"The IMF is not happy. It wanted blood and we didn't give it any. Everything we did in the reforms had a leftist hallmark and left sensitivity," Katrougalos told the radio station. The IMF did conform to a European social model and would be isolated, as it was the previous time, he added.

"The more extreme ask for extreme things and insist," Katrougalos noted, and also ruled out any reduction of the tax-free allowance, saying there was no issue concerning the tax system.

"The government is trying to pass social measures on a national level. With respect to social insurance, for example, we succeeded in neutralising the negative things that were taken for granted, via the national pension and other measures that we took," he said.

According to the labour minister, the social insurance system had been in a state of "chaos" when the present government took over and had run up such high deficits that the government had been forced to adjust the highest pensions downward. "It is unfair that we should be criticised for the chaotic situation we found," he added.

Regarding wages, Katrougalos said the aim was to improve wages through collective bargaining. Wages had fallen to a level where people earned next to nothing and this inevitably dragged pensions down as well, he pointed out. "We need to break this vicious circle. We guaranteed that no one will fall below 1,300 euros gross in pensions but there are much worse situations. An issue of survival arises when workers receive 100 euros a month. Our aim is to have decent wages," he said.

[03] KAS opts to keep medieval repairs of Acropolis' northern fortifications

The issue was first discussed by the council last month, when a proposal to remove the medieval repairs and reconstruct the classical-era fortifications met with strong objections. The disagreement was resolved by a decision that KAS archaeologists should examine the particular section of the wall themselves before reaching a decision. The visit to the Acropolis took place a few days earlier and a recommendation was made to preserve and restore both the older part of the wall built in the 5th century B.C. and the newer section built in the 14th century A.D.

A new, modified study will now be sent to the KAS, which has also requested a general plan for the walls that notes the location of embedded architectural elements. Some of these are derived from the Older Parthenon, a temple that was under construction when the Persians sacked Athens in 480 B.C.

According to the new head of the Acropolis Restoration Service Prof. Manolis Korres, who took over from the late Charalambos Bouras, the drafting of such a plan was already underway but its completion will require a lot of work and time. For this reason, KAS was informed that its use will not be a prerequisite for work on the monument.

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