Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-11-24

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Parliament approves legislation on alternative fuel; covers two prior actions from 2nd program review

[02] Justice Minister Kontonis: Constitution clear regarding judges' efforts to extend their term in office

[03] Cypriot president rejects press reports on rift with Greek foreign ministry

[04] Greek budget shows 6.502 bln euros primary surplus in Jan-Oct

[01] Parliament approves legislation on alternative fuel; covers two prior actions from 2nd program review

The bill was voted by SYRIZA, New Democracy, Democratic Coalition, Potami, ANEL and the Centrists' Union and voted down by Golden Dawn and the Communist Party.

The legislation incorporates into national law the European directive on the development of alternative fuel infrastructure, making Greece the sixth country among the 27 to harmonize national and EU law, Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis said in parliament.

[02] Justice Minister Kontonis: Constitution clear regarding judges' efforts to extend their term in office

"The judges, during the disagreement they may have, reasonable and valid in some points, must not forget their fundamental capacity: which is that they are judges. Also the fact that society endows them with a special trust and, if this trust is disrupted by behaviours or phenomena that are incompatible with their calling, that this will be greatly harmful for the rule of law and a democratic society that is based on the rule of law," he said.

The minister noted that it was not his place to interfere with the decision to found a new union for senior judges and prosecutors, as all Greeks had the right to form trade unions under the Constitution. This could not be restricted, either by other trade unions or by the state, he said.

He noted, however, that judges must keep in mind that whether delivering justice or involved in trade union activity, they remained judges and had an obligation to protect their role.

The minister also reiterated the government's determination to fight corruption, which he said was largely responsible for the country's current crisis. "What we are going through did not just fall out of the sky, it was not our bad luck. It was built up with careful consistency by the system of plutocracy and kleptocracy. Some have gotten rich over these years. Conversely, there were policies that reduced the great majority of the people to despair," he said.

[03] Cypriot president rejects press reports on rift with Greek foreign ministry

"It's not just the prime minister, it's the government of Greece," he said responding to questions during a press conference in Nicosia. "Those people who insinuate at such critical times that there's a possibility of a crisis in the relations between Cyprus and Greece should stop," he added.

"We have an excellent cooperation with the Greek government, the prime minister – who expresses the policies formed by the government team – and therefore I consider unjustified, at this particularly critical time, any speculation."

Separately, Alternate government spokesman Victoras Papadopoulos said "there is no problem with Mr. Kotzias".

[04] Greek budget shows 6.502 bln euros primary surplus in Jan-Oct

The general government surplus was 1.312 billion euros in the 10-month period, from a deficit of 793 million euros last year and a budget target for a deficit of 1.608 billion.

State budget net revenue amounted to 42.09 billion euros in the January-October period, up 2.2 pct from budget targets, while regular budget net revenue was 40.075 billion euros, up 2.4 pct from budget targets.

In the 10-month period, the following revenue categories recorded increases: income tax surpassed targets by 1.2 pct, corporate tax surpassed targets by 11.8 pct, other direct taxes were up 1.3 pct, VAT on tobacco surpassed targets by 3.2 pct, other VAT revenue was up 1.3 pct, special consumption taxes surpassed targets by 2.4 pct, indirect taxes were up 2.3 pct, other consumption taxes were up 4.7 pct and other non-tax revenue surpassed targets by 5.9 pct.

On the other hand, revenues fell short of budget targets in property taxes (down 0.9 pct) and energy product consumption taxes (-1.0 pct).

Tax returns totaled 2.386 billion euros, down 90 million from budget targets. Public Investment Programme revenues amounted to 2.734 billion euros, up 18 million from targets.

State budget spending amounted to 41.497 billion euros in the 10-month period, down 1.981 billion from budget targets, while regular budget spending totaled 38.507 billion euros, down 1.121 billion from targets. Regular budget spending was up 780 million euros compared with the same period last year. Public Investment Programme spending was 2.990 billion euros, down 860 million from budget targets.

In October, state budget net revenue was 4.985 billion euros, up 938 million from monthly targets, while regular budget net revenue surpassed monthly targets by 920 million to 4.827 million euros.

Tax returns totaled 237 million euros, down 90 million from monthly targets. Public Investment Programme revenue were 158 million euros, up 18 million from targets. State budget spending was 4.266 billion euros in October, down 112 million from monthly targets, while regular budget spending was 3.957 billion euros, up 119 million from monthly targets. Public Investment Programme spending was 309 million euros, down 231 million from monthly targets.

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article