Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Tsipras: 'There are no gray zones in the Aegean'

[02] Tax revenue significantly surpassed targets in January

[03] ND leader visits Lesvos, urges support for islands coping with migration crisis

[04] Environment ministry tables bill ratifying protection of Prespa Park

[01] Tsipras: 'There are no gray zones in the Aegean'

"I want to be clear: there are no gray zones in the Aegean. What exists is Greece's firm determination to defend European and international law and its sovereign rights, as well as its determination to deal collectedly with the problems that arise, always relying on dialogue and cooperation and not on sensational actions," he said. "And let's not forget that Greek borders are European borders."

Tsipras also said Greece is observing an increased provocation and military activity in the Aegean on Turkey's side. "This road doesn't lead anywhere. Greece was, is and will continue to be determined to defend its sovereign rights in the context of European and international law which is being violated from the other side," he added.

[02] Tax revenue significantly surpassed targets in January

In a report, the authority said that the January figures confirmed the continuation of a satisfactory trend in tax revenue during 2017, which is expected to be positively assessed during negotiations with the country's creditors on completing the second review of the Greek programe.

Tax revenue, pre-returns, totaled 4.270 billion euros in January, up 6.43 pct from a budget target of 4.012 billion, while returns totaled 314 million euros, up 6.08 pct from a target of 296 million euros.

Tax revenue, excluding returns, totaled 3.956 billion euros, up 6.46 pct from a budget target of 3.716 billion.

[03] ND leader visits Lesvos, urges support for islands coping with migration crisis

Among these he included effective guarding of the borders, detention of irregular migrants in closed pre-departure centres, decongestion of islands through a rapid processing of asylum applications, exploiting European funds that currently remain unutilised and the implementation of a special programme to benefit island communities.

Talking about the EU-Turkey agreement on migration, Mitsotakis said that this was a good agreement that did not bring the expected results due to the mishandling and omissions of the Greek government. He noted that the entire agreement was based on the premise that asylum applications would be processed quickly, since all sides were aware that migrants would ask for asylum once the borders were closed.

"Under the agreement, anyone not granted asylum would be returned to Turkey, while those given the status of refugee would be able to move freely throughout the country. At its conception, therefore, this agreement did not necessarily result in a great concentration of refugees and migrants on the islands. The main reason this happened is because asylum services are understaffed and there was a considerable delay, both at the first and secondary level of examining asylum requests," Mitsotakis said.

He promised that ND will adopt a policy of decongesting the islands that would not jeopardise the core of the EU-Turkey Statement. He also noted that those critical of the government's handling could not automatically be cast as belonging to the far-right and cited a need to better control non-governmental organisations.

Referring to the problems created for tourism, Mitsotakis listed three ND proposals for a recovery of tourism, such as directly communicating with tour operators at a top level, contacting the large cruise companies and striking deals with budget airlines, such as Ryanair.

[04] Environment ministry tables bill ratifying protection of Prespa Park

The Prespa Park (PP), the first transboundary protected area in the Balkans, was established on 2 February 2000, World Wetlands Day, with a joint declaration by the Prime Ministers of Greece, Albania and FYROM, following a proposal from the Society for the Protection of Prespa and the WWF.

The news was welcomed by the municipality of Prespa and various environmental organizations and local protection groups such as the Managing Body of Prespa National Park, the Company for the Protection of Prespa, WWF Hellas, the Greek Ornithological Society, the Nature Protection Society, the Environment and Cultural Heritage Company, and the Goulandris Museum of Natural History.

The organizations urged lawmakers from all parties to approve the bill, as it was approved unanimously in the parliaments of other neighbouring European countries.

"The Prespa Park is the first cross-border nature reserve in the Balkans. For all of us, the future of the Prespa region - in the heart of the politically unstable Balkan region - means the cooperation and bridging of the gaps for a peaceful coexistence, maintaining the precious natural environment and sustainable development. In this direction, the implementation of the agreement will be catalytic," the organizations said in a joint statement.

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