Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Stabilising Greece in everyone's best interests, Dijsselbloem tells Dutch lawmakers

[02] Gucci denies it offered to pay Greece 56 mln euros for Acropolis fashion project

[03] Athens announces open competition for transformation of OTE's telecom cabinets

[01] Stabilising Greece in everyone's best interests, Dijsselbloem tells Dutch lawmakers

"My job is to stabilise the situation in Greece...This is best from both an economic and a political standpoint and this is precisely what we will do," Dijsselbloem was reported as saying in the Dutch parliament on Tuesday, in response to questions on Greece.

According to the Dutch finance minister, "we continue to overlook how great the damage will be, from both an economic and political point of view, if Greece exits the Eurozone." Those saying that such an outcome "might be for the best" had no idea what they were talking about, he added.

Based on the paper's report, Dijsselbloem considered that the negotiations with the Greek side will not be completed before next Monday's Eurogroup. He also pointed out that the IMF has yet to decide whether it will participate in the Greek programme, thought noting that "the IMF does not want to abandon Greece either."

The article said that the Dutch Green Party supported a partial haircut of Greece's debt, while the far-right party said this would entail great cost for the Netherlands. Dijsselbloem, on this point, said that a reduction of Greece's nominal debt was not on the agenda.

In his reply to a Socialist Party MP, "Financieele Dagblad reported, Dijsselbloem agreed that Greece would be driven to default without the IMF on board, while adding that "both our own efforts and those of the IMF aim to avert this possibility."

[02] Gucci denies it offered to pay Greece 56 mln euros for Acropolis fashion project

"The published speculation regarding the supposed economic proposal, direct or indirect, is absolutely incorrect and without any foundation. The information reported by Repubblica.it and some other Greek websites was not verified in any way with us," a Gucci spokesperson said.

The House did confirm a meeting with Greek authorities to discuss a "long-term cultural collaboration".

"We confirm that a meeting took place with the Greek authorities to explore the possibility of a long-term cultural collaboration. This type of initiative is not new for our brand; in recent years Gucci has established such cultural collaborations with Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, the Mingshen Museum in Shanghai, Chatsworth House in England and LACMA in Los Angeles," the spokesperson added.

Media reported on Tuesday that the luxury brand offered two million euros for a 15' minute runway show in the area between the Erechtheion and the Parthenon and an additional 56 million for promotion and broadcasting rights. The request for the fashion show was rejected by the Central Archaeological Council which argued the monument's cultural character is "inconsistent" with the event.

[03] Athens announces open competition for transformation of OTE's telecom cabinets

The telecom cabinets which have been selected are in Praxitelous, Lekka, Perikleous, Athinaidos, Athinas and Agias Irinis streets.

Those interested should submit their CV along with a description of their idea and one or two small sample sketches by Feb. 26, midnight, to athens.trigono@gmail.com. A six-member municipal committee will look into the submissions and issue its decision on March 3. The selected artists will be provided the relevant materials to transform the cabinets.

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