Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-03-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Dragasakis: Greece favours a Europe of solidarity and democracy

[02] ECB's Nouy: Greek banks won't need further recapitalization

[03] Parcel with explosives sent to Schaeuble cited ND VP Georgiadis as sender, says CP ministry

[01] Dragasakis: Greece favours a Europe of solidarity and democracy

"We are in favour of a Europe of democracy, solidarity and social justice. In favour of the possibility of enhanced cooperation, without exclusions, in a Europe with strong mechanisms for economic convergence and social and regional cohesion," he said.

"Our country's place in the euro is a given," he added, noting however that saying this is not enough. "The question we ought to answer is which Greece in which Europe can respond in this critical historical juncture to the country's needs, its youth and [its] people," he said.

Dragasakis continued to say Europe's problem is "first and foremost political" and needs a plan to help it exit the crisis through its transformation into a democratic, social union. Furthermore, Greece must contribute meaningfully in the dialog for the future of Europe.

[02] ECB's Nouy: Greek banks won't need further recapitalization

"The Greek banks are well capitalised now. I would put as the first priority to address non-performing exposures and to make the new boards, the governance reforms that have been undertaken during the last 12 months, work properly. Those are the priorities," she said during an interview with SKAI TV on Wednesday evening, adding that cooperation with the Bank of Greece has been excellent from day one.

"We have a very, very good cooperation with the Greek supervisors," she noted.

The ECB official said Greek banks would benefit a lot from the country's participation in quantitative easing and the completion of the second review as it would give a strong signal for investors and would mean more confidence.

Asked about the higher bank deposit outflows in January, Nouy said 2016 brought some good news on many fronts but in the first two months of 2017 "have been a little bit disappointing, as if there was a pause in the progress." At the same time, she continued, hoarded cash has also been decreasing. "So maybe it's a temporary phenomenon - individuals and corporates paying taxes or bills - and the situation will become more normal in the coming months. I think it's a bit early to draw conclusions on that," she said.

Concerning the Greek banks' recent raise of funding from the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) in February, she said the funding of the banks using less ELA and more deposits and investors on the market is something the ECB monitors very closely. "And again that can be temporary, we hope it is temporary."

On the issue of government laws that have been prepared to tackle non-performing exposures (NPEs), Nouy said she hoped they will be enacted soon in order to move forward with NPEs. "The idea is to start a virtuous cycle, really. The banks that are overloaded with non-performing exposures cannot fund the economy. They put their strengths and their resources into addressing these issues," she explained.

Asked about the capital controls and when they might be lifted, she said she is not the competent official to respond but expressed hope they will not last long because "it's all about confidence".

[03] Parcel with explosives sent to Schaeuble cited ND VP Georgiadis as sender, says CP ministry

The package arrived at the ministry mailroom and was found to contain explosive material. It was neutralized by German police.

After the news, Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas asked Germany's police contact in Athens for information on the parcel. It was established that the package was mailed from a yet unknown ELTA post office in Athens and bore Greek stamps and seals.

A photo of the package sent by German authorities cited Georgiadis' name and office address:

"Spyridon - Adonis Georgiadis, New Democracy, Akadimias 84 -10678, Athens Attica, Greece."

Toskas notified the ND lawmaker who confirmed the address, after which police and anti-terror police asked their German counterparts for more details on the explosive mechanism and other information which will shed light on the real sender. Authorities are also trying to establish from which post office the parcel was sent and how it got past security at the airport.

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