Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-03-27

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

CONTENTS

[01] ND shadow foreign affairs minister George Koumoutsakos meets 'Visegrad+2' ambassadors

[02] Corruption prosecutors send case file on 'Henry Dunant' hospital to Parliament

[03] PPC labour union announces strikes against sale of power production units

[01] ND shadow foreign affairs minister George Koumoutsakos meets 'Visegrad+2' ambassadors

The meeting was originally requested by Poland's Ambassador in Athens Anna Barbazak, in order to discuss issues affecting the region with emphasis on the Balkans.

Koumoutsakos noted the importance of implementing refugee relocation programme in all European countries and also referred to Turkey's policies in the region, as well as developments in that countries and its relations to the EU.

In statements afterward, he said there had been general agreement on the need to keep the European prospects of the western Balkan countries alive, in order to contribute to stability in the region, encouraging dialogue and discouraging nationalist trends.

Regarding the refugee crisis, Koumoutsakos called for better cooperation in order to "avoid the misunderstandings of the past" and stressed that there must be understanding and support for Greece's efforts to handle refugee flows in the midst of a major economic crisis.

Taking part in the meeting were the ambassadors of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Austria and Slovenia.

[02] Corruption prosecutors send case file on 'Henry Dunant' hospital to Parliament

The prosecutors launched their investigation in response to claims by the hospital's former director Andreas Martinis that there had been "orchestrated business-political actions" that led to the hospital's sale at an excessively low price.

Martinis made the allegations last November to the prosecutors in Korydallos prison, while himself jailed on remand on charges of financial wrongdoing at the hospital's expense. The prison prosecutors then alerted the prosecuting authorities for corruption cases.

According to Martinis, former ministers Adonis Georgiadis, Costis Hatzidakis, Panagiotis Mitarakis, Andreas Lykourentzos and Mavroudis Voridis all contributed so that the hospital was sold "for a song" in a 2014 auction, to a company belonging to the Piraeus Bank group. He also named the current head of the Piraeus Bank group and the late businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos as being involved in "arranging" the sale.

The investigation was launched by the chief prosecutor for corruption cases Eleni Raikou, who resigned over the weekend, and was assigned to the prosecutor Antonis Eleftherianos. Investigation bystopped, however, since the allegations involve possible criminal actions by former ministers and these must be judged by Parliament, under current legislation.

The case file was forwarded to Parliament on Monday by Justice Minister Stavros Kontonis.

[03] PPC labour union announces strikes against sale of power production units

Adamidis confirmed that the lignite units – but not the hydroelectric units in this phase - will be sold as part of the country's deal with its creditors noting however that the portfolio of the sale has not been specified.

The president of GENOP-DEH said any solution agreed will have to pass parliament and urged local social bodies in Western Macedonia to resist the move, "as they did in 2014".

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