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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-04-27
CONTENTS
[01] I will return with a fair agreement for Greece, Dijsselbloem tells
EU Parliament
[02] Out-of-court mechanism will become tool for economic growth, Econ
Min Papadimitriou says
[03] Moderate tremor felt in Messinia region
[01] I will return with a fair agreement for Greece, Dijsselbloem tells
EU Parliament
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Thursday promised to return to
the European Parliament as soon as possible with a "fair agreement for
Greece," addressing the plenum during the debate on the Greek programme.
He noted that growth in Greece, which has slowed down over the recent
period, must continue and whatever accrues from this should be invested
in the country that needs it. He pledged that there will be initiatives
in this direction, adding that Greece's debt will be also examined based
on May 2016 decisions. "The debt relief will offer a solution in order for
Greece to return to a sustainable course in the future" said Dijsselbloem.
European Commissioner for Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici expressed
his certainty that the return of the institutions to Athens will bring
"substantial progress," adding that Athens and the institutions are very
close to their target. "There must be a rapid progress now in order to
complete the review and reach a Staff Level Agreement in the following
days," Moscovici reiterated, noting that the Greek authorities must
implement a series of prior actions required under the programme.
The European Commissioner added that an overall agreement on the second
review will offer certainty regarding the primary surpluses and the
sustainability of Greek debt. "This agreement must be reached soon
not only for Greek citizens but for the benefit of Europe as a whole,"
he said.
[02] Out-of-court mechanism will become tool for economic growth, Econ
Min Papadimitriou says
An out-of-court mechanism to restructure company debts will become a
growth tool for the economy, Economy Minister Dimitris Papadimitriou
said on Thursday. Speaking in Parliament, Papadimitriou tabled a
series of improvements to a draft legislation, currently debated,
with the most significant an amendment allowing companies which
have terminated operations to apply for inclusion in the mechanism.
"The draft law does not guarantee restructuring of all company
debts, as a debt restructuring decision cannot be imposed against
the will of the majority of creditors. But it lifts hurdles creating
problems in achieving a restructuring of debts for indebted companies
and creates positive preconditions to offer relief to enterprises,
removing them from bankruptcy procedures and allowing them to continue
business operations," the minister said. He noted that an out-of-court
mechanism was seeking to coordinate all creditors including the state
and social insurance agencies. He stressed that all viable enterprises,
regardless of size, will be eligible for inclusion in the mechanism,
while he noted that self-employed and farmers will be included to a law
for indebted households. Papadimitriou said that a code of ethics of
banks will be suspended during the negotiations period, while he said
that a court approval was necessary for any such agreements.
[03] Moderate tremor felt in Messinia region
An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale shook the Messinia
region in southwest Greece on Thursday at 15:05.
According to the Geodynamic Institute of the Athens Observatory the
epicentre of the quake was located in the sea south of Messinia. The
Euro-Med Seismological Centre (EMSC) recorded a 4.8-Richter magnitude for
the same tremor, placing the epicentre 188 kilometres south of Methoni.
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