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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-05-01
CONTENTS
[01] Meeting between Greek government, institutions gets underway
[02] Only reforms to create new jobs can protect workers' interests,
Mitsotakis tweets
[01] Meeting between Greek government, institutions gets underway
A meeting between the Greek government's negotiating team and the
heads of the institutions' missions in Athens got underway late on
Monday afternoon after the lenders produced the final drafts of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and the Memorandum of Economic and
Financial Policies (MEFP). The MoU is the agreement that will be signed
with the European institutions and the MEFP will be signed with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The meeting hopes to resolve remaining differences between Athens and the
institutions on eight or nine issues of both major and minor importance,
such as the pension system, privatisations, retail markets and the
public sector.
The resumption of talks, originally scheduled for 13:00, was delayed so
that a clean draft of the two agreements might be drawn up and presented
to the Greek government. Security around the Hilton Hotel in Athens
where the talks are taking place was exceptionally tight on Monday,
due to May Day rallies and marches taking place in the Greek capital
[02] Only reforms to create new jobs can protect workers' interests,
Mitsotakis tweets
The real interests of workers can only be ensured through reforms
that will bring new jobs, primarily for the younger generation," main
opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a tweet
posted in his personal Twitter account on Monday, regarding the May
Day labour holiday.
His message was echoed by an announcement earlier issued by his party,
which said that Greece needed "immediate political change" and reforms
that will create new jobs and opportunities "without empty promises
and populism."
The announcement attacked the government for "unparalleled incompetence"
that it said had gone beyond all bounds, so that the 2017 May Day holiday
effectively coincided with the signature of a fourth Greek memorandum.
"This year May Day is celebrated at a very difficult time for the working
men and women of our country. The Tsipras-Kammenos government, ever since
taking over power, has constantly had unpleasant surprises in store
for them. It is clear that it is unable to ensure an even rudimentary
normality for the people of labour and the Greek people as a whole,"
the announcement said.
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