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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 15-12-07Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>Monday, December 7, 2015CONTENTS
[01] President Pavlopoulos: We have to address the refugee tragedy with humanism and solidarity"We have to deal with the refugee tragedy with humanism and solidarity and to contribute actively to the end of the war in the Middle East and particularly in Syria," President of Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Sunday.Pavlopoulos is on the island of Syros, Aegean Sea, for the celebration of St Nicholas and will be declared honorary citizen of Syros. [02] Social justice is the aim of 2016 budget, PM Tsipras tells Parliament"Our goal is not only to get the country out of crisis, is to restore credibility in politics, to create conditions for radical reforms in the economy and we believe we can lay the foundations for a great change that is now more mature and necessary than ever in Europe of crisis and destabilization," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said during the debate on 2016 budget in Parliament."With determination and commitment we will move ahead with the society on our side," he underlined. "We will fight, we will clash, we will bleed, but we will succeed," he said. "The 2016 budget proves our will and ability to lead a great and difficult social effort amid extremely difficult and adverse conditions," Tsipras stated. The prime minister unerlined that this budget is a test for the government which wants to promote social justice in conditions of budgetary constraint and difficulty. "And behind the numbers, one can see the efforts made to support the labour forces and the most vulnerable social groups," he said. The government's aim is the deep transformation of the production and social model of the country, the support of labour rights, the expansion of the welfare state, the protection of public property, the fair taxation, and the environmental protection, Tsipras noted. "But these objectives require the radical reform of the correlations in Greece and throughout the EU. And these do not change from one day to another," Tsipras underlined adding that political will is also needed. The prime minister also stated the Greece has put an end to scenarios of some EU circles that wanted Greece out of the Schengen zone. "We intensify our efforts, we correct our mistakes, we speed up the procedures and I hope that you will assist our efforts," the prime minister said. "The agreement has secured the partial restructuring of debt with a 1.3 pct interest rate and has covered our needs until 2019. Moreover, the average maturity of loans has increased to 33 years," Tsipras stated adding that the discussion on the necessary debt reduction will start after the first evaluation. "This new perspective of debt sustainability, combined with the successful recapitalization of banks and the subsequent upgrades of the country by international agencies, will make the European Central Bank (ECB) open its quantitative easing program to Greece as of the next year, thus reducing the capital costs for Greek banks," he stressed. Therefore, Tsipras explained, the necessary confidence climate is being gradually created for robust credit growth and the return of deposits to Greek banks. [03] ND interim leader Plakiotakis accuses PM Tsipras of cheating the Greek peopleNew Democracy (ND) interim leader Ioannis Plakiotakis late on Saturday lashed out at the government and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accusing him of trying "to cheat and transfer the responsibility for the failure of his policy as he is faced with the consequences of the third memorandum he has signed.""The government's attempt to 'fiddle' with the budget figures and fabricate false images is spectacular," he underlined. He made special reference to the recapitalization of the Greek banks, saying that "it is a huge economic disaster." "The budget is based on tax increases rather than cuts in spending, undermining local production and destroying the chances of young people to find a job. The first leftist budget includes 3.2 billion euro new taxes, it is socially unjust and does not help growth. In general it showcases SYRIZA's political fraud," he added. [04] Defence Minister Kammenos stresses the need for consensusDefence Minister Panos Kammenos on Sunday stressed the need for consensus and understanding."In these difficult times we must contemplate and remember that, whatever our differences, there is something much deeper joining us; we are all Greeks and we need to fight together to restore our country," Kammenos said during celebrations of the Hellenic Navy. Moreover, he stated that despite the economic crisis, the Hellenic Navy and the whole Greek Army keep their morale high and are always prepared to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. Financial News [05] Greece passes 2016 budgetThe SYRIZA-ANEL coalition government early on Sunday passed the 2016 budget in Parliament with 153 votes.All opposition parties (New Democracy, Golden Dawn, PASOK, Communist Party KKE, Potami and Centrists Unions) voted against (145). [06] Lifting of capital controls is feasible within 2016, Economy Minister Stathakis saysThe lifting of capital controls is feasible within 2016, Economy, Development and Tourism Minister George Stathakis said in an interview with "Sunday's Vima" newspaper.The business climate has started to improve, he said and added: "In the third quarter, with capital controls and uncertainty over Greece's stay in the eurozone, GDP fell by only 1.1 percent. If the decline is limited to 0.2 percent in the current quarter, the economy will record growth for the year 2015. In any case, I believe that GDP will return to an upward trend before the summer." Asked on the development law, he said: "The new development law will focus on criteria for innovative businesses, youth entrepreneurship and the export orientation of the selected investment." General News [07] Clashes erupt in Athens; a Portuguese tourist injuredA Portuguese tourist was injured when clashes between a group of young people and the police broke out at Exarchia, central Athens, early on Sunday, the anniversary of the police killing a teenager seven years ago.The Portuguese happened to be passing by in a car along with another three persons when their car was attacked with rocks. The injured tourist has been transferred to the hospital. According to the police, a group of around 80 young people began to throw molotov cocktails at police officers at midnight and scuffles continued for at least three hours. [08] First rally for Grigoropoulos' anniversary concluded; only small clashesPupils, students, representatives of communist parties as well as the parties People's Unity and ANTARSYA participated on Sunday in a rally for the anniversary of Alexis Grigoropoulos who was killed by the police seven years ago.The march, which began at 3 pm from the Propylaea, was concluded with only small clashes reported. More specifically, a small group of young people threw stones against the riot police in Academias Street, central Athens, and set fire on a kiosk in Stadiou street, which was quenched immediately. Another rally of an anti-authoritarian movement is expected to begin at 17.00, at Propylaea. [09] Greek police clash with protesters in central AthensTension rose during the second march of anti-authoritarian groups through central Athens to mark the seventh anniversary of the shooting of teenager Alexis Grigoropoulos.Groups of young people attacked with Molotov cocktails against the forces of the riot police, which responded by throwing stun grenades to disperse them. According to sources, around 500 people have gathered at Exarchia square. Two people have been arrested and at least 10 people have been detained. [10] Weather Forecast: Fair on MondayFair weather and winds from variable directions are forecast for Monday. Wind velocity will reach 4 on the Beaufort scale. Fair in the northern and western parts of the country with temperatures ranging from 06C-19C. Partly cloudy in the eastern parts with temperatures between 06C-17C. Sunny over the Aegean islands and Crete, 12C-19C. Fair in Athens, 09C-17C; the same for Thessaloniki, 08C-17C.[11] Athens News HeadlinesThe Sunday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance:AVGHI: IMF at exit course DIMOKRATIA: The debt volcano ETHNOS: 50 'heavy' names in the new list from Switzerland EPOCHI: Europe reveals itself at Idomeni KATHIMERINI: Horror film with troika and the refugee issue LOGOS: Asset register for everyone and everything PARON: Farmers also at the mercy of foreigners PROTO THEMA: 1,000 Frontex investigators to come TO ARTHRO: Future prime minister or SYRIZA's crutch? TO HONI: 1,3 million suspicious tax numbers TO VIMA: Haircut on pensions REAL NEWS: (Thomas) Wieser's (president of the Euro Working Group) four preconditions for Greece to return to markets RIZOSPASTIS: The "active role" in imperialist projects is a danger for the people ANAMPA Midday Newsletter Stathis Giannopoulos 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE - TEL: 64.00.560-63 - FAX: 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr - E-MAIL: anabul@ana gr PRESIDENT & GENERAL DIRECTOR: MICHALIS PSILOS Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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