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Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 15-12-16Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>Wednesday, 16 December 2015 Issue No: 5084CONTENTS
[01] PM Tsipras wishes this year to be a year of solidarity and justicePrime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday in a message for the TV Marathon, organized by ERT and Unicef for the children of the refugees, wished this year to be a year of solidarity, justice and dignity.He underlined that the Greek citizens and the society deal with the most difficult situations with humanism and solidarity. "It is an important and necessary humanitarian initiative to support our weak citizens, the young and often unaccompanied children who have been forced to flee as refugees", Tsipras said. "We are very happy and proud of it," he added. [02] Bill on"Measures to speed up government work and other provisions" to be introduced to parliamentary committees on WednesdayThe bill "Measures to speed up the government work and other provisions," which includes a series of positive actions with special emphasis on measures for the relief of people, will be introduced to the competent parliamentary committees on Wednesday.The government has been committed, despite the difficult conditions, to support the weakest classes along with the implementation of the prior actions, in order to proceed with the evaluation and the beginning of the debate on the debt, and this bill is part of its social programme. [03] EU Commission stresses the need to create hotspots on islands within the agreed frameworkThe EU Commission on Tuesday stressed the need to create hotspots on islands within the agreed framework.According to the European Commission, five hotspot areas have been identified by the Greek authorities on Lesvos, Leros, Kos, Chios and Samos. So far, only the hotspot in Lesvos is operational. Greece has appointed hotspot coordinators and has created a central coordination committee, but must complete the construction of the hotspots in line with the planned timetable, and improve the organisation of the hotspots, it said in a report published on Tuesday. Member States should continue to support Greece by making available the necessary experts to ensure the full rollout of the hotspots. Frontex will now assist Greece with the registration of migrants in the Northern Border region by deploying additional border guards and will deploy Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABIT) in the Aegean islands and sea, at Greece's request. Greece has committed to increasing reception capacity to 30,000 places for asylum seekers in Greece by the end of the year, and will be supported by the UNHCR in providing at least 20,000 more - a pre-condition to make the emergency relocation scheme work. On 14 December, the European Commission concluded an agreement with the UNHCR on the financing of a rental scheme to provide for the 20,000 reception capacities through Commission financing of 80 million euros. The programme would also fund the establishment of 7,000 first reception places in the hotspots. Under this programme Greece is preparing to start the construction of 4,500 additional accommodation spots on Lesvos, Leros and Kos. Greece has also signed a grant agreement with the Council of Europe Development Bank for the construction of up to 700 reception places in Eleonas. In total, 35,000 reception places should be available in Greece by early January 2016 - thus exceeding the commitment taken by Greece at the Western Balkans Leaders' meeting of making 30,000 places available by the end of 2015. The report noted that Member States have agreed to support Greece by relocating 66,400 people in need of international protection. Relocation has started very slowly, but there have been signs of improvement in recent weeks. The first relocation flight took 30 asylum seekers from Greece to Luxembourg on 4 November. As of today, 64 asylum seekers have been relocated from Greece. Another 370 relocation candidates have been registered and 297 relocation applications have been submitted to other Member States for approval. Only 9 Member States have offered places to Greece for relocations, providing for 305 places, while 14 Member States have appointed Liaison Officers to support the process on the ground. Member States must substantially increase their support to make the system function properly. [04] Alternate Migration Minister Mouzalas meets mayors on hosting refugees at HellenikoThe mayors of Helliniko-Argiroupoli, Glyfada and Alimos met on Tuesday morning in order to find a mutually accepted solution for the state and the regional administration on the issue of hosting refugees at the old airport of Helliniko.Alternate Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas will meet again with the three mayors at 5 pm in order to discuss the proposals submitted by both sides. "We had a meeting in order to find a mutually acceptable solution," Mouzalas noted adding that "the solution must ensure the greatest possible consensus, which requires mutual concessions, but in a way that will solve the big problem of finding temporary hosting facilities for migrants and refugees while this is done in such a way that the residents' concerns about permanent settlements are totally unfounded." Financial News [05] Deputy Foreign Min Mardas calls on foreign investors to invest in GreeceDeputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas on Tuesday called on investors to show confidence and invest in Greece.Mardas was speaking at a Capital Link investment conference in New York. The Greek minister spoke of the government's new policies in order to attract new foreign investments and promote exports. More specifically, he focused on the government's initiatives to establish a stable and favourable investment climate through the reduction of bureaucracy and the simplification of licencing procedures and stressed the importance of foreign investors in order for Greece to achieve high growth rates. He also underlined Greece's geostrategic position which renders it energy and transit hub and referred to the positive prospects of the tourism sector. Mardas has a series of bilateral meetings with foreign investors that have invested or are interested in investing in the Greek economy. [06] The agreement with Fraport is a positive development for tourism, says Aegean Vice PresidentThe contract for the concession of 14 regional airports to Fraport is a positive development for the air transportation and tourism, Aegean Airlines Vice President Eftychios Vassilakis said on Tuesday."We believe that with the signing of the contract for the development and management of 14 regional airports by the consortium Fraport - Slentel, the necessary investments will be accelerated and a significant qualitative improvement in these key country gateways will be achieved in 2-3 years, thus further improving the prospects of tourism, and the experience of our passengers," he underlined in a statement. [07] Greek budget primary surplus up in Jan-NovGreek state budget showed a primary surplus of 4.348 billion euros in the January-November period compared to 3.566 billion euros in the corresponding period last year, the Finance ministry said on Tuesday.The general government deficit came to 1.236 billion euros compared to a deficit of 1,827 billion euros in the same period last year. State budget net revenues totaled 41.039 billion euros in the January-November period, down 1.354 billion euros or 3.2 percent from targets. Public Investment Program revenues totalled 3.906 billion euros, up 45 million from targets. State budget spending totalled 46.181 billion euros in the January-November period, down 3.074 billion from targets, while regular budget spending totalled 42.485 billion, down 2.340 billion from targets. General News [08] Prosecutors investigating tax evaders raid UBS offices in AthensFinancial prosecutors raided on UBS in Athens on Friday and turned up 200 depositors whose names were on a list sent by German authorities as part of the so-called North Rhine-Westphalia investigation to combat tax evasion.Germany provided Greek authorities with information on suspected tax evaders in an effort to help Athens meet its commitment to international creditors to crack down on tax evasion. The prosecutors seized computer hard drives and files from the investment bank. According to sources, the prosecutors identified 200 suspicious accounts, containing deposits ranging from 1.5 to 12 million euros. [09] The bodies of three refugees recovered near KastellorizoThe Turkish coast guard recovered on Tuesday the bodies of three refugees who were reported missing after their boat capsized off the Turkish coast, near Kastellorizo.The Turkish coast guard had earlier asked for the Greek authorities' assistance in the search after the detection of twelve migrants on an islet near the Turkish coast and the rescue of five more migrants in sea region. The search continued for another three refugees reported missing. [10] 3,355 refugees arrive at Piraeus port on TuesdayAnother 3,355 refugees arrived early on Tuesday at Piraeus port."Blue Star 1" carried 1,022 refugees from Mytilene and Chios, "Blue Star Patmos" carried 1,197 refugees from Mytilene and "Nisos Rhodos" carried 1,136 from Mytilene, Chios and Samos. [11] Metro, ISAP, tram workers to hold strike after at atack against ticket inspectorsThe employees of the Athens metro, electric railway and tram will walk off their job from 9 p.m. on Wednesday following an attack against ticket inspectors at Omonia station.The inspectors were assaulted on Monday night by men wearing hoods and helmets. The employees demand measures to protect inspectors from similar incidents. Weather forecast [12] Cloudy on WednesdayCloudy with possibility of rain and northerly winds are forecast for Wednesday. Wind velocity will reach 7 on the Beaufort scale. Clouds in the northern parts of the country with temperatures ranging from 02C-13C. Light rain in the western part and temperatures between 05C-16C. Partly cloudy in the eastern parts with a chance of light rain in the afternoon, 04C-14C. Clouds over the islands, 11C-18C. Partly cloudy in Athens, 05C-14C; the same for Thessaloniki, 03C-12C.[13] The Tuesday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance:AVGHI: Tax relief for the use of credit cardsDIMOKRATIA: Berlin demands joint patrols in the Aegean EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The sky is ours (referring to the 14 regional airports sold to Fraport) ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: How you can save your house from the funds ESTIA: A sample of tax madness ETHNOS: The new public sector employees' salaries KATHIMERINI: Elliniko to become a refugee centre NAFTEMPORIKI: Double message from the IMF RIZOSPASTIS: Demonstration on Tuesday against the new batch of prior actions 36, TSOCHA ST. ATHENS 115 21 GREECE * TEL: 210 64.00.560-63 * FAX: 210 64.00.581-2 INTERNET ADDRESS: http://www.ana.gr * e-mail: anabul@ana gr * GENERAL DIRECTOR: MICHALIS PSILOS Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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