Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-03-30

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM announces Parliamentary investigation into 'shady' loans given to parties and media, during off-the-agenda debate on justice

[02] ND leader: Today's Greece is far from being a normal democracy

[03] Draft bill on cybercrime opened for public consultation until April 1

[04] Debate on justice issues started at 7 pm in Parliament

[05] Draft law on management of refugee crisis to be tabled in parliament within the next days, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili

[06] Greece should be ready for a long stay of refugees in Greece, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili

[07] Refugee flows reduced in the past few days, government spox confirms

[08] Commission spokeswoman: Sharp drop of refugee flows to Greece is encouraging

[09] Alleged NGO members urging refugees in Piraeus to skip organized centers, says coast guard official

[10] No refugees and migrants arrive at Piraeus port on Tuesday

[11] FM Kotzias meets Commissioner Hahn in Athens

[12] European Parliament delegation to visit Athens on March 30-31

[13] ND spox sues gov't counterpart for slander; relations between spokespersons are political, Gerovassili comments

[14] Greek armed forces chief in Qatar for DIMDEX 2016 maritime security and defence fair

[15] Members of PAME protest against reforms

[16] 2016 will be an excellent year for Greek tourism, Alternate Tourism Min Kountoura says

[17] Some fiscal measures may be avoided if revenues continue to rise, says minister

[18] Agreement with investors on Ellinikon airport to be submitted to parliament in autumn

[19] Bank credit to the domestic private sector in February 2016

[20] Temporary suspension of the trading of the shares of Druckfarben

[21] Greek stocks rally for fourth time in buoyant opening session for this week

[22] Greek bond market closing report

[23] ADEX closing report

[24] Greeks believe justice is under pressure from business, political interests, poll shows

[25] Numbers of unaccompanied refugee children spiked in 2016, coast guard reports

[26] Refugees and migrants at Idomeni clash with police trying to clear railway tracks

[27] The Ancient Theatre of Larissa, one of the largest of the ancient world, opens its doors to public

[28] Aegean Airlines continues extra flights to Lille as Brussels airport remains closed

[29] Moderate earthquake jolts Zakynthos

[30] Mostly fair on Wednesday

[31] The Tuesday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

[01] PM announces Parliamentary investigation into 'shady' loans given to parties and media, during off-the-agenda debate on justice

The prime minister accused ND, on the pretext of a so-called revelation about a supposed government intervention in justice, of acting in close concert with some of the well-known "media of corruption" in order to create a hubbub and false impressions.

"This is not naivete but effrontery and arrogance...You did not even think that in this way, you would be opening Pandora's box yourselves," he said.

Tsipras specifically highlighted the "notorious Papangelopoulos intervention" - relating the minister had attempted to influence a prosecutor's handling of an investigation into the businessman Andreas Vgenopoulos. He noted that a disciplinary inquiry was already underway concerning the handling of the specific case, which involved major financial interests, and the actions or omissions that had resulted in three separate cases files being shelved.

According to the prime minister, three questions naturally sprung to mind in connection with this affair and the minister's involvement.

Firstly, whether the meeting for which Papangelopoulos stood accused had been requested by the minister or the public prosecutor. Secondly, why the specific case was in the hands of Appeals Prosecutor Georgia Tsatani at all and why it had been removed from the prosecutors for corruption. Lastly, why had the Supreme Court deputy prosecutor issued a document on April 22 stating that all corruption cases were the exclusive province of the corruption prosecutors, then on December 18 in the same year, the same person issued a second document saying that the Vgenopoulos cases had been rightfully removed from the corruption prosecutors.

"I ask you: is there not a very obvious legal contradiction here?" Tsipras said, noting that members of the opposition had also talked publicly of a cover-up in the specific case.

He went on to announce that SYRIZA's Parliamentary group will table a proposal for a Parliamentary examining committee to carry out an in-depth investigation of loan agreements between banks, political parties and the media, whose final conclusions will be issued no later than the end of May.

Tsipras stressed that the issue of shady loans given to political parties could not end "overnight" because the previous ND-PASOK coalition government had slipped through an amendment pardoning and giving immunity to those responsible.

The prime minister went on to give a shopping list of 13 major instances of what he alleged were interventions in justice by previous governments, including what he called a direct intervention in the self-administration of courts by a justice minister in the government of former Greek premier Antonis Samaras, shortly before the January 2015 elections, to favour his cronies. There has always been intervention in justice, Tsipras claimed, but the "plot was entirely lost" during the three-year Samaras-Venizelos coalition government.

Omissions were also sometimes a form of intervention, he added, with the most flagrant being the failure to hand over the Lagarde list evidence to the appropriate authorities, while he also spoke of a cover-up in the Siemens' kickbacks case and slammed the out-of-court settlement with the company as "unacceptable". He announced that the government will set up a committee of experts and political staff to renegotiate this settlement, calling on the opposition to participate.

Tsipras also repeated that the next constitutional revision "must put a final end to the shame that is the law on ministerial responsibility. Ministers must be treated as any other citizen."

Referring to the recent case involving former Samaras aide Stavros Papastavrou, the lawyer who paid a 3.3-million-euro fine to avoid criminal charges for undeclared deposits of 5.4 million dollars in Switzerland, Tsipras this was a resounding example of the decadence of the old political system. He asked main opposition ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis to explain why he was "covering for" the former premier and Papastavros and why he did not distance himself from the "dark recent past of his party," and also called on him to explain the revelations of possible ND links with a ring of corrupt journalists.

[02] ND leader: Today's Greece is far from being a normal democracy

Taking the podium after Tsipras, the leader of New Democracy (ND) said that in well-functioning democratic countries in Europe and the western world, everyone respects the principle of separation of powers and the full and complete independence of Justice, but this isn't the case in Greece.

"Today's Greece Mr. Tsipras is far from being a normal democracy," he said. "You're not the accuser but the accused in this debate for the worst lies ever uttered by a prime minister."

Mitsotakis went on to say that for Tsipras "the end justifies the means", adding that all he cares about is staying in power using any means available.

He also mentioned press reports in certain newspapers and implied the prime minister has entered into "secret bargains" with publishers for positive media coverage. "Why does the opponent of vested interests meets secretly with a representative of vested interests? And why so many meetings? To tell him 'No'?" Mitsotakis asked.

"You're a government in tatters. You want to criminalize political life," the ND leader added. He then criticized the "so-called humanism" of the Left, saying that it has "crumbled in the muds of Idomeni".

Mitsorakis then called on Tsipras to resign noting that the cost Greece pays from the SYRIZA-led government is higher than the one to replace it. "Since you cannot govern, there's only one beneficial decision you can take: To resign. To leave before you destroy the country," he said, adding that Tsipras has already led Greece to elections three times without a real reason.

"Now there is a national reason. Greece cannot tolerate you any longer. And as this parliament, as it seems, cannot provide the solution, let the people provide it. The cost of keeping you in power is higher than that of the process to remove you," he added.

Commenting on an ongoing corruption investigation against a journalist and a newspaper publisher, whom Tsipras insinuated had close relations with New Democracy members, Mitsotakis replied that he has sued the publisher in question for writing unsubstantiated articles about him, which wouldn't be the case if they were in cahoots.

On the contrary, he continued, the man under investigation signed last year a private advertising agreement with state broadcaster ERT, which raises questions. "There's a nice fabrica here. Somebody knows the content of these [leaked] conversations. He leaks part of it in the press and a newspaper publishes it illegally. And then the real orchestrator, the government, highlights it. This is the deep state and you're setting it up methodically," Mitsotakis said.

[03] Draft bill on cybercrime opened for public consultation until April 1

The bill refers to crimes such as child pornography, racism, genocide, crimes against humanity, intellectual property, etc and its additions will allow the Greek government to adopt the necessary criminal legislation. It also adopts a European Parliament directive on cyber-attacks against information systems.

[04] Debate on justice issues started at 7 pm in Parliament

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a letter to the president of the Parliament Nikos Voutsis asked for this debate because as he said the public opinion has been lately poisoned by groundless complaints concerning the government policy on justice.

[05] Draft law on management of refugee crisis to be tabled in parliament within the next days, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili

The draft law will provide, among others, additional support to the local administration in order to meet refugees and migrants' reception and accomodation needs. It will also incorporate a European directive on international protection and asylum regime and will settle issues for meeting staff needs.

The bill will not recognise Turkey or any other country as a safe 'third' country. Meanwhile, the government implements its plan to create facilities that will host 30,000 refugees.

The volutary removal of refugees from Idomeni has started and the government aims to intensify this effort so that refugees are persuaded to leave Idomeni.

Referring to the progress of the Greek program review, she said that the institutions will return to Athens at the weekend and the negotiations with the Greek authorities will resume on Monday.

Referring to the imminent meeting of the political leaders, Gerovassili stressed that the government has taken the initiative for this meeting so that the Greek people are informed on who are really afraid of the independent operation of justice adding that the government will seek an in-depth debate.

[06] Greece should be ready for a long stay of refugees in Greece, says gov't spokeswoman Gerovassili

She also added that the implementation of EU-Turkey agreement creates a legal corridor for the refugees to Europe.

The government implements everything agreed and gives a battle so that the agreement is respected by all sides, she noted.

Regarding Alternate Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas' issue, she said that the government has expressed its intentions. The issue will be discussed immediately after Monday's debate in parliament, said Gerovassili.

[07] Refugee flows reduced in the past few days, government spox confirms

"We hope that Turkey will act within the framework of the commitments it has made, especially regarding the dismantling of trafficking rings and the implementation of the obligations it has assumed under the EU-Turkey agreement," she said.

Asked about the economic measures agreed in order to conclude the review of Greece's programme, Gerovassili noted that the government had at no time believed that higher taxes will help the economy. However, she pointed out, the government was obliged to honour the agreement signed with its EU partners in the summer of 2015 and was seeking to shift the burden of taxation on those that could more easily bear it, rather than on low and middle incomes.

She noted that there were still differences with the institutions over the handling of non-performing loans, while noting that the negotiation will continue on Monday. The government was very concerned with the issue of primary homes and businesses associated with primary homes, Gerovassili added.

"We want small and medium-sized businesses to be supported to the extent possible; we want to be as demanding as possible today because that will determine the future," she noted. In response to other questions, she said the government might pass legislation for pension and tax reforms but these could not be separated from the timely conclusion of the review, which could not be examined piece-meal.

[08] Commission spokeswoman: Sharp drop of refugee flows to Greece is encouraging

The sharp decrease of the number in daily refugee and migrant arrivals towards Greece is encouraging, European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said on Tuesday during a press briefing in Brussels.

The spokeswoman said arrivals to Greece have dropped to under 1,000 per day, compared to over 2,000 in the past. "This sharp decrease is encouraging," she said.

Commenting on the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal from Greece, she said Greece is ready to approve legislation recognizing Turkey as a safe third country, adding that the government is ready to submit the draft bill to parliament "in the next few days, if not tomorrow." Bertaud also said any changes are "fully compatible with European and international law."

[09] Alleged NGO members urging refugees in Piraeus to skip organized centers, says coast guard official

Speaking at a press conference, Athanasios Tatsoulis said that this information was received from coast guard officials and once collected will be submitted to relevant authorities. He added however that NGOs play an important role in assisting refugees and migrants.

Commenting on the situation at the port, Tatsoulis said that despite the drop in new arrivals from the islands, the makeshift camp is growing by the day, as many refugees return to Piraeus from organized centers.

According to the most recent count by the coast guard, there are currently about 5,600 people staying in Piraeus versus 5,467 on Monday.

[10] No refugees and migrants arrive at Piraeus port on Tuesday

The two ferries "Ariadni" and "Blue Star 1" docked earlier in the morning carrying no refugees from the islands of Aegean Sea.

According to the Port Authorities, the number of the refugees and migrants at the port's facilities was raised to 5,600, from 5,467. Volunteers and Aid Organizations estimated that some of the refugees must have returned to Piraeus from accommodation centres elsewhere.

Numerous refugees and migrants still remain in tents within the premises of the Piraeus Port Organization, since the passenger stations and the other buildings are already jam-packed with people.

[11] FM Kotzias meets Commissioner Hahn in Athens

During the long meeting, the two sides also focused on the most important issues in Hahn's portfolio.

[12] European Parliament delegation to visit Athens on March 30-31

The visit is taking place in the framework of the European Parliament's decision to monitor the implementation of the Greek programme. It is expected to include meetings with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, government ministers, the leader of the main opposition New Democracy party Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Bank of Greece governor Yannis Stournaras, MPs and representatives of business associations and social groups.

[13] ND spox sues gov't counterpart for slander; relations between spokespersons are political, Gerovassili comments

Justice would now have its say, Koumoutsakos said, accusing Gerovassili of attempting "a deliberate slur on his character". As soon as the lawyers' strike had ended, he would proceed with the next step in filing a lawsuit, he said.

Commenting on Koumoutsakos' decision to file a lawsuit, in response to questions during the regular press briefing on Tuesday, Gerovassili said it was "a mistake when someone does not want to reply on an issue, to try to present a political issue as personal."

They both had roles and made statements based on these roles, she added.

"I continue to believe that there is a lack of level-headedness," Gerovassili noted and said the lawsuit was welcome but the government "continues to expect ND's explanations concerning the blackmailers' ring and awaits the submission of the invoices."

[14] Greek armed forces chief in Qatar for DIMDEX 2016 maritime security and defence fair

Admiral Apostolakis was received by Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and had brief discussions with French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Turkish Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz.

He also met his counterparts from other countries and had private meetings with the armed forces' chiefs of Qatar, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates, as well as the commanders of the Qatar, UAE and Pakistan navies.

[15] Members of PAME protest against reforms

PAME urged all workers to take part in rallies planned in Thessaloniki later the same day, and in Athens on Thursday to make a "mass and universal demand that the bill should not come to Parliament."

Financial News

[16] 2016 will be an excellent year for Greek tourism, Alternate Tourism Min Kountoura says

"It is estimated that 2016 will be an excellent year for Greek tourism," Kountoura underlined.

She also noted that Greece has managed to establish itself as a global tourist cruise destination, and made special mention to the increase in tourism from Russia and the events to be held within the Greece - Russia year.

As she said, in consultation with her Russian counterpart Alla Manilow, a forum will be held in Greece on May 20 with the view to promoting religious tourism.

"The flow from Russia is expected to be very large and Ms Manilow underlined the interest of all Russian regions to visit Greece in order to recommend it to their residents," Kountoura stressed.

[17] Some fiscal measures may be avoided if revenues continue to rise, says minister

The minister said that European institutions and independent organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimate the Greek economy will return to positive growth rates as of this summer and will remain high in the next few years.

He also said that data from the country's statistics agency which will be published next Thursday foresee a primary surplus of 0.2 pct of GDP for 2015, or 880 million euros, compared to a budget target for 0.25 pct.

Commenting on the budget execution, Chouliarakis said there are "very encouraging data" as in January 2016 there is a significant overrun of the monthly primary surplus target. "This development is due to the successful implementation of the measures voted in August and if continued "will allow us in the medium-term to take less measures for 2017 and 2018," he added.

[18] Agreement with investors on Ellinikon airport to be submitted to parliament in autumn

Asked by Democratic Coalition MP Odysseas Konstantino-poulos who wanted to be informed on the timeframe of the deal, the minister said it is possible to complete by then talks which are underway with the investors and then bring the agreement to parliament for approval.

Tsakalotos also said there are a number of prior actions that need to be completed by the government in order to complete the deal, but added that some issues will be renegotiated to benefit the State and local communities.

[19] Bank credit to the domestic private sector in February 2016

In February 2016, the monthly net flow of credit to corporations was negative at 48 million euros, compared with a negative net flow of 205 million euros in the previous month, while the annual growth rate of credit stood at -1.9%, against -1.4% in the previous month. In particular, the annual growth rate of credit to non-financial corporations remained at -1.6%, unchanged from the previous month, and the monthly net flow of credit to non-financial corporations was negative at 49 million euros, against a negative net flow of ? 14 million euros in the previous month. The annual growth rate of credit to insurance corporations and other financial intermediaries stood at -6.1% in February 2016, from 1.3% in the previous month, while the monthly net flow of credit was positive at 1 million euros, compared with a negative net flow of 191 million euros in the previous month.

The monthly net flow of credit to sole proprietors and unincorporated partnerships was negative at 20 million euros, compared with a negative net flow of 12 million euros in the previous month, while its annual growth rate stood at -1.0% from -1.2% in January 2016.

The monthly net flow of credit to individuals and private non-profit institutions was negative at 226 million euros, compared with a negative net flow of 287 million euros in the previous month, and its annual growth rate stood at -2.9%, from -3.0% in the previous month.

[20] Temporary suspension of the trading of the shares of Druckfarben

The announcement of the company is available on the website of Athens Stock Exchange.

[21] Greek stocks rally for fourth time in buoyant opening session for this week

The Large Cap index rose 2.43 pct and the Mid Cap index eased 0.05 pct lower. Turnover was a thin 41.280 million euros in volume of 70,801,929.

Piraeus Bank (10.27 pct), National Bank (6.64 pct) and Viohalco (5.885 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains of the day, while ELPE (1.6 pct), METKA (0.90 pct) and Ellaktor (0.77 pct) suffered the heaviest losses. National Bank and Piraeus Bank were the most heavily traded securities of the day.

Among market sectors, Banks (5.97 pct) and Commerce (2.90 pct) scored big gains, while Health (0.74 pct) and Chemicals (0.71 pct) suffered losses.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 68 to 39 with another 19 issues unchanged. Fieratex (29.66 pct), Domiki Kritis (18.23 pct) and Nakas (17.14 pct) were top gainers, while Pasal (20.00 pct), Akritas (19.67 pct) and Proodeftiki (15.94 pct) were top losers.

[22] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank rates, interest rates did not show significant change. The 12-month rate remained almost unchanged at -0.006 pct from -0.005 pct, the nine-month rate remained at -0.071 pct, the six-month rate increased to 0.134 pct from -0.132 pct, the three-month rate rose to -0.242 pct from -0.239 pct and the one-month rate remained at -0.332 pct.

[23] ADEX closing report

Volume on the Large Cap index totaled 2,512 contracts with 11,227 open positions in the market. Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 40,684 contracts with investment interest focusing on National Bank's contracts (12,949), followed by Alpha Bank (5,839), Piraeus Bank (12,612), Eurobank (5,316), MIG (1,359), OPAP (692), Ellaktor (553), PPC (535), OTE (183), Hellenic Petroleum (103), GEK (96), Mytilineos (82), Viohalco (37), Motor Oil (37), METKA (25), and Frigoglass (56).

General News

[24] Greeks believe justice is under pressure from business, political interests, poll shows

An overwhelming 91 pct of Greeks agreed when asked whether political and business interests exerted pressure on the justice system to not investigate cases such as the Lagarde and Borjans lists or loans to media companies. Another 89 pct of Greeks believe that Greek governments have perennially exploited the fact that broadcasting licences are temporary in order to engage in graft with the media, while 69 pct believe that television channels do not pay the state as much as they should and 67 pct consider that the government should immediately issue permanent licences. Just over three quarters, of 76 pct, say the channels do not treat the government in an objective, unbiased way.

On the refugee crisis, 74 pct consider that the EU-Turkey agreement is good for Greece, provided Turkey honours its terms, and 79 pct say the EU should have a single and comprehensive approach to the refugee crisis.

[25] Numbers of unaccompanied refugee children spiked in 2016, coast guard reports

Tsatsoulis said that 537 unaccompanied minors up to the age of 13 had arrived on the island of Lesvos alone in the first three months of the year, compared to a total of 750 in 500,000 people arriving on the island throughout 2015.

Coast guard officers at the press conference described harrowing scenes during their rescues of refugees and migrants and said that some of the children that spoke English said they had come alone because their parents did not have enough money. They majority, they added, communicated with their families via Facebook and had been instructed to post their whereabouts as soon as they arrived at any kind of institution in Greece or Europe, so that their parents or relatives could come and find them.

Talking about rescues in the Aegean, officers said that panic was the cause of many shipwrecks as refugees - crammed as many as 50 to a boat designed for six - moved about and caused the dinghies to capsize. Many of the people on board did not know whether they were in the sea or a river, they said, while many infants had no lifejackets and even when these existed, they were of poor quality.

A Super-Puma helicopter operator noted that the most difficult rescues were those of babies and small children. In one hair-raising incident he recounted, the occupants of the boat had insisted that the rescuers first lift a travel bag into the helicopter which, once opened, proved to have an 11-day-old baby inside.

Tsatsoulis and the other coast guard officers said those serving in the Aegean rescue missions were under immense psychological strain as a result of all they have witnessed over the past year, with many on the verge of psychological collapse, and asked that the state provide care but also some form of material compensation for their very important work.

[26] Refugees and migrants at Idomeni clash with police trying to clear railway tracks

The protestors reacted violently when police attempted to clear the tracks, throwing stones at police. A minor scuffle then ensued when the police officers detained a woman and put her into a patrol car, with the gathered refugees rushing the officers and pulling her out.

Calm was restored a short while later in the Greece-FYROM no-man's land, with the protesting refugees remaining on the tracks. They have now also set up a sound system so that they can keep those staying at the Idomeni camp informed and send their own message to Europe, they said.

[27] The Ancient Theatre of Larissa, one of the largest of the ancient world, opens its doors to public

According to Larissa Antiquities Ephorate decision, the theatre will be open for visitors every day from 10.00-13.00 from April 1 with free entrance.

The Ancient Theatre of Larissa is one of the best preserved and larger theatres of the ancient world that could host approximately 12.000 spectators.

The visitors will have access to the area of the orchestra and the stage. However, the seats and the other areas of the theatre will not be accessible because they are under restoration.

[28] Aegean Airlines continues extra flights to Lille as Brussels airport remains closed

According to its press release, the airliner will add flights to Lille on April 2,3 and 4. Passengers are advised to contact the company at the telephone numbers below for any ticket changes or bookings before arriving at the airport.

Greece: 801 11 20000 (from land line), (+30) 210 6261000 (from mobile phone).

Belgium: (+32) 275 34710

France: (+33) 170 031323 or contact your travel agent

[29] Moderate earthquake jolts Zakynthos

The earthquake, which took place at 4.05 pm, was felt across the island, while many aftershocks followed.

According to the Institute of Geodynamics in Athens, the earthquake occured at a depth of about 10 kilometers.

There have been reports of any damages or injuries so far.

Weather forecast

[30] Mostly fair on Wednesday

[31] The Tuesday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance

DIMOKRATIA: Vehicles with diesel are 'robbed'

ETHNOS: Mystery over milk prices

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Lower pensions and salaries

ESTIA: What is happening with sugar prices

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: Intertwined interests, corruption and (former PM Antonis) Samaras' advisor

TA NEA: Threats and lies

NAFTEMPORIKI: Licences 'express' for new businesses

KATHIMERINI: Ease with taxes, dystocia over expenditure

RIZOSPASTIS: We rally massively against anti-popular measures

IMERISSIA: Breather in car market

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