Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 16-04-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] Alexis Tsipras, David Cameron talk on the phone, discuss challenges facing EU

[02] PM Tsipras speaks with Hollande, Biden on Greek program review, refugee issue, energy

[03] Greek debt's sustainability issue must close with the completion of the review, says Econ Minister Stathakis

[04] Tsakalotos: We want to complete program review by April 10-12

[05] IMF no longer necessary for Greece's stabilization, says ECB official

[06] Pope Francis to visit island of Lesvos next week

[07] Greek government welcomes Pope Francis' intention to visit Greece

[08] Greece will get out of the financial crisis stronger, US President Barack Obama says

[09] Gerovassili notes potential for cooperating with Russia in TASS interview

[10] Refugees apply for asylum to avoid readmission to Turkey

[11] Syrian refugees occupy Chios harbour for 5th day, demand passage to Piraeus

[12] Piraeus to be decongested by end of week, says minister

[13] Refugees refuse to leave Piraeus port for other hosting facilities

[14] Municipal hostels in Macedonia to shelter 40 unaccompanied refugee children

[15] 52,352 refugees in Greece on Tuesday

[16] About 200 migrants and refugees arrived at eastern Aegean islands in 24h

[17] Portuguese PM in Athens on official visit next Monday

[18] Austrian Defence Minister in Athens on Wednesday

[19] Democratic Left slams government's lack of planning in refugee crisis

[20] 39 percent of Greek companies want to transfer their activities abroad, survey shows

[21] Passenger traffic at Athens' International Airport breaks record in March

[22] Greek stocks ease lower in negative climate on Tuesday

[23] Greek bond market closing report

[24] ADEX closing report

[25] Archaic Kore from Acropolis Museum to be exhibited in State Hermitage Museum in Russia

[26] International Dance Festival in Thessaloniki

[27] Planes to be grounded on April 7 due to air traffic controllers' strike

[28] Cambodian-flagged vessel towed to Kos port after it run aground in shallow waters

[29] Mostly fair on Wednesday

[30] The Tuesday edition of Athens' newspapers at a glance Politics

[01] Alexis Tsipras, David Cameron talk on the phone, discuss challenges facing EU

They also talked about the upcoming British referendum on the EU and the need for Europe to remain stable and united in order to face these challenges, as well as the progress in the review of Greece's programme.

[02] PM Tsipras speaks with Hollande, Biden on Greek program review, refugee issue, energy

In his talks with Hollande, they noted the need to conclude the country's program review very soon, as well as the full implementation of the July agreement, Tsipras' office said.

Speaking with Biden, the two sides focused on the ongoing negotiations for Greece's economic program, developments on the refugee crisis and energy cooperation in the region. On the program review, both sides agreed for a need to conclude it quickly and start talks on debt relief in April.

On the refugee crisis, Tsipras and Biden noted the efforts of Greece to manage the issue in a humane and effective manner, while on energy they discussed the operation of TAP and IGB pipelines.

[03] Greek debt's sustainability issue must close with the completion of the review, says Econ Minister Stathakis

According to reports, Stathakis speaking on Tuesday at the Greek-German Business Forum organised by the Economist in Berlin has allegedly said that the Greek debt is sustainable until 2022 and the issue is its long-term sustainability.

Stathakis also said that the issue of the sustainability of the Greek debt must close with the successful completion of the program review, otherwise the attraction of long term investments will be very difficult.

The same reports claimed that Stathakis said that the negotiation will be completed around April 27 and estimated that that the reforms in the taxation and the pension system will 'pass' without problems in the Greek parliament.

Moreover, Stathakis stressed that currently he 'sees' strong circular growth and estimated that the business climate in Greece gets better day after day adding that economic growth will be recorded in the second half of 2016.

The Greek minister also said that the Greek privatisations will probably bring up to 7-8 billion euros profit.

[04] Tsakalotos: We want to complete program review by April 10-12

"We want to conclude the negotiation by April 10-12, then go to the IMF's spring meeting, then to the Eurogroup on April 22 and I hope we'll have a package on this. If the international community marks with this package a new page [for Greece], then I think the light at the end of the tunnel will shine brighter," the minister was quoted as saying.

He then said that if the program review completes by the end of April and Greece gets something on debt relief, then the worst part of this crisis will have passed. "After that, we can return to growth. I believe that," he added.

Asked about developments after the Wikileaks affair, Tsakalotos said that the government concluded from the reply of IMF chief Christine Lagarde that the Fund wants the same thing as Greece: the completion of the program review soon. "Now they have to prove it," he added.

[05] IMF no longer necessary for Greece's stabilization, says ECB official

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is no longer necessary for Greece's stabilization, from an economic point of view, a European Central Bank official said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.

"That's a problem that the Europeans can solve alone," ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny told Austrian newspaper Die Presse.

Commenting on the possibility a debt relief for the country, he said "an explicit haircut is unlikely", adding that "Greece has already made great progress".

Asked about the recent wiretapping of telephone conversations of top IMF officials, he declined to comment, adding he doesn't know anything about their authenticity. He noted however they constitute a blow to positive developments in Greece.

[06] Pope Francis to visit island of Lesvos next week

According to the ANA-MPA correspondent in Rome, news of the intended visit was leaked by sources in the Vatican, who also indicated that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew may travel to Lesvos and pointed to the very close, fraternal ties between the two primates.

The Pope has repeatedly brought attention to the refugee issue in recent weeks, appealing to all relevant institutions to assume due responsibility. He also visited the Italian island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, and called for an end to the loss of human lives as people tried to reach Europe in order to escape war and extreme poverty.

According to the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, the visit also hopes to mobilise the international community's efforts for an immediate ceasefire in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece briefed the Synod regarding the Pope's request and the Synod accepted the proposed visit, suggesting that it take place on Lesvos.

The last visit by a Pope to Greece was that by Pope John-Paul II in the year 2000.

[07] Greek government welcomes Pope Francis' intention to visit Greece

"The Greek government welcomes Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew as valuable supporters and friends in the fight for the relief of refugees," the sources said, adding that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will accompany the two Church leaders to Lesvos.

"The spiritual leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches have highlighted with repeated statements and sermons over the previous period the need to show solidarity [for refugees] and have spoken up against the xenophobic and inhumane policy of closed borders," the same sources said, referring to the Pope's recent Easter 'Urbi et Orbi' message, in which he condemned those who fail to help refugees as well as terrorism.

[08] Greece will get out of the financial crisis stronger, US President Barack Obama says

The US President, in his statement, referred to the bonds of the two countries, Greece and the USA, and compared the struggles of both countries for their independence. He underlined that Greece is a major US ally in NATO and that his country will continue to support Greece.

He also referred to the situation in Greece and the refugee crisis and praised the way the Greeks deal with refugee flows.

The Greek government was represented by Deputy Economy, Development and Tourism Minister Alexis Charitsis and Greek Ambassador to the US Christos Panagopoulos. The reception was held at the White House in honor of the Greek American community for 30th consecutive year. The event was attended by Vice President Joe Biden and His Eminence Archbishop of America Dimitrios. In his introductory statement, Biden referred to the US-Greece friendship and noted that the conversation with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras proved once again that the US is an ally and friend of Greece.

Charitsis had a private conversation with Biden and stressed the need for the immediate conclusion of the Greek program review so that the country implements its development plans and boost its economy.

"I presented the positions of the Greek government on critical issues as well as the government programme for the next three years. I underlined that the government has implemented the major reforms included in the programme. What we aim for it the first program review to be concluded as soon as possible, which is beneficial for all sides," he said.

Referring to the discussion with Biden, Charitsis said: "Biden expressed his support and agreed that all sides need to cooperate so that the Greek program review is concluded on time. He also praised the Greek government for its stance on the refugee issue and its solidarity with the refugees."

The Greek minister stressed that the government's main priority is the return to growth and stressed the importance of the development plans, the implementation of the new development law and the absorption of funds so that the Greek economy is boosted.

"For that reason, it is important to complete the program review and start the debate on debt relief as provided by the agreement. Biden agreed on these positions and expressed his willingness to work towards this direction," he added.

[09] Gerovassili notes potential for cooperating with Russia in TASS interview

The Greek government put great emphasis on developing ties with Russia, she told TASS on Monday, as reflected by the Greek prime minister's visits to Russia in 2015 and an upcoming visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Greece, expected to take place at the end of May. She noted that the bilateral Year of Greece and Russia 2016 would be another excellent opportunity to strengthen ties between the two countries in all areas.

She particularly focused on tourism, noting that Greece was the safest and friendliest destination in the eastern Mediterranean, notable for its hospitality. Gerovassili said that Greece wanted to see more Russian tourists visit Greece, which was a very important sector in the country.

"We have positive signs for 2016 and expect the number of Russian tourists to more than double relative to last year," she said, noting that the government was making an effort to ensure that consular authorities in Russia were reinforced and able to cope with the demand. Greece was also expanding its network of Greek visa centres in Russia, in order to serve as many Russians wanting to visit Greece as possible, she said.

As part of the effort to promote Greek tourism, Gerovassili announced, there would be a Tourism Forum in Athens on May 12-13, attended by Russia's major government and regional tourism agencies, tour operators, media and their counterparts in Greece. An Athens Conference will follow this on May 20 to promote religious and hiking tourism.

Gerovassili said that Greece was also keen to attract Russian investors, noting that the Greece-Russia Year events could also help in this direction, while noting that the two countries were planning to sign a number of agreements in the coming period, such as in renewable energy sources, research and others.

Asked about the EU sanctions against Russia, Gerovassili said that Greece steadfastly supports the resumption of EU-Russian relations at all levels in the EU.

"We expressed our support at the last External Affairs Council on March 15, where EU-Russian relations were discussed. Greece is among the countries that wish to maintain political relations with Russia," she said, noting that Athens repeatedly questioned the policy of sanctions and called for a moderate, balanced stance. She also noted that Russian retaliatory measures had a negative impact on many sectors of Greece's economy, such as agriculture and tourism.

Asked whether Greece will help with the rebuilding of Palmyra in Syria, given that it has many highly regarded specialists in this area, Gerovassili said Greece was especially sensitive to the need to respect and protect cultural heritage - especially since many of the Palmyra antiquities dated from the Hellenistic era.

"Greece was elected a member of the UNESCO's Executive Council in the autumn of 2015 and also has a central role in the various UNESCO agencies and committees. Given these facts, I believe that the culture ministry will seek the best ways to help with work to restore Palmyra," she said.

[10] Refugees apply for asylum to avoid readmission to Turkey

More and more refugees at the hot spots of Lesvos and Chios have applied for asylum to avoid their readmission to Turkey provided that in this way the readmission process freezes. The refugees that have submitted the relevant application will remain at the hotspots.

According to the schedule, a total of 1,000 refugees were supposed to be send back to Turkey from April 4 to April 6. However, only 136 persons from Lesvos and 66 persons from Chios were send back on Monday while has not yet been specified when the next readmission of refugees and migrants will take place.

2,800 of the 3,021 persons hosted at Lesvos' hotspot have submitted an application while approximately 600 refugees and migrants of the 1,766 that are on Chios have also applied for asylum.

[11] Syrian refugees occupy Chios harbour for 5th day, demand passage to Piraeus

There are currently 1,776 refugees and migrants on the island at present, of which 1,185 are in the island's hotspot and the remaining 591 move between an informal camp in Souda, the moat around the castle walls, and the harbour, which thus has a permanent presence of 250 protestors keeping it closed.

The Chios municipal authority on Tuesday made a last appeal to humanitarian organisations, non-governmental organisations and other bodies to assist in the harbour's evacuation and persuade the refugees to return to the hotspot, in order to avert an operation by the coast guard and police.

The municipality has also decided to contest the use of the land made available to build the hotspot legally, following the transformation of the facility from a short-stay identification and registration centre to a closed detention centre. In a solicitor's letter, the municipality said the state had contravened the terms for the concession of the property in this way and that it intends to take legal action unless the previous regime is restored.

It also calls on the state to take measures to restore damages to the hotspot, both present and future, and take action to avoid overcrowding.

[12] Piraeus to be decongested by end of week, says minister

"By the end of the week Piraeus will be decongested significantly and we'll start transferring refugees from Idomeni," he was quoted as saying.

Vitsas said that 1,500 refugees from the port and were transferred to the camp in Eleonas, to Koutsohero camp in Larisa and to Katsika in Ioannina.

"There are currently 2,600 empty spots in accommodation centers and another 10,000 are being built, most of which will be ready by next Sunday," the minister added.

[13] Refugees refuse to leave Piraeus port for other hosting facilities

According to sources, the new accomodation centre at Skaramangas will be ready at the end of the week.

[14] Municipal hostels in Macedonia to shelter 40 unaccompanied refugee children

The Labour ministry signed a memorandum with SOS Children's Villages and the Center for Social Welfare of Central Macedonia to provide humane living conditions and protection to 40 children whose accommodation requests are pending. Refugee children will live in hostels provided by the Center, while the Villages will contribute through a donation from their international union all of the salaries and contributions needed to staff the hostels.

The program will start implemented immediately and will have a six-month duration which could be extended for another six months.

[15] 52,352 refugees in Greece on Tuesday

According to the Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body's figures, 28,980 of the refugees are in northern Greece, 11,280 of them are in Idomeni, 14,506 are in the region of Attica (4,761 are at Piraeus port), 5,984 on the Greek islands and 2,882 are hosted in different areas in Central Greece.

[16] About 200 migrants and refugees arrived at eastern Aegean islands in 24h

More specifically, 187 persons arrived at Lesvos and 20 persons at Samos.

[17] Portuguese PM in Athens on official visit next Monday

According to sources, the two prime ministers will sign a joint declaration on the future of Europe and on boosting cooperation between the two countries. On the sidelines of the visit, there will be a meeting between Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva and Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas.

Costa has been prime minister of Portugal since November 26, 2015 after a coalition of leftist parties (the Left Bloc, the Portuguese Communist Party and the Ecologist Party 'The Greens') led by his own Socialist Party toppled the conservative Portugal Ahead coalition and the government formed by Passos Coelho. Costa had run on an anti-austerity platform and is thus considered one of the Greek government's allies in the EU, both in terms of economic policy and in opposing austerity, as well as in seeking a European solution to the refugee crisis.

In a letter to the Greek prime minister and the other EU leaders at the summit in February, Costa had said that Portugal is ready to accept up to 6,000 refugees from Greece, in addition to those it will accept under the quota system.

[18] Austrian Defence Minister in Athens on Wednesday

Austrian Defence Minister Hans Peter Doskozil will visit Athens on Wednesday and hold talks with his Greek counterpart Panos Kammenos.

Their meeting will focus on the refugees crisis and the relief of tension between the two countries lately.

According to the Austrian Minister's spokesman, Doskozil's intention is a sincere discussion on how the Greek borders can be protected and how the readmission of refugees will be carried out.

Moreover, the Austrian Minister will brief his Greek counterpart on the results of the recent Central European Defence Cooperation Congrees of the Defence Ministers called by Doskozil last Thursday and Friday in Vienna where the creation of a political-military mission to support Frontex was decided.

[19] Democratic Left slams government's lack of planning in refugee crisis

"It proves once more in the clearest manner the complete absence of the State from the refugee issue. It seems that the government lacks the planning, program and reflexes that are needed for the practical implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement," the party said.

DL also noted that recent incidents in Idomeni, like the break-in at UNHCR's food bank, the closing of roads by groups of refugees protesting for the closed borders increase tension and create conflicts between refugees and locals.

Financial News

[20] 39 percent of Greek companies want to transfer their activities abroad, survey shows

This percentage translates into more than 9,000 small, medium and large Greek companies that are examining the pros and cons of their transfer to another country. At the same time, 15 percent of companies participating in the survey have already transferred their activities abroad.

The survey was conducted between March 23 and March 31.

[21] Passenger traffic at Athens' International Airport breaks record in March

According to the data, domestic traffic rose 16 pct last month to 511,642 passengers compared to the same period last year, while international arrivals jumped 11.9 pct, 775,883 people.

For the first quarter of the year, which marked 15 years of operation for "Eleftherios Venizelos" airport, passenger traffic grew 15.7 pct to 3,450,663 million passengers, breaking another record.

[22] Greek stocks ease lower in negative climate on Tuesday

The composite index fell 0.62 pct to end at 561.23 points, fluctuating by up to 10 points during the session.

The Large Cap index fell 1.06 pct and the Mid Cap index fell 0.17 pct lower. Turnover was a low 56.164 million euros in volume of 111,968,707.

Piraeus Bank (2.44 pct), Folli Follie (2.02 pct) and EYDAP (1.86 pct) made the biggest gains among blue chip stocks, while Alpha Bank (3.28 pct), Hellenic Petroleum (2.23 pct) and Coca Cola HBC (1.91 pct) suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day. National Bank and Piraeus Bank were the most heavily traded securities of the day.

Among market sectors, Commerce (2.01 pct), and Travel (0.90 pct) scored gains, while Foods (1.91 pct) and Telecommuni-cations (1.68 pct) had the greatest losses.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 49 to 40 with another 26 issues unchanged. Medicon (19.94 pct), Viokarpet (19.38 pct) and Varvaressos (18.18 pct) were top gainers, while Boutaris (20 pct), Compucon (18.75 pct) and Frigoglass (16.43 pct) were top losers.

[23] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates were largely unchanged. The 12-month rate fell to -0.004 pct from -0.001 pct, the nine-month rate was -0.069 pct, the six-month rate remained at -0.132 pct, the three-month rate fell to -0.248 pct from -0.246 pct and the one-month rate was -0.339 pct.

[24] ADEX closing report

Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 47,210 contracts with investment interest focusing on National Bank's contracts (19,220), followed by Piraeus Bank (15,927), Alpha Bank (5,301), Eurobank (4,069), MIG (632), PPC (448), Hellenic Petroleum (322), Frigoglass (308), OTE (296), OPAP (159), Viohalco (141), Motor Oil (91), Mytilineos (56), Ellaktor (30), GEK (18) and METKA (7).

General News

[25] Archaic Kore from Acropolis Museum to be exhibited in State Hermitage Museum in Russia

The exhibition will be inaugurated on the Greek side by Greece's Culture Minister Aristidis Baltas and on the Russian side by St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko and Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky.

A culture ministry announcement said that the two countries are planning a series of such initiatives throughout the year, in order to further cement the bonds of friendship between the two countries. Such initiatives will also include the organisation of exhibitions, including archaeological exhibitions, that will give the Greek and Russian people an opportunity to become acquainted with important aspects of each other's culture.

These exhibitions will begin with two separate "advance" presentations, the first of which was the loan of Greco-Scythian gold objects from the State Hermitage Museum to the Acropolis Museum on March 11, where they will remain until October 2, and the second being the Kore statue.

The kore loaned to the Hermitage Museum was discovered in 1886 northwest of the Erechtheion. It is dressed in richly coloured clothing and jewellery and is lifting her long chiton as she walks. The hair, eyes, clothes and jewellery all retain traces of the original coloured pigments decorating the marble statue.

[26] International Dance Festival in Thessaloniki

1,500 dancers from 33 countries will participate in the TDF among them athlete-dancers from Romania, Russia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Bosnia, Spain, Cyprus, Greece and others.

Six different competitions will be held in parralel in Latin, Hip Hop, Salsa, Tango Argentino, Oriental and Modern Jazz.

[27] Planes to be grounded on April 7 due to air traffic controllers' strike

ADEDY is protesting against planned reforms in the social security and pension system.

According to the air traffic controllers' union, the strike will start at 00:01 after midnight, on early Thursday morning and will end on midnight on Thursday. Exceptions to the decision will include air force flights, humanitarian aid, search and rescue and health emergency flights, as well as those transporting heads of state.

[28] Cambodian-flagged vessel towed to Kos port after it run aground in shallow waters

The freighter ZEINA J has 15 crew members on board and is loaded with 6,400 tons of silicon, a raw material used in industry.

It had sailed from El Arish in Egypt and was heading for Turkey was detached using its own means and is being towed by a coast guard vessel to the port of Kos. Greek port authorities are expected to forbid the vessel to leave the island until the damage has been fixed and relevant classification society submits the necessary certificate.

Weather forecast

[29] Mostly fair on Wednesday

[30] The Tuesday edition of Athens' newspapers at a glance

DIMOKRATIA: Stavros Papastavrou, advisor of former prime minister Antonis Samaras, included in the corruption list of 'Panama Papers'

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The pirates of the Caribbean

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: Taxes and performances

ESTIA: An issue of credibility for Greece

ETHNOS: New bomb on Greek milk

IMERISSIA: New thriller with the troika

KATHIMERINI: The program review on a tightrope

KONTRANEWS: (Prime Minister) Alexis Tsipras' brave 'NO' to blackmailers

NAFTEMPORIKI: More time wasted

RIZOSPASTIS: The people cannot choose between Scylla and Charybdis

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