Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-06-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM addresses Parliament during debate on public administration

[01] PM addresses Parliament during debate on public administration

"Greece will not turn back", the prime minister said and stressed that the government is ready to tackle problems and to bring about changes and reforms.

"Changes have begun, reforms are under way. Constant effort, persistence, consistency and a joint effort are necessary to enable us to build a responsible and reliable social state which shall be socially just and which shall respect citizens. We have undertaken this commitment," Karamanlis said.

The prime minister referred to statements made in past years by PASOK's current leader George Papandreou and members of the then government about commissions, piranhas, a second division state, vested interests and exploitation by the state for the benefit of those in power, saying that "you were responsible for these phenomena. What are your positions now?"

Karamanlis went on to say that "today, we are being called on to face partisanship, bureaucracy and corruption left behind by PASOK" and accused PASOK of being governed by confusion, contradiction and an absolute vacuum.

Referring to the government's targets in the public administration sector, Karamanlis said they include the restriction of bureaucracy, electronic governance and the upgrading of services provided to citizens.

The prime minister mentioned the creation of the "Central Committee for Simplifying Procedures" which is functioning at a speedy rate and preparing new reforms to combat bureaucracy.

He also referred to measures such as the programme - amounting to about �14.5 million - to support about 3,000 small and medium-size businesses in every region to enable them to acquire informatics equipment.

As regards the issue of transparency and good management in public administration, Karamanlis said checks revealed "2,800 cases of olive oil producers who had died and who were still receiving subsidies."

Karamanlis also focused on the immigration issue, saying that the relevant bill will be brought before Parliament on Wednesday "to secure for every alien the unimpeded exercising of his rights and his full accession to society."

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