Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-07-18

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

CONTENTS

[01] Ruling ND secretary: Electorate backs gov't efforts to solve problems left by PASOK

[02] Summer sales begin today

[03] Greece condemns all acts of violence and terrorism, PM says in letter to Turkish counterpart

[01] Ruling ND secretary: Electorate backs gov't efforts to solve problems left by PASOK

"There are no dead ends for democracies and, if necessary, the answer is always given by the citizens," Meimarakis said when asked if the country might find itself paralysed in the Autumn by the reactions of unions and trade groups to reforms being passed by the government.

He also disagreed with predictions that protests will escalate after the summer, saying that "there is daily proof that the government enjoys the support of the overwhelming majority of citizens on the issues in question."

Meimarakis said the voluntary early retirement model used for the state telecoms company OTE should also be applied in the case of other loss-making public-sector firms and accused PASOK of leaving all problems unsolved; "With the result that we now have to deal with all of them and find solutions for all of them," he added.

"If we just stand by every time the social partners (employers and workers) failed to reach agreement, then we might as well go home. That's what PASOK did and this is why we now find ourselves faced with so many problems that we have to solve as quickly as possible. We do not consider the political cost because, as the prime minister has repeatedly said, we operate on the sole criterion of the general good. The government's programme has a four-year span, when we will be judged by the overall results of our governance and, I believe, we will win again," the ruling party secretary said.

He also stressed that the government will make every effort to avoid taking new revenue-raising measures in the autumn and, even in the case that internationals conditions imposed a different policy on all of Europe, the government would avoid turning against the economically weaker classes.

Regarding the controversial "primary shareholder" law currently blocked by the European Union, Meimarakis said this had been "correct in its underlying philosophy" and that it expressed in the "most authentic way the government's determination to ensure transparency".

He also said that the final solutions given to the problem would "also be the most appropriate, since corruption can be fought in many ways and we will not allow anyone to say that the government put aside its most major commitment".

[02] Summer sales begin today

It advised the public to be cautious and to compare prices before making a purchase, pointing out that the ministry had made it mandatory for goods to be marked with a double price, not just the old prices prior to the sales.

Consumer General Secretary Thanassis Skordas, meanwhile, urged the public to avoid overspending or relying too heavily on credit cards and consumer loans to make purchases. He also warned the public to carefully check the quality of goods they bought, while stressing that shops did not have the right to refuse to replace or refund goods that were faulty because they were bought within the sales at a discount.

The only exception was for goods sold at a discount because they were faulty, provided that the fault was clearly indicated and the buyer was aware of it at the time of the purchase.

He also warned consumers not to get carried away by supposed high discounts or by selected "bait" products and carefully compare prices, and urged the public to contact the consumer general secretariat at 1520 to report problems or abuses, such as fake discounts or faulty goods.

Finally, he warned that there will be constant inspections, with tough penalties for shop-owners who broke the rules, for example by hoarding stock or by trying to sell faulty or bad quality products, or not giving real discounts.

[03] Greece condemns all acts of violence and terrorism, PM says in letter to Turkish counterpart

"Greece unequivocally condemns acts of violence and terrorism, wherever they may originate from," Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis stressed in a letter to his Turkish counterpart sent on Sunday, following Saturday's bomb blast targeting a public minibus in Turkey's Kusadasi resort that killed five people, including a British and an Irish woman, and injured 14 others.

"On behalf of the Greek government and myself, I wish to express my sorrow for the tragic death and injury to innocent people, from this bomb attack. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims," Karamanlis said in his letter.

It was the second attack to hit the area in a week, at the height of the tourism season.

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