Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-10-06

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

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

CONTENTS

[01] ECB governing council leaves key interest rates unchanged

[02] Luxembourg's Juncker praises Greek govt fiscal efforts

[03] Main opposition leader meets EU Commissioner Almunia

[04] KKE leader blasts planned privatisations of public utilities

[05] Reopening of Halki School of Theology 'an obligation' for Turkey, gov't says

[01] ECB governing council leaves key interest rates unchanged

Flanked by ECB Vice-President Loukas Papademos and the latter's successor to the governorship of the Bank of Greece, Nikos Garganas, Trichet nevertheless reiterated his call for &quot;strong vigilance&quot; due to &quot;ample liquidity in the euro-zone&quot;, as he explained.

In further outlining the central bank's rationale for &quot;staying the course&quot; on interest rates, the former chairman of the European Monetary Committee said higher oil prices have &quot;dampened&quot; real GDP in the Union, which he announced as growing on a quarter-to-quarter rate of 0.4 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, over the first two quarters of this year.

Moreover, he cautiously outlined the ECB's prediction that economic growth may gradually pick up the second half of the year, pointing to what he said were positive prospects for euro-zone exports due to a continued rise in global demand on the external side, in tandem with continued favorable financing conditions within the Union, on the domestic side. Other elements of Trichet's guardedly optimistic outlook were the &quot;robust growth&quot; of corporate earnings and the gradual recovery of consumption in the euro-zone.

Expectedly, the primary &quot;risk&quot; vis-à-vis this prediction, according to Trichet, was the price of oil, combined with concerns about global imbalances and weak consumer confidence. Conversely, he more-or-less dismissed any medium- or long-term economic effects of the recent hurricanes in the United States.

[02] Luxembourg's Juncker praises Greek govt fiscal efforts

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting of the European Central Bank in Athens -which he addressed as Finance Minister of Luxembourg and chairman of Eurogroup, Juncker expressed his confidence that the Greek government was on the right track. "I have to praise their efforts," he said.

[03] Main opposition leader meets EU Commissioner Almunia

"The government Mr. Karamanlis, the government of New Democracy has plunged the country into a maelstrom. We are in an economic crisis because of the policies and the handling of this government," Papandreou stressed.

According to PASOK's leader, he had stressed to Almunia that his party would not accept measures that "undermined the course and future of the Greek economy," and targeted ordinary citizens while helping the government's "own", nor accounting practices that placed future budgets "in hock".

Papandreou asserted that there were alternative routes to fiscal discipline and proper management of the economy that promoted competitiveness but also ensure social cohesion.

"There might be a need for more flexibility, but this cannot exist without security for working people in our country," he added, noting that this "other road" to a thriving economy was a wider European issue that was being raised in view of the new negotiations now taking place regarding Europe's fiscal prospects.

[04] KKE leader blasts planned privatisations of public utilities

Papariga also lashed out at the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology party for restricting its criticism of privatisations to minor issues rather than the main problem.

She stressed that privatisations were not in the interests of the workforce, as the government was trying to present them, but chiefly benefited private capital.

Regarding the rates charged by public utilities, Papariga predicted that these would not be reduced when these were privatised but would either increase or else the profit would come by lowering wages, extending working hours and increasing exploitation of the workforce.

[05] Reopening of Halki School of Theology 'an obligation' for Turkey, gov't says

The spokesman was commenting on press reports from Greece's eastern neighbour, in which Turkish ministers forecast a solution for the reopening of the school, whose operation has been blocked by Turkey for more than three decades.

According to the ANA correspondent in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul stated on Thursday that the Turkish government had been working on a formula for reopening the school for some time and that the issue will be resolved "in accordance with the Constitution and the laws".

Turkish Education Minister Huseyin Celik had earlier stated that "it was not right" that the Halki School remain closed, while noting that there was a direct reference to the issue of reopening the school in the chapter of the EU-Turkey accession negotiations referring to religious freedoms and minority rights.

"Even if the EU did not exist, I would think that it is not right for the School to remain closed," Celik told reporters, adding that "the government knows what it must do".

The reopening of the Halki theological school, which was closed down by the Turkish government in 1971, is a standing demand of the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate based in Fanar, Istanbul.

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