Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-04-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] Transparency non-negotiable, Alogoskoufis stresses after meeting PM

[02] Greece, Gazprom to extend natgas contract

[03] Greek inflation slows to 2.6 pct in March

[04] Pilot run for Proastiako to Piraeus

[01] Transparency non-negotiable, Alogoskoufis stresses after meeting PM

Emerging from a meeting with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Wednesday, Greek Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis underlined that the government had nothing to fear from the affair concerning suspect bond purchases by pension funds.

"Transparency and protection of public interest are non-negotiable for this government," Alogoskoufis stressed in statements to reporters.

The government had pointed out certain problems that exist and had set in motion processes to correct them in terms of the legal framework but also to find those responsible, he added.

The minister also asserted that a number of inaccuracies and stories had been uttered concerning the affair and that he had therefore asked Parliament President Anna Psarouda-Benaki to inform the appropriate Parliamentary Committee, so as to put a stop to them.

According to Alogoskoufis, his meeting with Karamanlis had served as an opportunity to brief the premier on the results of his recent visits to Washington and Australia.

While in Washington, the Greek finance minister had discussed the Greek economy and Greece's role in southeastern Europe with the heads of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and of the World Bank.

He also stressed the important role of the Greek-Australian community in the country's political life.

[02] Greece, Gazprom to extend natgas contract

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas and Gazprom's chairman Alexei Miller, currently in Athens.

The two sides are expected to begin talks immediately with the aim to reach a final agreement by the end of the year.

Speaking to reporters, after the meeting, the Greek minister stressed that Gazprom supplied 80 pct of the country's needs in natural gas according to a bilateral agreement reached in 1987 and terminating in 2016.

"We discussed the extension of the agreement until 2040 and confirmed the common will for the extension," Sioufas told reporters. He praised Gazprom's high level of credibility in supplying the country with natural gas and stressed that relations were expected to expand in oil supplies as Gazprom participated in a Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project.

The Greek minister underlined that natural gas consumption was growing strongly, rising by 35 pct in the three-year period from 2003 to 2006 to a total of 3.1 billion cubic metres, and was expected to surpass 6.5 billion cubic metres by 2010.

Sioufas presented to Gazprom's head investment opportunities in Greece after the deregulation of electricity and natural gas markets in the country.

"Greece is a traditional buyer of Russian natural gas and the increase in consumption shows the country's economic upgrading," Alexei Miller told reporters after the meeting. Gazprom's chairman said the two sides discussed an extension of an existing bilateral agreement until 2040 and agreed to begin talks as soon as possible to reach an agreement by the end of 2007. He underlined that Gazprom's participation in the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project would expand bilateral cooperation.

Caption: Greek Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas (left) meeting Gazprom Chairman Alexei Miller (right) at the development ministry in Athens on April 11 (ANA-MPA/Antoniou Wilielmos)

[03] Greek inflation slows to 2.6 pct in March

The harmonised CPI in the same period increased 2.8%, it added.

Compared to February 2007, the general CPI increased 2.3% while the harmonised CPI increased 2.5%. The core inflation increased 2.7% in March 2007, down from 2.9% in February and 2.9% in March 2006.

NSS's secretary general, Manolis Kontopyrakis, commenting on the March inflation figure said it expected a further decline in April due to lower expectations of price increases in vegetable, fuel and heating oil compared with the same month last year.

The statistics service attributed the 2.6 pct inflation figure in March to a 4.0 pct increase in education prices, a 3.4 pct rise in hotel-coffee-restaurant prices, a 10.8 pct increase in alcohol-tobacco prices, a 4.4 pct rise in clothing and footwear and a 3.2 pct increase in healthcare prices.

Durable goods prices rose 2.4 pct, food and beverage were up 2.7 pct and other goods and services rose by 2.2 pct in March, compared with the same month in 2006.

Caption: Athens' central meat market in the run-up to Easter on April 2. ANA-MPA/A. Beltes

[04] Pilot run for Proastiako to Piraeus

Transport Minister Mihalis Liapis was on board the Proastiako suburban railway's first pilot run from Larisis Station to Piraeus, which took place on Wednesday morning. The new service, which will link Greece's largest port directly with Athens International airport, is expected to begin operating properly by the end of May.

The train departed from the station at 10:10 precisely, while it stopped along the way so that the minister could inspect the work still underway at the intervening stations in Lefka, Rendi and Rouf. Liapis expressed satisfaction with the progress made so far, while noting that the extension of the Proastiako railway to Piraeus was an "important and multi-faceted" project that would provide rapid access to Greek islands for Greek citizens and foreign visitors.

"Some people doubted whether this project would ever finish, but in a month and a half it will begin operating and by the end of June the extension of the Proastiako to Kiato will also be up and running," he said.

The minister also stressed that fares would not increase this year, even though fares on Greek public transport were the lowest in Europe, underlining that the government's goal was to ensure safe and cheap transport for the public.

The new line is due to be extended to Kiato to the southwest this summer and later to Halkida in the north.

The journey from Piraeus to the airport will take roughly 50 minutes and, at first, there will be two trains running each hour, one toward Corinth and one to the airport. Initially the trains will travel at an average speed of 80km per hour between Piraeus and the airport but average speeds are expected to increase dramatically when work to build an underground line is completed.

The management of Proastiakos SA predicts that the new line will double the number of passengers using the suburban railway, increasing it from 15,000 passengers daily to 30,000 passengers a day. The fare from Larisis Station to the airport will be the current flat fare for urban transport, which is 0.70 euros per journey.

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