Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-04-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] Gov't tables high-profile draft bill on selection of pension funds' boards

[02] Piebalgs praises Greece's energy diversification

[01] Gov't tables high-profile draft bill on selection of pension funds' boards

Under the new legislation -- tabled by Economy and Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis and Employment and Social Insurances Minister Savvas Tsitouridis -- the future heads of pension funds must have proven academic and professional credentials, particularly in social insurance or social policy issues.

The draft bill envisages the formation of a commission to ensure the objective selection of pension funds' presidents, while the commission itself will be comprised of the secretary general of Social Insurance (the non-voting chairman), the head of the Capital Markets Commission, the Bank of Greece's governor and all employers' and employee unions.

The draft bill also seeks to strengthen the participation of representatives from pension funds and pensioners, and to expand the introduction of International Accounting Standards to all primary and supplementary insurance organisations. It also foresees the disclosure of annual financial reports, beginning on Jan. 1, 2008.

In comments on Friday, Tsitouridis - who has borne the brunt of acerbic opposition criticism over the civil servants' pension fund affair -- stressed that the procedure would be completed over the next two months, while he underlined that pension funds not only did not lose money but raised reserve assets from 21 billion euros in 2004 to 31 billion euros in 2006.

Opposition reaction

Main opposition PASOK party spokesman Petros Efthymiou, commenting on the draft bill, accused the government of trying to cover up the "plundering" of pension funds' assets, while he reiterated his party's call to "bring the money back to pension funds".

Caption: Alogoskoufis, right, and Tsitouridis appear at a press conference in Athens on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 following meeting on the touchy subject of pension funds' boards. ANA-MPA / P. SAITAS.

[02] Piebalgs praises Greece's energy diversification

European Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, responsible for energy issues in the Union, on Friday praised Athens' policy in the energy sector, during a press conference in Athens and following his meeting with Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas.

Earlier, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis received the EU Commissioner at his official office for a meeting.

In statements to reporters, Piebalgs underlined the progress made in the deregulation of the country's domestic electricity market, while he also referred an ongoing emphasis on renewable sources of energy (RES) and Greece's growing international energy links, stressing that the Greek government has taken all necessary measures to face the risk of drought and its consequences on power production.

Regarding a natural gas pipeline connecting Turkey with Greece, the EU Commissioner called it an important project for Europe, saying he has accepted an invitation to attend an inauguration ceremony in July.

Referring to a natural gas pipeline project expected to connect Greece with Italy, an extension of the network from Turkey, the Latvian Commissioner pointed squarely to a Commission position for diversifying energy sources.

"Europe must be supplied with natural gas from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, and in the future, from Iran," he said.

Regarding the recently sealed Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, he commented that it will facilitate the transport of oil from the Caspian Sea region to the European Union.

Piebalgs also expressed optimism over a goal for RES to reach a 20-percent share of Greece's energy balance by 2020.

On his part, Sioufas stressed that Greece will meet the RES 20-percent goal before 2020, adding that power production capacity of RES plants has doubled over the past three years, while the prediction for 2007 is expected to exceed the 1,100MW-mark.

Caption: EU Commissioner Andris Piebalgs appears at a press conference in Athens on Friday, April 13, 2007. ANA-MPA / O. PANAGIOTOU.

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