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Tuesday, 26 November 2024 | ||
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Athens News Agency: News in English, 09-01-29Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] Interior minister addreses event on Administrative Reform 2007-2013 operational programPublic Administration's evolution into a strong, reliable and efficient mechanism that guarantees the provision of high-level services to the public, and the creation of conditions of security and development, are the priorities for which his ministry was working methodically and concertedly over the past five years, interior minister Porkpies Pavlopoulos said on Thursday, addressing a greeting to an event on progress in the implementation of the Operational Program "Administrative Reform 2007-2013".Pavlopoulos noted that the opportunities provided by the 4th programming period 2007-2013 in the direction of administrative reform and development were "substantial", adding that the ministry was taking advantage of those opportunities in an organized and systematic manner. He elaborated that, in that context, the ministry had drafted and, for the first time was already implementing -- as announced after its official commencement in December 2007 -- the 631 million euros Special Operational Program on "Administrative Reform 2007-2013", which the minister described as the most significant program for administrative reorganization ever attempted for the re-designing of the most crucial public services that concern the citizens on a daily basis. Some of the main interventions, Pavlopoulos continued, included reduction of the time required for pension payments to begin, a 25 percent reduction of the cost of bureaucracy on business concerns, reduction by 50 percent of the time required for the issue of certificates, strict control on hospitals' supplies, speedier attribution of justice, and substantive curbing of corruption, particularly through restricting the employees' personal contact with the citizen during transactions. He said that the Operational Program's "developmental vision" could be synopsized as the creation of a citizen-oriented, efficient, open and flexible governance, aimed at transition from a simple management of authorities and procedures to an effective administration of policies, services and results. Pavlopoulos further said that the strategic goal of the administrative reform was broken down into four specialized individual targets, namely upgrading public policies aimed at modernization of the regulatory framework and structures of public administration, development of the human potential, enhancing equality between the two genders, and technical support of its implementation in collaboration with the other related ministries. Concluding, the interior minister also referred to migration policy, putting the focus on reorganization of the Aliens and Migration services and enhancing the structures related to the advancement of immigrants' social incorporation. [02] ASE opening:Small declineEquity prices were declining at the opening of trade on Thursday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with the basic share price index down 0.28 percent, standing at 1,743.79 points at 10:45 a.m., and turnover at 13.8 million euros.Individual sector indices were moving mostly downward, with the biggest gains in Telecoms, up 1.39 percent; Insurance, up 1.28 percent; and Personal & Household Goods, up 1.17 percent. The biggest losses were in Health, down 1.35 percent; Public Utilities, down 1.18 percent; and Industrial Products, down 0.87 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 0.35 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was down 0.10 percent, and the FTSE/ASE-80 small cap index was up 0.37 percent. Of the stocks moved, 30 were up, 41 were down, and 31 were unchanged. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |