Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-01-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] Voting concluded in second round of New Democracy runoff elections

[02] Tsakalotos continues meetings with Eurozone counterparts this weekend

[03] ND-PASOK governments 'used all methods' for undermining pension system, gov't sources claim

[04] Passing pension reforms will not dent government majority, Stathakis predicts

[05] Flights delayed by up to 40 minutes after security alert at Athens Airport

[06] SYRIZA must forge 'social alliances' for post-memorandum era, Dragasakis tells 'Avgi'

[07] Greece's bar associations announce three-day lawyers' strike on Jan 12-14

[01] Voting concluded in second round of New Democracy runoff elections

An ND announcement said it had asked all polling stations to close and end voting that the prescribed time, except in those cases were voters were still inside the polling station.

The vote was between rival candidates Vangelis Meimarakis, who had served as interim party leader over the summer after Antonis Samaras stepped down and resigned after a first, and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a former minister.

Mitsotakis cast his own vote at around 10:30 in Kifissia and afterward stated that "a new day is dawning for ND and Greece." He thanked voters that took part in the process and appealed to everyone to exercise their right to vote.

"On Monday, ND will not only be united but also renewed and ready to put forward an alternative plan of governance," he said.

Meimarakis visited the polling station at the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and said he felt optimistic that "ND will proceed positively from tomorrow, whichever president is elected." He later voted at a polling station at the former town hall in Ymittos.

Interim ND President Yiannis Plakiotakis voted in Agios Nikolaos, Crete and said that the present goal was to make ND a great, strong and modern European political force. "Through our participation, we ensure our party's smooth progress into the future," he said.

Former prime ministers Antonis Samaras and Costas Karamanlis, as well as the candidates that were eliminated in the previous round of main opposition New Democracy's runoff leadership elections, were among those casting their votes during the second round of the election on Sunday.

"Our party fought, was vindicated, lasted and from tomorrow must take all of Greece in its hands," Samaras said in a brief statement after casting his vote in Kifissia, northeast Athens.

European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos also exercised his right to vote in the party's elections, at a Kifissia polling station on Sunday morning.

Former Greek premier Costas Karamanlis voted in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki at 9:55 in the morning, without making any statements to the press. He was greeted with applause by former minister Evripidis Stylianidis and other members of New Democracy based in Thessaloniki.

Regional governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who came third and was eliminated in the first round of the leadership race, also cast his vote and sent out a message of unity, urging all sides to work hard "to once again make ND a great centre-right party that will talk to society."

[02] Tsakalotos continues meetings with Eurozone counterparts this weekend

During the one-day visit to Paris, Tsakalotos is expected to request France's support in persuading the institutions representing Greece's creditors to accept the Greek government's proposals. The two are scheduled to meet at 20:00 (Greek time) and to make joint statements in a press conference after their meeting.

On Saturday, Tsakalotos was in Lisbon for talks with Portugal's Finance Minister Mario Centeno. The Greek finance minister outlined the positive prospects opening up once the Greek government's road map is completed and they examined problems that Greece and Portugal have in common, with a view to forming an agenda for dealing with these in a progressive manner.

According to finance ministry sources, they agreed that there were shared problems, since there are many similarities between Greece and Portugal, while they also discussed issues that could be raised jointly at the EU that concern both countries, such as the banking union, unemployment and investments.

Tsakalotos began his Europen tour on Friday when he met Italian Finance Minister Pier Paolo Padoan, while he is due in Helsinki for talks with Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb on Monday. He is next due to meet Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Djisselbloem in Amsterdam on Tuesday and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Wednesday.

[03] ND-PASOK governments 'used all methods' for undermining pension system, gov't sources claim

"There are many ways in which one can undermine the foundations of a social insurance system and the Samaras-Venizelos governments have used them all," they commented in response to critics.

Pointing to a recent article by former PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, in which he opposed the prospect of increasing the 'non-wage cost' of employment, the sources noted that this essentially opposed any increase in social insurance contributions and would inevitably lead to pension cuts, given the drastic reduction of pension fund reserves as a result of PSI.

"Mr. Venizelos glosses over the fact that a much larger reduction in social insurance contributions in July 2014 didn't create new jobs, nor increase available income anywhere," the sources said. Instead, they served only to increase the pressure on pension funds, which had been their purpose all along, the same sources added.

They also levelled criticism at the head of the General Confederation of Employees of Greece (GSEE) umbrella trade union group Yiannis Panagopoulos for opposing the government proposals, saying that his arousal was good news to "hundreds of thousands of workers, who wonder where he has been since 2010 and why he did not react to the 11 successive cuts to pensions, or the snatching of 13 billion euros from the pension funds via PSI."

[04] Passing pension reforms will not dent government majority, Stathakis predicts

He noted that the government, rather than imposing pension cuts, had instead opted for a deeper, more permanent and lasting reform, with a transitional period to smooth out any injustices that may arise. Some cuts to the very high pensions were unavoidable, he added, while predicting that a tax on bank transactions to fund the system would not be necessary based on the calculations made.

On the issue of non-performing loans, the minister said the government had until February 15 to complete the legislation for protecting homeowners, SMEs and consumer loans and predicted that the high level of protection would continue.

[05] Flights delayed by up to 40 minutes after security alert at Athens Airport

The passenger had been cleared at a first security check before departure but a random spot check indicated that she should be checked again for explosives, an airport announcement said. In response, the airport had given orders preventing the take-off of all flights on the ground so that further security inspections might be carried out.

The passenger in question had boarded Aegean flight A3688 to Madrid, however, which had already taken off. Acting on the information of a possible security risk, Aegean ordered the flight's pilot to land at the nearest airport - Palma de Mallorca - for further security checks of the aircraft and the passengers in accordance with the rules. This inspection showed no cause for concern and the flight then continued to Madrid.

According to sources, however, the police are drawing up charges against the employees of the airport security firm for failure to promptly inform police authorities after the passenger was checked, so that she was able to board the plane.

[06] SYRIZA must forge 'social alliances' for post-memorandum era, Dragasakis tells 'Avgi'

He also repeated the government's position that the issue of the debt was primarily a European problem demanding a European solution on the basis of mutuality. A single currency, he noted, could not have different interest rates and lending regimes.

"If the leaders of Europe do not want to proceed with a radical solution now, we will inevitably go to a transitional solution, which will ensure that the debt and the cost of servicing it will not act - as is the case today - as an obstacle to long-term borrowing, investments and social policy," he said.

According to Dragasakis, Greece's banking system is expected to assume a more active role in financing investments after a successful recapitalisation and completion of the first review of the Greek programme, which is expected to restore more normal access to liquidity from the European Central Bank (ECB). He also pointed to 6.5 billion euros that have already been earmarked for public investments in 2016, which might rise as high as 8.5 billion euros.

He further pointed to a new development law due to be passed within the next month, as well as measures to secure financing for small and medium-sized enterprises and new financing instruments that will make use of funds from the EU and other organisations. Dragasakis said the government was preparing a comprehensive plan to attract foreign investments, especially the long-term investments that fit with its plan for a reorganisation of production in Greece.

Dragasakis referred to the need for SYRIZA to now form "social alliances" in post-memorandum Greece, noting that there were middle-class sections of society created during conditions of economic prosperity and could not now be maintained on the same terms. "The government will support these strata to create new terms of survival and prosperity," he said.

"We need to move away from an anti-memorandum alliance to a social alliance, aiming at post-memorandum Greece. From alliances on the basis of a mechanistic collection of grievances, we must create alliances based on the prospects that we want to give society and the country," he added.

[07] Greece's bar associations announce three-day lawyers' strike on Jan 12-14

The coordinating committee's recommendations to the presidents' plenum is an extended abstention by lawyers from their duties.

All law firms and bar associations will be closed next Thursday and a protest rally is planned at noon outside the offices of the Athens Bar Association on Akadimias Avenue, followed by a march to Parliament. The Plenum will also send a letter to the government, political party leaders and others outlining its objections to the proposed reforms.

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