Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-02-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Tsipras to Dutch FM: European cooperation needed to manage refugee issue

[02] ND VP: Government signed a deal and must implement it

[03] Greek athlete breaks youth indoor pole vault world record

[01] PM Tsipras to Dutch FM: European cooperation needed to manage refugee issue

"It's necessary to have a joint response to the refugee crisis and tackle the causes creating this crisis, which is the war in Syria," Tsipras said, adding that the aim is to minimize refugee flows and crush the trafficking rings that exploit them.

He also spoke for the need to implement a "credible resettlement" mechanism directly from Turkey towards the European countries, so that no more lives will be lost in the Aegean.

On his side, the Dutch official said that as president of the EU council, his country is seeking European consultations on the management of the refugee crisis and agreed with the Greek premier on the need to effectively smash trafficking and change the resettlement process.

Koenders also commented on his visit to FYROM earlier today, during which he warned on the dangers of unilateral moves. The Netherlands support Greece's position for a joint European stance on the basis of what has been agreed, he added.

During the visit to Skopje and his meeting with his counterpart, Nikola Poposki, Koenders stressed it is preferable to have more effective screening process for the refugees and migrants arriving into Europe than to close the Greek-FYROM borders.

"Some EU member-states are urging FYROM to close its borders with Greece. However, as we concluded, it is important to continue the process of European cooperation on the matter. It is much more important to have an effective border control than to close them," he said.

The Dutch foreign minister also said that his country, which holds the EU presidency for the current 6 months, believes it is very important to hold talks with Austria, Greece and FYROM in order to find an effective solution for the refugee crisis.

[02] ND VP: Government signed a deal and must implement it

He also noted that ND has backed the government where necessary and will continue to do where possible. "We supported the government and we'll continue to do it whenever we can, however the main opposition's obligation is to be the opposition," he was quoted by the paper as saying, while he urged Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to govern because "he has signed an agreement that binds the country and he must move forward."

Commenting on the government's ongoing negotiations with the country's lenders, he said: "If you had asked me a little while ago I would have told you that the government will pass the measures and the review will conclude. Today, I'm not betting on it. The government is in confusion and the government majority is not used to reactions," he said.

[03] Greek athlete breaks youth indoor pole vault world record

With his jump, Karalis topped the performance of Argentine pole vaulter Germán Chiaraviglio who achieved 5.51 meters in 2004. The performance was extolled by crowds at the stadium and especially the athletes' academies which had set up their own support group.

President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis congratulated Karalis in messages released on Sunday.

"Your world distinction honours Greece and constitutes an irrefutable proof of the inexhaustible strength of our country's young generation. My warmest congratulations," the President said.

"Greek sports have stable bases and is standing on its own feet despite the difficult economic conditions. Our warmest congratulations to the athlete, hos couches and his team, but also to all those who participated in the National Indoors Sports for their efforts," Kontonis said.

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