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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-13Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] EU Commissioner Moscovici in Athens on WednesdayBRUSSELS(ANA/M.Aroni)---European Commissioner for Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici will visit Athens on Wednesday to support the efforts for a solution for the negotiations on the second review of the Greek programme.Moscovici made this statement during the presentation of the winter economic forecasts for the period 2016-2018 in Brussels on Monday. During his visit to Athens the European Commissioner will meet with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos. [02] Every agreement with the lenders is a compromise with mutual concessions, says Interior Min SkourletisInterior Minister Panos Skourletis referred to the political 'wager' of the county to exit the memoranda in an interview with Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper on Monday."Every agreement with the lenders constitutes a compromise with mutual concessions. Its context is what makes it acceptable or not" he said and explained "An agreement that will prolong the state of uncertainty and will act as an obstacle to growth and will recycle the recessions can't be accepted. Besides the people's patience has reached its limits". Interior Minister recognised that in the current phase an agreement without political cost for SYRIZA is impossible but underlined that "what matters is to exit the memoranda and this is our aim and on this course we must move. If this prospect is cancelled we will suffer a very heavy defeat not only as SYRIZA but as society. In any case, there is nothing certain on this difficult course". [03] FM Kotzias and Vietnamese counterpart Minh agree on enhancing bilateral relationsThe common will for direct expansion and deepening of bilateral relations between Greece and Vietnam at all levels was confirmed during Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias' official visit in Hanoi, on the anniversary of 10 years from the opening of the Greek embassy in the Vietnamese capital and 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.The contacts between the two officials revealed the mutual intention to intensify contacts that will promote bilateral cooperation in all areas, from economic, commercial, maritime, to tourism and culture. Among the most important agreements is the one to promote cooperation between the two countries in multilateral forums-including the United Nations, the Association of Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN) with the EU and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) ASEAN-EU, with Vietnam saying that it is ready to act as a gateway to further promote and facilitate cooperation between Greece and ASEAN, as well as the EU and ASEAN, but also Greece and Vietnam in its relations with the EU, acting as a gateway to Europe. "We respect Vietnam and its brave story, and for me is a life dream to be here and I am very happy to be the first Greek Foreign Minister to visit Vietnam," Kotzias said in a joint press conference with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Bhin Minh. "Vetnam is a synonym of national resistance and human dignity, which are the highest human values for the protection of human life and national sovereignty," he added. "That is why," Kotzias added "we are preparing to further promote cooperation between Greece and Vietnam, in all possible fields, from business and shipping to the EU. We can be, for Vietnam, the gateway to the EU," he underlined. On his part, Minh said that "Vietnam and Greece have shared forty years of diplomatic relations and since then we have seen very positive developments in our bilateral cooperation." The Vietnamese Foreign Minister described his talks with Kotzias "very constructive" and expressed his appreciation for the visit of Kotzias in Hanoi. [04] Commission revises upwards Greek GDP in 2016Greek economy grew 0.3 pct in 2016 and it is expected to grow by 2.7 pct this year and by 3.1 pct in 2018, the European Commission said in its winter forecasts.The EU's executive, in a report released on Monday, said that the Greek economy's picture was improved compared with the Commission's autumn estimates which saw a 0.3 pct contraction of the Greek GDP in 2016. The country's fiscal deficit is expected to fall to -1.1 pct of GDP in 2016, from a -2.5 pct autumn estimate, to remain stable in 2017 and to turn into a 0.7 pct surplus in 2018. The Greek public debt is expected to reach 179.7 pct of GDP in 2016 (down from a previous estimate of 181.6 pct in autumn), falling to 177.2 pct in 2017 and to 170.6 pct in 2018. The unemployment rate is projected to fall from 23.4 pct of the workforce in 2016 to 22 pct in 2017 and to 20.3 pct in 2018. The inflation rate is expected to be zero in 2016, rising to 1.3 pct in 2017 and to 1.0 pct in 2018. Finally, investments are projected to rise significantly by 12 pct in 2017 and by 14.2 pct in 2018, from 4.0 pct in 2016. [05] Stolen part of sarcophagus to be repatriatedA part of a marble sarcophagus that was stolen in 1988 and was found and confiscated from a gallery in Manhattan, New York, where it was displayed will return to Greece.The sarcophagus dated back to 200 AD depicts a battle between Greek and Trojan fighters. The official repatriation ceremony as well as the relevant protocol was held in the office of District Attorney of Manhattan Cyrus Vance Junior. "Often smuggled antiquities acquire a facade of legality over the years or the change of ownership" stated Vance adding "Galleries, auction houses and collectors should be on alert because my office and my associates are closely monitoring the catalogues and the sale of objects of suspicious origin". [06] EU coordinator on EU-Turkey agreement on Tuesday in MytileneMaarten Verwey, EU's coordinator for the impementation of EU-Turkey agreeement will visit Lesvos on Tuesday. Verwey will hold meetings with members of the local authorities and enterpreneurs and afterwards he will speak to the press.[07] Possibility for strong quake in the region of Lesvos very slight, Professor Lekkas tells ANAThe possibility for a strong earthquake is slight, head of the Antiseismic Planning and Protection Organisation Efthimios Lekkas stated on Monday following the fourth moderate tremor recorded in the region of the island of Lesvos.Speaking to Athens-Macedonian News Agency's radio "Praktoreio 104.9 FM", Lekkas noted that the scientific factors and our knowledge over the seismic characteristics of the area lead us to a conclusion with two positive facts for the Greek territory and the surrounding area. The first is that it is a very intense seismic activity which wasn't located inside the Greek territory but clearly inside the Turkish territory, Professor Lekkas said. The second very important fact is that it is an activity that "it is very difficult to pass to the Greek territory because there are underground structures "dams" which protect from the reactivation of the faults on Lesvos' side so the seismic activity is very difficult to pass to the Greek side. "The possibility of a strong quake is slight," underlined Lekkas noting that an earthquake should be over 6 on the Richter scale in order to have an impact on Greece's structures and be local because as 6 Richter quake is 33 times stronger than a 5 Richter quake, he explained. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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