Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-01-07

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] THE GOAL IS TO BOOST ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2005

[02] THE CYPRIOT DEFENSE MINISTER ON THE NATIONAL GUARD

[03] ASSISTANCE FOR THE TSUNAMI VICTIMS BY THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

[04] SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN THE ASE

[05] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS WILL BE IN AUSCHWITZ ON JANUARY 27

[06] MEETING ON THE ECONOMIC POLICY IN 2005

[01] THE GOAL IS TO BOOST ECONOMIC GROWTH IN 2005

The year 2005 is going to be a crucial year for the Greek economy and the government will have to boost economic growth based not only on the construction sector, but on all extravert sectors as well, stated Minister of Finance Giorgos Alogoskoufis.

The Minister of Finance stated after the meeting with Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, held with the participation of Deputy Ministers Petros Doukas, Adam Regouzas and Christos Folias, that they discussed issues concerning privatizations while an emphasis was given to the great progress made in the past few months concerning the course toward the materialization of the 3rd Community Framework of Support.

Mr. Alogoskoufis stressed that the absorbance rate concerning the EU funds reached 32% compared to 22% 10 months ago.

[02] THE CYPRIOT DEFENSE MINISTER ON THE NATIONAL GUARD

Cypriot Minister of Defense Kiriakos Mavronikolas stated that a policy is being followed that leads to smaller military presence in Cyprus.

He responded to a question if there is a change in the way the National Guard operates after the effort launched in the occupied Trachonas aimed at locating a grave within the framework of the efforts to find out what was the fate of the missing persons since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, in addition to the Turkish Cypriot decision to open the ports in the occupied territories, a decision characterized as illegal by Cypriot Foreign Minister Mr. Iakovou.

Mr. Mavronikolas stated that Cyprus is ready to open new routes in the effort for an overall disengagement, adding that already there have been proposals on behalf of the Cypriot Republic for disengagement at the center of Nicosia.

[03] ASSISTANCE FOR THE TSUNAMI VICTIMS BY THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

The Ministry of Defense in continuation of the efforts aimed at helping the people in southeast Asia sends more humanitarian aid to the victims of the tragedy caused by the tsunami on December 26, 2004.

On January 14, a Greek Air Force C-130 transport plane with a special team on board will be in Indonesia to install a water purification system given the fact that, as the UN has already pointed out, the biggest problem faced by the people affected by the disaster is the lack of drinking water.

[04] SIGNIFICANT GAINS IN THE ASE

Significant gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +1.10% at 2849.31 points, while the volume of transactions was at 194,3 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 183 had gains and 100 had losses, while the value of 138 stocks remained unchanged.

[05] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS WILL BE IN AUSCHWITZ ON JANUARY 27

Hellenic Republic President Kostis Stephanopoulos will be in Auschwitz on January 27 to attend the formal ceremony for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp.

Many heads of states and governments will attend the ceremony.

[06] MEETING ON THE ECONOMIC POLICY IN 2005

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis met with Minister of Finance Giorgos Alogoskoufis and responsible Deputy Ministers Petros Doukas, Adam Regouzas and Christos Folias to discuss crucial issues on the economic policy in 2005 particularly during the first half of the year.

They would also discuss the problems that make the implementation of the 2005 state budget difficult, fiscal policy in the public sector and increases in low pensions, as well as the burning issue concerning ways to put deficit under control.

According to sources, it is likely to discuss additional taxation measures. Those measures are likely to be implemented during the next few months to increase state revenues in 2005.

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article