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Tuesday, 23 April 2024
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-02-17Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM Tsipras to announce SYRIZA's candidate for President of Republic on TuesdayANA/MPA---Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will announce SYRIZA's candidate for President of Republic at 16:00 on Tuesday during the meeting of SYRIZA parliamentary group. Independent Greeks (ANEL) parliamentary group which participates in the coalition government will convene at the same time chaired by ANEL leader Panos Kammenos.The meeting will focus on the developments regarding the presidential elections. The roll call vote for the election of the new President of Republic will be held on Wednesday at 19:30. According to the Constitution, the candidate that will be supported by 3/5 of the total number of deputies will be elected new President of the Republic. [02] Dijsselbloem: An extension of the current bailout programme is the best solutionBRUSSELS (ANA-MPA/ M. Aroni) - A request by Greece to extend the current bailout programme is the most appropriate solution, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said shortly after the end of the meeting of Eurozone's finance ministers on Monday evening.Dijsselbloem said talks in the past few days between the Greek government and the institutions on both a technical and political level, were fruitless. "Today at the Eurogroup we discussed how to move forward and we continue to believe that the best way to move forward is for the Greek authorities to submit a request extending the programme," the Eurogroup chief said. Dijsselbloem noted Greece will have to submit a request within the next few days and once it does, the EU will be ready to convene an extraordinary Eurogroup meeting on Friday. He also noted that the request will be based on Greece's commitments and that it's up to the country's government to decide if they want an extension and if they'll provide the necessary commitments. The Eurogroup chief also noted that there is room for flexibility within the framework of the existing programme, on condition that agreed targets will not be abandoned. When Greece asks for an extension, any changes will have to be approved by the three institutions which will review the programme's progress. Taking his turn, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici said an agreement was possible and desired, but it wasn't accomplished. He said a constructive discussion took place from which it derived that "there is no other alternative than to submit a request to extend the Greek programme." "The point is for logic to prevail and not ideology," Moscovici added saying that election results must be taken into account but also commitments have to be honoured. The director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, clarified that if the programme review is not completed, the IMF's loan installment will not be disbursed. The Chief Executive Officer of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), Klaus Regling, noted that 1.8 billion euros are waiting to be disbursed form the fund, along with another 1.9 billion euros from the profits central banks have made from Greek bonds (SMPs). Regling also said that 10.9 billion euros from the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund will be lost if no agreement is achieved. Asked whether a Eurozone summit meeting will have to be called if Greece doesn't request an extension, Dijsselbloem said the president of the European Council, Donald Turk, assured him it is not in his intensions to do so. [03] ND leader Samaras calls on gov't to continue negotiations with EurogroupANA - MPA -- A rift is not a solution, main opposition New Democracy leader and former prime minister Antonis Samaras said on Monday evening, following the failure of Greece and the Eurogroup to agree on the extension of the current fiscal programme. Calling it an unpleasant development, the New Democracy leader called on the government to remain in the process of negotiations, which is, he said, "the only path to a positive outcome for our country." Negotiations must be carried out responsibly because of the seriousness of the situation; "we have come a long way, to blow it all up," he said, "a rift is not the solution."Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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