Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-02-04 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] EU addressed the debt crisis in a wrong way, Nicole Fontaine tells ANA [02] Greece will not accept absurd measures that will harm the citizens, Interior Min Skourletis says [03] ND will not vote for whatever measures submitted to Parliament, its vice president says [04] There will be an agreement without backing down in principle matters, Transport Min Spirtzis says --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] EU addressed the debt crisis in a wrong way, Nicole Fontaine tells ANA The European Union addressed the debt crisis in a wrong way, Nicole Fontaine, former President of the European Parliament, said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA). Especially in the case of Greece, she said that the policy followed was devastating. As she explained, drastic measures were imposed that destroyed the European idea of a proud people like Greece. Regarding the Brexit, she said that it was not a surprise adding that the domino effect was fortunately avoided and we can now have the opportunity to reconsider Europe. Nicole Fontaine visited Thessaloniki to launch a new cycle of lectures in the French Institute. The full interview of Fontaine is available at ANA's website. [02] Greece will not accept absurd measures that will harm the citizens, Interior Min Skourletis says The Greek government is not willing to accept absurd measures that will harm the citizens, Interior Minister Panos Skourletis on Saturday said in an interview with Imerissia newspaper. Skourletis also said that the current situation is not similar to the situation in 2015. Referring to the outcome of the negotiations, he said that the IMF stance (whether it will stay in the programme or not) will play an important role. As he said, "we are at that point that everyone holds a non-flexible stance, but hopefully more moderate voices will ultimately prevail." Skourletis added that the Greek problem may seem small compared to what the EU is facing, but what is proposed in order to address the most extreme circles of the creditors can destroy Europe. [03] ND will not vote for whatever measures submitted to Parliament, its vice president says The measures that the government and the creditors are now negotiating are the result of the government's inefficiency and lack of credibility, main opposition New Democracy (ND) Vice President Costis Hatzidakis on Saturday said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA). He admitted, however, that the creditors' demands are extreme and cleared out that New Democracy will not vote for whatever measures submitted to Parliament. Referring to the programme of the main opposition, he stressed that New Democracy is not promising magic or easy solutions. "We are very cautious in what we say so that we can keep our promises," he stated. [04] There will be an agreement without backing down in principle matters, Transport Min Spirtzis says Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Spirtzis in an interview with Agora newspapers on Saturday expressed his optimism that the programme review will be concluded and the agreement will be voted in Parliament. "I do not think that the agreement and its terms will not be voted in Parliament. We will have an agreement without backing down in principle matters," he underlined. "A lot of our commitments have been met, for example in my ministry all the targets for the conclusion of the second programme review have been met. Therefore I see no reason why we cannot proceed to the next step," Spirtzis underlined. Moreover, the minister made clear that the government is in favour of the eurozone. "It is obvious that our policy is staying in the eurozone," he stressed.