Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-05-10
From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" <dist@hri.org>
CONTENTS
[01] PM Tsipras: Revolutionary initiative in the health sector
[02] 2019-2020 measures to be voted by May 19, says parliament president
     Voutsis
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[01] PM Tsipras: Revolutionary initiative in the health sector

"We are giving a hard battle to stop the brain drain," Prime Minister
Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday.

Addressing that new doctors, he said: "I want to tell the students that
are graduating from the medical school to trust this substantial reform
in the health sector and stay in Greece".

Moreover, the prime minister, who is visiting the northern Greek city
of Thessaloniki, announced on Wednesday the creation of 14 primary
healthcare centres.

As he said, it is a "revolutionary initiative in the health sector"
that changes the primary healthcare system and aims to safeguard the
public interest.

The conditions are difficult, nobody says we are in a paradise, but we
gave a battle against the status quo and we succeeded, said Tsipras.

Concluding he noted: "For the last two years we have been giving a
difficult battle inside and outside the country, we are at gunpoint but
I believe that we are now passing the last difficult hurdle. Our vision,
our first priority is the support of the social state that was looted
in the years of the growth and devastated in the years of the crisis."


[02] 2019-2020 measures to be voted by May 19, says parliament president
Voutsis

BRUSSELS (ANA/ M. Aroni) --- The 2019-2020 measures included in the
second review of the Greek programme are expected to be voted in the
Greek parliament by May 19 under urgent procedures, stated parliament
president Nikos Voutsis on Wednesday.

Voutsis, who is visiting Brussels for the inauguration of the exhibition
on migration "Roads of Survival" in the European Parliament said that a
draft law on the measures will be tabled in parliament until 12 or 13 May.

The parliament president underlined the importance of voting the measures
because the international discussion on the Greek debt is underway so
that s comprehensive agreement on Greece is reached at the Eurogroup
meeting on May 22.

Referring to the exhibition, Voutsis noted that the refugee crisis is a
wound for Europe because a decision that would be fully implemented by
all the countries and everyone to assume its share of responbility has
been not reached yet.

During his visit Voutsis met with the president of the Progressive
Alliance of the Democrats and Socialists Gianni Pittella, the co-chair of
the Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance Ska Keller, the president
of the Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left
Gabriele Zimmer and Greek eurodeputies.