Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-05-22 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] President Pavlopoulos: The Ecumenical Patriarchate is our cradle [02] Greek debt is on Eurogroup's table [03] ND leader Mitsotakis accuses the government of lying --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] President Pavlopoulos: The Ecumenical Patriarchate is our cradle "The Patriarchate is our cradle and the Turkish leadership must realize that the presence of the Patriarchate in Constantinople is one of Turkey's most powerful ties with the EU and the West. I hope and believe that in the end the Turkish leadership will understand it and will enable the Patriarchate to do its work, especially the educational one, and I am talking about the reopening of the School of Halki," Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos said on Monday during his visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, where he met with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. Pavlopoulos is in Istanbul to participate in the summit marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Black Sea Cooperation Organization (BSEC), at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [02] Greek debt is on Eurogroup's table The issue of the Greek debt sustainability will be put on the negotiating table at the Eurogroup meeting on Monday. The aim is to achieve a comprehensive, political agreement. The agreement must include: the ratification of the institutions' draft report on the measures voted, the definition of the primary surpluses that Greece must meet after 2018 and the definition of the medium-term measures on debt so that the IMF participates in the Greek programme. Before the meeting of the finance ministers, an extraordinary meeting of the EuroWorking Group will take place. It is expected to be a long meeting as all sides are aware of the importance of reaching an agreement. However, there is still distance between Berlin and the IMF. [03] ND leader Mitsotakis accuses the government of lying Main opposition New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis in an interview with voria.gr website on Monday accused the prime minister of lying to the Greek people. Mitsotakis underlined the need to reduce taxes adding that his government would ask from the creditors to reduce the primary surplus target from 3.5 pct to 2 pct to obtain fiscal room. "We will fully implement our commitments. We will immediately carry out the structural reforms required by the state and the economy to attract investments, create new businesses as well as new and quality jobs," he stated.