Daily Archives: May 12, 2015

Θέμα της Ελλάδας το δημοψήφισμα, λένε ευρωπαίοι αξιωματούχοι

Θέμα της Ελλάδας το δημοψήφισμα, λένε ευρωπαίοι αξιωματούχοι

Ο γερμανός υπουργός Οικονομικών Β.Σόιμπλε

Αλλαγή στάσης σχετικά με το ενδεχόμενο δημοψηφίσματος στην Ελλάδα προκύπτει από δηλώσεις Ευρωπαίων αξιωματούχων πριν και μετά το Eurogroup της Δευτέρας. Κοινό σημείο των δηλώσεων είναι ότι η απόφαση για το θέμα αυτό εναπόκειται στην Ελλάδα.

Ο γερμανός υπουργός Οικονομικών Βόλφγκανγκ Σόιμπλε δήλωσε σχετικά με το ενδεχόμενο ενός δημοψηφίσματος στην Ελλάδα:

«Εναπόκειται στην Ελλάδα και αν η ελληνική κυβέρνηση είναι της γνώμης ότι πρέπει να κάνει δημοψήφισμα, ας το κάνει. Ίσως να ήταν και ένα σωστό μέτρο να αφεθεί ο ελληνικός λαός να αποφασίσει αν είναι έτοιμος να αποδεχθεί αυτό που είναι αναγκαίο ή αν θα επιλέξει το άλλο. Αυτό όμως το συζητήσαμε εντατικά και το 2011 με την τότε ελληνική κυβέρνηση. Η απόφαση εναπόκειται στην Ελλάδα».

Ο πρόεδρος του Eurogroup Γερούν Ντάισελμπλουμ, προσερχόμενος στη συνεδρίαση, ενώ υπογράμμισε πως η οποιαδήποτε απόφαση για δημοψήφισμα ανήκει στους Έλληνες πολιτικούς. «Η διεξαγωγή δημοψηφισμάτων δεν με ανησυχεί», είπε χαρακτηριστικά.

«Το θέμα του δημοψηφίσματος είναι ζήτημα εθνικής πολιτικής, θέμα της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης» επανέλαβε ο κ. Ντάισελμπλουμ και κατά τη διάρκεια της συνέντευξης Τύπου μετά το Eurogroup.

Για το θέμα τοποθετήθηκε και ο πρόεδρος του Eυρωπαϊκού Κοινοβουλίου, Μάρτιν Σουλτς ο οποίος ανέφερε πως είναι κάτι «που πρέπει να συζητήσουν οι Έλληνες μεταξύ τους». «Εάν ένας Έλληνας πρωθυπουργός θέλει να έχει ευρεία υποστήριξη από το λαό του για τα εκτεταμένα μέτρα που έχει συμφωνήσει με τους εταίρους του, τότε το δημοψήφισμα είναι μια δυνατότητα» είπε.

Ο Γιάνης Βαρουφάκης, ερωτηθείς σχετικά μετά το Eurogroup, δήλωσε ότι ένα δημοψήφισμα αποτελεί πάντα μία δυνατότητα, προβλέπεται από το Σύνταγμα, αλλά είναι θέμα του πρωθυπουργού να το αποφασίσει και του Προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας να το εγκρίνει. Δεν αφορά τον υπουργό Οικονομικών.

Στο κυβερνητικό «στρατόπεδο» επικρατεί διχογνωμία για ένα τέτοιο ενδεχόμενο.

Ο κοινοβουλευτικός εκπρόσωπος του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ Νίκος Φίλης χαρακτήρισε το δημοψήφισμα ως «υπερόπλο της κυβέρνησης απέναντι στους δανειστές».

Σταθερός στη θέση του υπέρ ενός δημοψηφίσματος είναι ο αντιπρόεδρος της Βουλής και βουλευτής του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ, Αλέξης Μητρόπουλος, ο οποίος μάλιστα προτείνει να διεξαχθεί πριν τη συμφωνία με τους δανειστές.

Αντίθετα ο ευρωβουλετής του ΣΥΡΙΖΑ και αντιπρόεδρος της Ευρωβουλής Δημήτρης Παπαδημούλης δεν θεωρεί ότι ένα δημοψήφισμα είναι απαραίτητο, ενώ εκτιμά ότι μια μέτρια συμφωνία είναι καλύτερη από τη ρήξη.

Πηγή:in.gr

Church, SYRIZA MP clash over use of saint’s relic

The Church of Greece and SYRIZA’s parliamentary group representative, Nikos Filis, clashed on Monday after the latter complained about the use of a relic of Saint Barbara, one of the most venerated saints in the Orthodox Church, which was brought to Greece over the weekend.

Filis complained that the relic was taken to Aghios Savvas Hospital in Athens in a gesture aimed at blessing the institution and its patients.

“It is wrong to send the message that medicine can be replaced,” said the SYRIZA MP. “It gives the wrong message to patients because it is a form of populism that distances them from science.”

Archbishop Ieronymos’s spokesman Haris Konidaris accused Filis of engaging in a “supposed left-wing anti-clericalism” and called on him to follow the example of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who “has total respect for Greeks’ religious feelings.”

Saint Barbara is said to have lived in 3rd-century Nicomedia, present-day Turkey.

In the Orthodox Church, she is also known as the Great Martyr Barbara.

source:ekathimerini.com

Greek FM in Turkey in confidence-building push

A handout picture provided by the Turkish Prime Minister Press Office shows Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (right) meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias (left) in Istanbul.

    Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Monday held talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and gave a flurry of interviews to Turkish media on the first day of a visit to Turkey aimed at paving the way for bilateral talks on confidence-building measures.

In an interview with Turkish Public Television, Kotzias said “there are a lot of problems, there are differing interests.” “But God cast our dice here. We have to live together.”

As for Cyprus, Kotzias said it “must become a normal member-state of the EU and develop good and productive relations with Turkey and Greece.”

Kotzias is due in Ankara today for talks with his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu expected to focus on confidence-building measures. They are also expected to discuss economic cooperation, particularly in tourism.

source:ekathimerini.com

GD trial to go to new court in September, new venue sought in interim

golden_dawn_trial

The trial of the leadership and dozens of members of neofascist Golden Dawn, which is due to resume on Tuesday at a special courtroom at Korydallos Prison, will be moved to a new venue at the Court of Appeals, Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said on Monday, responding to protests by local authorities and residents. However, Paraskevopoulos added that the new courtroom will not be ready until September.

Speaking after talks with Korydallos Mayor Stavros Kasimatis as well as regional officials, the minister said he was prepared to help locals find an “interim solution” before September. He suggested, however, that a swift venue relocation would require an appeal to be made by presiding judge Maria Lepenioti. The latter had indicated last month, when the trial started, that it was in the Justice Ministry’s remit to solve the problem.

It remained unclear late on Monday whether schools would be closed for the day in Korydallos as they were on April 20, when the trial opened, and last Thursday, when it briefly resumed.

Last week, an Athens court imposed a 12-month prison sentence on neofascist Golden Dawn lawmaker Ilias Panayiotaros after finding him guilty of slandering the former regional governor of Athens, Yiannis Sgouros.

The conviction relates to comments by Panayiotaros on Kontra TV channel in the countdown to local authority elections last year, when the GD MP accused Sgouros of corruption and vested interests.

source:ekathimerini.com

Federal Budget 2015: Top 5 measures we know already

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IT IS the document that could doom or save Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey.

After a harsh reaction to last year’s plan, the Prime Minister has promised a “dull” federal Budget that will not contain deep cuts.

With Mr Abbott and Social Services Minister Scott Morrison have been busily talking up the key sweeteners, it’s been speculated that Treasurer Joe Hockey will have little left to reveal in tonight’s anticipated Budget speech.

Here are the top five key measures we already know will be in the Budget:

1. Childcare

The government couldn’t wait till tonight to announce its $3.5 billion cash splash on childcare, choosing instead to announce the changes on Mother’s Day. Families earning between $65,000 and $170,000 per annum will be $1500 better off each year from July 2017. The changes, which mean childcare centres receive a single payment to reduce parents’ upfront costs, are designed to encourage mothers to re-enter the workforce sooner.

2. Paid parental leave crackdown

Parents will no longer be allowed to access the taxpayer-funded paid parental leave scheme if their employer offers its own paid leave scheme. This means that almost 80,000 new parents will lose some or all of their parental leave payments. Parents who will miss out on the 18-week minimum wage scheme will be $11,538 worse off. Treasurer Joe Hockey said yesterday that government modelling showed higher-income earners were “double dipping” into parental leave schemes, which he said was “just plainly unfair”.

3. The Netflix tax

People who buy movies, music, games and e-books online will be slugged an extra 10 per cent, with the government vowing to extend the goods and services tax to these “intangible” digital products. So, Netflix binge-watchers, be prepared to pay a little more. Mr Hockey said he would introduce draft legislation with the Budget, aimed at “levelling the playing field”. “It’s plainly unfair that a supplier of digital products into Australia is not charging the GST while some locally are charging the GST,” he told reporters in Canberra yesterday. This measure is expected to raise $350 million over the next four years, all of which will go to the states.

4. Pensions

Eligibility rules for the age pension will be tightened, which is expected to push 91,000 people off the pension and see another 235,000 people’s payments reduced. The part-pension assets test will be cut to $820,000 for couples.

5. Multinational companies on notice

Mr Hockey has plans to crack down on multinational companies that dodge their tax obligations in Australia, announcing plans to recover “billions” in unpaid taxes and harsh new anti-avoidance fines. The treasurer said the government had in its sights 30 companies that divert their profits offshore to avoid paying tax in Australia. Companies that are caught doing the wrong thing will be forced to cough up their unpaid taxes and be could pay 100 per cent of that amount again in fines. “Obviously, they have not been paying their fair share of tax in Australia. In fact, they’ve been paying no tax in Australia,” Mr Hockey said. “Have no doubt the rest of the world is looking at this legislation.”

Here’s what else you can expect from tonight’s Budget:

 No surplus: Falling iron ore prices have put a Budget surplus out of reach

 Big spending on infrastructure: Western Australia will be among the biggest winners, with a one-off $499 million payment for nine infrastructure programs already on the record

 Medical research: Health savings will help fund a Medical Research Future Fund, which will have an initial injection of $10 billion.

SOURCE:NEWS.COM