EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S NEWS:Greece has done its part, say Greek ministers

 Economic and monetary union / Employment policy − 13-11-2012 - 19:38

 

There were many distortions in the Greek finance and labour markets that had to be tackled, but Greece has taken all the necessary measures. Now it is up to the EU to come forward with the next aid tranche, Greek finance and labour ministers Giannis Stournaras and Giannis Vroutsis told the Economic Affairs and Employment committees on Tuesday.

"The Greek structural reforms are ambitious and comprehensive; we have reduced labour costs and red tape in order to improve competitiveness. The faulty price structure for goods and services, which prevented prices from falling together with labour costs, has also been addressed, giving an extra boost to the measures", said Mr Stournaras.

He added that the final impact of the reforms had been diminished by the Troika programme's shortcomings, as many of the measures imposed were front-loaded, pro-cyclical and fuelled recession.

Approval for the next aid instalment is therefore necessary to provide liquidity and growth, but also to restore credibility, encourage fresh investment and include Greece in the international markets again.

Replying to MEPs' questions, Mr Stournaras stressed that if Greece does not get the next instalment, then it will face "insolvency and bankruptcy, with contamination effects".

It is part of the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee's responsibility to question the effectiveness of measures considered in the Economic Dialogue with the Troika, so it will follow the dialogue very closely, said committee chair Sharon Bowles (ALDE, UK).

Labour and social reforms

"The measures taken have been very difficult for the Greek people, who made a lot of sacrifices. The Greek Parliament last week voted measures to cut labour and social costs, such as raising the retirement age from 65 to 67 and reducing pensions", Mr Vroutsis told MEPs.

In debate, MEPs voiced concern that the Greek unemployment rate had reached about 25%, and over 50% among young people. "To fight the huge unemployment rate, we cannot do anything without growth", underlined Mr Vroutsis. MEPs and ministers also stressed the need for more flexibility in European Social Fund support for unemployment measures.

"The Council of Europe recently decided that parts of the Greek labour market reforms induced by the Troika are in breach of the European Social Charter. The International Labour Organisation's findings on respect for international labour conventions are expected soon", noted Employment Committee chair Pervenche Berès (S&D, FR).

REF. : 20121112IPR55363

 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S NEWS:How to clean up the dirty business of money laundering

Economic and monetary affairs − 14-11-2012 - 16:26
The crisis and new technologies have made it easier for criminals to launder money despite the current EU directives in place and the best efforts of law enforcement agencies. The Parliament's special committee on organised crime held a public hearing on 12 November to discuss with experts what can be done.

The scope of the problem

Money laundering accounted for 2.7% of the world's gross domestic product in 2009, which equals about 1,600 billion.

Criminals launder their ill-gotten gains in many different ways. For example, it can be through using fictitious transactions, creating false gambling winnings or by taking advantage of online banking services.

Using online gambling to launder money

Online gambling is used by criminals as an efficient way to launder money, said Ingo Fiedler of the University of Hamburg. He gave the committee an example of how easy this method is. For example, if you had made €200,000 from illegal drug trafficking, you could deposit the money in a bank account in a tax haven. You then open a poker account using this bank account. After playing, you wire the remaining sum to your real bank account as a gambling win. As money won during gambling is tax free, this method has a low visibility and costs very little.

Infiltrating the banking system

The crisis has created additional opportunities for organised crime to infiltrate the banking sector, warned Antonio Maria Costa, the UN's fomer under-secretary general. Banks have had to search for fresh money as the financial crisis has paralysed inter-banking lending. Gangs can make use of this to increase their influence by for example depositing banknotes, acquiring shares and sitting on boards. Banks that are involved in money laundering usually go unpunished.

What the EP will do

The special committee on organised crime will come up with recommendations. Italian Christian Democrat MEP Salvatore Iacolino, who will be drafting the committee's final proposals, said harmonised EU rules could prove to be more effective as a fragmented system creates loopholes.

Next step

The European Commission is expected to propose a new directive in early 2013, focusing on tax heavens.

REF. : 20121109STO55249

 

EU budget 2013: more efforts needed

© Lucadp - Fotolia

14/11/2012

The Council had to take note of the impossibility to reach an agreement with the European Parliament on the 2013 budget and other related items.

During the whole conciliation period the Cyprus Presidency deployed major efforts to reconcile positions, and in particular during the last days, member states showed significant openness on some key items.

The Council notably approved draft amending budget no 5 for 2012 as proposed by the Commission, providing financial assistance from the EU Solidarity Fund for an amount of EUR 670 million to Italy that was hit by a series of earthquakes earlier this year. This decision is a concrete manifestation of the Council’s solidarity with Italy, reflects the Council’s commitment to keep its promises and shows its goodwill towards the European Parliament.

The mandate given to the Conciliation Committee on 23 October was to find an agreement on the 2013 Budget. However, during the whole conciliation period, the European Parliament refused to negotiate on the 2013 EU budget and set an agreement on draft amending budget 6 for 2012 as a precondition. The Council was and remains ready to discuss about all elements of the package and wished to address them simultaneously in order to find a balanced outcome which would meet the concerns of all parties and member states concerned. 

ΟΙ ΛΕΧΡΙΤΕΣ ΤΟΥ ΔΗΜΟΥ ΑΧΑΡΝΩΝ

ΜΑΡΙΑ ΧΑΤΖΗΔΑΚΗ ΒΑΒΟΥΡΑΝΑΚΗ ΓΡΑΦΕΙ...

Το ότι το δημοτικό συμβούλιο Αχαρνών είναι φαληρημένος καραγκιόζ-μπερντές και στάνη της ΕΥΞΕΙΝΗΣΠΟΛΗΣΝΙΚΟΣΚΡΗΜΝΙΑΝΙΩΤΗΣ είναι γνωστό σε όλους. Στο δημοτικό συμβούλιο Αχαρνών το ότι ξεχωρίζουν μια χούφτα  (καμιά δεκαριά όλοι κι όλοι) δημοτικοί σύμβουλοι οι οποίοι είναι αξιόλογοι και ΕΝΤΕΛΩΣ ΣΤΗΝ ΓΩΝΙΑ από τον απίστευτο «ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΑ-ΣΚΙΩΔΗ ΔΗΜΑΡΧΟ» είναι επίσης γεγονός. Όλα όμως αυτά, είναι βούτυρο στο ψωμί των πληρωμένων γραφίδων που έχουν πιάσει μετερίζια και ΝΟΜΙΖΟΥΝ ότι θα αφεθούν και πάλι να προσπαθήσουν να  δηλητηριάσουν την ενημέρωση του Αχαρναϊκου Λαού κατά το δοκούν, παρ΄ότι  όσους ανέλαβαν να «σμπρώξουν»  έως σήμερα «τους έστειλαν αδιάβαστους» και στον ίδιο "τόπο" θα στείλουν και τους νυν "φερέλπιδες" γλύφτες της τοπικής εξουσίας.

Εντιμοι δημοτικοί σύμβουλοι όπως η Γιατρός κ. ΜΠΡΑΧΟΥ, η ΣΟΦΙΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΠΟΥΛΟΥ ή ο ΒΑΣΙΛΗΣ ΛΑΖΑΡΟΥ (σε λίγο από τους μισθοφόρους των ελεεινών παρατάξεων των Αχαρνών θα ..υβριστούν και άλλοι, είμαι σίγουρη) είναι στο στόχαστρο όχι μόνο από τους αναφερόμενους, αλλά και από αυτούς που ΔΕΝ ΦΑΝΤΑΖΟΝΤΑΙ ΟΤΙ ΤΟΥΣ ΞΕΡΩ.

Η μεν Σοφία έχει  κάνει ΕΞΑΙΡΕΤΙΚΟ ΕΡΓΟ στο Νεκροταφείο και έκοψε το ψωμί σε κάτι λεχρίτες που η μόνη δουλειά που ξέρουν να κάνουν είναι να απομυζούν το αίμα του Αχαρναϊκού Λαού, ο δε Βασίλης Λαζάρου, συνεπής, έντιμος,  ευγενής  και με Παιδεία ενοχλεί κάποιους πολύ. Το ίδιο και η Γιατρός κ. Μπράχου που έφτασε να ..μηνυθεί από τον αφουξενίδη ΕΠΕΙΔΗ ΓΙΑ ΠΡΩΤΗ ΦΟΡΑ ΣΤΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ ΤΩΝ ΑΧΑΡΝΩΝ ΕΙΠΕ ΤΑ ΠΡΑΓΜΑΤΑ ΜΕ ΤΟ ΟΝΟΜΑ ΤΟΥΣ!!!

Η πλήρης αποθράσυνση των ελεεινών του δήμου Αχαρνών και των πληρωμένων μισθοφόρων των παρατάξεων δεν γνωρίζει όρια.

Να διαβάζετε την ΠΟΛΙΤΙΚΗ. Δεν θα χαριστεί πλέον ΣΕ ΚΑΝΕΝΑ…και σας δίνω το λόγο μου: ΑΥΤΗ ΤΗ ΦΟΡΑ όσοι βυσσοδόμησαν κατά του τόπου μας, όσοι ΜΑΣ ΚΑΤΑΧΡΕΩΣΑΝ (140 εκατομμύρια ευρώ χρωστάμε και άλλα 40 σε…απαλλοτριώσεις!!) ΘΑ ΤΟ ΠΛΗΡΩΣΟΥΝ ΠΟΛΥ ΑΚΡΙΒΑ.

Και μαζί τους, οι μισθοφόροι τους.

Μ.Χ.Β

Υ.Γ.Μην χάσετε το επόμενο φύλλο. Με τίποτα!