Press Review February 26

An agreement with Gazprom is reached to reduce the price of gas; mixed messages emerge from yesterday’s negotiations with the troika; work over WWII reparations is shelved; hotel workers in Crete worry as a new training college for the unemployed opens offering cheap labour; and efforts to join forces by PASOK and the ‘58’ center-left MPs collapse. (photo by shannonpatrick17 via Flickr)

The Press Project
26 Φεβρουαρίου 2014 | 10:18:26

	ETHNOS Agreement reached over price of natural gas Gazprom accepts a 15% reduction that will apply retroactively from the 1st of July The agreement reached with Gazprom for the supply of cheaper natural gas will have multiple benefits. It will keep state spending down, it will reduce the monthly bills of households and help keep costs down for energy intensive industries.
	KERDOS The issues on which there is agreement and those over which there is potential for conflict: The troika protests measures to reduce the cost of energy And pushes for reductions in social security contributions and for mass layoffs to be permitted A mixed image of the effectiveness of the Greek side in negotiations emerged from yesterday’s meetings between the troika representatives and the environment and labour ministers. While the head-on conflict between the government and the troika remains over the measures already announced by the Greek side to reduce the price of energy, the two sides appear to be converging on the issue of reducing employers’ social security contributions, under the condition that other fiscally equivalent measures are taken to make up the shortfall.
	DIMOKRATIA A national blow from Venizelos And a gift to Frau Merkel He shelves and casts aspersions on the work of the committee for WWII reparations The Deputy PM and Foreign Minister is now asking for a report from the plenary of the Legal Council of the State.
	EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON Crete: The opportunity to… work for free Cheap workers for the tourism sector with a monthly salary of 307 euros will be produced by the Manpower Employment Organization’s [OAED] College of Professional Training that was opened yesterday in a ribbon cutting ceremony by the German Deputy Minister of Education. There is concern from hotel workers and a flood of applications.
	KATHIMERINI Potential cooperation between PASOK and ‘the 58’ runs aground They will not be included on PASOK electoral lists for European elections The attempt by PASOK and the ‘movement of the 58’ [center-left MPs] to join forces in the May 25th European elections has ended in failure. The PASOK leader, Evangelos Venizelos was informed in a telephone call yesterday by Ioannis Voulgaris that the ‘58’ are withdrawing from discussions to establish a common electoral list, will not be participating in the committee organizing the summit of the 9th of March at which Martin Schulz, president of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats will be present, and will not be a part of the negotiations over the name and symbol of ‘Elia’ [Olive – a proposed new center-left political group]. There were disagreements between PASOK and the 58 on multiple levels, but the deciding factor was the government decision that voters choose candidates directly in the European elections (as oppose to voting for a party). Mr Venizelos’s reaction to yesterday's development was particularly low-key and he called on the ‘58’ to take part in the regrouping process of the center-left following the European elections.