Today΄s front page news.

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON


Unholy! Scandalous amendments leave the church’s finance’s off-limits

–          Tax collectors and other official bodies forbidden from auditing church businesses without ministerial approval
–          Priests exempt from mobility scheme designed to shrink government payroll
The government has made church funds alone off-limits after a scandalous amendment was quietly passed through parliament. The holy ‘rousfeti’ (special political favour) means that any audit of church bodies will only be permitted by joint ministerial decisions bearing the  signatures of both the ministers of finance and education. Furthermore the same amendment helps the church in another way: by exempting it from any assessment process, meaning that priests are exempted from the mobility scheme (intended to cut redundant staff from the government payroll) in contrast to all other public employees. 

HRIMATISTIRIO
 

Restructuring of Greek Debt on its way in April if Eurostat gives green light

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras could be on his way to winning a major gamble after Angela Merkel accepted the basic suggestion coming from recent Eurogroup meetings (meetings of the eurozone’s finance ministers) that a potential restructuring of Greece’s debt be green-lit, provided that Eurostat confirms that Greece has a achieved a primary budget surplus.
If that goal is achieved the government and Samaras will have a very powerful card to play – namely the re-negotiation of the debt – to score political points in the run up to the municipal and European Parliament elections in May 2014.
Currently Greek debt stands at 320 billion euros while the country’s GDP in 2013 will be about 183.9 billion. A majority of financial analysts, and specifically the Bank of America in a recent report, estimate that for Greece’s debt to become manageable it would have to be reduced by between 80 and 100 billion euros..

 

SPORTDAY

A 120 Million Euro Entrance

With the backing of Chinese giants Dimitris Giannakopoulos goes all in to make Panathinaikos great
–          His decision to bail the team out of its economic misery and take it back to the top is a done deal.
–          Chinese companies appear to be backing him, with some scenarios pointing to Cosco as well as a second player.
 
BACKGROUND
The Giannakopoulos family are owners of one of Greece’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Vianex. According to Wikipedia the company, which manufactures and markets a variety of products in Greece and abroad, reported net sales of 240.2 million euros in 2012. Since 1987 the Giannakopoulos family have owned Panathinaikos Basketball Club, the most successful Greek club on a national level and one of the most successful european teams on an international level, winning 6 European championships over the last 20 years.

Chinese investments in Greece began in 2008 when Cosco signed a contract with the then government of Costas Karamanlis to run the port of Piraeus – the county’s largest. Aside from the port, Cosco has also expressed an interest in the country’s railway network which is due to be privatized. Interest in investing in Greece has also been expressed by the Chinese technology collosus ZTE Corporation which is considering plans to make Piraeus a transport hub for its products as well as for the development of a manufacturing and service center for its products allowing greater penetration of the European market.

 
 

ETHNOS (Sunday edition)

The Golden Dawn Nightmare Returns

–          New public opinion poll a warning sign for the political system
–          Party regains influence before the blood of [murdered anti-fascist rapper] Pavlos Fissas has even dried
Troubling results have emerged from the monthly public opinion poll conducted Metron Analysis, according to which the neo-nazi organisation has gained ground again following the murder of two of its supporters in the Athens neighborhood of Irakleio. The message towards other parties for political vigilance has never been starker 

 
 

ELEFTHEROTYPIA (Sunday edition)

The Troika’s success story: Here until 2047!

–          Audits every 3 months with fines of 1.8 billion and funding freezes for non-compliance.
Greece will remain in bondage to the troika until 2047 which is when the debt will be paid  off according to calculations. This is a decision that was taking during the October summit meeting of the E.U. heads of state and has been thoroughly hidden.