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Tag: George Papandreou

  • D. Dollis «It is a great honor for me and the Greek Diaspora»

    D. Dollis «It is a great honor for me and the Greek Diaspora»

    DollisMelbourne, 07.09.2010

    The new Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dimitris Dollis, stated to “Neos Kosmos” that the decision of the Prime Minister, George Papandreou, to include him in the new cabinet is a “great honor and a great challenge”.

    He said that his appointment as one of the two Deputy Prime Ministers is an “honor for the Greeks of Australia but also for the Greek Diaspora in general”.

    Mr. Dollis made a commitment that he will do “the best possible for the Greek Diaspora”, from his current position as well, within the framework of the government’s policy.

    Dimitris Dollis was born in Kastoria. He developed his political activities in the state of Victoria, in Australia, where his family emigrated when he was 15 years old. Within the 29 years he spent in Australia, he served as City Councilor, Member of the Parliament*, Shadow Minister and Deputy Leader of the Labor Party. When he returned to Greece, he was appointed as the General Secretary for Greeks Abroad of the Greek Government.

    He made a close connection with George Papandreou and supported him during his course. As the Prime Minister of Greece, George Papandreou appointed him as Ambassador-at-Large and Special Envoy of the PM for the release of the Greek teacher Thanassis Lerounis, who had been abducted by the Taliban.

    Source: ANA–MPA

    * Greek Parliamentarians Abroad

    Jim Karygiannis (CANADA)
    http://www.karygiannismp.com
    Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (GERMANY)
    Niki Ashton (CANADA)
  • Broke Greece should sell islands: Merkel allies

    Broke Greece should sell islands: Merkel allies

    AFP – Bankruptcy-threatened Greece should sell some of its uninhabited islands to raise cash, two allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel were quoted as saying Thursday.

    Greece

    “The Greek state must sell stakes in companies and also assets such as, for example, unpopulated islands,” Frank Schaeffler, a member of parliament for the pro-business Free Democrats, Merkel’s coalition partner, told the Bild daily.

    A member of Merkel’s own conservative CDU party, Marco Wanderwitz, said Athens should provide collateral for any money it receives from the European Union to help it out of its debt crisis.

    “In this case, certain Greek islands also come into question,” added Wanderwitz.

    “We give you cash, you give us Corfu,” the Bild commented.

    Greece has around 6,000 islands off its coast, of which only 227 are inhabited, according to the country’s National Tourism Office website.

    The cash-strapped country Wednesday launched a fresh round of draconian austerity measures in a bid to rein in a ballooning budget deficit that is more than four times above EU limits.

    The Socialist government increased sales, tobacco and alcohol taxes and cut public sector holiday allowances to save 4.8 billion euros (6.5 billion dollars), equal to about two percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

    Pensions in the public and private sector were also frozen.

    Merkel is set to hold talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on Friday to discuss the situation in Greece.

    France 24