ATHENS — Authorities shut down roads and deployed riot police in
central Athens today (Jan 8) as Greece prepared to formally assume the
European Union’s rotating six-month presidency with a ceremony to be
attended by EU commissioners.
Events kicked off in the early afternoon with a visit by the commissioners, led by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, to the capital’s Zappeion conference center, ahead of the evening opening ceremony to be held at the Athens Concert Hall.
A subway station near the concert hall was to close for several hours ahead of the ceremony, while a helicopter hovered overhead as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras showed Mr Barroso and the other commissioners around Zappeion. More than 2,000 police were on duty for the events.
A left-wing group has vowed to defy an 18-hour ban on protests in the city center, calling for a rally in central Athens shortly before the official ceremony is due to begin.
Athens hopes to emerge from a grueling six-year recession during its presidency, and negotiate a landmark deal with bailout creditors to make its massive national debt sustainable.
It has said it aims to focus its presidency on the issues of unemployment, economic growth and the EU’s migration policy, all issues that affect Greece arguably more than any other country in the bloc.
Greece’s financial crisis has proved to be the most severe in the EU, and unemployment still hovers around 27 per cent. The country’s eastern borders are a major crossing point for migrants attempting to enter the EU illegally, and Greece has frequently called for a more cohesive and fair European policy to tackle migration. AP
http://www.todayonline.com/world/europe/greece-formally-assume-eu-rotating-presidency
8/1/14
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Related:
Events kicked off in the early afternoon with a visit by the commissioners, led by Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, to the capital’s Zappeion conference center, ahead of the evening opening ceremony to be held at the Athens Concert Hall.
A subway station near the concert hall was to close for several hours ahead of the ceremony, while a helicopter hovered overhead as Prime Minister Antonis Samaras showed Mr Barroso and the other commissioners around Zappeion. More than 2,000 police were on duty for the events.
A left-wing group has vowed to defy an 18-hour ban on protests in the city center, calling for a rally in central Athens shortly before the official ceremony is due to begin.
- Mr Alexis Tsipras, head of the main opposition radical left Syriza party, has said he will not attend the events, drawing criticism from the governing two-party coalition.
Athens hopes to emerge from a grueling six-year recession during its presidency, and negotiate a landmark deal with bailout creditors to make its massive national debt sustainable.
It has said it aims to focus its presidency on the issues of unemployment, economic growth and the EU’s migration policy, all issues that affect Greece arguably more than any other country in the bloc.
Greece’s financial crisis has proved to be the most severe in the EU, and unemployment still hovers around 27 per cent. The country’s eastern borders are a major crossing point for migrants attempting to enter the EU illegally, and Greece has frequently called for a more cohesive and fair European policy to tackle migration. AP
http://www.todayonline.com/world/europe/greece-formally-assume-eu-rotating-presidency
8/1/14
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Related:
ΥΠΕΞ: Δηλώσεις Αντιπροέδρου της Κυβέρνησης και Υπουργού Εξωτερικών Ευ. Βενιζέλου μετά την επιθεώρηση των χώρων του Ζαππείου Μεγάρου, εν’ όψει της επίσημης έναρξης της Ελληνικής Προεδρίας Ε.Ε.
Grecia inaugura presidencia de la Unión Europea....
Ελληνικό ΥΠΕΞ: Συνέντευξη Αντιπροέδρου της Κυβέρνησης και ΥΠΕΞ Ευ. Βενιζέλου στο ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ και στη δημοσιογράφο Νίνα Μελισόβα
ΥΠΕΞ: Συνέντευξη Τύπου Υφυπουργού Εξωτερικών Δημήτρη Κούρκουλα για ζητήματα Ελληνικής Προεδρίας στο Συμβούλιο της Ε.Ε.
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