First Mediterranean Green Development Investors Forum to take place in Athens on October 23

On Saturday 23 October 2010, the first Mediterranean Green Development Investors Forum (Med GDIF) will take place in Athens (Greece) on the subject of “Financing profitable green initiatives and investments across the Mediterranean”.
The conference is co-organised by the Institute for Climate and Energy Security (i4cense) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) under the auspices of the Prime Minister of Greece.
It will allow key policy-makers, technology providers, business and finance leaders and international investors to discuss the initiatives and investments for a sustainable green economy across the Mediterranean.
The following key issues will be on the agenda:

• How to create a legislative and financial framework that provides an incentive for and is conducive to green investment  in the Mediterranean ;
• How to exploit the Mediterranean region's unrivalled potential in renewable energy for domestic and neighbouring markets   with a focus on the EIB’s study for Mediterranean Solar Plan, a priority approved at the Union for the Mediterranean’s summit in 2008  ; 
• How to attract international investors attention to green projects opportunities in the Mediterranean with a focus on development and innovation tourism, urban renewal, research and energy efficiency.

The Mediterranean Green Development Investors Forum is fully in line with the concrete engagement of the EIB for climate action.  In the past seven years, the EIB provided financing totalling EUR 3.7bn to energy and EUR 1.1bn to water in the Mediterranean partner countries. As the financial arm of the European Union,   the  EIB has  already set  since 2009 the ambitious objective of raising its climate change mitigation  and  adaptation lending to 25% of its whole annual activity .  The Mediterranean Solar Plan in particular could play a significant role for climate challenge across the Mediterranean in developing additional capacity for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the region  

News source: EIB link: article

Greece ‘regaining trust’

Greece’s agreement for further cooperation with China is a sign that the country is regaining its international credibility, Prime Minister George Papandreou said yesterday in Brussels, as the trustworthiness of his government on the domestic stage took another blow when it had to replace one of its candidates for local elections after it was revealed that the office seeker had been charged in connection with an alleged property scam.

Speaking on the sidelines of the EU-China summit in the Belgian capital, Papandreou presented the deals agreed to last weekend by Athens and Beijing as proof that Greece is beginning to recover from the economic crisis and that its partners can trust the country again. “The visit by the Chinese premier [Wen Jiabao] was a vote of confidence, not only in Greece but in Europe and the euro,” said Papandreou at the end of the meeting, during which Europeans urged China for a faster appreciation of its currency to help rebalance the world economy.

However, presented with an opportunity to address foreign journalists, Papandreou was keen to focus on the strides that Greece has made over the last few months. “A year ago, we were on the edge of a precipice, but today the effort and sacrifices of the Greek people are helping us rebuild trust internationally. Greece is not the same country it was last year.”

News source: Ekathimerini link: article

Greek PM warns of another tough year

As the draft budget for 2011 was presented yesterday, Prime Minister George Papadandreou warned his ministerial team and the Greek people that they are only nearing the end of the “first half” of their fight to get the country’s public finances back on track.

Papandreou said that next year would be crucial to Greece’s effort to slash its public deficit further and get the economy on the road to growth. “If we succeed in 2011, and we will succeed, we will have real cause to believe that the economy will change direction and that 2012 will be a year of growth,” he told the Cabinet, which approved the draft budget. “Our success in 2011 will be the crucial second half,” said Papandreou. “After 2011, the deficit will mainly be connected to the needs of servicing our large debt and not to the creation of further deficits. Then, 2012 will be a year of growth, supported by a sound basis, not borrowed money.” The government aims to reduce Greece’s deficit by 7 percent this year but this will be accompanied by a hike in VAT on some products and services, and a projected rise in unemployment to 15 percent by the end of 2011.

News source: Ekathimerini link: article

Weak sentiment may harm Greek tax revenues, boosting chances of further measures

While Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou appears confident Greece will meet or even exceed the 2010 budget deficit target of 8.1 percent of gross domestic product agreed in the economic policy program with the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, executives from the private sector appear more pessimistic about the prospects of their firms and the real economy.

This, in turn, poses a dilemma: Can Greece stick to the austerity program and slash its budget deficit as planned or will the burden of a badly bruised private sector undermine this effort?
There is no doubt that the country’s fiscal consolidation is unprecedented even by international standards. The general government budget deficit will have to be reduced by some 11 percentage points of GDP between 2010 and 2013, half of which is planned to be slashed this year.
But the government, which let the country get to this point, has no other way but to cut its budget deficit and satisfy the terms of the memorandum if it wants to secure the remaining 10 loan disbursements from the 110-billion-euro financing package provided by eurozone countries and the IMF. It is noted 80 billion euros come from the eurozone and the rest from the IMF.

News source: Kathimerini link: article
 

Greece PM rules out VAT hike for now

Prime Minister George Papandreou yesterday ruled out additional increases in value-added tax, saying the government will find alternative ways to boost revenues.
“There has been of course the possibility of [tax on] some products being raised but we’re seeing if we can find other ways of getting revenues rather than raising that further,” Papandreou told Reuters yesterday, during a weeklong trip to the US. Right now, the prime minister added, the government says, “‘No’ to raising VAT.”

Instead, in order to broaden its tax base, the government wants to fight tax evasion. It is also considering cutting taxes in some areas to stimulate investment and support economic growth, Papandreou said.
Greece has introduced a tough austerity program to fight its debt crisis, raising taxes and cutting public servants’ wages and pensions in exchange for a bailout package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
Local press reported yesterday that Greek Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou held talks with his German peer on extending the repayment period on the three-year loan. The German Finance Ministry denied that any such discussion took place.



News source: Ekathimerini link: article

Papandreou appeals to US investors

Prime Minister George Papandreou yesterday continued his charm offensive in the United States, assuring entrepreneurs in New York that Greece is pushing through reforms to facilitate investments after receiving praise from US Vice President Joe Biden in Washington for the measures his government has pushed through so far.
“The Greek government has proved that it means business. We have delivered on our commitments, exceeded targets and even confounded expectations,” Papandreou told an audience at the Economic Club of New York, a respected forum for entrepreneurs and economists. “In a matter of months we have pushed through the most extensive and ambitious reform program in modern Greek history,” he said before providing details of how procedures are being simplified for investments and the creation of businesses.
The premier said there were “many encouraging signs that investors are waking up to the opportunities that the new Greece has to offer,” noting that Norway’s state pension fund had recently invested in Greek government bonds.
Late on Tuesday, Papandreou had visited Washington for talks at the White House with Biden, which focused on Greece’s ongoing reform efforts as well as matters of concern in the Balkans and Middle East.



News source: Ekathimerini link: article

The Greek PM’s pioneers of industry

In times of crisis there are always those who see an opportunity and instead of foundering rise to the challenge, a fact Prime Minister George Papandreou recently underscored when he singled out several Greek companies as high achievers.
Speaking at the 75th Thessaloniki International Fair on September 10, Papandreou homed in on the founders of successful enterprises calling them “pioneers who put sustainable development into practice”.
Among the stars singled out was the Speiron Company’s Lambda brand of extra virgin olive oil, a limited-edition, ultra-premium product sold at Harrods in London.
The company uses handpicked Cretan olives that are cold-pressed within eight hours of being picked. The unfiltered finished product is smooth and clear and has a rich fruity flavour and low acidity.

News source: Athens News link: article

PM says Greece will meet targets

If tax crackdown succeeds, we won’t need more loans, Papandreou says as international envoys return
Prime Minister George Papandreou said yesterday that Greece will have met its targets for curbing its huge debt burden by the end of the year, despite a shortfall in tax collection revenues, as officials of the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund arrived in Athens to check his government’s progress in pushing through reforms.
Speaking at a joint conference by the IMF and the International Labor Organization in Oslo, Papandreou said the reforms introduced by his government since it came to power would have taken most administrations years to achieve. “In 11 months, we did a decade’s worth of work,” he said.



News source: Kathimerini link: article