Greece

OECD chief urges banks to lend more

OECD Secretary General Angel Guirra met with MEPs on Tuesday to share his outlook for Europe’s…

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OECD Secretary General Angel Guirra met with MEPs on Tuesday to share his outlook for Europe’s economy.

The OECD sees eurozone growth of 1 percent next year, hitting 1.6 percent in 2015.

Gurria told that banks need to increase lending to homes and businesses to fire up European growth once more.

“It’s not enough that the banks don’t go bankrupt.They have to lend. The problem is that they are not lending,” he told euronews’ Efi Koutsokosta.

“Governments can help by providing some guarantees maybe, some incentives, by sharing some of the initial losses.”

The former Mexican finance minister will be in the Greek capital of Athens on Wednesday when the OECD will unveil its latest report on the country’s economy.

Mr Gurria told euronews: A country like Greece which is not yet out of the programme is vulnerable and needs support. There’s work to be done in terms of collecting taxes and privatization. There’s work to be done in the fundamental elements of competitiveness, in education, innovation issues.”

Greece’s debt pile currently stands at 175.5 percent of GDP.

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Russian Mediterranean fleet to be expanded to 11 warships ships

Russian Mediterranean fleet to be expanded to 11 warships ships

The Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean Sea will be boosted by another military vessel till the end of September, according to the country’s Black Sea Fleet command.

               

The large landing ship, Yamal, is set to depart from the port of   Sevastopol, Ukraine by the end of the month to join the 10   vessels Russia already has in Mediterranean waters.  
“The Yamal’s crew has completed preparations for relocation to   the Mediterranean Sea,” Captain Vyacheslav Trukhachev, the   Black Sea Fleet information chief told ITAR-TASS news agency.   “As part of the preparatory period, the ship has performed   several drive outs, which included target practice on sea and   land.”  
  The Yamal will represent the country at the annual ‘Russian   Weeks’ forum in Greece, which this year will be hosted by the   Ionian Islands.    
  The large landing ship – commanded by Captain Sergey Gritsay – is   also expected to be called to the Greek port of Pylos and to   visit Montenegro, Trukhachev added.  
  The Yamal vessel, which has been in service since 1988, is   designed for landing operations and the transportation of   military personnel and cargo. It’s able to carry up to 250 troops   and 10 tanks.  
  Russia began military build-up in the Mediterranean in 2012,   establishing a constant presence in the eastern part of the   Mediterranean Sea since December last year.  
  On May 1, all of the country’s battleships operating in the area   were assigned to a single task force under special offshore   maritime zone operation command.  
  Currently there are ten Russian warships deployed in the Mediterranean: large landing   ships ‘Aleksandr Shabalin’, ‘Admiral Nevelskoy’, ‘Peresvet’,   ‘Novocherkassk’, ‘Minsk’ and ‘Nikolay Fylchenkov’; large   anti-submarine ship ‘Admiral Panteleyev’; escort vessel   ‘Neustrashimy’; guard patrol ship ‘Smetlivy’ and guided-missile   cruiser ‘Moskva’. MAKE SURE  
  The mounting pressure around Syria has seen naval forces both   friendly and hostile to Damascus building up off the country’s coastline.  
  Besides the Russian warships, there are US aircraft carriers   ‘Nimitz’ and ‘Harry S. Truman’; guided-missile cruiser   ‘Gettysburg’ and ‘San Jacinto’ and a number of other American   military vessels deployed in the area.  
  The French navy frigate ‘Chevalier Paul’, which specializes in   anti-missile capabilities, is also in the Mediterranean Sea.