Energy: Cyprus hopes to have natural gas from Israel by 2015
(ANSAmed) - NICOSIA, SEPTEMBER 4 - Cyprus could have natural gas from Israel in early 2015, if discussions on the supply of small quantities are completed by the end of the year, Commmerce, Industry and Tourism Minister, Neoklis Sylikiotis said as reported by CNA. Speaking to journalists about a visit to Israel by a high ranking Cypriot delegation, he said Israel is positive in supplying Cyprus a small quantity of natural gas for electricity production, which ranges between 0.5-0.7 billion cubic metres.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss the technology and import methods, he explained, adding that Israeli natural gas will be imported in the form of liquefied natural gas. ''The aim is to have natural gas the soonest possible'', he said, adding that ''if all these discussions are completed by the end of the year, then we can have natural gas in early 2015 at lower prices for 3-5 years''.
The purpose of the visit was to discuss the technology and import methods, he explained, adding that Israeli natural gas will be imported in the form of liquefied natural gas. ''The aim is to have natural gas the soonest possible'', he said, adding that ''if all these discussions are completed by the end of the year, then we can have natural gas in early 2015 at lower prices for 3-5 years''.
Italian government won't increase VAT, bank leader says
2% hike featured in austerity measures
05 September, 16:17
Guarda la foto1 di 1
(ANSA) - Rome, September 5 - The Italian government has promised there will be no further hikes to the value added tax, an Italian banks' association chief said Wednesday.
ABI Chairman Giuseppe Mussari told reporters after a meeting with Premier Mario Monti that he was told resources necessary for preventing a new tax hike will come from cuts in public spending. The VAT in Italy was raised earlier this year from 20% to its current level of 21% to help tackle Italy's public debt crisis.
An additional 2% increase was planned for October in the government's December Save Italy austerity package, but Monti's administration subsequently said this had been put back until next year thanks to money raised with cuts after a review of public spending.
ABI Chairman Giuseppe Mussari told reporters after a meeting with Premier Mario Monti that he was told resources necessary for preventing a new tax hike will come from cuts in public spending. The VAT in Italy was raised earlier this year from 20% to its current level of 21% to help tackle Italy's public debt crisis.
An additional 2% increase was planned for October in the government's December Save Italy austerity package, but Monti's administration subsequently said this had been put back until next year thanks to money raised with cuts after a review of public spending.
Crisis: Greece mulls idea to put a tax on unused cars
According to Greekreporter, proposal stirs controversy
(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, AUGUST 31 - Frantic to find revenues everywhere - except from tax evaders it seems as Greek.Reporter notes - the Greek government is reportedly mulling a plan to put a tax on people who turned in their license plates because they couldn't afford to keep a car. The proposition is being criticized, even by some politicians, as a cock-eyed scheme to get money where there is none, much like putting a penalty on people who couldn't afford to pay big tax hikes and would be taxed on a tax they didn't have the money to pay. Thousands of Greeks have taken their cars off the road and a reported one million have also given up paying insurance, with many driving without legal authorization. Big tax hikes in the price of gasoline have pushed the price of petrol to among the highest in Europe, nearing two euros per liter, and led to the closing of some 2,200 gasoline stations, with many more expected. Taxing unused cars is, for the time being only a proposition from the Finance Ministry as the government is ready to lower the boom again on workers, pensioners and the poor, with pensioners readying for a fourth cut in their benefits while military officers, doctors, judges and diplomats have been exempted so far but could see their pay cut 6-20%.
Syria: Greek islands brace for wave of refugees
undocumented migrants already arrived from Turkey
(ANSAmed) - ATHENS, SEPTEMBER 3 - Local authorities on the Greek islands of the northeastern Aegean Sea are bracing for what is expected to be a growing wave of refugees from war-torn Syria, as measures to reduce the inflow of illegal immigrants via the Greek-Turkish border in the Evros region have put a greater strain on the porous coastlines of Greece's islands.
Local officials in the northeastern Aegean say that there has already been a significant spike in the number of refugees and undocumented migrants that have landed on their shores from Turkey, as daily Kathimerini reports. Their concern is that this wave will grow as the civil war in Syria escalates and that they are ill-equipped to deal with such a large influx. ''We are scared of reliving past situations of hundreds of wretched immigrants arriving here in boats,'' Lesvos Mayor Dimitris Vounatsos told Kathimerini. ''The detention center has been closed down and the municipality has no money to do anything about it,'' he added. The government earlier this month launched a police operation dubbed ''Xenios Zeus'' to clamp down on illegal immigration by holding frequent identity checks and by fortifying Greece's northern border with Turkey. In Evros the measure is said to be proving effective, as what used to be a daily influx of dozens has now trickled down to single digits.
Yet, according to authorities, traffickers have switched to alternative routes into Greece and the European Union, via the islands.
Local officials in the northeastern Aegean say that there has already been a significant spike in the number of refugees and undocumented migrants that have landed on their shores from Turkey, as daily Kathimerini reports. Their concern is that this wave will grow as the civil war in Syria escalates and that they are ill-equipped to deal with such a large influx. ''We are scared of reliving past situations of hundreds of wretched immigrants arriving here in boats,'' Lesvos Mayor Dimitris Vounatsos told Kathimerini. ''The detention center has been closed down and the municipality has no money to do anything about it,'' he added. The government earlier this month launched a police operation dubbed ''Xenios Zeus'' to clamp down on illegal immigration by holding frequent identity checks and by fortifying Greece's northern border with Turkey. In Evros the measure is said to be proving effective, as what used to be a daily influx of dozens has now trickled down to single digits.
Yet, according to authorities, traffickers have switched to alternative routes into Greece and the European Union, via the islands.
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