Mr Gerapetritis clarified that “there is absolutely no agreement, only discussions” and – as he said – “we are far from being able to make an agreement”
“We cannot under any circumstances accept ownership of the Parthenon Sculptures on the part of the British Museum. There is no such thing. But we also cannot accept a loan, in whatever form it takes place, as this would raise a question of ownership,” he explained to ertnews the Minister of State George Gerapetritis.
Mr. Gerapetritis clarified that the only thing the Greek side can discuss with the British Museum, within the framework of mutual understanding, is for the return of the sculptures to be done under a legal guise.
“We have indeed raised an issue,” he admitted, “of being able to send some of the Greek antiquities to the British Museum for periodical exhibitions.”
The Minister of State clarified, however, that “there is absolutely no agreement, there are only discussions” and – as he said – “we are far from being able to make an agreement”.
Elections
Also referring to the elections, Mr. Gerapetritis emphasized that “exactly when the elections will be held remains at the discretion of the prime minister, however after April the moments are electoral.
He characterized as important the fact that the four-year period is running out, as – as he said – it is not usual in the post-colonial period to respect the electoral cycle, something that the current government has proven.”
“We have been very clear from the beginning,” he added, “the terms of the political game should be clear to everyone and in time.”
Mr. Gerapetritis estimated that we will have double elections. He said that for the ND the “issue of governability is major” pointing out that what has been proven from the previous four years is that multiple crises require stable and compact governments.
He also stressed that “it is very important to have a strong government, without excluding the possibility of cooperation, on a programmatic basis”.
He clarified that the collaborations are not an end in themselves for the ND, “but they serve a very important purpose, the governability of the country on the basis of programmatic convergence”.
Economy
Regarding the issues of the economy, and the criticism that the government has received from the opposition, the Minister of State stated that the issues of the economy are measurable, and where there is a measurable data, there cannot be – as he said – a strong reaction and counter-argument.
He noted that based on official data, the Greek economy is the fastest growing economy in the Eurozone, reacts to the issue of inflation while in energy issues we are the country with the third lowest retail price for electricity and exactly on average for the retail price of natural gas gas.
Regarding the bonus policy, he said that it cannot be sufficient, but it is necessary in the present treaty. He pointed out that “this is also the reason why the government is proceeding with a series of permanent measures that will raise the real income of citizens”.
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