THE WHITE HOUSE's news:Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki

Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, February 11, 2022
FEBRUARY 11, 2022


James S. Brady Press Briefing Room

2:00 P.M. EST

MS. PSAKI: Hi, everyone.

Q Happy Friday.

MS. PSAKI: Happy Friday. So, we are joined by our National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, today. He will give a brief update and then take some questions from all of you.

And with that, I will turn it over to Jake.

MR. SULLIVAN: Good afternoon. Thanks, everybody, for giving me the opportunity to be here. I’d like to make a few comments on the situation in Russia and Ukraine, and then I’d be happy to take your questions.

We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border.

As we’ve said before, we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time should Vladimir Putin decide to order it. I will not comment on the details of our intelligence information. But I do want to be clear: It could begin during the Olympics, despite a lot of speculation that it would only happen after the Olympics.

As we’ve said before, we are ready either way. We are ready to continue results-oriented diplomacy that addresses the security concerns of the United States, Russia, and Europe consistent with our values and the principle of reciprocity.

We have continued to make that clear to Russia in close coordination with our European allies and partners.

We are also ready to respond decisively, alongside those allies and partners, should Russia choose to take military action. Our response would include severe economic sanctions, with similar packages imposed by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries. It would also include changes to NATO and American force posture along the eastern flank of NATO. And it would include continued support to Ukraine.

The President held a secure video conf- — conference today with key allies and partners to coordinate our approach to this crisis. The participants were the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Poland, Romania, the Secretary General of NATO, and the presidents of the European Union.

We have achieved a remarkable level of unity and common purpose — from the broad strategy, down to technical details.

If Russia proceeds, its long-term power and influence will be diminished, not enhanced, by an invasion. It will face a more determined transatlantic community. It will have to make more concessions to China. It will face massive pressure on its economy and export controls that will erode its defense industrial base. And it will face a wave of condemnation from around the world.

If, on the other hand, Russia truly seeks a diplomatic outcome, it should not only say so, it should pursue that diplomatic outcome.

We are prepared to do that. We have put concrete proposals on the table. They are now out there for the world to see. We’re prepared to engage on them and to discuss the principles and parameters of European security with our European partners and with Russia.

Whatever happens next, the West is more united than it’s been in years. NATO has been strengthened. The Alliance is more cohesive, more purposeful, more dynamic than at in any time in recent memory.

In terms of immediate next steps, President Biden and his team will remain in close contact with our allies and partners to coordinate both on the potential for diplomacy and on any response that is necessary should Putin decide to order military action.

We are continuing to reduce the size of our embassy footprint in Kyiv.

And I want to take a moment to echo what both President Biden and Secretary Blinken have already said: We encourage all American citizens who remain in Ukraine to depart immediately.

We want to be crystal-clear on this point: Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible, and in any event, in the next 24 to 48 hours.

We obviously cannot predict the future. We don’t know exactly what is going to happen. But the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands.

If you stay, you are assuming risk with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave and no prospect of a U.S. military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion.

If a Russian attack on Ukraine proceeds, it is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could, obviously, kill civilians without regard to their nationality. A subsequent ground invasion would involve the onslaught of a massive force.

With virtually no notice, communications to arrange a departure could be severed and commercial transit halted. No one would be able to count on air or rail or road departures once military action got underway.

Now, again, I’m not standing here and saying what is going to happen or not happen. I’m only standing here to say that the risk is now high enough and the threat is immediate enough that prudence demands that is the time to leave now while commercial options and commercial rail and air service exist, while the roads are open.

The President will not be putting the lives of our men and women in uniform at risk by sending them into a warzone to rescue people who could have left now but chose not to. So, we are asking people to make the responsible choice.

With that, I’m happy to take your questions.

Vladimir Putin and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made press statements.

Press statements following Russia-Kazakhstan talks


Following bilateral consultations, Vladimir Putin and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made press statements.
February 10, 2022
18:15
The Kremlin, Moscow




With President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Photo: Sergey Guneev

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, colleagues,

We are delighted to welcome the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mr Tokayev, to Moscow. This is our first in-person meeting since the January events in Kazakhstan, which were an unprecedented challenge to the country’s sovereignty, integrity and stability. In fact, Kazakhstan faced an act of terrorist aggression committed with the direct participation of destructive internal and external forces.

See also
Meeting with President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
February 10, 2022

Thanks to President Tokayev’s firm stance and the resolute support on behalf of Russia and all allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, control of the situation was regained in a short time, law and order were restored, and peace and tranquillity returned to Kazakhstan.

At the same time, the CSTO has convincingly demonstrated its ability to effectively respond to emerging threats, to promptly deploy peacekeeping forces to protect the security and interests of its member states.

President Tokayev is doing everything to finally normalise the situation. We see that the situation in Kazakhstan has become stable and calm. Society fully supports the course of the country's leadership towards achieving ambitious goals, and we, Russia, for our part, will do everything to support the President of Kazakhstan.

We are confident that Russian-Kazakhstani cooperation will continue to expand and grow with all objective conditions for doing so in place. Naturally, the current state and prospects for further deepening bilateral cooperation was the main topic that we reviewed during today's talks.

Our countries are traditionally bound by truly strong allied and neighbourly ties. This year, we will mark the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. These relations are based on the principles of reliable mutual support, respect and consideration of mutual interests.

Russia and Kazakhstan are key economic partners. Trade is growing even amid the relentless pandemic, and steadily at that, reaching US$25.6 billion in 2021. Cumulative Russian investments in Kazakhstan amount to US$17 billion whereas Kazakhstan investments stand at US$4.6 billion.

Russian business is broadly represented in all areas of Kazakhstan’s economy. The republic has around 7,500 business entities with Russian capital. The two countries’ companies are successfully working together in the fuel and energy sector. Most of Kazakhstan’s oil goes to foreign markets via Russia, and Russian oil is supplied to the People’s Republic of China through the territory of Kazakhstan.

I would single out mineral fertilizers, iron casting, cargo equipment components, automobiles and automobile tyres among significant joint projects. A project is underway in Kazakhstan for the production of Kirovets tractors and spare parts to them. Work is ongoing to increase local production of Lada automobiles. Bilateral cooperation in pharmaceuticals and medicine is actively promoted.

Russia came to the aid of the brotherly republic of Kazakhstan during the peak of the pandemic by sending an impressive task force of medical personnel and humanitarian cargo. Reliable production of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V has been set up at Karaganda pharmaceutical complex. In total, over six million doses of the first and the second vaccine components have already been produced.

In addition, Sputnik Light vaccine is being delivered to Kazakhstan which can be used as a booster for various vaccines.

Obviously, the talks covered further stepping up of military and defence industry cooperation. Russia continues to render assistance to Kazakhstan in training military specialists at the higher education establishments of the Russian Defence Ministry and other security agencies.

We will keep working together on establishing in the republic licenced production facilities and maintenance centres for Russian military equipment.

The President of Kazakhstan informed me that Kazakhstan is starting to implement a comprehensive plan of priority measures aimed at improving the social protection of citizens, eradicating corruption, modernising the economy, and strengthening the country's security agencies. We wish our Kazakhstani partners success with their plans and are ready to assist them in every possible way.

While considering regional and global problems, we affirmed that the positions of Russia and Kazakhstan are very close or identical on most of them. Our countries firmly uphold the principles of the supremacy of international law, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states. They closely coordinate efforts at key multilateral platforms, including at the United Nations.

Russia and Kazakhstan are successfully advancing integration, primarily, of course, within the Eurasian Economic Union, which our Kazakhstani partners chaired last year.

By the way, this year Kazakhstan chairs the Commonwealth of Independent States. We will certainly provide our Kazakhstani friends with all the assistance they need.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank President Tokayev for supporting Moscow's bid to host the world exhibition EXPO-2030.

We also greatly appreciate Kazakhstan's agreement to be this year's partner country of our International Industrial Trade Fair INNOPROM, which traditionally takes place in Yekaterinburg.

I can also mention that during our talks I invited the President of Kazakhstan to take part in the St Petersburg International Economic Forum in June this year as one of the key guests. We hope that he will accept our invitation, and we always anticipate a large delegation of Kazakhstani politicians, businessmen and public figures to the forum in St Petersburg.

In closing, I would like to express my gratitude to the President for the productive work we did together today. During the current visit, the President of Kazakhstan will visit one of the dynamically developing regions of Russia – the Republic of Tatarstan, which closely cooperates with our Kazakhstani partners. I am convinced that today’s talks will help further strengthen the allied relations between Russia and Kazakhstan for the benefit of the fraternal peoples of the two countries.

Thank you for your attention.

President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Mr President,

Ladies and gentlemen,

First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the President of the Russian Federation for his invitation to come to Moscow on an official visit.

We have just completed our long talks with the agreements President Putin has described in detail. It is true that the talks were very substantive and interesting, I would say. I would like to take this opportunity to express my satisfaction with these talks.

This year is a milestone for our states: we are marking the 30th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. Over this time, we have built truly exemplary interstate cooperation based on our strong ties of friendship, common history and the similar mentality of our peoples. Thanks to our intense political dialogue, we have achieved impressive success in almost all areas.

Our common land border, the longest in the world, is a clear example of real, I would say, exemplary neighbourliness, reliable cooperation and strategic partnership to the entire international community.

As I have already said, the talks concerned almost all aspects of cooperation between our states, such as our economic and investment ties, and, of course, our approaches to the main international problems. We discussed the main topics on the Russian-Kazakhstani agenda openly, in an atmosphere of trust, and were satisfied to note the highly successful development of comprehensive contacts between our countries. Considering the enormous potential of our mutually beneficial cooperation, we reaffirmed our shared intention to strengthen political, economic, investment and cultural ties. We have agreed to maintain positive momentum in bilateral trade.

Just now President Putin has cited convincing figures achieved in this very important, even key, area of trade and economic cooperation. Despite the pandemic and quarantine restrictions, the highest result has indeed been achieved. Last year, trade exceeded US$21 billion. Russian companies are in the top five investors in the economy of Kazakhstan. Their total investment exceeded US$17 billion. In Kazakhstan, Russia is by far the leader in terms of the number of enterprises with foreign capital. Every third enterprise was created with the participation of Russian companies, with their total investment portfolio represented by almost all industries.

We discussed in detail the prospects of expanding production cooperation. Our countries have completed 13 major projects in this area. Eight projects worth over US$2.5 billion are at the stage of implementation. Work to elaborate another 11 projects with total investment volume of almost US$1.5 billion is underway. During the talks, I told President Putin that all these projects will be under my personal supervision. They are intended to create new jobs and enhance our countries’ industrial and technological potential.

Interregional cooperation also yields major practical results. Mutually beneficial trade between our countries and regions amounts to about 70 percent of our total trade. Productive partnership between Kazakhstan and Russia is constantly expanding through new innovative points of growth.

Today we signed a number of documents which will allow our countries to advance considerably on pressing issues: digitisation, space exploration and training specialists in nuclear power engineering. Given the demand for highly qualified personnel in the engineering and technical area in Kazakhstan, we emphasised cooperation in education.

During the talks, I expressed my appreciation to the President of Russia for agreeing to send branches of the most well-known Russian universities, primarily technical ones, to Kazakhstan. I think that they will make a very serious contribution to the development of education in our country.

We welcome meaningful agreements on expanding the network of Russian university branches in Kazakhstan, just as I have already mentioned. I want to underscore that Kazakhstan will open well-known branches of the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School – now it has a different name, evidently it has become a university, although the reputation remains. I think this is a great stride in education and mutual support in this area.

We secured each other’s support in promoting international initiatives. I want to make a point that Kazakhstan, without any hesitations, supported Moscow’s bid to host EXPO 2030.

As I already said, we exchanged views on the most pressing issues of regional and global politics. I would like to emphasise that our positions and approaches remain unchanged on the whole. The Russian Federation plays an exceptionally important role in ensuring stability and security in our region.

I would like to say that we support Russia's position regarding the indivisibility of security in the Eurasian space. In the end, this principle was enshrined in the declaration signed following the 2010 OSCE Summit in Astana. We agree that in the modern world it is impossible and essentially irrational to strengthen your own security at the expense of the security of others.

Therefore, I think that the proposals that were made by the Russian Federation on holding talks on security on a significant international scale are a very good platform for holding successful, I stress, successful diplomatic talks. We are in favour of holding talks not for the sake of talks, but to achieve results. After all, a bad peace is better than a good quarrel.

Once again, I would like to thank President Putin and our other CSTO partners for their invaluable support in repelling a terrorist attack that was unprecedented for Kazakhstan.

I think that, without any exaggeration, the current talks were some of the most important, if not the most important, that took place in recent years between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am quite satisfied with the outcome of these talks. Once again, I express my gratitude for the hospitality and business-like approach to our meeting.

Vladimir Putin: (Addressing media representatives.). Are there any questions?

Question: If it is not a secret, did you have a telephone conversation yet on the results of Mr Macron’s visit to Kiev? Maybe he told you something about his talks with Mr Zelensky. And what do you think of Mr Zelensky’s comment on your phrase “like it or lump it, you have to fulfil them” in which he hinted that you might have spent too much time with President Macron?

Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: You know, there was nothing personal to it, I should say that right off. I never get personal in my work, in all these years, so again there was nothing personal about it. The issue is that when we hear from a head of state that he likes or dislikes something about fundamental agreements that regulate very important relations between countries in terms of security, including that of Ukraine, I think it is out of place. If a state assumed certain obligations, the more so when they are enshrined in international law, UN Security Council Resolution 2202, I think, then everything must be followed and performed as agreed. That is all there is to it.

Additional
Talks with President of France Emmanuel Macron
February 7, 2022

Regarding talks with our European and American partners, they are ongoing both in open and closed formats; we are preparing a response to NATO and Washington. The President of France – we did indeed agree that he would call me after his series of consultations in Kiev and also in European countries and with US partners. I take it the consultations have not concluded yet, since we have not talked yet.

To be honest, we actually expected questions on the state of Russia-Kazakhstan relations. For my part, I want to once again thank the President of Kazakhstan for his visit today. I realise it was not easy to find time to visit Russia since there is a lot to do back home, it goes without saying. Yet I think this visit was needed in view of the level, nature and quality of our relations, as well as their scale.

Today the President of Kazakhstan informed me about the big plans to change the country’s economy and the way relations in society are regulated. It is a complex and big, if not enormous, challenge, and I would like to stress again that Kazakhstan’s leadership and its President have every right to count on Russia’s support in all those areas of the country’s development that he has outlined. That is exactly what will happen.

Thank you very much.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev: Thank you.

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Κατατίθεται στη Βουλή το νομοσχέδιο για τον εκσυγχρονισμό του ΕΦΚΑ

9 Φεβρουαρίου, 2022




Κ. Χατζηδάκης: Μεγάλη παρέμβαση για έναν ΕΦΚΑ πιο φιλικό προς τους ασφαλισμένους



Από το Γραφείο Τύπου του Υπουργείου Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων εκδόθηκε η ακόλουθη ανακοίνωση:

Κατατίθεται στη Βουλή –μετά την ολοκλήρωση της δημόσιας διαβούλευσης εντός του Ιανουαρίου- το νομοσχέδιο του Υπουργείου Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων για τον εκσυγχρονισμό του ΕΦΚΑ, που αποτελεί το επιστέγασμα των πρωτοβουλιών που έχουν ήδη αναληφθεί για την καλύτερη και αποδοτικότερη λειτουργία του πιο προβληματικού φορέα της Δημόσιας Διοίκησης, με τον οποίο συναλλάσσονται καθημερινά 2,5 εκατ. συνταξιούχοι και 4 εκατ. εργαζόμενοι.

Οι μέχρι τώρα πρωτοβουλίες εστιάστηκαν στην επιτάχυνση του ρυθμού έκδοσης των εκκρεμών συντάξεων (και είχαν ως αποτέλεσμα την έκδοση 225.000 κύριων συντάξεων πέρυσι, που αποτελεί αριθμό-ρεκόρ) και στην καλύτερη εξυπηρέτηση των πολιτών, με επιστέγασμα τον Ενιαίο Αριθμό Εξυπηρέτησης του Πολίτη 1555 που έχει δεχθεί πάνω από 1 εκατ. κλήσεις -εκ των οποίων το 80% περίπου αφορούσε στον ΕΦΚΑ- που έχουν απαντηθεί σε πρώτο επίπεδο σε ποσοστό πάνω από 85%.

Το νομοσχέδιο που θα ξεκινήσει να συζητείται στη Βουλή τις επόμενες ημέρες αποτελεί μια ακόμα πιο ουσιαστική παρέμβαση σε μονιμότερη βάση, με την οποία:
Επιδιώκεται η προσέλκυση υψηλού επιπέδου στελεχών τόσο από τον δημόσιο όσο και από τον ιδιωτικό τομέα.
Θεσπίζεται σύστημα κινήτρων, αλλά και ελέγχων για τους υπαλλήλους.
Επιταχύνονται οι προμήθειες.
Εισάγονται ρυθμίσεις για αξιοποίηση της ακίνητης περιουσίας του Φορέα.

Ο Υπουργός Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων Κωστής Χατζηδάκης δήλωσε: «Το νομοσχέδιο που κατατίθεται σήμερα επιβεβαιώνει την βούλησή μας να μετατρέψουμε τον ΕΦΚΑ από πρωταγωνιστή ιστοριών καθημερινής τρέλας και ταλαιπωρίας σε ασφαλιστικό οργανισμό ευρωπαϊκών προδιαγραφών. Περιλαμβάνει ρυθμίσεις που θα κάνουν καλύτερη την καθημερινότητα των υπαλλήλων και κυρίως πολύ καλύτερη την εξυπηρέτηση των ασφαλισμένων που είναι και το μεγάλο ζητούμενο. Για να γίνει αυτό, οφείλουμε να διορθώσουμε τις παθογένειες δεκαετιών, να απαλείψουμε γραφειοκρατικές αγκυλώσεις, να ξεπεράσουμε παρωχημένες πρακτικές και αντιλήψεις. Δεν επενδύουμε στην ακινησία, αλλά σε στοχευμένες κινήσεις για ένα ΕΦΚΑ λειτουργικό και αποτελεσματικό, ικανό να ανταποκριθεί πλήρως στις ανάγκες τόσο των πολιτών, όσο και των εργαζομένων του».

Οι βασικές ρυθμίσεις του νομοσχεδίου
Προβλέπεται η δυνατότητα πρόσληψης Γενικών Διευθυντών και Διευθυντών με τριετή θητεία (και δυνατότητα ανανέωσης άπαξ) τόσο από το δημόσιο όσο και από τον ιδιωτικό τομέα. Η πρόσληψη θα γίνεται με διαφανείς διαδικασίες (δημόσια προκήρυξη με απόφαση του Διοικητή του e-ΕΦΚΑ), σύμπραξη του ΑΣΕΠ και κίνητρα προσέλκυσης με στόχο την ανανέωση στα ανώτερα κλιμάκια με υψηλού επιπέδου στελέχη, ικανά να ανταποκριθούν στα μεγέθη του Οργανισμού και στις προκλήσεις του μετασχηματισμού του.
Προσδιορίζεται σύστημα επιβράβευσης παραγωγικότητας σε όλον τον ΕΦΚΑ. Ξεκινώντας από τις λειτουργίες της εκκαθάρισης των συντάξεων και εξυπηρέτησης των πολιτών, το πριμ θα συνδέεται με συγκεκριμένους στόχους που μπορεί να τίθενται σύμφωνα με τις ανάγκες ανά Γενική Διεύθυνση, ανάλογα με το αντικείμενο και τις προτεραιότητες του Φορέα. Το σύστημα αυτό συνοδεύεται και από αντίστοιχο σύστημα ελέγχου και λογοδοσίας όπως περιγράφεται παρακάτω.
Συστήνεται Μονάδα Εσωτερικών Ερευνών για την πιο συστηματική αντιμετώπιση των καταγγελιών που αφορούν στον ΕΦΚΑ. Η Μονάδα, επικεφαλής της οποίας θα είναι πρώην ανώτερος δικαστικός (Αντιεισαγγελέας Αρείου Πάγου) θα επιφορτιστεί με την άμεση διερεύνηση καταγγελιών και αιτημάτων και τη διενέργεια αυτεπάγγελτων ελέγχων (π.χ. επί υπέρμετρων καθυστερήσεων). Αν με το πόρισμα της Μονάδας διαπιστώνεται η τέλεση πειθαρχικού παραπτώματος, τότε ο επικεφαλής θα παραγγέλλει την άσκηση πειθαρχικής δίωξης, που θα είναι δεσμευτική για τα αρμόδια πειθαρχικά όργανα.
Επιταχύνονται οι πειθαρχικές διαδικασίες, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη ότιοι διαδικασίες στα Πειθαρχικά Συμβούλια του ΕΦΚΑ έχουν αυτή τη στιγμή μέσο χρόνο ολοκλήρωσης τα 2 έτη. Ειδικότερα, η άσκηση της πειθαρχικής δίωξης θα γίνεται σε ένα μήνα (αντί 3 μηνών) και θα ολοκληρώνεται σε ένα μήνα από την κλήση σε απολογία (αντί 2 μηνών). Στο πλαίσιο της ενίσχυσης της αμεροληψίας των ελέγχων, οι ΕΔΕ θα διενεργούνται υποχρεωτικά από υπάλληλο άλλου Υπουργείου και θα περατώνονται σε ένα μήνα. Το Πειθαρχικό Συμβούλιο του ΕΦΚΑ θα συγκροτείται με τρία μέλη (πρόεδρος δικαστικός, πάρεδρος Νομικού Συμβουλίου του Κράτους και μόνιμος υπάλληλος εκτός Υπουργείου Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων), χωρίς συμμετοχή των αιρετών εκπροσώπων εργαζομένων του ΕΦΚΑ. Θα είναι αρμόδιο για όλες τις υποθέσεις που εκκινούν μετά την δημοσίευση του νόμου και για τις εκκρεμείς διαδικασίες, εφόσον δεν έχουν εισαχθεί προς κρίση. Η επιτάχυνση των πειθαρχικών διαδικασιών αποσκοπεί στην ενίσχυση του πνεύματος λογοδοσίας στους υπαλλήλους, ώστε να είναι σαφές ότι μαζί με την επιβράβευση για την επίτευξη στόχων, θα ελέγχονται για την εκτέλεση του έργου τους.
Καθίσταται πιο ευέλικτο το σύστημα των προμηθειώνώστε να δοθεί τέλος σε φαινόμενα, όπως η μη έγκαιρη προμήθεια αναλώσιμων, ανταλλακτικών και η δυσκολία αντικατάστασης παρωχημένου εξοπλισμού (π.χ. Η/Υ, κλιματιστικά κ.λπ.). Στην ίδια λογική της αύξησηςτης ταχύτητας και της ευελιξίας καταργούνται μια σειρά από παρωχημένες διατάξεις που προβλέπουν χρονοβόρες διαδικασίες έγκρισης από το Υπουργείο Εργασίας και Κοινωνικών Υποθέσεων για δαπάνες που αφορούν τον ΕΦΚΑ (έγκριση για τη σκοπιμότητα ανάθεσης υπηρεσιών μηχανοργάνωσης, εργασιών συντήρησης κλπ.) και παρεμποδίζουν τη δράση της διοίκησης.
Προωθείται η αξιοποίηση της ακίνητης περιουσίας του ΕΦΚΑ μέσω σύστασης Εταιρείας Ειδικού Σκοπού με τίτλο «Εταιρεία Ακινήτων e-ΕΦΚΑ» που θα υπόκειται σε αυστηρό πλαίσιο εταιρικής διακυβέρνησης με αυξημένα εχέγγυα διαφάνειας και λογοδοσίας, αλλά και δυνατότητα αξιοποίησης των καλών πρακτικών του ιδιωτικού τομέα για τη διαχείριση του χαρτοφυλακίου ακινήτων που θα διαθέτει. Είναι ενδεικτικό ότι ο Φορέας διαθέτει 400 ακίνητα σε όλη τη χώρα, συνολικής αντικειμενικής αξίας άνω του 1 δις ευρώ και τουλάχιστον το 20% -που αφορά ακίνητα μεγάλης αξίας- μένει τελείως αναξιοποίητο, με αποτέλεσμα την απώλεια πόρων και προσόδων για το ασφαλιστικό σύστημα. Η ενεργότερη διαχείριση της ακίνητης περιουσίας του ΕΦΚΑ μέσω της νέας εταιρείας μπορεί να συμβάλει σημαντικά στην αύξηση των πόρων του ασφαλιστικού συστήματος.



ΑΠΟ ΤΟ ΓΡΑΦΕΙΟ ΤΥΠΟΥ

THE WHITE HOUSE's latest news

Readout of President Biden’s Call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia
FEBRUARY 12, 2022


President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia about Russia’s escalating military buildup on the borders of Ukraine. President Biden was clear that, if Russia undertakes a further invasion of Ukraine, the United States together with our Allies and partners will respond decisively and impose swift and severe costs on Russia. President Biden reiterated that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine would produce widespread human suffering and diminish Russia’s standing. President Biden was clear with President Putin that while the United States remains prepared to engage in diplomacy, in full coordination with our Allies and partners, we are equally prepared for other scenarios.

Background Press Call by a Senior Administration Official on the President’s Call with Russian President Vladimir Putin

FEBRUARY 12, 2022


Via Teleconference

12:53 P.M. EST

MODERATOR: Thanks, everyone, for joining us today. Today’s call will be on background, attributed to a “senior administration official.” And contents will be embargoed until the conclusion of the call.

Today’s speaker will be [senior administration official], who will have some comments at the top and then take a few questions.

Over to you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks. And thanks, everybody, for taking the time.

So, the call between the two presidents was professional and substantive. It lasted a bit over an hour. There was no fundamental change in the dynamic that has been unfolding now for several weeks, but we believe that we have put ideas on the table that would be in our and our allies’ interest to pursue, that would enhance European security, and that would also address some of Russia’s stated concerns, just as we have been clear that we are committed to upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the rights of states to choose their own security arrangements.

But it remains unclear whether Russia is interested in pursuing its goals diplomatically as opposed to through the use of force.

We remain committed to keeping the prospect of de-escalation through diplomacy alive. But we are also clear-eyed about the prospects of that, given the readily apparent steps Russia is taking on the ground in plain sight, right before our eyes. Stakes — the stakes of this are too high not to give Russia every chance to avoid an action that we believe would be catastrophic.

So, as always, we continue along two paths: diplomacy, including maintaining close alignment with our partners and allies, as evidenced by the President’s repeated bilateral engagements, including with President Zelenskyy, his call yesterday with key allies, and today’s call with President Putin, as well as other senior officials’ calls with their counterparts in all of these same categories.

Meanwhile, we are intensifying our efforts to deter Russia and to impose costs should it decide to go ahead with military action anyway.

You will have seen the announcement yesterday of an additional 3,000 U.S. forces headed to Poland. Our deliveries of security assistance to Ukraine have continued in recent days, and our discussions with the EU, UK, Canadian, and other partners and Allies to ensure that we are prepared to immediately impose severe financial sanctions and export controls are also reaching a culmination point.

We are continuing to reduce our diplomatic presence in Kyiv, as you’ve seen, and the President was very direct with President Putin about our concern for the safety and security of Americans still in Ukraine.

Whatever Russia decides, our assessment is that their efforts to improve their strategic position are already failing and that this will only be exacerbated should they decide to take military action.

The transatlantic relationship is more closely aligned than it has been in quite some time. NATO is stronger and more purposeful. Russia is already finding itself increasingly isolated from the wider world and more dependent on China, having together revealed a fundamentally different worldview at odds with the principled, affirmative, international law-abiding worldview and values that we stand for.

And Russia is finding itself on defense in the information space, given our own transparency about its intention.

Over time, if Russia invades, this list will also include a severe economic cost that I’ve already described and irrevocable reputational damage caused by taking innocent lives for a bloody war choice.

The two presidents agreed that our teams will stay engaged in the days ahead. Russia may decide to proceed with military action anyway. Indeed, that is a distinct possibility.

If it does, the damage to Ukraine, to European security, and, yes, to Russia will be profound. That is an outcome President Biden believes we should continue to work hard to avert.

Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thanks. Operator, we’re ready for questions now.

Q Thank you so much for doing the call. Could you talk a little bit about, you know, anything that President Biden brought to the table today in terms of proposals, as far as an off-ramp that he thinks can get us to de-escalation? And then, could you also talk a little bit about if you had any signs that an operation was more imminent than thought before? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, Trevor. So, look, our view is that we have brought serious, substantive ideas to the diplomatic table for a period of weeks now. Many of those ideas are in the public domain already. We have offered those directly to the Russians in diplomatic discussions. We have developed them in close consultation with our partners and Allies. And President Biden continued to take that approach in the call with President Putin.

We have also been very clear that our strong preference is not to negotiate in public because we don’t believe that that is the best way to find a path to de-escalation, which is our main priority for these diplomatic conversations.

So, I am not going to get into very many of the details of this portion of the conversation, but I would say the President continued down the path that we have been on for quite some time, which is a mode of problem solving and finding solutions that are in our interest, the interest of our partners and Allies, and that can address at least some of the concerns that Russia has raised.

Q Hi, thank you for doing this, [senior administration official]. Two questions. You said that an attack was a “distinct possibility.” The tone of the briefing yesterday was that the attack was imminent and the decision had been taken. Can you elaborate on that?

And then, in terms of continuing to provide Ukraine with military equipment, would that continue after a military attack by Russia, and might the nature of that support change? I’m thinking of things like anti-aircraft weapons and so on.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So, I guess I’d say two things: I would direct you to comments that my colleague, Jake Sullivan, made on this notion of whether President Putin has made a decision. You know, I think the honest answer to that question is we don’t have full visibility into President Putin’s decision making. You’d have to direct that question to the Kremlin or to President Putin himself.

But, you know, we are not basing our assessment of this on what the Russians say publicly. We are basing this assessment on what we are seeing on the ground with our own eyes, which is a continued Russian build-up on the border with Ukraine and no meaningful evidence of de-escalation or, really, of any interest in de-escalation. So, our sense is that the trends that we’ve been seeing and talking about for many weeks now are continuing. And, you know, beyond that, I don’t think we have any real insights to offer.

As to our plans going forward, I think President Biden and other officials have been clear that should Russia continue down the path to escalation, the United States will continue to increase our support to Ukraine to enable it to defend itself. And, you know, that approach has not changed.

Q Hi. Thanks. So, I’m wondering if you can talk a little bit about whether or not the alleged false-flag plans were discussed in the call, and what — if so, if you can characterize Putin’s response at all.

And also, there were reports of a sort of close encounter between Russian and American submarines today, and I’m wondering if they discussed that as well. Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: So, on your first point, I mean, I think, as a general matter, you can conclude that the issues that we raised concerns about publicly are raised privately between the two presidents. They have conversations that are quite direct, I would say, on both sides. And so, if there’s an issue that we have been bringing to your attention through briefings and in other fora, you can conclude that the presidents have widely discussed that as well.

But beyond that, I don’t want to get into the specifics of what we raised, and certainly not — I certainly don’t go — we don’t go down the road of characterizing President Putin’s response. That’s just not something we tend to do with the other sides of these conversations in these readouts.

On this close encounter, I would really direct you to the Pentagon for that. You know, I don’t have any information to provide about that on this call.

MODERATOR: All right, thanks, everyone. We have to wrap now. With the conclusion of the call, the embargo is lifted.

A friendly reminder, we’re on background, attributed to a “senior administration official.” Thanks all.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you.

1:03 P.M. EST

IMF interesting latest news

Dear maria, We just published a new blog—please find the full text below. Europe’s Consumers are Sitting on 1 Trillion Euros in Pandemic Savings (Photo: IMF photo/Cyril Marchilhacy) By Thomas McGregor, Nujin Suphaphiphat and Frederik Toscani In ordinary times, Europeans save around 12 percent of their income. But as families stayed at home and furlough schemes supported income during the pandemic, this savings rate increased sharply to almost 19 percent in 2020 and 2021. As shown in this Chart of the Week, we estimate that households in the euro area saved nearly 1 trillion euros more in those two years than they would have done if the pandemic never happened. In other words, people saved a record sum—equivalent to around 8 percent of total euro-area gross domestic product. Euro-area economic growth and potentially inflation would get a big boost if consumers were to spend part of their excess savings by temporarily reducing the rate at which they save to below that seen prior to the pandemic. This would be consistent with the pattern after some previous pandemics and severe economic shocks, when households saved a much smaller proportion of their income than they had done historically. Even a moderate increase in spending—if households were to use about one-third of their excess savings for higher consumption over two years, say—would add 2.5 percentage points to GDP and up to 0.75 percentage point to inflation by the end of the second year. Some unwinding but no spending spree Half of the euro area’s excess savings are in bank accounts, meaning they could, in principle, be easily accessed and spent once pandemic restrictions are lifted. And most of the savings were forced, not precautionary as is more common during recessions when people worry about future income, suggesting that they may be spent soon. Yet there are four reasons these savings may not be released into the real economy in a hurry. First, the sort of expenditure that households were forced to forgo during the pandemic is not easily replaced. Almost 80 percent of the total spending drop in 2020 stemmed from declines in hospitality and transport. Consumers are unlikely to ever make up for all the cancelled airline flights, hotel stays or restaurant meals. Second, excess savings mostly accrued to those with high incomes. In France, for example, the richest 10 percent of households increased savings substantially even as some poorer families reduced savings, bank data show. High-earners typically save a larger share of their income and so are less likely to spend their savings. Third, supply chain problems mean many may struggle to spend their savings—even if they wish to. Long delivery times and higher prices are making it harder for consumers to substitute what they would ordinarily have spent on services with increased spending on goods (though this pent-up demand could boost consumption of goods in the future). And fourth, the spread of the Omicron variant means Europeans may be forced to save for a little longer. Uncertainty surrounding the outlook for consumption remains exceptionally high. Policymakers should keep a close watch on savings rates as they assess the strength of the recovery—and, if necessary, adjust monetary and fiscal policy to ensure sustained and equitable growth and to preserve price stability. ******

Jeff Kearns Managing Editor IMF Blog jkearns@IMF.org   Thank you again for your interest in IMF Blog. Read more of our latest content here. Take good care!

For too long, many countries have ignored asset valuation and management.

Dear maria, Welcome to the Weekend Read! In today's edition we explore, among other things, the challenges facing the euro area economy, central bank digital currencies, the difficulties firms face hiring workers, and how the pandemic exposed weaknesses in the social contract and what can be done to build a more inclusive future.  Euro Area (Photo: kontrast-fotodesign/iStock by Getty Images) Europe's Economy is Recovering Economic policies in the euro area have supported household incomes and protected corporate balance sheets, while high levels of vaccination and increasing adaptation to the pandemic have also helped to foster a strong economic recovery, the IMF’s Europe Department says in a new Country Focus article. Drawing on a staff report released on Monday, the authors say that the challenge is to coordinate the normalization of economic policy in the face of elevated uncertainty, including the evolution and legacies of the pandemic, as well as ongoing geopolitical tensions. --Inflation Risks: Under the baseline, medium-term inflation dynamics are expected to remain weak. But upside inflation risks have clearly increased, and the European Central Bank should stand ready to adjust course as needed. Some euro area countries could tighten their macroprudential stance given stretched asset valuations, especially in real estate markets. --Labor Recovery: The labor market recovered rapidly but unevenly across sectors. Policies need to facilitate labor reallocation and protect the vulnerable, which includes reskilling and upskilling workers, using hiring subsidies, and enhancing targeted safety nets.  Watch the Director of the IMF's European Department, Alfred Kammer, update the European Parliament on the outlook, and download the presentation here.   Digital Currencies (Photo: Justhavealook/iStock by Getty Images) Central Bank Digital Currencies Around the world, central banks are pondering whether to issue their own digital currencies to the public. A new IMF Fintech Note shares insights, lessons and questions from six countries at the CBDC frontier, from China to Sweden. Speaking at the launch of the note on Wednesday, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that central banks have moved beyond the conceptual stage and were now experimenting with digital currencies. “Central banks are rolling up their sleeves and familiarizing themselves with the bits and bytes of digital money,” she said in opening remarks to the event, hosted by the Atlantic Council. Around 100 countries are exploring CBDCs in one way or another. In the Bahamas, the Sand Dollar has been in circulation for over a year. And in China, more than a hundred million people use the digital renminbi. --Common Lessons: Kristalina said there were three common lessons: there is no universal case for CBDCs because each economy is different; financial stability and privacy considerations are paramount to the design of CBDCs; and introducing a CBDC is about finding a balance between developments on the design front and on the policy front.  Watch a video of the event, also featuring Tobias Adrian, Director of the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department, and find all the IMF’s Fintech Notes along with blogs, videos and other related content here. F&D (Image: Porter Gifford) People in Economics Ever since she produced a report on elephants in the first grade, Amy Finkelstein knew she would be a scholar like her parents. But it wasn’t until her senior year at Harvard College that she chose economics. Majoring in political science, she decided to take a course in applied microeconomics. “That was a totally transformative experience for me,” Finkelstein says. “It opened my eyes to the idea that one could use data to inform what had otherwise seemed like ideological debates.” In the years since, Finkelstein, who now teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has established herself among the country’s preeminent health economists. Her work ranges from estimating the welfare benefits of alternative social insurance programs to the effectiveness of mammogram screening. The common thread: using large data sets to test economic models—and arriving at conclusions that often challenge conventional wisdom. Read the entire article.   Coming Soon: F&D March Issue "Rethinking Fiscal" Our upcoming issue of Finance & Development will focus on how the pandemic has forced a rethink of fiscal policy. Fresh insights and analysis from Vitor Gaspar, Olivier Blanchard, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Carmen Reinhart, Arminio Fraga, Ricardo Reis, Emmanuel Saez, Felipe Larraín, and more will delve into issues of spending, debt and the role of government in economic life. The issue will also explore how some countries are innovating in areas of climate, transparency, and digitalization; the role of taxation; and how fiscal policy can be used to curb inequalities.  Take a look back at our December Issue of Finance & Development.  Want to get a print copy delivered to your home or office? Click here to subscribe.   (Photo: RichLegg/iStock)   Labor Puzzle As economies recover from the pandemic, why are companies having such a hard time hiring workers? In a new podcast, journalist Rhoda Metcalfe asks economists Carlo Pizzinelli and Ippei Shibata what's behind the labor shortage in many advanced economies. (Photo: IMF)   Social Contract COVID-19 has led to a crisis like no other and highlighted weaknesses in the current social contract. IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva joined the LSE's Baroness Minouche Shafik for a live conversation moderated by CNN’s Eleni Giokos to discuss options for a more inclusive future. (Photo: Cory Hancock/IMF)   Essential Reading: COVID-19 The pandemic is continuing to disrupt the global economy. Check out our eLibrary section on issues related to COVID-19. You can find IMF research on everything from vaccines to remittances to how the pandemic is affecting the economic outlook at both a global and regional level. Quote of the Week "The history of money is entering a new chapter." —The IMF's Kristalina Georgieva speaking about central bank digital currencies at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday. WEEKLY ROUND-UP 01. Inclusive Growth Rising inequality and widespread poverty, social unrest and polarization, gender and ethnic disparities, declining social mobility, economic fragility, unbalanced growth due to technology and globalization, and existential danger from climate change are urgent global concerns. On Thursday IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva and Valerie Cerra, Assistant Director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department, spoke at the Center for Global Development at the launch of a new book, How to Achieve Inclusive Growth, co-published by the IMF and Oxford University Press. Watch a video of the event here. 02. Taxes and Gender Taxes can impact men and women differently. A recent IMF staff paper provides an overview of the relation between tax policy and gender equality, covering labor, capital and wealth, as well as consumption taxes. The analysis by the IMF's Maria Delgado Coelho, Aieshwarya Davis, Alexander D. Klemm, and Carolina Osorio Buitron finds that explicitly neutral tax policy can have first-order effects on important dimensions of inequality and that gender impact should be part of policy design. 03. Latin America A recent IMF staff paper from Santiago Acosta-Ormaechea, Samuel Pienknagura, and Carlo Pizzinelli provides an overview of taxes in Latin America and the Caribbean before the pandemic, compares them with OECD countries, and recommends tax reforms to encourage strong and inclusive growth. Read a related Country Focus article on how taxes can support growth and reduce inequality in the region. 04. Supporting Financial Resilience The IMF's Monetary & Capital Markets Department released its Capacity Development Strategy 2022-25 on "Supporting Financial Resilience Through Disruption & Change.” It outlines the IMF's approach to capacity development in support of global financial & monetary stability, from digital currency and crypto assets to cyber risks and debt management. Read here. As Europe's families stayed at home and furlough schemes supported income during the pandemic, savings rates increased sharply. As shown in this Chart of the Week by Thomas McGregor, Nujin Suphaphiphat and Frederik Toscani, households in the euro area saved nearly one trillion euros more in 2020 and 2021 than they would have done if the pandemic never happened. Euro-area economic growth and potentially inflation would get a big boost if consumers were to spend part of their excess savings. Yet there are four reasons these savings may not be released into the real economy in a hurry, the authors say. Adam Behsudi Editor IMF Weekend Read abehsudi@IMF.org   P.S. Be sure to let us know what issues and trends we should have on our radar.