European Parliament

EP's S&D Group puts spotlight on media freedom

BRUSSELS -- The Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament has "welcomed Serbia's progress in the EU integration process." ,

However, the group at the same time said it was "concerned over violations of freedom of the media."

BRUSSELS - The Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament welcomes Serbia's progress in the EU integration process, but is concerned over violations of freedom of the media, party officials stated on Tuesday.

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Paul Tugwell

SYRIZA widened its lead over Prime Minister Antonis Samaras?s New Democracy in three opinion surveys just days before the general election, prompting one pollster to say the race was all but decided.

Alexis Mitropoulos, a SYRIZA candidate for Attica, on Tuesday promised that if the leftist party forms a government after Sunday's elections, it will rehire civil servants "who were unconstitutionally and unlawfully fired" as part of Greece's public sector streamlining.

If SYRIZA is elected on January 25, it will be asking Greece's foreign creditors for a "technical extension" to the bailout deal, which expires officially on February 28, a candidate for the leftist party in Athens's second district, Nadia Valavani, told Athina 984 radio on Tuesday.

Fanaticism is a very dangerous condition and unfortunately it seems that, as the country moves toward election day, reason and moderation are in increasingly short supply.

SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras has seized on comments by Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan as evidence that not just ?progressive economists and the European Left? are coming round to his party?s argument that the European Union needs to hold a meeting to discuss how to reduce the debt of some of its members, including Greece.

SYRIZA?s economic policy chief sought to soothe concerns on Friday, vowing that the leftist party has no plans to take unilateral action should it form a government after next Sunday?s election, adding however that it would have until July to hammer out a deal with creditors before serious liquidity problems arise.

Greece's leftist anti-bailout opposition party Syriza is maintaining a steady lead over the ruling New Democracy party of Prime Antonis Samaras less than two weeks before the snap vote on January 25, opinion polls have shown.

To Potami leader Stavros Theodorakis suggested on Thursday that he would go all out to prevent Greece needing a second election by working to form a coalition if no party receives a parliamentary majority on January 25.