Main opposition New Democracy press spokesman Panos Panagiotopoulos said on Friday that, under pressure placed by ND leader Antonis Samaras in parliament, interior minister Yiannis Ragoussis withdrew a recent amendment that would have given the prime minister the ability to personally assign the drafting of studies and designate the remuneration for such studies.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou expressed his absolute satisfaction over the results of his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, since not only did he find understanding regarding proposals on the joint handling of profiteers, but secured the visa waiver for Greek citizens visiting the United States as well which, as the prime minister said, President Obama decided on Tuesday.

On the abolition of the visa requirement for Greeks wishing to travel to the US announced by Washington on Tuesday, main opposition New Democracy(ND) spokesman Panos Panagiotopoulos said that ND considers this a positive development, and cited an announcement issued earlier in the day by ND former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis's office outlining all the actions taken under the preceding government of Costas Karamanlis up until June 2009 when the relevant agreements for the process of Greece entering the US Visa Waiver Program were signed.

Prime Minister George Papandreou will meet on Tuesday with US President Barack Obama in Washington. Earlier, Papandreou will hold talks with with the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol.

New Democracy (ND) party leader Antonis Samaras, addressing a party event on Monday, on the occasion of World Women's Day, criticised the government for its handling of the economy, while also referring to his party's five-year tenure.

Commissioner Barnier said that the preliminary examination over Greece’s agreement with DT on OTE shows that the deal is not in full compliance with the EU public offer directive.

The issue has a five year maturity, with a ten years extension option, and was priced at 250bps above the ECB benchmark rate.

Sales came in at €25.3m, up 10% y-o-y. Income from trading increased 22.8%, to €4.9m, while revenues from clearing and settling grew 25%, as both value of transactions and traded volumes increased y-o-y.