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A30 world news
Diahuebs 11 augustus 2022

EU to stop Greek budget watch in formal end to major crisis

(AP) — The European a bigger economy, like debt-
Union’s budget watchdog ridden Italy, would probably
announced Wednesday exceed the means that even a
that it is winding up years united Europe can muster.
of surveillance of Greek “With this development,
government spending. along with the premature
The move marks a formal repayment of the Interna-
end to a major crisis that tional Monetary Fund loans
threatened to see Greece and the lifting of capital re-
ejected from the euro strictions, a difficult chapter
single currency group, for our nation ends after 12
imposed severe hardship years,” Greek Finance Min-
on its citizens and roiled ister Christos Staikouras said
global financial markets. in response to a Commis-
sion letter confirming the
The European Commission, enhanced surveillance would
which supervises the bud- end.
gets of the 27 EU member “Greece is returning to Euro-
countries, said it will end its pean normality and stops be-
“enhanced surveillance” pro- ing an exception in the euro-
gram on Aug. 20, noting that zone,” Staikouras said. “This
“Greece has delivered on the achievement is the fruit and
bulk of the policy commit- the recognition of the great
ments” made to its partners sacrifices of Greek society, of
in the 19-country euro area. the government’s fiscal poli-
demanded — and received and, ultimately, the EU on forts, the resilience of the cies but also of its broader re-
Greece was granted billions — deep economic reforms the line by calling a refer- Greek economy has substan- forms,” he added.
of euros in three successive that hammered citizens with endum on whether Athens tially improved and the risks
bailouts after 2010, when austerity policies, including should accept the terms im- of spill-over effects on the Staikouras said that ending
Athens lost access to inter- repeated tax hikes and pen- posed on it by creditors, led Euro area economy have di- the enhanced surveillance the
national bond markets after sion cuts. Poverty and unem- by Germany. Voters rejected minished significantly.” economy was under reinforc-
admitting it had misreported ployment skyrocketed, and at the terms, but the govern- “Maintaining Greece under es Greece’s position in inter-
key financial data. Greece’s one point about a quarter of ment then proceeded to im- enhanced surveillance is no national markets, boosts the
debt ballooned to about 180% the workforce was jobless. pose draconian creditor-de- longer justified,” it said. country’s development and
of Gross Domestic Product. manded conditions anyway. ability to attract investments
Two of the financial bailouts In 2015, the leftist prime The Greek financial crisis and grants greater freedom
ultimately failed to improve minister at the time, Alexis But on Wednesday, the EU was a major test for the EU in the management of fiscal
things enough, although Tsipras, put his country’s commission said that now and provided proof, if any policy, within the regulations
creditors in the euro group membership of the euro area “as a result of Greece’s ef- were needed, that bailing out applying to all EU members.

London kids to be offered polio shot after more virus found

(AP) — Children ages 1-9 needed to fully understand
in London were made eli- how they are connected, but
gible for booster doses of it does illustrate that this vi-
a polio vaccine Wednes- rus has the potential to cause
day after British health disease,” O’Reilly said in a
authorities reported find- statement.
ing evidence the virus has Polio is a disease often spread
spread in multiple areas of in water that mostly affects
the city but found no cases children under 5. It has
of the paralytic disease in mostly been wiped out from
people. developed countries, but
outbreaks remain in Pakistan,
Britain’s Health Security Afghanistan and parts of Af-
Agency said it detected vi- rica.
ruses derived from the oral
polio vaccine in the sewage Initial symptoms include fe-
water of eight London bor- ver, fatigue, headache, vom-
oughs. The agency’s analysis iting, and muscle stiffness.
of the virus samples suggest- Among people paralyzed by
ed “transmission has gone the disease, death can occur
beyond a close network of a in up to 10% of cases when
few individuals.” their breathing muscles be-
come paralyzed.
The agency said it had not The agency said it is also ex- infections leads to paralysis;
located anyone infected with panding surveillance of sew- most people don’t show any Kathleen O’Reilly, a polio ex- In rare cases, the live virus
the virus and that the risk age water to at least another symptoms. pert at the London School of contained in the oral polio
to the wider population was 25 sites in London and na- Hygiene and Tropical Medi- vaccine used in the global ef-
low. The decision to offer tionally. The Health Security Agency cine, said the polio virus cir- fort to eradicate the disease
young children boosters was said it was working closely culating in London was “ge- can mutate into new forms
a precaution, it said. Most people across Britain with health authorities at netically related” to recent potent enough to trigger new
“This will ensure a high level are vaccinated against polio the WHO and in the United cases identified in the U.S. outbreaks. The vaccination
of protection from paraly- in childhood. According to States and Israel to investigate and Israel. booster effort in London will
sis and help reduce further the World Health Organiza- any links to polio viruses de- use injected polio vaccines
spread,” the agency said. tion, only one in 200 polio tected in those two countries. “Further investigation is that do not carry that risk.