Greek merchant shipping fleet continued falling in numbers but rise in volume as Greek shipowners renewed their fleets with new, larger vessels.

The elections are "not about which party people want, but about what kind of country we and our children want to live in," Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Thursday afternoon at the town hall of Peristeri, northwest of Athens, in a campaign speech.

Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Hungary were the EU member states where poverty and social exclusion increased the most during the crisis, says an EU report.