The government yesterday expressed satisfaction at the non-binding opinion of the Advocate-General of the European Union's Court of Justice in Luxembourg who said that Greece's trade sanctions against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) did not violate European Union law.
"With great discretion, the government expresses its satisfaction," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said when asked to comment on the opinion formulated by Advocate-General Francis Jacobs.
"The recommendations of the Advocate-General are very positive and vindicate Greece's positions," Mr. Venizelos said, noting that Mr. Jacobs had also recommended that the European Commission pay court costs. The Court usually issues its final ruling several months after the advocate-general's statement of opinion.
The Commission brought the case against Greece for imposing a trade embargo against FYROM last year, arguing it was wrong to act independently of the EU, and that its real purpose was to exert pressure on FYROM, rather than avert the threat of war, as it claimed.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said Greece's position was that the measures taken against FYROM were within the framework of European law.
According to the Advocate-General's opinion, under the circumstances of the case in question, the European Court cannot rule on the essence of the disputes between Greece and FYROM. But it must decide, he continued, "whether in the light of all the circumstances, including the geopolitical and historical background, Greece could have had some basis for considering, from its own subjective point of view, that the strained relations between itself and FYROM could degenerate into armed conflict".
From this point of view, and given the historical conflict and the present situation in the Balkans, "then it could not be said that Greece was acting unreasonably," and "was therefore entitled to invoke Article 224 of the Treaty on the ground of serious international tension constituting a threat of war... It is not for the Court of Justice to criticise the appropriateness of the member state's response," he argued.
Mr. Jacobs recommended to the Court that the case against Greece be dismissed and that the Commission be ordered to pay court costs not only for the present case but also with respect to the Commission's application for enforcement proceedings against Athens.
In Skopje, a FYROM Foreign Ministry statement described the advocate-general's statement of opinion as "an attempt to exert political pressure," and expressed the hope the European Court will adopt the correct ruling, saying it was deeply shocked "at such a stand encouraging economic blockades in the settlement of bilateral problems".
In a related development, asked if the government held Skopje responsible for the cancellation of UN-sponsored talks scheduled for yesterday in New York, Mr. Bikas replied: "The Greek government was invited to take part in talks with FYROM in New York in the presence of the UN's special mediator for the Skopje issue, Cyrus Vance, and accepted this invitation.
"The Greek side does not yet know if FYROM has accepted the invitation. Greece's positions are known and Athens will continue to work constructively within the above framework in order to resolve the problems with Skopje".
Replying to other questions, Mr. Bikas said that the issue would be discussed by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Richard Holbrooke who is due in Athens on Saturday.
New Democracy party spokesman Vassilis Manginas, commenting on Mr. Jacobs' opinion, said, "it is a positive development, which (FYROM President Kiro) Gligorov must evaluate appropriately".
Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras voiced satisfaction at the opinion of the European Court's legal adviser, saying it was a "vindication" for his party's positions on the issue. "Though the verdict has not been rendered, the opinion formulated by the court's advocate-general shows that Political Spring was correct in insisting that such battles be waged with consistency and determination," Mr. Samaras said.
He expressed the hope that the European Court would follow the advocate-general's recommendation and not be influenced by EU member governments opposing the Greek embargo on FYROM.
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel will visit Skopje on April 11 for wide-ranging talks on the country's economic situation and foreign relations.
Former Parliament President Yiannis Alevras, a senior member of the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), died yesterday from complications following a serious lung infection. He was 82. He will be buried with full prime ministerial honours today at the Athens First Cemetery. Alevras, born in Messini in 1912, was rushed to hospital on Monday suffering from bronchial pneumonia. His condition progressively deteriorated despite treatment with strong antibiotics, and he developed an infection of the right lung and heart complications.
An Ygeia Hospital announcement said he died at 4:00 am. Alevras became involved in politics and the trade union movement at an early age and was imprisoned in 1935 for his democratic beliefs. He was a founding member of the Federation of Bank Employees' Organisations of Greece (OTOE) in 1955 and was repeatedly elected president of OTOE until 1963 when he was elected to Parliament for the first time on the Centre Union party ticket.
In 1967, during the Colonels' junta, he was exiled to the island of Folegandros, and in 1968 was transferred to the island of Ai Stratis for 18 months. He was later banished to Kastri, Kynouria, and in December 1970 was arrested and jailed by the military police (ESA) until February 1972.
He was a leading member of the Panhellenic Militant Movement (PAK), the precursor to PASOK, serving as Andreas Papandreou's representative in Greece throughout the dictatorship, and a founding member of PASOK, serving as an elected member of the party's Central Committee and Executive Bureau. In 1977 he was designated a Parliamentary representative for PASOK. After the party's electoral victory in 1981 he was elected Parliament President, and re-elected in 1985.
President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos expressed regret at Alevras' death "a man of many virtues in his long political life."
Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said Alevras' "death is a great loss." "His experience, fighting spirit and prudence in our joint course since 1960 has been valuable to us all," the prime minister said in a note of condolences.
PASOK Secretary-General Akis Tsohatzopoulos said Alevras' death "is a great loss for PASOK, the Parliament and the Greek people."
Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert said Alevras' "moderation, serenity and his political ethos have set an example for a whole generation of younger politicians."
"He was a true parliamentarian and served his position as President of Parliament with prudence and moderation," said former prime minister and ND honorary president Constantine Mitsotakis.
Communist Party of Greece Secretary-General Aleka Papariga said Alevras was "worthy of respect from friends and foes."
"A great political personality, a great fighter for democracy,.. has gone," said Coalition of the Left and Progress party leader Nikos Constantopoulos.
US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Richard Holbrooke is due here tomorrow for talks ranging from Greek-Albanian relations, the Skopje issue and Greek-Turkish relations to the Cyprus problem and prospects for the island republic's accession to the European Union.
Mr. Holbrooke is scheduled to have talks with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and main opposition New Democracy party Vice-President Ioannis Varvitsiotis.
During his visit, part of a tour of the region, Mr. Holbrooke is expected to convey to Athens -- and to his next stop, Ankara -- the desire of the US for the normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations.
According to foreign ministry sources, Mr. Holbrooke may raise the issue of the package of proposals of NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes for the settlement of Greek-Turkish differences. Mr. Claes is due to visit Athens and Ankara next month.
Western European Union (WEU) Secretary-General Jose Cutilheiro had talks yesterday with the political and military leadership of the National Defence Ministry. After the talks, replying to questions on the Turkish incursion into northern Iraq in pursuit of Kurdish separatist rebels, Mr. Cutilheiro said that the WEU had not adopted a position on the issue and declined to express his personal view.
Asked whether the WEU was interested in contributing to the normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Cutilheiro said that the Union was always interested in its members having good relations. Greece became a full member of the EU's proposed defence arm last month. Turkey, Norway and Iceland are WEU associate members without voting rights. Mr. Cutilheiro arrived here Wednesday from Brussels on a two-day official visit as part of a tour of WEU member states.
Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference on the occasion of Greece's full membership of the WEU, National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis reiterated that Greece was in favour of the formation of joint air, naval and land forces in the Mediterranean. He also expressed Greece's desire to participate in efforts to set up a space centre within the framework of the "Cosmos" programme. Commenting on the increasing threat of Islamic fundamentalism, Mr. Arsenis said that the problem did not only concern Greece, but also France, Italy, Spain and to some extent Germany.
Mr. Cutilheiro later met with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias to discuss the prospects of Greece joining a WEU task force in Mostar. Neither of the two men elaborated on the issue when questioned by reporters after their talks.
Asked whether Cyprus' admission to the European defence organisation was discussed during the 90-minute meeting Mr. Papoulias said he would raise the issue after first conferring with his Cyprus counterpart. "The issue was not discussed in our meeting today (yesterday). I plan to discuss the matter with my Cyprus counterpart Alecos Michaelides when we meet on Monday," Mr. Papoulias said.
Mr. Cutilheiro also held separate meetings with President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. He also held a meeting with main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert focusing on the future and the further strengthening of the European military organisation, as well as Greece's role in it. The meeting was also attended by ND Vice-President Ioannis Varvitsiotis, ND officials and members of the WEU parliamentary assembly. Mr. Evert assured Mr. Cutilheiro of ND's devotion to the European course, stressing the need to upgrade the goals of the organisation. Mr. Varvitsiotis stressed the need of promoting common foreign policy and political security and defence within the European Union.
National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis reiterated yesterday that Turkish objections to the establishment of NATO headquarters in Greece was not a Greek-Turkish issue but a matter between the Alliance and Turkey.
Commenting on statements on Wednesday by NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes, Mr. Arsenis said: "The issue (of the establishment of NATO headquarters) is not a Greek-Turkish one, but a Turkish-NATO issue, since the Turkish side is disputing unanimous Alliance decisions and any pressure must be exerted in the direction of Turkey."
Mr. Arsenis added that the Greek government was "the receiver of a more general concern" expressed by the United States about the dangers entailed by any exacerbation in tension in Greek-Turkish relations.
In an interview with the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, Mr. Claes said Wednesday that the Alliance's south-eastern flank had to be strengthened and that processes allowing for a rapprochement between Greece and Turkey should be speeded up.
Mr. Arsenis said Monday that it was not for Turkey to set conditions for the establishment of a multinational NATO rapid deployment force headquarters in Thessaloniki and the activation of a NATO headquarters in Larissa. His statement was in response to press reports from Ankara quoting Turkish Defence Minister Mehmet Gglhan as saying Turkey would only agree to the establishment of the NATO headquarters in Greece if three conditions were satisfied.
He said those conditions would be: that Greece relinquish its right to extend its territorial waters in the Aegean from six to twelve miles, that the first rotating commander in Thessaloniki be Turkish and that the land and air force headquarters in Larissa be set up simultaneously.
The issue of the NATO headquarters in Greece is expected to be the focus of talks between Mr. Claes and Mr. Arsenis in Athens in mid-May. Mr. Arsenis will be in Larissa, central Greece, today to attend the annual awards ceremony on flight safety at Airbase 110.
Students stayed away from university polls in droves on Wednesday, with abstention rates exceeding 55 per cent. Each student grouping is issuing its own set of results. The results at 106 out of 114 university faculties are the following according to DAP-NDFK (affiliated to the conservative New Democracy party): DAP 38.73 per cent compared to 38.62 last year, PASP (affiliated to the ruling socialist PASOK party) 21.72 compared to 26.31, United Left Independent Movement (EAAK) 8.03 compared to 7.3, New Horizons (affiliated to the Political Spring party) 4.94 compared to 6.8, Student Co-operation Movements (PKS-Communist Party of Greece) 6.04 compared to 4.32 and various groupings 14 compared to 11.85.
Foreign Ministry Secretary-General for European Affairs Athanasios Theodorakis flies to France tomorrow to represent Greece at a meeting of the Mediterranean Forum, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
The Forum aims to promote political dialogue and initiate proposals to bolster economic, cultural and educational ties between member states. Mediterranean Forum members also include France, Egypt, Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Turkey and Malta. Cyprus' membership is still pending.
The Olympic torch was passed to the representative of the 1996 Atlanta Games, president of the organising committee William Payne, at a special ceremony at a central Athens hotel yesterday.
Culture Minister Thanos Mikroutsikos, Sports Under-Secretary George Lianis, Foreign Under-Secretary Grigoris Niotis and US ambassador to Athens Thomas Niles attended the ceremony.
Greece yesterday condemned Turkish authorities for confiscating copies of an English-language Greek publication, saying the move was an insult to freedom of the press. "The Greek government opposes any action that insults the freedom of the press; a fundamental right," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said.
"Only in autocratic regimes is the freedom of the press attacked," he told reporters, adding that Ankara should conform to principles of European civilisation if it wanted to maintain good relations with the European Union. Mr. Venizelos did not say why the English-language Balkan News had been confiscated by Turkish authorities.
The administration of the Balkan News newspaper addressed the following announcement to the media: "We believe the possible reasons for the confiscation of Balkan News and EER (East European Report) are two important articles published in the edition in question on the Kurdish issue.
The first, the newspaper's leading article, referred to the issue and deduced that the secession of Kurdish territory from Turkey is historically unavoidable since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, which started last century, has not yet been completed.
The second is an article of opinion by American professor Michael C. Geokas entitled 'The population explosion in the Middle East and Turkey's Kurdish nightmare', which is based on a series of references and statistical data and reaches similar conclusions."
Balkan News and EER, reacting to the confiscation of its editions by the Turkish authorities, lodged protests with the International Press Institute, the Union of European Journalists, the National Press Club in Washington and with the Turkish government.
US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs Dr. Joseph Nye arrives in Athens tomorrow, a US embassy statement said yesterday. It said Dr. Nye would be visiting Greece at the head of the US delegation to the US-Greece High Level Consultative Committee in Rhodes, beginning Monday. "These meetings are held annually to discuss bilateral defence and security policy issues," the statement said.
An Athens court yesterday acquitted former deputy police chief Michalis Nistikakis of antiquities smuggling charges because of lack of evidence but found his eight co-defendants guilty. The three-member appeals court ruled by majority that Mr. Nistikakis was not guilty of acquiring antiquities from illegal excavations and attempting to sell 68 artefacts. By unanimous decision of the court, he was found innocent of charges of setting up and participating in a gang. Mr. Nistikakis' eight co-defendants will be sentenced at a later date.
Foreign ministers of Black Sea Co-operation member states will meet in Athens next week, Foreign Ministry spokesman Costis Bikas said yesterday. He said the three-day meeting would begin Wednesday, but did not disclose the agenda of the talks.
During the conference, Mr. Papoulias will hold a tripartite meeting with his Russian and Bulgarian counterparts, Mr. Bikas said. Mr. Bikas said the effects of the UN embargo on the former Yugoslavia would be discussed on the sidelines of the conference by Black Sea Co-operation member states affected by the sanctions.
Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday said he did not rule out meeting with his Turkish counterpart Erdal Inonu, if this was requested of him, at the three-day meeting next week. "It will be an acquaintance meeting," Mr. Papoulias said, adding that Mr. Inonu also belonged to a social democratic party.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas yesterday said the Greek government was in consultations with its European Union partners, Syria and Iran on the issue of Turkey's military incursion in northern Iraq.
Inflation was running at an annual rate of 10.3 per cent in March this year, according to figures released yesterday by the National Statistical Service (ESYE). According to the figures, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 2.9 per cent in March compared with the previous month. The corresponding increases for March 1994 and March 1993 were 2.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.
A comparison of the March 1995 and March 1994 CPIs shows an increase of 10.3 per cent, compared with corresponding increases of 10.2 per cent and 16.4 per cent in 1994 and 1993 respectively.
The average annual CPI for the period April '94-March '95 compared with April '93-March '94 rose 10.9 per cent, against corresponding increases of 13.3 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively in the two preceding twelve-month periods.
The 2.9 per cent increase in the March CPI was due to a 15.8 per cent increase in the clothing-foot-wear category, a 5.7 increase in durable goods, a 3.9 per cent rise in education-training-recreation and a 0.9 per cent increase in housing.
The Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) registered profits of 196.1 billion drachmas in the 1994 fiscal year. According to the 1994 balance sheet, unanimously approved at a special board meeting, income tax corresponding to profits totalled 79.8 billion drachmas while profits for appropriation after income tax and other taxes were deducted from total profits totalled 94.4 billion drachmas.
More specifically, revenues from telecommunications increased 24.5 per cent in 1994, total depreciation of fixed assets by 82 per cent and total profits by 36 per cent. Investments, amounting to 153.8 billion drachmas, decreased by 29 billion drachmas compared to the previous year since major investments were made in 1993.
OTE's board, following a proposal by the committee negotiating with TV and radio networks for the paying off of their debts to the organisation, decided to settle the debts of all networks in 30 monthly instalments. The decision includes the term that in the event debtors delay paying off one instalment, the debt will become outstanding and OTE will demand the entire amount owed.