Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 00-03-14

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greek FM convinced that June EU summit will ratify Greece's EMU entry

[02] Portuguese finance minister welcomes Greek application for accession to EMU

[03] Fitch IBCA international rating agency says Greek economy being upgraded

[04] President Stephanopoulos sworn in for second consecutive term

[05] Premier outlines targets of next term in newspaper interview

[06] Simitis addresses last session of PASOK Parliamentary Group prior to dissolution of parliament

[07] Karamanlis addresses Greeks in Germany

[08] Opinion poll shows ruling PASOK leading ND by 0.8 per cent

[09] Constantopoulos says PASOK and ND are 'playing a dangerous political game' by involving the stock exchange

[10] Former PASOK cadre creates Democratic Regional Union political movement

[11] US Senate honors March 25 as 'Greek Independence Day'

[12] Papantoniou says government plans to strengthen Capital Market Committee at stock exchange

[13] EU average fiscal deficit in 1999 stands at 0.7 percent of EU GDP

[14] Clerides says the May talks on the Cyprus question should focus on substance

[01] Greek FM convinced that June EU summit will ratify Greece's EMU entry

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

Papandreou, speaking to the press after holding talks with EU Council of Ministers President and Portuguese Foreign Minister Jaime Gama here, said that Greece, according to the latest data on inflation, now fulfills all the convergence criteria.

"We are optimistic regarding the decision on our entry into the eurozone. We are also optimistic that the present government will win the elections again and will continue to work hard," Papandreou said.

On his part, Gama said, "when a country like Greece joins the eurozone, this is of great importance not only for Greece but for all of Europe as well."

"This issue is not only an economic one, since Europe wants to progress economically to be able to occupy a strong position at a global level," he added.

Papandreou and Gama discussed the Portuguese Presidency's agenda, the work of the Intergovernmental Conference, the European defense and security identity, Euro-Turkish relations, the course of the Cyprus issue and the situation in Kosovo.

Gama referred to the upcoming EU-Turkey Association Council to be held on April 11 and said that one of the reasons of his visit to Athens on Monday and Ankara on Tuesday is "the good and careful selection of its agenda to enable it to be successful."

[02] Portuguese finance minister welcomes Greek application for accession to EMU

BRUSSELS, 14/03/2000 (ANA - Y. Zitouniati)

Greek National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou told the press that during the dinner after the ECOFIN meeting in Brussels on Monday "Mr. Pina Mura, referring to the Greek application and interpreting the feelings of his colleagues as well, praised the progress of the Greek economy which was achieved in a short period of time."

Following the same spirit, an announcement by the EU Portuguese Presidency in Lisbon expressed satisfaction over Greece's formal application, considering that "it is a positive step towards the course of the EU's cohesion, which reflects the Greek economy's progress, parallel to that of its other member-states", while expressing certainty that the application will be accepted at the June summit.

The ECOFIN meeting focused on the preparation of the special summit to be held in Lisbon on March 23-24 on "employment, social reforms and social cohesion, for a Europe of knowledge and innovation."

Papantoniou said the EU's message from Lisbon would have two directions. Firstly, the need to speed up Europe's economic development to enable it to be competitive with that of the US (which has a 4 percent growth rate), with the acceptance of the rules of the new economy, the digital era and new technologies.

Secondly, the strengthening of social cohesion with the highlighting of the European model's social elements, the restriction of inequalities and social justice.

Papantoniou also referred to social measures referring to the creation of new jobs and the encouragement of hirings by businesses, tax reform for the benefit of low incomes, immediate economic support for "vulnerable groups" of the population and the strengthening of the social state.

[03] Fitch IBCA international rating agency says Greek economy being upgraded

LONDON, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

The announcement said that Greece's accession, due to be decided in June, should be considered certain since the country has fulfilled the most difficult of Maastricht criteria, inflation, which was running at 2.1 percent year-on-year in February.

The prospect of EMU membership should also help Prime Minister Costas Simitis and his PASOK party win the general election on April 9, 2000, the announcement said.

"Recent polls give the ruling PASOK party around a 2.6 percentage point lead over the main opposition New Democracy party. In any case, there are no major differences on economic policy between the two parties," it added.

The announcement further said that the upgrading of the Greek economy's sovereign rating also entails the upgrading of three Greek banks: Alpha Credit Bank, Ergobank and EFG Eurobank.

[04] President Stephanopoulos sworn in for second consecutive term

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

The swearing-in ceremony started with an address by Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis followed by an address by Stephanopoulos.

The president took the oath before Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All Greece.

Following the signing of the swearing-in protocol, Stephanopoulos greeted Prime Minister Costas Simitis and the political party leaders.

After the ceremony, the president later laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and later received the congratulations of the country's political leaders, diplomatic corps and judiciary at the presidential mansion.

Stephanopoulos was re-elected on February 8 by the 300-mem-ber House with the largest majority of votes ever (269) in Greece, supported in another first, by both the ruling PASOK an main opposition New Democracy parties, as well as all seven independent MPs in parliament.

[05] Premier outlines targets of next term in newspaper interview

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

In a wide-ranging interview published just two days before parliament is due to be dissolved and early general elections officially called for April 9, Simitis expressed optimism of a "huge victory" for PASOK, warned that Greece's course to the

European Union's economic and monetary union (EMU) would be jeopardized in the event of a main opposition New Democracy electoral victory, and intimated that a recent decline on the Athens bourse was politically instigated.

Replying to questions, Simitis said that last Thursday's slump on the Athens Stock Exchange as Greece formally submitted its application for EMU membership as of January 1, 2001 after meeting all five benchmarks for entry was "contrary to the logic of the market".

"What occurred last Thursday gives rise to questions because it does not follow the usual logic of the market," Simitis said, adding that the results of an inquiry by the Capital Market Committee was awaited.

He also warned that if ND, in the event it won next month's parliamentary elections, applied what it was promising now, Greece's entry in EMU "would be blown up and the (EU) partners would show Mr. Karamanlis (ND leader Costas) the door..."

He said that three of ND's pledges, if applied, would blow away Greece's chance at EMU membership, as the immediate increase in farmers' pensions, establishment of a minimum 150,000 dr. monthly pension and increased salaries for officers promised by ND would cost the budget one trillion drachma, automatically raising the deficit to above three percentage points of GDP, thus exceeding the EMU criterion.

The premier further said that ND could not efficiently negotiate the terms of Greece's EMU membership because, as the main opposition party, it had "formally disputed the figures with which Greece will be called on to negotiate".

Turning to the next four-year term in office, Simitis said his government would apply a "genuine, integrated action to expand the mechanisms of social cohesion and solidarity", adding that each measure announced had been thoroughly thought out with respect to the finances involved, and constituted a "healthy policy much different from the policy of grants".

He further pledged to raise the standard-of-living in Greece to 80 percent of the average EU level from the present 70 percent, citing his government's success in raising the standard-of-living from 60 percent of the EU average to 70 percent during its current four-year term in office.

Simitis said the resources existed to achieve those targets, since the policy applied in the preceding years had substantially reduced the deficits, leaving room for further reduction of interest rates.

"This means the release of funds that will be allocated to strengthen social policy," the premier explained.

He also said priority would be placed on the sectors of education and health, as well as the security of the citizens, areas in which, despite the problems, substantial progress had been achieved.

Turning to regional affairs, the prime minister expressed concern and worry on the future of Kosovo and the wider region, although he noted that "at this moment", he did not see a visible threat of new clashes in the troubled Yugoslav province.

The solution to the problem, he said, was full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, adding that it must be made clear in all directions that there could be no independence or partition of Kosovo, but rather, broader autonomy for the province within the borders of Yugoslavia.

In tandem, all the programs for the economic restructuring and development of the region must be advanced, as they would decisively contribute to consolidating a climate of security and peace.

"But there are delays and hesitance" in that area, he warned, adding that this was where Europe must play "its own, decisive role".

On Greek-Turkish relations, Simitis said that Greece's stance at the EU summit in Helsinki last December -- where it lifted objections to upgrading Turkey to a "candidate country" for EU membership -- had not been a gesture of good will towards Turkey from Greece but an effort "to formulate the institutional framework within which Turkey would be obliged to operate regarding its relations with Europe, with Greece, but also with respect to resolving the political problem of Cyprus".

Noting that he would not hasten to evaluate Turkey's stance since last December to the present, Simitis said he believed both Greece and Turkey had benefited at the Helsinki summit.

Greece, he said, had benefited by "incorporating Turkey's deportment to the EU monitoring mechanisms, ensuring at the same time the entry of Cyprus independent of a prior solution to its political problem".

And Turkey had won "institutional confirmation of its European vocation", but it was now up to that country to prove whether it truly desired to become a member of the European Union, Simitis said.

[06] Simitis addresses last session of PASOK Parliamentary Group prior to dissolution of parliament

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

Referring to the swearing-in of President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos during a special ceremony in parliament the same day, Simitis noted that parliament was closing its sessions with a significant symbolism. He criticized the main opposition New Democracy party of attempting for six months to "muddle the waters" around the election of the president, noting that PASOK's stability compelled the ND to eventually follow suit.

The Prime Minister said that PASOK fulfilled everything it had promised in the 1996 elections, adding that progress has been made in every sector since 1996.

Simitis stressed that during the next four-year term, PASOK's main objective is to promote social cohesion through the economic policies it has adopted over the last years.

He pledged that PASOK as government would also create the opportunity for 300,000 new jobs and establish "a network against poverty and exclusion."

Simitis reiterated that on April 9 the country needed a strong government in order for it to gain all the advantages from the new environment, after its entry into the Economic Monetary Union (EMU).

He went on to accuse the main opposition party that on issues of substance, it followed a double tactic, on the one hand criticizing everything, and on the other, promising everything.

Simitis also accused ND of slandering the public health sector when it spoke of a "wasteful National Health System".

Concluding, the Prime Minister said that it was PASOK, more than any other party that promoted most the interests of the farmers.

ND reacts to PASOK Parliamentary Group's session: In response, main opposition New Democracy party spokesman Aris Spiliotopoulos said in a written statement later in the day that PASOK "continues not to be in touch with reality, given that it believes that there is no sector in which it has not achieved significant improvement."

Expressing his conviction that the ruling party will lose the elections, Spiliotopoulos said that PASOK "attributes to others what is negative in its own policies."

He added that although the ruling party "until yesterday appeared as a party of the stock exchange and launched attacks against the farming community, upon leaving it declares the complete opposite."

[07] Karamanlis addresses Greeks in Germany

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

Addressing a rally of overseas Greeks in Stuttgart, Karamanlis alluded to deficiencies and omissions of the Greek State towards the Greeks of the Diaspora.

He said Greece was at a critical crossroads, at the threshold of important developments in which it must not be the rear guard but the protagonist.

Turning to national issues, he said Greece was the only EU member state whose borders were threatened by neighbors.

"Greece does not threaten anyone. It does not have its sight on anyone's rights. The only think it seeks is the restoration o justice...An end to the continuing occupation of Cyprus. The collapse of the wall of shame that separates Nicosia. Acceptance of the implementation of International Law and the international treaties," Karamanlis said, reiterating his call for the establishment of a national Council on Foreign Policy.

He also stressed Greece's demand that its neighbors "respect our sovereign rights, our borders and the honor of our country".

Karamanlis outlined his party's 10-point plan to tackle the problems of the overseas Greeks, including the upgrading of Greek education, the organization of Greek communities abroad, and the moral and political support of the State through firming its relations with the oversees Greeks' host countries and the European Union.

Karamanlis denounces government's 'intervention' in stock exchange: In an interview with the ETHNOS on Sunday newspaper, main opposition New Democracy party (ND) leader Costas Karamanlis denounced what he termed the government's "unprovoked interventions" in the Athens Stock Exchange.

He said that politics must stay away from the Athens Stock Exchange and for moves to be made to strengthen the institution and the supervisory role of the Capital Market Committee.

Asked to comment on his wife Natasa's frequent appearances in the press, Karamanlis said his wife has her own activities "and neither involves herself with the party or in politics."

He went on to say that he believed that his wife was liked and attracted attention, something which he did not mind or could avoid.

"But she has nothing to do with the election campaign, nor with messages or politics." Karamanlis noted.

[08] Opinion poll shows ruling PASOK leading ND by 0.8 per cent

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

The poll gave PASOK 34.8 per cent of the vote against 34 per cent for ND, 4.7 per cent for the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), 4.3 per cent for the Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI), 4 per cent for the Coalition of the Left and Progress and 0.4 per cent for the Liberals.

Of those questioned, 55.1 per cent believe that PASOK will win the elections, against 26.2 per cent who see ND winning.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis was regarded by 47.2 per cent as most suitable for Prime Minister and ND leader Costas Karamanlis by 32.3 per cent. Those undecided or who did not answer amounted to 12.9 per cent. Invalid or blank votes came to 3 per cent.

Simitis also leads in popularity among political leaders with 56.9 per cent, followed by Coalition leader Nikos Constantopoulos with 54.6 per cent, Karamanlis with 50.3 per cent and DHKKI leader Dimitris Tsovolas with 47.9 per cent.

Citizens view unemployment, crime and financial problems as the country's greatest problems.

The opinion poll was conducted between 22 February and 6 March from a nationwide sample of 1,606 people.

[09] Constantopoulos says PASOK and ND are 'playing a dangerous political game' by involving the stock exchange

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

Addressing a rally in light of the April 9 general elections, Constantopoulos said that he would head its party' election ticket at Ilia prefecture.

He called on the two major parties to "speak about the real problems which are to come following the post-Economic Monetary Union (EMU) period, rather than cultivate a scenario of polarization and tension."

In an other development, Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) leader Dimitris Tsovolas also announced his party's election ticket on Sunday, with the exception of the State party ticket.

Tsovolas also accused "the harsh regime" of PASOK, of using every possible means to attack his party.

[10] Former PASOK cadre creates Democratic Regional Union political movement

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

In the presence of hundreds of the movement's cadres and friends at the Peace and Friendship indoor stadium in Piraeus, Haralambidis spoke of the vision of the "New Greek Democracy", a "new state architecture which will allow for the creation of a workable and effective administration at municipal, regional and central level".

Haralambidis also referred to latest developments at the stock exchange, saying that "socialists becoming the apostles of the capital market is an unprecedented phenomenon" and expressed regret because small investors are becoming the pawns of a "casino economy."

"We say we should proceed with a stock exchange disarmament. What is taking place with the stock exchange is a nuclear bomb for Greece, since this situation has led to the biggest export of Greek capital abroad. I call on honorable economists to publicize relevant data," he said.

[11] US Senate honors March 25 as 'Greek Independence Day'

WASHINGTON, 14/03/2000 (ANA - A. Ellis)

The resolution says that "President Clinton, during his recent visit to Greece, on November 20, 1999, referred to modern Greece as a lighthouse of democracy, a regional force of stability, prosperity and freedom, which helps in the completion of the democratic revolution which started in ancient Greece."

"The founders of the United States of America depended to a great degree on the political experience and philosophy of ancient Greece to form our representative democracy," it added.

The resolution also stressed that "Greece is one of only three countries in the world, apart from the former British Empire, which was an ally of the US in all the international conflicts in the past century."

[12] Papantoniou says government plans to strengthen Capital Market Committee at stock exchange

Athens, 14/03/2000 (ANA)

Papantoniou said that Greece in the past six years has made a leap in modernization and development, noting that the main opposition New Democracy party (ND) "is not in a position to enforce in fairness a reform program like PASOK."

[13] EU average fiscal deficit in 1999 stands at 0.7 percent of EU GDP

BRUSSELS, 14/03/2000 (ANA - M. Spinthourakis)

In addition, the EU's public debt in 1999 corresponded to 68.1 percent of the average EU GDP as against 68.9 percent in 1998.

In Greece it was 104.4 percent in 1999 compared to 105.4 percent in 1998.

[14] Clerides says the May talks on the Cyprus question should focus on substance

NICOSIA, 14/03/2000 (CNA/ANA)

Speaking at Larnaca Airport, before his departure to Paris for a four-day working visit, President Clerides referred to his working breakfast Monday morning with British Special Representative for Cyprus, Sir David Hannay, saying that "we discussed upgrading the talks to be held in May 23" in New York.

This is to be the third round of UN-led proximity talks with the leaders of the two communities, aiming at preparing the ground for substantive talks leading to a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem.

President Clerides noted Sir David "supports that the talks must be upgraded and that there should be an exchange of ideas on fundamental core issues of the Cyprus problem".

Asked if foreign envoys have different ideas regarding the need to upgrade the talks, President Clerides said they had not.

"We have clarified our position that it is necessary to upgrade the next talks, in such a way that the fundamental aspects will be discussed and not just give more explanations, because all the explanations that could have been given were given".

Responding to questions, President Clerides said, "we may begin proximity talks and end at direct talks".

He furthermore said that Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash, seems insistent on not negotiating and that "since he refuses to negotiate, the responsibility falls on those who are seeking constructive talks to solve the Cyprus problem".

President Clerides said that the UN, the US and Europe, especially Britain, "must indicate to Denktash that he cannot go to talks and refuse to discuss".

"The message is clear", he said, "that the May 23 talks must be on the substance of the Cyprus problem otherwise they cannot go on".

In Paris, President Clerides will meet with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac and will discuss the Cyprus problem with the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee. He will also have a working breakfast with the chairman of the Cyprus-France Friendship Group at the Senate, Jean Faure, and the President of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Senate, Xavier de Villepin.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides and government spokesman Michalis Papapetrou accompany President Clerides, who will return to Cyprus on Thursday.

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