Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 00-09-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] Government rejects demands for fuel tax cuts

[02] PM, ministers have meeting on earthquake victims

[03] ND leader Karamanlis expresses concern over developments in foreign policy issues at party meeting

[04] Radio and television licensing bill to be tabled at Parliament, Reppas says

[05] Greek FM lauded by Wall Street Journal article

[06] Turkish FM Cem satisfied with progress of talks with Greek counterpart

[07] Reppas on Yugoslav elections

[08] Greek proposal to UN for forest firefighting discussed in Rome

[09] Fatos Nano again rules out opening Greek school for Albania's Greek community

[10] Greek Parliament president to participate in EU parliament presidents' conference

[11] ND announces in-party elections timetable, leading to party congress

[12] Deadlock remains on labor reform effort

[13] Seamen strike ends, MFD ships resume operation

[14] EU inflows accounted for 3.2 per cent of Greek GDP in 1999, European Commission says

[15] Banks lift ASE to higher close

[16] IOBE report says unemployment remains one of the most serious problems

[17] Hellenic Arms Industry gets Italian contract

[18] Greece, Croatia sign economic cooperation protocol

[19] Themeliodomi gets US base project on Crete

[20] 41st Thessaloniki Film Festival to honor director Angelopoulos

[21] Greek PM, political leaders congratulate Greek woman weightlifter on bronze medal

[22] UN chief sees no breakthrough on Cyprus in current stage of talks

[01] Government rejects demands for fuel tax cuts

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

He said any such talk was premature and reiterated that despite the fact that the oil price has risen three-and-a-half times from 1999 levels "the Greek economy is stable".

"We have to be alerted to deal with any profiteering incidents," Papantoniou said.

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and Transport Minister Christos Verelis, Papantoniou said there were no room for fuel tax cuts and urged for the continuation of the government's economic policy.

The meeting agreed to a tighter monitoring of the domestic market to protect consumers.

"We have a strong economy that has nothing to do with the situation in the previous two oil crises in 1973-74 and 1979-80," Papantoniou said.

[02] PM, ministers have meeting on earthquake victims

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

According to Deputy Press Minister Telemachos Hytiris, the premier had urged all the ministers involved to pick up the pace and make an effort to surmount obstacles. Hytiris added that 200 billion drachmas had been spent on aid to earthquake victims in the 12 months since the quake.

The deputy press minister said the meeting had decided to pay out loans to earthquake victims for rebuilding and repairs in two installments instead of three, and to give all free state subsidies in the beginning, with the first installment, instead of at the end. Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis, who also attended the meeting, clarified that the free state subsidy would be given in two parts, half on approval of a loan and half with the first installment of the money.

Laliotis also pointed out that rebuilt flats or homes would be connected with electricity and water grids for free, and that municipalities and communities in earthquake-struck areas would receive additional funds to hire free doctors and other staff for those still living in temporary shelters in camps.

The meeting reaffirmed other measures as well, such as the right of the families of those killed in the September 7, 1999 earthquake to get a civil service position for one member (to be regulated by an amendment in Parliament), special electricity rates for people living in temporary housing and special incentives for workshops and factories to relocate to industrial zones in Aspropyrgos and Ano Liosia.

With regard to the 27 buildings that collapsed during the earthquake, Hytiris said that dossiers on these had been submitted to judicial authorities and an investigation was underway but that the process had to be speeded up.

In response to questions, he explained that only one magistrate had been assigned to investigate the dossiers so far and that the state's intervention would be limited to assigning more magistrates to the case.

Hytiris also announced that the meeting had approved plans for an amendment outlining the responsibilities of civil engineers with regard to the construction and future behavior of a building, as well as a Town Planning ministry bill for building safety and for a register of building constructors.

Another decision was to improve the national grid of seismographs and to chart an "earthquake-risk" map for the country.

Among those present were Interior Minister Vasso Papandreou, National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis, Education Minister Petros Efthymiou and all deputy ministers involved.

[03] ND leader Karamanlis expresses concern over developments in foreign policy issues at party meeting

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Karamanlis said the country was "receiving one slap after another," adding that the government "is behaving on national issues with the mentality of a cosmopolitan lacking knowledge of history".

He said the government's handlings were making moves by the government of Cyprus on the Cyprus issue difficult, while ND spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos underlined the party would not accept solutions at the expense of national interests.

Roussopoulos said developments in Greek-Turkish relations confirmed ND's criticism that the government accepted a document at the European Union's Helsinki summit, which was against national interests.

It was decided at the Executive Committee's meeting that Karamanlis will visit President Kostis Stephanopoulosthe meeting was set for 11.30 a.m. on Thursdayand the party will call for a meeting of Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

[04] Radio and television licensing bill to be tabled at Parliament, Reppas says

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

The new nine-member council will be autonomous and its decisions will not have to be approved by the press and media minister, thus it will be administratively independent, he said.

Reppas also said that the new council will decide on new applications for licensing of radio and television stations as all applications under consideration now will undergo the existing process, mandating for the press and media minister's approval.

The bill also mandates that the council members will be elected by the committee out of a list of 18 candidates nominated by the press and media minister and in case the Parliament Committee can not come up with a three-fifths majority vote the election process is repeated once and if that fails then two more attempts are made with the use of regular majority voting.

[05] Greek FM lauded by Wall Street Journal article

NEW YORK, 20/09/2000 (ANA - M. Georgiadou)

The article written by George Melloan noted discussed the problems confronting the European Union with the sudden rise in crude petrol prices, endangering the European Monetary Union (EMU).

The "spirit of progress exists, particularly among young people, offers reasons to be hopeful about the future of some of the continent's more backward areas. The first benighted region to come to mind, of course, is the Balkans ... Our favorite idea is to redraw borders along ethnic lines", the article noted.

However, "younger leaders, such as the thoughtful Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, think a better answer is to go the opposite direction and diminish the importance of borders. Cultural and ethnic affinities could be exercised naturally through free movement, rather than being dictated by government", Melloan wrote.

"That is happening naturally in many parts of the world as globalization expands cross-border trade and investment. It is being thought about more deliberately within the EU through the dismantling of most of the border checkpoints and the passport and customs controls in EU airports and train and ferry stations.

"The EU is making an effort to open up some of the benefits of membership to states that begin to show promise," the article noted.

[06] Turkish FM Cem satisfied with progress of talks with Greek counterpart

BRUSSELS, 20/09/2000 (ANA - V. Demiris)

George Papandreou on the process of promoting confidence-building measures between Greece and Turkey, after holding talks here on Tuesday with the European Union's High Representative on foreign policy and security issues Javier Solana.

Cem said "we had very constructive discussions with Mr. Papandreou in New York concerning the process of promoting confidence-building measures (CBMs) between Greece and Turkey and as a result we agreed on a work program with specific proposals."

Cem declined any comment on the content, process and agenda of CBMs to be processed by the committees of the two foreign ministries' political directors.

Replying to a question by the Athens News Agency (ANA) on the possibility of Solana assuming a mediation role to speed up Greek-Turkish rapprochement through CBMs, Cem said "Mr. Solana is always prepared to offer his good services and it depends on us (Greece and Turkey) to request such a thing from him."

Cem reiterated that the text of the European Union-Turkey partnership relationship being shaped should set out conclusions reached in the EU Helsinki summit. However, he said that Greek-Turkish differences and the Cyprus issue should not be included in the partnership relationship, considering that they were not contained in conclusions drawn in Helsinki.

He said he would have new meetings with Papandreou in Rhodes on October 18 and in Marmaris on October 19 with the purpose of strengthening relations between local tourist authorities. He added that meetings between technical committees on trilateral cooperation between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey were very important.

[07] Reppas on Yugoslav elections

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Reppas was responding to questions regarding the Greek government's stance on the Yugoslav elections.

The spokesman added that the results of the elections would be determined by the Yugoslav people themselves, provided everything went smoothly and there were no problems.

He also said that, as long as democratic procedures were followed, Greece would accept whoever won the elections.

[08] Greek proposal to UN for forest firefighting discussed in Rome

ROME, 20/09/2000 (ANA - L. Hatzikyriakos)

The two men discussed the training of Balkan countries agricultural personnel and the creation of a firefighting coordinating body for the peninsula that was ravaged by forest fires this past summer.

"During the FAO meeting we discussed two great issues: the first concerns training, specifically that of agricultural personnel of Balkan countries, for which Greece has already contributed one million dollars. Today we handed over that money and we believe that within the next two months the details of the program will be worked out and it will begin early next year," Anomeritis said, following the meeting.

"We also discussed an older proposal for the creation of a coordinating firefighting body for the protection of forests. My proposal was based on the simple thought all regions of the planet do not experience the same season at the same time, which means that when a region or a country is in winter the firefighting equipment it owns could be available to other regions of the planet where the weather is warm and could be confronting the problem of forest fires," the Greek minister added.

"We believe that our proposal was accepted," he concluded.

[09] Fatos Nano again rules out opening Greek school for Albania's Greek community

GJIROKASTER, 20/09/2000 (ANA - P. Barka)

As he wrapped up his tour of the region on Monday, he told local residents wanting to re-open a Greek school closed since 1946 that they needed "more Albanian schools so that you can retain your ethnic identity."

This is the third year in a row that Albanian authorities have denied requests to open a Greek school. There are currently 39 ethnic Greek children in the area wanting to enter the first grade of primary school.

[10] Greek Parliament president to participate in EU parliament presidents' conference

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Kaklamanis is expected to underline the need for the unobstructed continuation of the enlargement process, so as to attain the aim of a unified and peaceful Europe, stressing the positive effect the accession of Cyprus will have on the resolution of the Cyprus problem and the need for pressure to be applied on Turkey to adhere to the terms of the Copenhagen and Helsinki Union Summits.

[11] ND announces in-party elections timetable, leading to party congress

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Specifically, on Oct. 18 the party catalogues will be checked to confirm the number of members eligible to vote or be elected. The elections for officers of the local chapters will be held throughout the country between Nov. 5-30 and the elections for the prefecture level district chapters will be held between Dec. 1-20.

A proposal to overturn standing procedure that eligibility to vote should be granted six months after the registration of members, was rejected.

[12] Deadlock remains on labor reform effort

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Labor Minister Tassos Giannitsis on Tuesday criticized an employers and trade unions agreement on Monday, which urged the government not to proceed to unilateral moves on the issue.

Speaking to an Athens radio station, Giannitsis said he doubted that social partners could ultimately submit a viable proposal to boost employment and combat unemployment in the country.

Greece's largest union umbrella, GSEEs chairman Christos Polyzogopoulos, described the minister's stance as "arrogant" and said that a deadline set by Yiannitsis "was another foul in an already ugly game of dialogue played by the government."

Unions remain adamant to their decision not to accept government proposals on labor reform and to press ahead with strikes.

Striking workers in Hellenic Telecommunications Organization said they were poised to continue their fight against government's plans to sell more than 50 percent of the company's equity to foreign investors. Their strike was already in its seventh day on Tuesday.

Trade unions have called for a 24-hour panhellenic strike for October 10, while bank employees have called a 24-hour panhellenic strike for Friday, September 22.

[13] Seamen strike ends, MFD ships resume operation

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

MFD vice-chairman Pantelis Sfinias visited the Merchant Marine Ministry and announced a company's board decision to meet seamen's pay demands.

"We will pay what seamen demand in the name of passengers' service, although we have reservations over the sum asked by unions," Sfinias told Merchant Marine Minister Christos Papoutsis.

Papoutsis said he was satisfied that logic had prevailed. "Citizens and the islands should not be paying for this disagreement," he noted.

[14] EU inflows accounted for 3.2 per cent of Greek GDP in 1999, European Commission says

BRUSSELS, 20/09/2000 (ANA - V. Demiris)

Greece's net receipts from the EU in 1999 amounted to 3.75 billion euro (1.26 trillion drachmas) or 3.2 per cent of Greek GDP. Greece was followed by Portugal (2.8 billion euro or 2.79 of Portuguese GDP) and Ireland (1.93 billion euro or 2.5 per cent of Irish GDP).

Greece's net receipts from the EU in 1998 amounted to 4.67 billion euro (1.57 trillion drachmas) or 4.31 per cent of Greek GDP, while in 1997 they totalled 4.30 billion euro (1.44 trillion drachmas) or 4.06 per cent of Greek GDP. Ireland had the highest receipts from the EU in 1997 with 2.78 billion euro or 5.04 per cent of Irish GDP.

The EU's subsidies to member-states totalled 70 billion euro in 1999, 1.71 per cent less than in 1998.

[15] Banks lift ASE to higher close

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Traders said the market has found strong support at the 4,100 level in the short-term.

The general index ended at 4,164.39 points, up 0.43 percent with turnover at 146.25 billion drachmas. The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.71 percent to 2,385.49 points and the FTSE/ASE 40 index fell 0.88 percent to 542.86 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalization stocks ended 0.77 percent lower at 655.98 points.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 236 to 96 with another 19 issues unchanged.

Aspis Mortgage, Commercial Bank, Panafon, Alpha Bank and Hellenic Telecoms were the most heavily traded stocks.

Leading shares' closing prices (in Drs): National Bank: 15,800 Titan Cement (c): 14,250 Alpha Bank: 15,025 Hellenic Telecoms: 7,990 Commercial Bank: 20,000 Panafon: 3,730 Hellenic Petroleum: 4,090 Eurobank: 9,850 Attica Enterprises: 3,095 Piraeus Bank: 6,600 Intracom: 13,430 Lambrakis Press: 9,740 Minoan Lines: 3,450 Heracles Cement: 6,400

Hellenic Bottling: 4,350

Equity futures end mixed, tracking Athens bourse: Equity futures traded on the Athens Derivatives Exchange finished mixed on Tuesday, in line with the indices on which they are based.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index closed 0.71 percent up, and the FTSE/ASE 40 ended 0.88 percent lower.

Turnover was 21.3 billion drachmas.

A total of 3,386 contracts were traded on the FTSE/ASE 20 with turnover at 16.1 billion drachmas.

On the FTSE/ASE 40 index, 2,342 contracts changed hands on turnover of 5.1 billion drachmas.

Bond prices end up in heavy trade: Bond prices in the domestic secondary market on Tuesday finished higher in heavy trade with players buying into 20- year securities after a sell-off in the paper over the last few sessions.

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 6.09 percent from 6.114 percent in the last session.

The Greek paper's yield spread over German bunds was 77 basis points from 76 basis points in the two previous trading days.

Turnover through the central bank's electronic system totalled 200 billion drachmas from 114 billion drachmas in the session before.

Of the total, buy orders accounted for 152.0 billion drachmas of trade.

Drachma ends down vs. euro, dollar: The drachma on Tuesday ended lower against the euro and the US dollar in the domestic foreign exchange market.

At the central bank's daily fixing, the euro was set at 338.950 drachmas from 338.880 drachmas in the previous session.

Also at the fix, the dollar was set at 397.730 drachmas from 396.230 drachmas a trading day earlier.

Greek long-term bond yields remain stable: Greek long-term bond yields remained stable during Tuesday's auction of 20-year state securities by the Public Debt Management Organization.

The average weighed yield rose slightly to 6.35 percent from 6.34 percent, reflecting a negative climate in international bond markets.

The 20-year bond, worth 220 billion drachmas, pays an annual coupon of 6.5 percent.

Bids submitted totalled 542 billion drachmas, two-and-a-half times more than the asked sum. The minimum accepted price was 101.480.

[16] IOBE report says unemployment remains one of the most serious problems

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

It added that businesses should be encouraged to increase employment through the enactment of incentives and the lifting of obstacles constituting a stumbling block in this direction.

IOBE believes that intercessions in the labor market are necessary, as well as the promotion of flexible rules in accordance with new economic conditions.

In the industry sector there is full employment and the number of contracts with a specific time duration are increasing. The report indicated that redundant staff exists in this sector and predicted that jobs will decrease by about 50 per cent in two years' time, primarily due to internal restructuring.

IOBE's predictions on the development of employment in the services' sector are optimistic, since it has been assessed that the development of businesses and the speedy rate of application of new technologies will lead to the creation of jobs.

IOBE predicts an increase in the demand for employment in the trade sector and that the implementation of part-time employment is the most important implement of flexibility in the use of the labor force.

Conclusions drawn in the report also raise the longstanding claim by employers' agencies in the trade sector on the deregulation of shops' working hours and the lifting of restrictive rules.

[17] Hellenic Arms Industry gets Italian contract

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

The Greek state-owned firm is undertaking a new product with a naval application that will equip fast attack craft belonging to the Greek navy, it said in a statement.

Under the terms of the recently signed contract, six naval towers will be built with an option to extend the deal. Delivery time for the first batch of towers is 18 months, the statement said.

[18] Greece, Croatia sign economic cooperation protocol

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Greek National Economy Deputy Minister Yiannis Zaphiropoulos and his Croatian counterpart signed the protocol, on behalf of their respective governments, in Athens.

[19] Themeliodomi gets US base project on Crete

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

The project to expand airport and other facilities at the base will be undertaken with Ira Construction, Themeliodomi said in a statement.

The company has been carrying out projects at the base since 1996 worth around 5.0 billion drachmas, the statement said.

[20] 41st Thessaloniki Film Festival to honor director Angelopoulos

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

About 200 films will be screened at the festival.

The festival's program will be supplemented with two concerts by Eleni Karaindrou at the Concert Hall (on November 16-17), as well as by photography and book exhibitions.

[21] Greek PM, political leaders congratulate Greek woman weightlifter on bronze medal

Athens, 20/09/2000 (ANA)

Hatziioannou placed third in the women's 63-kg category.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis sent a congratulatory telegram on Tuesday morning, praising her for her efforts and noting that she was the first woman athlete to bring home a Olympic medal in weight-lifting.

Speaking after the competition in Sydney, Hatziioannou told reporters she "could hardly believe it" and confided that she had faced a lot of problems.

"Even for this competition I had to take quite a few pain-killers. I don't know what the side-effects will be eight hours from now," she said laughing.

The 27-year-old athlete also explained that she had nearly stayed away from the Games because of severe back injuries.

"I'd been ordered to spend a month in bed and I'd thought to myself: no Olympics. But in the end I changed my mind and it turned out for the best," she said.

Also attending Hatziioannou's successful effort was Deputy Sports Minister George Floridis, who said that her success "is the best possible start for a sport that is being included in the Olympic Games program for the first time."

Congratulatory telegrams were also sent by main opposition New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis, PASOK central committee secretary Costas Skandalidis and the leader of the Democratic Social Movement (DHKKI) party Dimitris Tsovolas.

[22] UN chief sees no breakthrough on Cyprus in current stage of talks

NEW YORK, 20/09/2000 (CNA/ANA)

Asked whether there would be a breakthrough on Cyprus here, Kofi Annan replied, "We are trying, but I can't say we are there yet". Proximity talks, aiming at paving the way for substantive negotiations on the Cyprus problem, opened in December last year. A fourth round is underway in New York.

Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops invaded and occupied 37 per cent of its territory in 1974.

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