Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 03-05-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM briefed on business closures, gov't action for redundant workforce

[02] Papandreou insists on ‘Road Map’ as a solution in Mid East

[03] FM calls for election of EU Council president by peoples of unified Europe

[04] Deputy FM Loverdos chairs EU General Affairs Council

[05] Greek EU Commissioner Diamantopoulou to pay two-day visit to Cyprus

[06] PM urges PASOK Executive Bureau to 'focus on work', not internal issues

[07] KKE leader refuses invitation to send rep to National Council of Foreign Policy

[08] Discussion in Parliament for establishment of committee on highway accidents

[09] Greek current accounts deficit up 23.5 pct in Jan-March

[10] Central gov’t debt exceeds annual target in 1st quarter

[11] Greece to promote exports before Athens 2004 Olympics

[12] Greek-Turkish business forum for border firms

[13] Farmers' union concerned over future of Mediterranean products

[14] Soros to chair World Economic Forum meeting in Athens

[15] Tourist federation calls for upgrading of tourism's role in EU

[16] Greek stocks end Tuesday's session flat

[17] ATHOC president briefs EU Commissioner Palacio on Games' projects

[18] ND delegation briefed on Athens 2004 projects by Alevras

[19] Greek environment minister to attend ''Environment for Europe'' conference

[20] Gov't to launch campaign to encourage public transport use

[21] President attends anniversary celebrations of Ionian Islands' union with Greece

[22] New York's Queens College proposes establishment of Y. Kranidiotis seat

[23] Witness places Xiros at N17 safehouse, Giotopoulos rejects new evidence

[24] EU confirms support for Moscow's attempts at judicial reform

[25] EU meeting of police chiefs concludes on Crete

[26] Health minister refers to cooperation between EU and

[27] Gov't seeks to introduce tough fines for negligent dog owners

[28] Conference on incorporation of immigrants and refugees in Athens on Friday

[29] Cyprus: President's view on Annan plan has not changed

[01] PM briefed on business closures, gov't action for redundant workforce

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

Later on Tuesday, a committee comprised of labor ministry staff, the workforce and the management of the companies in question met for three-way negotiations on averting the closures.

The labor ministry on Monday pledged to "go to the very limits of the support it can give to workers at risk of losing their jobs due to the relocation, bankruptcy or closure of businesses.''

The first blow to workers came from Schiesser of Switzerland, which has said it will close its Athens plant at the end of the month and relocate to Bulgaria due to losses. Five hundred redundancies are anticipated.

Last week, the Yvonni cosmetics retailing chain filed for bankruptcy along with Antonopoulos, a supermarket chain.

Two other chain operations - the Musses cocktail snacks chain and Beauty and Diet beauty parlors - are reportedly in jeopardy of bankruptcy.

Government spokesman on spate of closures: Commenting on the spate of highly-visible business closures, meanwhile, government spokesman Christos Protopapas downplayed their impact on the economy as a whole.

''Every year there are businesses that close down and others that open. The suspension of operations in one business, which might be due to problems in the specific sector or product, or to bad business decisions or intense competition, does not affect the balance of employment as a whole, which is positive,'' the spokesman said.

He quoted justice ministry figures showing that 3,409 companies had applied to declare bankruptcy in 2000, 3,142 in 2001, 2,960 in 2002 and 1,180 up until May 20 in 2003. These showed that there had been no dramatic rise in bankruptcy rates this year, he added.

The businesses that closed down were replaced by others that were more competitive and specialized in the service or new technology sectors, while the labor ministry took steps to protect the unemployed and return them to production, he said.

Appealing to reporters ''not present the picture of a devastated economy,'' the spokesman stressed that the government was seeking to create an environment that helped businesses expand and extend their activities in order to become more competitive and increase employment.

At the same time, Protopapas was critical of mercenary attitudes among the business community, saying that the interests of business should be linked to the interests of society and the country.

''It is hard to justify the actions of an employer who moves his operation to another country in order to make higher profits than he was making before,'' he said, referring both to the closure of Schiesser Palco and to the statements by the Union of Greek Industry calling for ''China-level wages''.

FinMin says companies responsible for wave of bankruptcies, lay-offs: The Greek government will not seek to lower the domestic labor cost to avert a risk of companies migrating to neighboring Balkan countries with cheaper labor cost, Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of the Export Council, Mr Christodoulakis stressed that enterprises were solely responsible for a recent wave of company closures and lay-offs, and noted that domestic companies failed to timely deal with their problems.

''The Greek economy is currently in a period with mixed signals. On the one hand we have high growth rates and on the other business bankruptcies,'' the Greek minister said to add ''There are no excuses for a massive lay-off of workers because companies failed to deal with their problems.''

Mr Christodoulakis reiterated all government measures implemented lately, both tax and investment incentives, new regulation to promote mergers and takeovers.

The Greek minister said that the government, in an effort to deal with the problem of bankrupt businesses, would seek a reform of a development law with the aim to support small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Retail trade group sees business closures as circumstantial: The Association of Retail Sales Companies of Greece said on Tuesday that a spate of recent businesses closures was circumstantial, and not part of a trend.

''This is a circumstantial phenomenon, which is not due to a general crisis in the market,'' the association's president, Antonis Makris, said in a statement.

''The Greek market has not shown the same signs of fatigue as other European markets that have seen some traditional markets dealt a death blow,'' Makris said.

At the same time, the government should improve the business climate by lowering taxation and dealing with labor market issues, he added.

[02] Papandreou insists on ‘Road Map’ as a solution in Mid East

BRUSSELS 21/05/2003 (ANA – A. Simatos)

Speaking here on Tuesday morning during an event organized by the ‘Centre for European Reform’, Papandreou let it be understood that the EU was not willing to give in to pressures to boycott Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.

He added that the Palestinian issue was not unassociated to the rest of developments in the Middle East region, saying that the settlement of the specific problem would allow the region’s to promote reforms needed in those countries.

In addition, he stressed that Western contribution to consolidating democracy in that region should not be in the form of a ''cultural hammer'', as this would have nothing positive to offer in years to come, and further pointed to the importance of constructive dialogue underway between the EU and the Arab League.

In reply to a question regarding his recent trip to Israel and Palestinian territories, along with High Representative for EU Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, Papandreou said that ''the EU would hold talks with whoever it deemed necessary in order to be effective, whether this would be the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon or Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.''

Papandreou finally noted that the EU and the US should combine their efforts to talk Iran into avoiding to develop nuclear weapons, thus averting a fresh crisis in the region similar to Iraq.

[03] FM calls for election of EU Council president by peoples of unified Europe

BRUSSELS 21/05/2003 (ANA - M. Spinthourakis)

Papandreou was speaking during a round-table discussion attended by former European Commission presidents Jacques Delors and Jacques Santer and Italian eurodeputy Giorgio Napolitano.

The foreign minister stressed that Greece wants an elected president, believing that European citizens will be sensitized in this way, and added that although many can term this proposal utopian, utopias sometimes prove to be useful.

The proposal met with some skepticism by the other speakers, while Santer said he considers it to be utopian but underlined that sometimes ''the utopians of yesterday are the realists of today.''

Santer also underlined the existence of dangers in light of institutional reform and expressed support for the communal method of the EU's functioning.

Papandreou said unified Europe is the best democratic model existing in the world today and referred, as an example, to the European Union's positive repercussions for a solution to the Cyprus issue and the smoothing out of Greek-Turkish differences.

Regarding the discussion on the EU's institutional reshaping, Delors said the aim of unified Europe should be safeguarding peace, widening its autonomy and increasing its influence.

Delors also rejected the separation of EU member-states into small and big ones, stressing that many of the ''fathers'' of unified Europe were citizens of small countries.

Napolitano said the risk exists of the EU's communal method of functioning giving way to the inter-governmental method, saying that ''I might appear to be a conservative on this issue, but it is better for one to be conservative than retrogressive.''

Damanaki calls for briefing by FM on "president of the European Council" issue: Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) deputy Maria Damanaki on Tuesday requested a briefing in Parliament by Foreign Minister George Papandreou or a representative of the government concerning Greece stance toward the issue of the ''president of the European Council''.

Speaking during a session of the Parliament's European Affairs Committee, Damanaki requested the briefing based on a statement by a foreign ministry spokesman, who - as she said - noted that ''the prime minister is changing his stance''.

Ruling PASOK and main opposition New Democracy (ND) participating in the committee called for an amendment that would not allow for a president of the European Council of a longer term and fully assigned to the post.

[04] Deputy FM Loverdos chairs EU General Affairs Council

BRUSSELS 21/05/2003 (ANA – V. Demiris)

Delivering a speech to the Council, Loverdos told EU ministers that “the European Union is the top partner in the world on issues of development cooperation, as it currently offers up to 55 percent of the official global aid for development.”

In statements after the end of the meeting, Loverdos added the EU was a major world contributor of aid for development and combating poverty, and expressed disappointment on the part of the EU at those countries offering the least of aid.

“Countries placing the greatest emphasis on publicizing their offer are those which contribute the less to development aid,” he said.

Issues discussed by the Council included the promotion of decisions emanating by the UN international conferences in Monterey and Johannesburg, as well as aspects of EU development policy.

Referring to an informal Council on Development Cooperation, organized by the Greek EU presidency in northern Greek town of Alexandroupoli on June 1-3, Loverdos said the meeting would look into the organization and coordination with new member-states on EU’s foreign actions to improve development aid provision.

[05] Greek EU Commissioner Diamantopoulou to pay two-day visit to Cyprus

NICOSIA 21/05/2003 (ANA - G. Leonidas)

During her stay, she will be received by President Tassos Papadopoulos and meet with House of Representatives President Demetris Christofias, Foreign Minister George Iacovou and Labor and Social Insurance Minister Makis Keravnos.

President Papadopoulos will host a luncheon in honor of the Greek EU Commissioner at the Presidential Mansion on Thursday.

Among others, Diamantopoulou will also meet former president Glafcos Clerides and political party leaders.

On Thursday, Diamantopoulou will also give a lecture on the theme ''Cyprus an equal member of the big European family'' and address a greeting at the opening of the 28th Cyprus International Fair.

[06] PM urges PASOK Executive Bureau to 'focus on work', not internal issues

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

''Handling issues pertaining to the presidency is not irrelevant to domestic government business, since every solution found contributes to the settlement of domestic issues,'' the prime minister noted.

Greece currently holds the rotating EU presidency.

Briefing the party's Executive Bureau, Simitis outlined the five major issues that the Greek presidency is currently discussing with EU member-state governments, such as the progress in the Convention for the Future of Europe and his upcoming meeting with Convention president Valery Giscard D'Estaing, developments in European defense and a report due from EU High Representative for Common Security and Foreign Policy Javier Solana, immigration policy, EU rapprochement with Balkan countries and the EU-US summit to take place in Washington at the end of June.

He also referred at length to the Cyprus issue and the moves of the Turkish-Cypriot side, stressing the need to work out a concerted strategy for solving the Cyprus problem.

He ended by referring to economic developments and talks at the G8 meeting attended by Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and the policies of main opposition New Democracy.

The meeting was eventually cut short after about four hours - before Interior Minister Costas Skandalidis and MP Mihalis Neonakis had an opportunity to present their views - so that Simitis could depart for a tour of three European capitals to prepare for the Greek presidency's final summit in Thessaloniki in June.

After the meeting, meanwhile, PASOK Central Committee Secretary Costas Laliotis said the prime minister, at a meeting of PASOK's central committee in the coming week, will announce the action he plans to take on domestic affairs once the Greek EU presidency is over.

[07] KKE leader refuses invitation to send rep to National Council of Foreign Policy

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

''As it is known our party, during the discussion for the amendment of the Constitution, had noted the necessity for the upgrading of the Permanent Committee of Foreign and Defense Affairs of the Parliament, and submitted specific proposals, so as to be able to conduct substantial discussions on critical issues of foreign policy. Those proposals were blocked by the refusal of the government,'' Papariga said in her letter, that was sent as a response to a letter by Papandreou, who requested the naming of a representative to the Council, now under formation.

Papariga said the current effort to create the Council confirmed the assessment of KKE that the transparency of substantial discussions before the Greek people is not the aim, but rather the ''covering up of the government choices with the 'excuse' of the dialogue''.

She concluded stressing that her party insists on the upgrade of the relevant Parliament committee and would not take part in the Council.

[08] Discussion in Parliament for establishment of committee on highway accidents

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

Karamanlis spoke of the need for reforming implemented policies since, as he said, ''every year so many people are lost that amount to the population of a small city,'' while every year more than 100 billion drachmas are needed to cover the effects of this tragedy.

He also underlined that a complete policy is necessary along with a national strategy, which will confront the fragmentation of responsibilities, local administration calls of a lack of funds, corruption and the bad condition of the road network, as well as the bad attitude of some drivers.

Karamanlis also spoke of the state of heavy trucks and the low fines imposed on professional drivers in Greece, despite an increase in accidents due to mechanical problems and bad driving on their part.

Communist Party of Greece (KKE) deputy Antonios Skyllakos said that his party was in favor of the establishment of a committee that will investigate the problems and will conduct a discussion in good faith, but was opposed to a committee that would conduct a criminal investigation.

He accused all past governments for the conditions of the road network and said that there are delays in the completion of the major highway connecting Patra-Athens-Thessaloniki because in that way contractors can undertake the funding of the roads and then impose tolls.

Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) leader Nikos Constantopoulos supported the establishment of the committee and questioned the ''expediency'' of the separation of the railway tunnel project from the highway tunnel project at Tempi.

In response to strong criticism, Transport and Communications Minister Christos Verelis said that the government implemented all that was proposed in the legislative and institutional level by the intra-party committee of 1996.

He stressed that it is wrong to accuse the government alone, excusing everybody else, while he admitted that there was corruption in the vehicle safety control system.

''Let's not say that only the government is to blame, but all of us are to blame. From the driver to those of us in this Parliament plenum auditorium,'' Verelis concluded.

[09] Greek current accounts deficit up 23.5 pct in Jan-March

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

The central bank said that this negative development reflected mainly a limited absorption of EU funds in the January-March period. The country's trade deficit rose only 2.4 percent over the same period.

More analytically, net payments for fuel imports were more than double in March compared with the same month in 2002, to 569 million euros from 265 million euros in March 2002.

EU transfers fell to 676 million euros in March 2003 from 814 million euros in March 2002.

Imports totalled 8.369 billion euros in the first three months of the year (up from 8.061 billion euros in 2002), while exports totalled 2.670 billion euros (up from 2.499 billion euros), over the same period respectively.

The direct investments balance showed a net outflow of 86 million euros in March, with portfolio investments recording a net inflow of 2.638 billion euros in the month.

The "other investments" balance showed a net outflow of 3.262 billion euros, reflecting increased deposits and investments in repos in foreign markets by Greek citizens.

The direct investments category recorded a net outflow of 371 million euros in the January-March period, while the portfolio investments category recorded a net inflow of 4.707 billion euros over the same period.

The other investments category recorded a net outflow of 4.836 billion euros in the first three months of 2003.

Greece's foreign exchange reserves totalled 5.0 billion euros at the end of March.

[10] Central gov’t debt exceeds annual target in 1st quarter

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

A report by the General Accounts Office attributed this very worrying development to the fact that the government covered the two-thirds of its annual borrowing program in the first three months of the year in an effort by the finance ministry to ensure liquidity in the domestic market ahead of the start of a war in Iraq.

Greek public sector borrowing totalled 19.9 billion euros in the first three months of the year, from an annual target of 30.7 billion euros.

[11] Greece to promote exports before Athens 2004 Olympics

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

The aim of the drive was to maximize added value from hosting the global event, boost exports, and attract investors from abroad before and after the games, Christodoulakis told reporters after a meeting of the National Exports Council.

Among moves taken so far were creation of the Athens Business Club by the Hellenic Investments Centre, with backing from the Association of Greek Industry and Exports Promotion Centre.

Members of the club will attend sector presentations during the Olympics including foodstuffs and beverages, information and communications technology, biotechnology and medications, organic farming, energy, mining, packaging, construction and public works, light industry, shipping and tourism, the minister said.

[12] Greek-Turkish business forum for border firms

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

The meeting is backed by local authorities in eastern Macedonia and Thrace.

[13] Farmers' union concerned over future of Mediterranean products

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

The announcement said Fischler refused to give any guarantee for Mediterranean products and avoided giving a direct reply to a relevant observation by GESASE President G. Goniotakis.

GESASE left open the possibility of new mobilizations by farmers to defend their interests, unless there is a provision for Mediterranean products even at the last moment.

[14] Soros to chair World Economic Forum meeting in Athens

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

Also chairing the session, an offshoot of the Davos forum in Switzerland, is the governor of the National Bank of Greece and president of the Union of Greek Banks, Theodoros Karatzas.

Delegates will look at the political and economic situation in southeastern Europe, and the outlook for the region.

Soros is a shareholder in Hellenic Land International SA, a holding company and developer, through Soros Real Estate Investors. It is his first investment in Greece. The rest of the firm is owned by Panayiotis Mihalos, founder of DTZ Mihalos SA.

[15] Tourist federation calls for upgrading of tourism's role in EU

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

SETE also called for ''intervention to have tourism given the position it deserves and the competitiveness of the European tourism industry safeguarded.''

It further expressed surprise because ''tourism is not included in the EU's supportive action sectors in discussions for shaping the European Constitution.''

SETE also stressed in its letters that tourism participates, both directly and indirectly with over 12 percent in the 15-nation EU's GDP, while tourism directly creates eight million jobs and indirectly another 12 million in over two million companies in the 15-nation bloc.

[16] Greek stocks end Tuesday's session flat

Athens, 21/05/2003 (ANA)

The general index ended 0.15 percent lower at 1,732.42 points, after dropping as much as 1.7 percent early in the session, with turnover an improved 113.7 million euros.

The Publications, IT Solution and Food-Beverage sectors recorded the heaviest percentage losses of the day (2.0 percent, 1.84 percent and 1.59 percent, respectively), while the Holding, Retail and Insurance sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (1.45 percent, 0.87 percent and 0.81 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.25 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index eased 0.57 percent, the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.68 percent lower and the wider FTSE/ASE 140 index rose 0.01 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 214 to 101 with another 48 issues unchanged.

Derivatives Market Close: Turnover at 74.3 mln euros Tuesday

Equity Index Futures: