Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 05-12-17

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

CONTENTS

[01] EU Summit inconclusive in early hours Saturday on budget

[02] PM meets European premiers on sidelines of EU summit

[03] PM holds talks with British, German and French leaders on sidelines of EU summit

[04] Greece, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey conclude ministerial meeting on crime

[05] Papandreou, Pavlopoulos address prefectural union's conference

[06] Greece and China team up to upgrade public administration

[07] Deputy defense minister visits Greek peace-keeping contingent in Afghanistan

[08] Greek Air force retires legendary F-4 Phantoms from active service

[09] Gov't on EU-US deal reported by 'Rizospastis'

[10] Government comments on attack by masked youths

[11] Weapon seized from policeman in Athens found in empty apartment

[12] PASOK spokesman comments on terror suspect flights, criticizes gov't

[13] PASOK party spokesman comments on opinion polls

[14] PASOK accuses Church of 'intolerance'

[15] KKE leader Papariga says 'the road is long for confrontation of problems in justice'

[16] Measures for cohabiting heterosexuals in the wings, minister says

[17] Draft bill for three-child family benefits tabled in Parliament

[18] Parliament passes deregulation of natgas market

[19] Sioufas says gov't determined to implement reforms at state-run enterprises

[20] New DEPA managing director named

[21] Greek inflation slowed to 3.4 pct in November, Eurostat reports

[22] FreeSeas completes merger, starts NASDAQ trade

[23] Rise in foreign exchange from shipping

[24] Albanian fine to have little impact on Cosmote's earnings

[25] Athens Bourse Close: Shares again post 5-year high

[26] Deputy Culture Minister Tatoulis holds talks with Greek-American community members in NY

[27] Court hears arguments over 'political' crimes defense aired by N17 terrorists' lawyers

[28] IMEPO president: One in 10 residents in Greece a foreign economic migrant

[29] Archbishop Christodoulos issues message on occasion of International Immigrants Day

[30] FYROM police seize 135 kilos of marijuana destined for Greece

[31] Two banks in Thessaloniki attacked with gas canisters

[32] Book on Turkey by journalist Abatzis presented in Athens

[33] Government says Ledra crossing cannot open without concession

[34] US Congressman introduces draft resolution on Cyprus

[01] EU Summit inconclusive in early hours Saturday on budget

17/12/2005 (ANA)

EU president Britain said it would put forward a take-it-or-leave-it final proposal on the European Union's long-term budget on Friday that would cut

London's rebate and boost aid to poor new east European members.

After two days of tough summit bargaining, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the offer would ensure London paid a fair share towards the cost of enlargement to the ex-communist countries and open the way to an eventual reform of all EU spending.

But last-minute demands from Poland for a bigger share of the increased funds held up the talks, leaving the 25 leaders cooling their heels in an antechamber late in the night.

[02] PM meets European premiers on sidelines of EU summit

BRUSSELS, 17/12/2005 (ANA - A. Panagopoulos)

Karamanlis met Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday morning, Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt at around midday and Dutch premier Jan Peter Balkenende on Thursday night after the Summit dinner.

Also on Friday morning, Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis had a meeting, requested by himself, with UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and a brief meeting with French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy.

European leaders spent most of Friday morning engaged in bilateral talks, while British Prime Minister Tony Blair was expected to make announcements at the summit dinner concerning the results of his contacts and determine, based on the views that were expressed, when and if he will present a new proposal for the EU budget in 2007-2013.

Diplomatic sources, meanwhile, report a marginal improvement in the climate compared with last June and note that all sides seem to be seeking agreement, though no one can predict the outcome since the national positions seem entrenched and no one has shown any desire to change.

Thorny issues during the negotiations, according to the same sources, are the British rebate and the revision of Common Agricultural Policy.

[03] PM holds talks with British, German and French leaders on sidelines of EU summit

BRUSSELS, 17/12/2005 (ANA/M. Aroni)

In this context, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis held a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and insisted on Greece's positions, according to diplomatic sources.

Shortly afterwards, the Greek prime minister had a private meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as well as with French President Jacques Chirac.

SYN leader on EU budget: Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) leader Alekos Alavanos said it was 'unacceptable' for less developed European Union member states, Greece among them, to be called upon to shoulder the cost of EU enlargement, in comments he made on Friday in reference to EU budget talks.

"As for the government, I think it should have moved along the lines of the Left, the European United Left and others who demanded a substantial increase of the budget beyond 1% of GDP," he said.

[04] Greece, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey conclude ministerial meeting on crime

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

In a press conference afterwards, Pakistan's interior minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao categorically denied reports that Pakistani nationals had been abducted for questioning in Greece, saying that no such incident had been reported by relatives or friends to the Pakistani embassy.

The other ministers at the meeting included Greek Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis, Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Poor-Mohammadi and Turkey's Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu.

During their two-day talks, they agreed to increase cooperation against organized crime, particularly human trafficking and illegal migration, and establish a more effective mechanism for exchanging information, as well as an early-warning system.

Other measures agreed were a once-yearly meeting by senior officials and experts to better coordinate cooperation between the four countries and the creation of a network of national contact points for exchanging information, know-how and techniques.

The meeting was also attended the ambassadors of Iran, Pakistan and Turkey in Greece and senior officials of the public order ministry, as well as the head of the Greek intelligence service EYP Ioannis Korantis and the Greek Chief of Police George Aggelakos.

Present as an observer was the head of the European Commission's immigration and asylum service Jean-Louis de Brouwer, representatives of the British EU presidency, Frontex and the International Migration Organization.

During a press conference after the end of the meeting, the ministers announced that the meeting will be held in Turkey and that Afghanistan would be invited to take part.

[05] Papandreou, Pavlopoulos address prefectural union's conference

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Papandreou, the former foreign minister, said that although "much has been done, Greece remains a highly centralized state with a petty partisan attitude, where instead of serving the public interest it serves the particular interests of groups and centers of power".

He added that this condition is a source of corruption and an incentive for manipulating local government.

In criticizing the government, Papandreou said expected 4th Community Support Framework (CSF) funds will be lost if current 3rd CSF funds are not fully absorbed, while he again expressed support for the election of regional directors instead of the current regime, i.e. appointments by the central government.

On his part, Pavlopoulos initially said next year's prefectural and municipal elections open new prospects in light of the 4th CSF package and challenges from a united Europe.

In responding to Papandreou's criticism, Pavlopoulos charged that repeated PASOK governments systematically withheld funding and responsibilities from local government entities, while blaming low CSF absorption rates directly on the previous Simitis government's "Pachtas law" - named for the relevant deputy economy minister cashiered prior to the 2004 election - as well as widespread delays by PASOK's administration.

[06] Greece and China team up to upgrade public administration

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

The memorandum was signed by Greece's National Centre of Public Administration and Self-Governance (EKDDA) and China's National School of Administration.

Within the context of the cooperation, an exchange program will be set up whereby delegations from each country will visit the other in order to exchange views and methodology and practices in training and management.

They will also participate in relevant programs funded by international, European and regional organizations.

[07] Deputy defense minister visits Greek peace-keeping contingent in Afghanistan

KABUL, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Michaloliakos praised the work of the Greek contingent in Afghanistan, both at operational level and at the level of health services provided by the Greek mobile army surgical hospital (KIHNE).

The ELDAF and the KIHNE have both been highly praised by NATO.

Michaloliakos said that Greece, with its participation in international missions of a humanitarian nature "which have been endorsed by the UN Security Council by virtue of a relevant Resolution", is "among the protagonists in the international community's effort for the consolidation of peace and stability on the planet".

The minister brought gifts of the traditional Greek Christmas sweets melomakarona and kourambiethes, wines, and digital cameras as gifts for the troops, as well as photo printers per unit.

Due to lack of time on both sides, the defense deputy minister was unable to meet with the commander of the NATO Allied Forces Europe, who was also in Afghanistan on a visit.

During a stopover in Yerevan on his return from Afghanistan, Michaloliakos met with his Armenian counterpart, deputy defense minister Artur Agabekian, with whom he discussed the course of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Michaloliakos arrived in Kabul together with 85 Greek soldiers who replaced colleagues in the ELDAF whose tour of duty had been completed, and returned to Athens with the returning troops.

The Greek contingent in Afghanistan (ELDAF) comprises one company of 128 men from the army engineers' corps to support road building networks and provide humanitarian and public benefit services and, since August this year, an additional 45 troops were deployed to staff the mobile surgery hospital, which provides health services to members of the ISAF and to Afghan citizens.

Also, as of December 1 this year, the Hellenic Air Force deployed a 38-member mission to assume the rotating management of Kabul Airport for the period to April 2006.

[08] Greek Air force retires legendary F-4 Phantoms from active service

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

The minister was at the head of a formation of four aircraft that flew over Thessaly and then landed at the military airport, where a ceremony for the retirement of the 337th squadron of the 110th battle wing was underway.

The minister had arrived at the airforce base in Larissa early on Friday morning in a C-130 military transport plane, accompanied by MP for Larissa Christos Zois and Greek Airforce chief Lt. Gen. George Avlonitis.

After the farewell flight, Spiliotopoulos said he was very moved and later announced that the squadron will be reformed in 2006 with 20 F-16 fighter aircraft, which are top of the range in the Greek Airforce.

During the ceremony, Spiliotopoulos was presented with an aircraft cockpit and the men in the squadron gave him a model of an F-4 Phantom with the serial number 500 and the markings of the first Phantom plane that came to Greece with Spilios Spiliotopoulos as its pilot, which also flew during the conflict on Cyprus on July 14, 1974.

The F-4 Phantom was legendary for its versatility and effective-ness, which earned it the nickname "Phabulous Phantom". It has gone down in history as one of the most successful supersonic jet fighters, capable of flying almost any kind of mission, as well as the most long-lasting. The first Phantoms went into the air in 1958 and the production line ended in 1978, making it one of the longest in the world.

[09] Gov't on EU-US deal reported by 'Rizospastis'

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

He said the agreement referred to efforts to "more effectively combat crime so as to protect democratic societies".

[10] Government comments on attack by masked youths

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

The present government had the desire and determination to deal effectively with the actions of the masked youths "that are enemies of the democratic state, order and the security of the public," he added.

According to Antonaros, the previous organization had been deficient and reorganizing the sector would take some time.

[11] Weapon seized from policeman in Athens found in empty apartment

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

The weapon was found in an empty apartment in Tzavela street, in the Athens district of Exarchia, following an anonymous call made to an Athens daily newspaper.

Meanwhile, police held 35 people for questioning, in connection with the attack on the policemen, in the wider Exarchia area after midnight on Thursday. However, no incriminating evidence was found against any of them and they were all released.

[12] PASOK spokesman comments on terror suspect flights, criticizes gov't

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Spokesman Nikos Athanassakis also charged that the government is attempting to cite a non-existent agreement between Washington and the European Union, while referring questions over the entire issue to current PASOK leader George Papandreou's lengthy stint as foreign minister in successive Simitis governments.

Athanassakis charged that "press leaks" attempting to portray Papandreou in an unfavorable light vis-a-vis the politically charged issue are emanating from the foreign ministry.

Finally, regarding the same issue, he said that if suspected flights involved Greek sovereignty, then this was done during ruling ND's tenure, and not while PASOK was in government.

Finally, Athanassakis expressed satisfaction with the recent opinion poll results, saying ND's lead has decreased.

According to a recent MRB poll, ruling New Democracy party is ahead of main opposition PASOK by 2.2 percentage points in voters' preferences.

ND garnered 36.9 percent of the vote; PASOK 34.7; the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) 7.3; the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) 3.6 percent and the Coalition of the Left (Synaspismos) 3.4 percent.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is considered the most suitable for the premiership with 43.5 percent, followed by PASOK leader Papandreou with 34.9.

[13] PASOK party spokesman comments on opinion polls

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Athanassakis said that the difference between the two parties, which was 7.8 percent in May 2004, dropped to 2.2 percent in December 2005, meaning that it decreased by 5.6 units.

Athanassakis further said that "voter loyalty is very high for PASOK and the balance of voter moves between PASOK and ND has been firmly positive for PASOK since last April."

[14] PASOK accuses Church of 'intolerance'

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

"Intolerance and accusations have never benefited anyone, either individually or collectively," Athanassakis said.

He emphasized that the Holy Synod's way of dealing with the political community and certain political parties "highlights even more the need for separate roles of church and state".

Asked whether PASOK agrees with Alekos Alavanos, President of the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) party, who called for the resignation of Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos, Athanassakis said that PASOK does not have a say in the matter.

[15] KKE leader Papariga says 'the road is long for confrontation of problems in justice'

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Papariga added that she also raised other issues of concern to her party, the Greek people and the whole of Europe, notably "the problem of the 'Euro-filing', the activities of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which abducts individuals in all of Europe, and it has not only done it in Europe, but has also done it in Latin America, with its own criteria, far from any control and of course with the known objectives."

[16] Measures for cohabiting heterosexuals in the wings, minister says

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Papaligouras said a committee of legal experts was currently examining measures for cohabiting heterosexuals, chiefly with respect to family law, but stressed that recognition of homosexual partners was "not something demanded of us by Greek society - at least not now".

The minister stressed that laws should reflect existing social conditions rather than precede them or "be at odds with social mores and morals".

Alavanos, conversely, argued that parties should lead the way, even at some cost, in order to change thinking in society. He called on the government to consider the issue, noting that it concerned "a large section of the population" and to set up a committee at the justice ministry to look into issues concerning homosexual partners, such as taxation, inheritance, pensions and health care.

[17] Draft bill for three-child family benefits tabled in Parliament

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Among measures contained in the bill is the payment of a lump sum of ¬ 2000 to the mother of every third and subsequent child that is born after January 1, 2006, while it will also extend other benefits now enjoyed by large families (with four or more underage children) to families with three children.

[18] Parliament passes deregulation of natgas market

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

"This completes a major reform for Greece," Deputy Development Minister George Salagoudis told the house.

Last week, parliament also voted through a bill that marked the final stage in deregulation of the electricity market.

Also being freed are biofuel and other renewable energy. Biofuel is expected to contribute to a decrease in the country's dependence on oil, along with other power sources.

The architect of the natural gas bill, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas, has noted that the legislation will allow competition in the market, ensure the safety of supplies, and provide a public utility service.

Gradual opening of the market will mean the entry of suppliers beyond state run DEPA S.A. following the award of licences.

Under the terms of the legislation, an S.A. company named Natural Gas System Manager S.A. is to be created from DEPA to provide licenses for construction, ownership, operation and exploitation of independent natural gas systems in line with objective and transparent criteria.

The bill awards additional powers to the Energy Regulatory Authority including supervision of the natural gas market, carrying out engineering studies, making recommendations, and arbitrating differences between customers and suppliers.

The new agency will also allow access by users to the national natural gas transportation system with no discrimination, including accounting separation for procurement activities, Sioufas said.

The main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement had backed the bill in principle but voted against 17 of its articles due to a disagreement over procedures.

[19] Sioufas says gov't determined to implement reforms at state-run enterprises

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

"Laws ratified by Parliament are laws that we are all obliged to implement. Changes and reforms by the government will proceed decisively, so that the country can go forward..." Sioufas said on the sidelines of a seminar here organized by the civil servants' union (ADEDY).

The minister's comment also came in the wake of high-profile statements by the president of the Federation of Greek Industries (SEB), Odysseas Kyriakopoulos, as the latter questioned whether the new law can be implemented.

In a later clarification, however, Kyriakopoulos said he has repeated stated that the newly approved bill mandating reforms at various state-run companies aims "at improving the operation of those enterprises and the market, in general."

35-hour week only meaningful measure for public-sector work hours, ADEDY says

The president of the civil servants union' ADEDY Spyros Papaspyrou on Friday stressed that establishing a 35-hour week was the only measure concerning working hours at public services that had any point, noting that this was the goal of the trade union movement.

Any other measure should have clear offset benefits for the personal, work and social life of employees, he said.

The government recently announced plans for changes to the working hours system in public services, scrapping summer and winter timetables and having fixed and slightly staggered working hours throughout the year.

[20] New DEPA managing director named

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

Papageorgiou will take over the post from DEPA president and current managing director Raphael Moissis, who will remain president of the board of directors of the state corporation.

Moissis is departing from the post of managing director but is retaining the post of president of the board, following agreement with development minister Dimitris Sioufas.

Moissis informed Sioufas in September that he wished to leave the post of managing director for economic reasons. He submitted his letter of resignation to Sioufas in late November, and the resignation will be approved and enter into force upon completion of the procedure for his replacement.

Papageorgiou studied Law at Thessaloniki's Aristotelion University and holds an MBA from Bentley College in Boston (US). He has worked in the past in senior positions in Greek and multinational companies while, for the past 19 months, he has served as managing director of the Proasitakos S.A. company which runs Athens' suburban railway.

Sioufas said that DEPA comprised a central intervention lever of the state for further development of the natural gas network in Greece and expansion of its use on the domestic market.

The minister expressed certainty that Moissis, in his capacity as President of the corporation, and in cooperation with the new managing director, Papageorgiou, would continue to contribute, with the same zeal, to further development of DEPA "which already boasts significant successes both at home and internationally".

[21] Greek inflation slowed to 3.4 pct in November, Eurostat reports

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

The EU executive's statistics agency said Eurozone's inflation also slowed 0.2 percent to 2.3 pct in November from 2.5 pct in October. Inflation in the EU-25 eased to 2.2 pct from 2.4 pct in October.

Average inflation in Greece from November 2004 until November 2005 was 3.5 pct, while average inflation in the Eurozone and the EU-25 was 2.2 pct in the same period.

Finland (1.0 pct), Poland (1.1 pct) and Sweden (1.2 pct) recorded the lowest inflation rates in November, while Latvia (7.5 pct), Malta (4.3 pct), Estonia (4.0 pct), Luxembourg and Slovakia (3.6 pct) the highest rates.

The inflation rate rose in seven EU member-states, fell in 17 and was unchanged in Denmark.

[22] FreeSeas completes merger, starts NASDAQ trade

17/12/2005 (ANA)

All classes of Trinity securities will no longer trade; each outstanding share of Trinity's common stock and Class B common stock have been converted as a result of the merger into the right to receive an equal number of shares of FreeSeas' common stock, FreeSeas said in a statement.

Each Trinity Class W warrant and Class Z warrant have been converted into the right to receive an equal number of FreeSeas' Class W warrants and Class Z warrants.

FreeSeas now has outstanding 6,282,600 shares of common stock, 1,828,750 Class W warrants and 1,458,750 Class Z warrants following conversion of all Trinity securities into FreeSeas securities, the statement said.

The principals of FreeSeas are George Gourdomichalis, Ion Varouxakis and Stathis Gourdomichalis

FreeSeas Inc. is a Marshall Islands corporation with principal offices in Piraeus, Greece. The company is engaged in the transportation of dry bulk cargos through the ownership and operation of drybulk vessels. Currently, it has a fleet of three Handysize vessels.

[23] Rise in foreign exchange from shipping

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

According to provisional data provided by the central bank, inflows were 1,079.2 in September, the ministry said in a statement.

[24] Albanian fine to have little impact on Cosmote's earnings

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

"It is AMC's practice to cooperate with the authorities and fully respond to any requests and in this respect, both the decision and the fine itself are not justified. AMC will take all necessary action against the above mentioned decision using its legal rights," Cosmote said in a statement.

If the decision is not annulled, the impact on Cosmote's full year 2005 consolidated net income is estimated to be less than 0.5%, the statement said.

[25] Athens Bourse Close: Shares again post 5-year high

ATHENS, 17/12/2005 (ANA)

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for high capitalization shares ended 0.84 percent up; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium cap stocks closed 1.42 percent higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap shares finished higher by a marginal 0.11 percent.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines by 156 to 122 with 53 remaining unchanged.

Stock Futures: