Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 06-08-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece to contribute to enlarged Lebanon peacekeeping force

[02] PASOK's Papoutsis comments on KYSEA meeting

[03] More aid for Lebanon collected in Thessaloniki

[04] Inner cabinet approves draft bill on social security system

[05] FM Bakoyannis in Cyprus on her way to the Middle East

[06] Russian president Putin due Sept. 4 for meeting with Greek Bulgarian PMs on oil pipeline

[07] Gov't dismisses charge of delays in fighting major wildfire

[08] Pavlopoulos meets with Skandalidis

[09] Minister stands by proposal for dialogue on changing rules for protests in downtown Athens

[10] Interior minister makes statement on EU voters

[11] KKE secretary general addresses press conference

[12] Anti-war rally held in Athens and march to U.S. and Israeli embassies

[13] FinMin meets with ruling party secretary

[14] Gov't unveils program to subsidize investments in textile, clothing sectors

[15] Greece to spend 17.3 mln euros to promote quality farm products

[16] Greece sells five-year bond issue worth 1.2 billion euros

[17] National Bank says expansion in SE Europe continuing

[18] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks down

[19] Some 40,000 stremma of virgin forest burned in Halkidiki fire

[20] Major fire breaks out at Areopolis, southwest Peloponnese

[21] Transfer documents signed for return of two Greek antiquities by Getty Museum

[22] Greece's first Centre of Orthodox Culture to open on Patmos

[23] Evros prefecture to participate in Mediterranean river delta network

[24] Thirteen illegal immigrants intercepted on Samos

[25] Higher security Greek passports from August 26

[26] Search continues for missing German tourist on Samos

[27] National Council reviews developments on Cyprus problem

[28] Former Cypriot FM honored by Greek government

[29] SAE leaders call on US to reconsider its Cyprus policy

[01] Greece to contribute to enlarged Lebanon peacekeeping force

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Announcing the decision, Defense Minister Vangelis Meimarakis and Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said the council had decided to send one Navy frigate and its helicopter, the diving unit to carry out ship inspections and, if necessary, a Greek landing vessel to transport humanitarian aid from Cyprus to Beirut.

The government said it will consider sending other units in the future but with the strict condition that the situation in the region has normalized. For the time being, it completely rules out sending Greek land forces to the area.

The decision was also formally announced by government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos later on Tuesday, who said that it was in accordance with the United Nations resolution for Lebanon.

In addition to the diving unit and Greek Navy vessels, Greece will also provide administrative personnel and support supplies, he added.

Roussopoulos noted that Greece was among the first countries to arrive in the region with a significant number of ships to evacuate foreign nationals fleeing the bombardment of Lebanon and had also sent sizeable quantities of humanitarian aid through both state and other organizations.

The spokesman was also questioned once again concerning the foreign minister's tour of the Middle East, which begins later on Tuesday, and why this did not include a stop in Syria.

Pointing out that Greece has very good relations with the countries in the Middle East, he asked reporters not to place undue emphasis on the event.

Prior to her departure and attending the KYSEA meeting, Bakoyannis had met with the prime minister.

She said that the aims of her trip, which will include stops in Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, are to get a detailed picture of the situation and a full briefing to prepare for the takeover by Greece of the United Nations Security Council presidency on September 1.

[02] PASOK's Papoutsis comments on KYSEA meeting

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Papoutsis, who is head of the Foreign Policy, Security and Defense Department of the party's Political Council, said that “the fact that KYSEA convened hurriedly and the decision which it took today regarding the Greece's participation in the international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, causes particular skepticism and concern."

He added:” More so, when a decision has not yet been decided, within the framework of the United Nations, on the operational planning and the terms of the involvement of the force."

[03] More aid for Lebanon collected in Thessaloniki

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

The donations come on the heels of 40 tons of humanitarian aid collected and sent by the Macedonia-Thrace Ministry and another 20 tons collected by the Greek branch of the Doctors of the World organization to war-ravaged civilians in southern Lebanon.

[04] Inner cabinet approves draft bill on social security system

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Under the draft bill, board members in social security funds and organizations could lose their jobs if they failed to draft the proper balance sheets and business plans. Tsitouridis said the draft bill also envisaged a rescheduling of social security contribution debt to the Social Security Fund (IKA), a move that could help both the market and the fund.

The Greek minister stressed that the government would continue its interventions to ensure a better present and future for the social security system, saying more legislative initiatives would be taken from September to strengthen the existing legislation.

Tsitouridis said the draft bill would be tabled to parliament soon and said the inner cabinet unanimously adopted the draft legislation.

Opposition parties slam draft social security bill: Measures in the draft social security bill unveiled by the government after an inner cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning were slammed as "too little, too late" by the main opposition PASOK party, which said that they could not solve the huge problems of Greece's ailing pension system.

According to PASOK MP Maria Damanaki, these problems had sharply increased in the years of ruling New Democracy rule:

"In these last two and a half years, the state's debts to social insurance funds have doubled and contribution evasion has increased by more than 30 percent, while the measures unveiled today will increase contribution evasion further," she said.

According to Damanaki, the government's pre-announcement of settlements of business debts to social insurance funds almost a year earlier had encouraged companies to avoid paying even the bare minimum and would probably cover them for the coming 18 months as well.

PASOK parliamentary coordinator for social insurance issues Evi Christofilopoulou, meanwhile, accused the government of driving up debts to social insurance funds and undermining their viability.

According to Dimitris Stratoulis of the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (SYN) party, the draft bill was introducing measures that allowed business to virtually "write-off" debts of €3.0 billion owed to social insurance funds.

"In this way, [the government] is rewarding employers that systematically indulge in contribution evasion, contribution theft and contribution avoidance, while essentially encouraging those employers that have so far observed their legal insurance obligations to break the law," Stratoulis said.

[05] FM Bakoyannis in Cyprus on her way to the Middle East

NICOSIA, 23/8/2006 (ANA-MPA/CNA)

On Tuesday night, Bakoyannis was due to meet with Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos during a working dinner at Papadopoulos' residence.

In statements upon her arrival at Larnaca airport, Bakoyannis said that her meeting with President Papadopoulos will cover the situation in the Middle East as well as issues that concern Cyprus and Greece, in view of the EU progress report for Turkey to be issued in October.

Bakoyannis praised Cyprus' role during the Middle East crisis, noting that it showed Cyprus' strategic role and the hospitality of the Cypriot people.

''Cyprus' role during the crisis in Lebanon was extremely important and highlighted its strategic role,'' she said.

As regards the humanitarian aid offered to the Lebanese refugees, Bakoyannis said that both Greece and Cyprus were present to this effort, and ''that there was a strong feeling and will to show our solidarity.''

On Wednesday, Bakoyannis will depart for a tour covering Beirut, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Amman for talks with the respective political leaderships. She will also meet President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

Bakoyannis will seek to contribute to diplomatic efforts for the full implementation of UNSCR 1701 during her meetings with Middle East government officials and will also press for full respect of the truce, in order to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Other goals of the trip include the support and reinforcement of the Lebanese government, understanding Israel's security concerns, attempting to establish a permanent and stable solution for the Palestinian problem and promoting efforts for peace.

[06] Russian president Putin due Sept. 4 for meeting with Greek Bulgarian PMs on oil pipeline

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Meanwhile, government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos told a press briefing that the agenda of the meeting was energy issues, with the main thrust on the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline.

Roussopoulos added that the Greek government has taken a series of actions aimed at rendering Greece an energy hub in the region.

[07] Gov't dismisses charge of delays in fighting major wildfire

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 hectares of forestland, fields and olive groves had been burned by Monday afternoon in the Kassandra peninsula of Halkidiki prefecture, a holiday destination east of the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

Roughly 50 residences, including legal and illegal holiday homes, were also burned, along with the destruction of shops, cars, farm machinery and livestock. Power outages were also restored by Tuesday morning in the affected areas.

At noon Tuesday, the blaze had been contained in the southwest part of Kassandra, the western most of three peninsulas on verdant Halkidiki that jut into the sea.

On his part, Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras said the low number of fire-fighting planes that initially responded to the Kassandra blaze was due to three aircraft experiencing mechanical problems and another six temporarily grounded for regular maintenance, which carried out on an urgent basis in order for the planes to eventually aid fire-fighting efforts.

[08] Pavlopoulos meets with Skandalidis

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Afterwards, Skandalidis is he will announce his campaign planks next Monday. He also noted that he was briefed by Pavlopoulos over the issue of a more metropolitan form of local government for the greater Athens area, which today features several municipalities surrounding the City of Athens proper.

[09] Minister stands by proposal for dialogue on changing rules for protests in downtown Athens

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Polydoras' proposal for a dialogue of all interested parties, which was bitterly criticized by the opposition, especially the leftist opposition, was nevertheless backed by the chambers of commerce and the current Athens mayor, among others.

In response to a press question, Polydoras said his proposal still stands, while citing a hope that the "obvious will occur and that all interested parties will participate in such a dialogue".

[10] Interior minister makes statement on EU voters

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

According to the ministry's information, citizens of the 10 new EU member- states, meaning the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, will participate in the forthcoming local elections, exercising the right of voting and standing for election with the same preconditions and with the same procedure that apply for the rest of the EU voters.

Most of the EU voters, out of a total of 8,921, come from Britain (2,984), Germany (1,823), Cyprus (768), Italy (684), Poland (604) and the Netherlands (490).

[11] KKE secretary general addresses press conference

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Papariga made a clear distinction between the policy of the United States for the democratization of the wider region and the domestic problems of democracy facing these countries since, as she stressed, the plans of the U.S. are imperialist ones, while the parties participating in the conference underlined that what is necessary is the creation of "a front against the reactionary local regimes for democracy, progress and socialism."

The parties that took part in the conference also decided to promote solidarity and joint action during the next conference that the Portuguese Communist Party will be hosting in November.

[12] Anti-war rally held in Athens and march to U.S. and Israeli embassies

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

The rally was attended by a large KKE delegation, headed by its Secretary General Aleka Papariga, Athens mayoral candidate Spyros Halvatzis and other mayoral candidates from the Attica prefecture who are supported by KKE, Palestinians and representatives of social agencies.

The demonstrators' main demand was that in no way and form must the country participate in the UN's force for Lebanon.

Speakers denounced the government's decision to send a frigate, as well as the main opposition PASOK party for failing to oppose the country’s contribution to the peace force.

They also underlined their solidarity for the resistance of the Lebanese and Palestinian people and for all the peoples in the region who are struggling against "imperialist" plans for the "new Middle East."

[13] FinMin meets with ruling party secretary

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

"The policy of mild fiscal adjustment and of reinforcing the extroversion and the competitiveness of the Greek economy will continue," Alogoskoufis said.

He said his meeting with Zagoritis focused on an exchange of views and briefing on the course of the economy, over which Alogoskoufis expressed contained optimism "given the uncertainty that exists due to the high oil prices".

Zagoritis, in turn, said the ruling party was satisfied that the government was exhausting all margins for reinforcing the OGA (Farmers' Social Insurance Fund) low pension earners and the EKAS low-pension benefit beneficiaries, adding that "the plan for reduction of the taxation rates for natural entities is also proceeding".

He further expressed satisfaction over the fact that "the huge economic problems left by (the preceding governments of) PASOK, particularly on the debt and deficit front, are being tackled satisfactorily".

[14] Gov't unveils program to subsidize investments in textile, clothing sectors

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Presenting the program, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas stressed it was the first time in many years that such a program was presented and noted that it was part of efforts to deal with the likely impact from an opening up in textile markets and China’s entry into the World Trade Organization.

The program covers enterprises with up to 250 workers and an annual turnover of up to 50 million euros, for investment projects budgeted at 30,000-180,000 euros. The program is budgeted at 42 million euros and it is expected to include 450-500 enterprises. The program will subsidize 55 percent of all investment programs.

The Greek minister said that demand for electricity peaked 9,650 MW on Tuesday and stressed that the electricity grid operated smoothly according to plan.

[15] Greece to spend 17.3 mln euros to promote quality farm products

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

The program aims to promote quality farm products, health food and traditional foods, emphasizing on environmental issues, preserving public health, boosting exports, strengthening employment in the countryside and achieving a speedier link between domestic and international prices through boosting competitiveness in the farm sector.

[16] Greece sells five-year bond issue worth 1.2 billion euros

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

The issue was 5.92 times oversubscribed while the Greek state accepted only 1.2 billion euros worth of bids. Under the primary dealers' regulation, additional competitive bids can be submitted by Thursday, 24 August, while settlement date was set Friday, 25 August.

The average weighed interest rate of the auction ranged between 3.1 basis points to end at 3.79 percent, while the annual coupon was set at 3.90 percent. The average weighed price of the issue was set at 100.465 and the minimum accepted price at 100.410.

[17] National Bank says expansion in SE Europe continuing

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

Greece's largest financial institution stated its intent in a letter sent to the Athens Stock Exchange.

National Bank said it has submitted a binding offer for the takeover of Serbian bank Vojvodjanska Banka and CEC in Romania. Serbian privatization authorities have also declared National Bank as a first-ranked bidder and the two sides were currently in negotiations over the sale of Vojvodjanska Banka.

In the privatization of CEC in Romania, National Bank - along with a Hungarian bank - have been included in a short-list of candidates and were expected to submit improved offers.

National Bank is expected to announce its second quarter results on Thursday, Aug. 31.

In its letter to the Athens Stock Exchange, National Bank said it planned to apply with Turkey's Capital Markets Commission for a public bid to buy minority stakes in Finansbank AS and Finans Finansal Kiralama AS (Finans Leasing). Turkish market authorities are expecting National Bank to ask for an exemption from submitting public bids to buy minority stakes in Finans Yatirim Ortakligi.

Finansbank recently completed the sale of its international stakeholdings, Finans International Holding NV and Finansbank Romania, to FIBA Holding AS for 600 million US dollars and repurchased 99.9 percent of Finansbank Malta Ltd from Finans International Holding NV for 48 million US dollars.

[18] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks down

ATHENS, 23/8/2006 (ANA)

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for high capitalization shares ended 0.32% down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium cap stocks 0.38% down; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap shares finished 1.06% down.

Of stocks traded, declines led advances at 186 to 83 with 43 remaining unchanged.

The stocks with the highest turnover were National Bank of Greece, OTE, Piraeus Bank and OPAP.