Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 08-05-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] Constitution revision process concluded with Parliament plenum vote

[02] PASOK leader Papandreou on revision of the Constitution

[03] PASOK Parliament question on healthcare

[04] European Ombudsman outlines 2007 report in Athens, on tour of EU member states and candidates

[05] European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamantouros gives press conference

[06] EU urges Turkey to assist Cyprus solution

[07] Foreign ministry spokesman on Turkish announcement on Black Sea Greeks

[08] FM thanks Sarbanes for efforts to promote Greek-US relations

[09] Former U.S. senator Paul Sarbanes proclaimed Athens University honourary professor

[10] Gov't critical of PASOK stance on revising ban against non-state universities

[11] Archbishop Ieronymos pays courtesy call on Papandreou

[12] President recieves Cyprus justice and public order minister

[13] Coalition's Political Secretariat discusses problems of Thrace

[14] U.S. delegation in Athens for Visa Waiver Program

[15] Archbishop of America Demetrios meets Moscow Patriarch Alexios in Russia

[16] Measures for high prices control

[17] PASOK calls for lower prices, action against 'monopolies'

[18] Competition Committee ascertains distortions in Greek petroleum market

[19] President receives outgoing BoG governor

[20] US embassy pleased with Greece-US MoU on renewable energy in Balkans

[21] Credit expansion slowed in March

[22] Alpha Bank says profits up 18 pct in Q1

[23] Autohellas/Hertz reports Q1 loss of 349,000 euros

[24] PPC reports lower Q1 results

[25] Thessaloniki Water reports spectacular Q1 results

[26] OA raises fuel surcharge on fares

[27] Greek stocks end 0.45 pct lower

[28] ADEX closing report

[29] Greek bond market closing report

[30] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

[31] Exhibition on new Acropolis Museum opens at Athens airport

[32] Pilot programme to teach migrant mothers Greek

[33] Int'l conference on 'climate change and human security'

[34] Speedboat with Portuguese ambassador rams into reef off Egina, all aboard safe and well

[35] Infant strangled by father during drunken rampage

[36] Mini heat wave forecast

[37] Man crushed by truck

[38] Mostly fair on Wednesday

[39] Christofias satisfied with EU joint position on Turkey

[40] President hopes for progress in Cyprus talks

[41] Turkey responsible for illegal immigration in Cyprus, says Euro MP

[42] House President: Turkey must contribute to solution efforts Politics

[01] Constitution revision process concluded with Parliament plenum vote

While the main opposition PASOK party was absent, the plenum ratified 3 out of the 38 revisionary proposals:

-The abolition of absolute professional incompatibility for deputies (article 57 and transitional clauses in the article 115 of the previous constitution). A total of 194 deputies voted in favour of abolition, 2 against (Alekos Alavanos and Yiannis Banias from SYRIZA) and 1 voted "present" (Panayiotis Lafazanis from SYRIZA).

-Parliament's right to amend individual funds of the regular State Budget and to monitor its implementation (article 79), unanimously.

-The legislator's task of caring in particular for island and mountainous regions in every law that he enacts (article 101) with 195 votes in favor, 2 against.

In parallel, a transitional clause contained in article 115 of the previous constitution, that had become unnecessary due to its implementation, is removed from the new constitution.

Tuesday's vote was not attended by KKE Secretary General Aleka Papariga.

The new constitution will be implemented upon publication of the relevant bill and resolution in the Government Gazette, during the next 10 days, while at least five years must pass for a new revision of the constitutional chart to take place.

[02] PASOK leader Papandreou on revision of the Constitution

He described as "incomprehensible to every democratic progressive citizen, the joining of forces by the other parties of the Left in this unacceptable planning."

PASOK did not participate in the process of the revision of the Constitution.

"Today, the parody revision of the (ruling) New Democracy party led to the worst outcome for the Constitution. The government, attempting to salvage the image of the prime minister, restricted itself to unworthy, pretentious revision of minor importance provisions. Its only target is to obstruct a real, substantial revision with a progressive direction," Papandreou said.

[03] PASOK Parliament question on healthcare

[04] European Ombudsman outlines 2007 report in Athens, on tour of EU member states and candidates

The institution originated in 1809 in Sweden, as the Parliamentary Ombudsman, and by the 1970s the word Ombudsman had the meaning of one who represents the public interests in administration (given that up to then the citizen-state relationship was not antagonistic). From the 1970s onwards, when the juntas in southern Europe collapsed and the institution made its appearance in Latin America, the Ombudsman institution assumed the form of Defender of the People (as the institution's name in Spanish specifically states). Correspondingly in Greek it is called Citizens' Advocate, and it is clear that it is now considered that the citizen requires protection when facing public administration, Diamandouros explained.

Following the collapse of the eastern bloc, in the 'new' countries it was named Commissioner for Human Rights violations, he added.

The new requirement, therefore, is human rights, and this is affirmed by the fact that in the last 10-15 years, the European, has evolved from a 'subject' (who had no say in the developments in the single European space) to a 'citizen'. This occupation and sensitization, vis-à-vis the sense of 'European citizen', led to the signing and reproclamation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, in 2007 by the European Parliament, the Commission and the European Council, the Ombudsman explained.

He said that this legally binding Charter embodies the growing realization that the citizens must be put at the center of Europe's concerns, while its ratification is expected to increase the number of reports of human rights violations in the European bodies.

"The European Ombudsman is inspired by the case-laws of the European courts and the European Court of Human Rights, given that himan rights comprise the main component of the way it functions," he added.

In 2007, Diamandouros said, 28 percent of the reports/complaints submitted to the European Ombudsman's Office have to do with lack of transparency and refusal to provide information, while 18 percent concerned unfair treatment and abuse of power, 13 percent concerned unsatisfactory procedures, 9 percent concerned other instances of maladministration, 9 percent concerned avoidable delay, 8 percent concerned discrimination, 8 percent negligence, 4 percent legal error, and 3 percent failure to ensure fulfillment of obligations (failure by the European Commission to carry out its role as 'guardian of the Treaty' vis-à-vis the member states).

He further noted that 15.8 percent (507) of the complaints came from Germany, 10.9 percent (351) from Spain, 7.8 percent (251) from France, 6.7 percent (214) from Poland, and 5.7 percent (182) from Italia, while complaints from Greece were 3.3 percent (106) of the total, which was about the European average.

Diamandouros also noted that the Ombudsman's electronic mail was used by citizens to send 7,273 requests for information, of which 3,127 were group messages submitted by citizens regarding complaints already received by the European Ombudsman, while the 4,146 other e-mails were individual requests for information.

In 2007, the European Ombudsman carried out and completed 348 inquiries (an increase of 40 percent over 2006), of which 341 were inquiries following requests while the other seven were own-initiative inquiries.

Diamandouros said that the most serious problem contained in the complaints was maladministration and lack of transparency, including access to documents and information and non-protection of personal data.

He said that the European Ombudsman's Office had been the recipient of 3,211 complaints in 2007, while the number of admissible complaints was 449 (an increase of 17 percent over 2006), adding that there was a serious lack of understanding of the institution, which was the reason why 70 percent of the complaints submitted were out of the European Ombudsman's jurisdiction.

In addition, in many member states it was still not understood that EU law was a part of the national law, Diamandouros said, explaining that this was why he was himself touring the individual member states and candidate members to brief the representatives of public administration, justice, the Society of Citizens and the social partners in those countries on the nature and authorities of the institution.

Diamandouros will be in Cyprus on Thursday, on the next stop in his tour.

[05] European Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamantouros gives press conference

Diamantouros, who briefed Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis on Monday, noted that European citizens should take advantage of those institutions which protect their rights, such as the Ombudsman and the European Ombudsman.

[06] EU urges Turkey to assist Cyprus solution

The European Union expects Turkey to contribute to improving bilateral ties with its neighbours and to normalise relations with Cyprus. This was repeated by the foreign minister of the Slovenian EU presidency Dimitrij Rupel after the end of an EC-Turkey Association Council that he attended here on Tuesday.

Summarizing the joint position presented to Turkey by the 27 EU member-states, Rupel specified that the EU essentially expects Turkey to support the process underway at the United Nations to resolve the Cyprus issue.

He also stressed the need to continue reforms and their implementation in order to ensure respect for the Copenhagen political criteria and fulfillment of the priorities set out in the Accession Partnership.

Among areas where reforms were vital, the Slovenian minister listed that of independence for Turkey courts and justice system, relations between politics and the military, freedom of expression, religious freedoms and the rights of women, children and trade unions.

European Commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn, who represented the European Commission at the Council, stressed the need for faster progress in carrying out reforms and said that the pace of Turkey's accession was "in its own hands".

Asked to comment on a possible ban of a political party in Turkey, the Commissioner said that a development of this kind "would not be an ordinary affair" and that any decisions would have to be made on the basis of European democratic principles and European guidelines.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who chaired the meeting, reiterated that his country's goal was full accession to the EU and a pledge that Turkey will continue reforms toward this end.

At the same time, he said that the lack of a specific time frame for the accession talks and their slow progress were adversely affecting both the speed at which reforms were carried out but also the country's incentives to press forward.

He let it be understood that there was dissatisfaction in Turkey that certain chapters in the accession talks had been blocked due to the reservations expressed by some of the member-states and stated that this was also having an adverse effect on public opinion.

Babacan warned that the EU's own credibility would be at stake if the aim of accession changed, indicating that this would have repercussions on the "general spirit" of the talks between the EU and Turkey and indicating that the country might then "choose another path".

During the 46th EC-Turkey Association Council, which reviewed Turkey's progress in the last two years, the EU decided to open six chapters in the accession talks and provisionally close one. It also noted that the pace of the negotiations depends on Turkey's progress in addressing opening and closing benchmarks and the requirements of the Negotiating Framework.

The EU also noted that "reforms and significant efforts" were still needed in various areas and reviewed the state of bilateral relations, as well as "priorities for further work" in the context of the Association Agreement and Customs Union.

Despite signing an agreement extending customs union to the new members of the EU - among them Cyprus - Turkey still refuses to recognise the Cyprus Republic and refuses access to its ports and airports to Cyprus-flagged aircraft and vessels.

[07] Foreign ministry spokesman on Turkish announcement on Black Sea Greeks

Speaking to the state-run NET radio station, Koumoutsakos said that "Greece respects history and at the same time it has its gaze fixed on the future."

Referring to statements by the prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and by the primate of the Church of FYROM, a few days ahead of elections in the neighboring country, Koumoutsakos said that the messages coming from FYROM in the past few days "show that it is ultimately the only country in the Balkans and Europe that appears to be adopting an extreme nationalistic logic as official policy."

He added that he will not comment on statements taking place in the midst of the election campaign and said that no one must be swayed by the climate one is seeing at the end of their election period.

He stressed that Greece will state its position when the government of the neighboring country has emerged and which will be its interlocutor.

[08] FM thanks Sarbanes for efforts to promote Greek-US relations

Sarbanes' son, John Sarbanes, a Congressman who represents Maryland's 3rd District, was also in attendance, as were Deputy Foreign Minister Theodoros Kassimis, US ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard and several past Greek ambassadors to the United States.

"We are grateful for your invaluable support towards Hellenism and the promotion of philhellenism in the United States. You served as a bridge between two long-time friends and allies," Bakoyannis said in welcoming Sarbanes.

On his part, Sarbanes emphasised that both countries have been on the same side at significant historical moments.

[09] Former U.S. senator Paul Sarbanes proclaimed Athens University honourary professor

Education and Religion Minister Evripidis Stylianidis attended the event as the representative of the prime minister and of the government.

Professor Flogaitis, addressing the event, praised the former senator's work and contribution to the nation.

[10] Gov't critical of PASOK stance on revising ban against non-state universities

Spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos read out an article he said was penned by Papandreou some 10 years ago, where the then PASOK minister commented favourably on the establishment of non-state universities.

"Unfortunately for G. Papandreou and the country, the policy followed by his party (PASOK) means that it is not participating in this revision process, which we consider a golden opportunity to solve problems that primarily plague younger Greeks who want to study in universities," Roussopoulos said.

The spokesman again called on PASOK to participate in the constitutional revision process in Parliament.

In a later response, a PASOK spokesman charged that "constitutional revision that will be completed today in Parliament was begun for purely PR reasons," while adding that any idea of consensus was abandoned in the beginning with ruling ND's responsibility.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) tabled a Parliament question referring to the "blackmailing implementation" of a framework package of reforms in the higher education sector, while also charging "recognition and imposition of private universities."

[11] Archbishop Ieronymos pays courtesy call on Papandreou

After the one-hour meeting, the Archbishop told reporters that they discussed issues of cooperation in social solidarity.

Papandreou, in turn, said that he focused on the distinct roles of State and Church, underlining that he was happy to hear the Archbishop saying that the principle on which his actions are founded was the Biblical reply by Jesus when asked whether taxes should be paid to Caesar: "Give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and unto God what belongs to God" (Matthew 22:21).

Papandreou also expressed his satisfaction for Ieronymos' backing for the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

Ieronymos said that he and Papandreou had had a "creative cooperation" in the past, when the latter had been minister of education and religious affairs.

He said he would have equally good cooperation with the leaders of the other political parties, adding that he would present the problems faced by the Archdiocese of Athens, from the ecclesiastical viewpoint.

Ieronyos said that, in discussing those problems with Papandreou during their meeting, views were heard on cooperation in matters of culture, social welfare "and everything else that touches the human being", since both the Church and State "are struggling for the human being".

"I am very pleased with today's meeting, from the discussions and exchange of views," the Archbishop added.

Papandreou, too, said that the discussion was constructive, and recalled past cooperations, which he said had taken place in a very positive climate.

The PASOK leader said that the Archbishop, with his addresses and presence, has given the mark of his efforts for "a new hope in Orthodoxy, in the Church of Greece, as your words are courageous and serious, something that the country needs from its spiritual leaders, from its spiritual leader".

He said that the Church and State, from within their distinct roles, can form a framework of cooperation for the benefit of humanity, the youth, culture, education, and the needy, but also for the role of the Church of Greece, of Orthodoxy, at international level.

Papandreou praised Ieronymos for his "positive efforts for a relationship with the Ecumenical Patriarchate which gives to us, to all of Hellenism, both certainty and hope for the course of not only the Church in Greece, but everywhere".

He said that it was a very fundamental support for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which was not going through the easiest times in its history, adding that "I always believe that it needs this support, and the smooth cooperation with the Church of Greece".

Concluding, Papandreou said he looked forward to close cooperation with Ieronymos, expressing the belief that it would be constructive for the country.

[12] President recieves Cyprus justice and public order minister

Chrysostomides said he had good meetings with both Greek ministers, and conveyed Cyprus president Demetris Christofias' greetings to Papoulias.

The Cypriot minister said that developments were expected in the Cyprus issue while, turning to the domestic front, he said that the main everyday problems faced by Cyprus were crime, illegal immigration and narcotics.

[13] Coalition's Political Secretariat discusses problems of Thrace

On the occasion of World Environment Day, the holding of an open event and discussion was decided to take place at the theatre at Eleftherias Square on June 4, on the theme of climatic changes and the environmental policy of the left, with the participation of the party's leader.

The Political Secretariat was also briefed on preparations for the Balkan Conference of the European Left Party, which is being organized by the Coalition and will be taking place in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, on June 7-8, with the participation of political forces from all Balkan countries.

[14] U.S. delegation in Athens for Visa Waiver Program

"In meetings they will be having in the Greek capital with counterparts of theirs from the foreign affairs, interior and justice ministries, the four American officials will be discussing, among other things, issues concerning the exchange of information on terrorism. Apart from the foreign ministry, the delegation includes represenatives of the Internal Security ministry and the Federal Bureau of Investigation," according to an announcement by the U.S. embassy in Athens.

The announcement added that Greece was the first country to receive an official candidacy for the renewed Visa Waiver Program, according to the Law on the Implementation of the Proposals of the Committee for September 11, that was implemented in the United States on August 3, 2007. Two other delegations of experts visited Greece in November 2007 and in February 2008.

Apart from the discussions with Greece, the United States have signed bilateral memorandums on the Visa Waiver Program with eight other candidate countries (the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and South Korea. The United States is also holding talks with the European Commission on issues belonging to its jurisdiction.

[15] Archbishop of America Demetrios meets Moscow Patriarch Alexios in Russia

Demetrios concludes his official visit to Russia on Wednesday.

In his address, Archbishop Demetrios conveyed to Patriarch Alexios greetings from Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, assuring his interlocutor that the entire delegation of the Church in the U.S. is inspired by the visit to Moscow and will return on Wednesday with "the best impressions."

Directing himself to Patriarch Alexios, Archbishop Demetrios conveyed "the love Vartholomeos has for him and the desire for them to work together."

In his reply, Alexios expressed "preparedness for those problems to be solved, many of which appear sometimes in our life."

Financial News

[16] Measures for high prices control

Relevant announcements are expected to be made in the coming days, while the new package of measures will include a register for fresh fruit producers, the listing of prices in triplicate on the sale of fresh fruit and vegetables and the creation of a "black list" for firms selling their products at unjustifiably high prices.

Other measures will be the collection of invoice data on multinational brands, or a comparison of prices in Greece and abroad, the reinforcement of excessive profit checks and the establishment of the compulsory listing of prices in super markets to curb the phenomenon of double pricing.

[17] PASOK calls for lower prices, action against 'monopolies'

PASOK spokesman for development issues Mihalis Chryso-hoidis said the next step would be to impose an average reduction of up to 8 percent on all foodstuffs and basic goods, claiming that Greek markets were dominated by monopolies and cartels. For certain types of services such as coffee shops, meanwhile, Chrysohoidis called for price reductions of more than 30 percent.

According to the main opposition MP, 10 supermarket chains currently controlled 85 percent of the retail market in Greece. In terms of wholesale suppliers the problem was worse and had now escalated to one of monopoly and oligopoly phenomena, since the top 100 of a total of 1,373 companies had a 76 percent slice of total sales, he added.

"At the same time, for every product in a list of 61 basic and widely consumed products, one or at the most two very large businesses supply between 60 percent and 99 percent of quantities of the particular product," Chrysohoidis claimed.

Urging the government to activate all legal mechanisms to "restore the smooth operation of the market", Chrysohoidis said that recent moves like a price cap on oils had little practical value since food prices had already soared, with prices for basic foodstuffs in supermarkets estimated to have risen between 20-22 percent since December 2007.

Asked how the small number of suppliers could be dealt with in free market conditions, Chrysohoidis claimed the law provided protection against such phenomena.

"We clearly have here a blatant abuse of a dominant position by businesses that constitute monopolies and oligopolies - and such phenomena are frowned on by the law. The government and the Competition Commission put up with them and this leads to price-gouging, high prices, prices that are unfair for society as a whole," the MP asserted.

He also stressed that it was unfair to blame consumers as "irresponsible", when they did not have a proper framework and a market that operated in a competitive and legal way.

[18] Competition Committee ascertains distortions in Greek petroleum market

The Committee decided unanimously during a recent meeting to reactivate the process on the implementation of article 5 of law 703/1977, with the aim of assessing to what extent conditions of effective competition have been restored in the sector of the purchase and sale of petroleum products in Greece, or whether it is necessary to have measures, that it has taken, amended in accordance with its aforesaid decision and to have either lighter or heavier measures imposed in the three individual petroleum products markets.

The Committee reiterated that in Greece "a relatively large number of petrol stations are functioning, compared to the country's population. The number of 8,000 petrol stations, compared with the corresponding figures in other member-states, appears to be excessive and constitutes by itself a factor for price increases, at least in some regions, where the number of customers is not always adequate to secure the viability of petrol stations."

It further stressed that "the result of this situation is that petrol stations often resort to higher prices. This fact does not rule out, of course, the existence of a harmonized practice or the abuse of a collective and dominant position, mainly in certain remote areas of Greece (insular and mountainous regions)."

As regards the wholesale market, it stressed that "restrictions are registered which are linked to the licensing of storage spaces (mainly bureaucratic processes) and stem from the existing legal framework. These restrictions might discourage the entry, both locally and nationwide, of new businesses desiring to activate themselves in this market. In addition, another problem in the wholesale stage is the granting of rebates by companies, that are not based on objective criteria ("supportive" rebates) and that might bring about considerable anti-competitive results."

[19] President receives outgoing BoG governor

The central bank chief thanked Papoulias for the honor of having been received so many times at the Presidential Mansion, as we as for honoring the Board of Directors of the European Central Bank (ECB), which the President received twice, in 2005 and a few days ago.

"I am pleased that, with the expiry of my term, I am leaving behind me a bank which now has great prestige in Europe. The Bank of Greece is now considered equal with all the central banks of Europe. It has credibility, prestige, good organization and operation. Indeed, I leave the post of governor being very satisfied, for this very reason," Garganas told the President.

Papoulias thanked Garganas for his constant and substantive briefing throughout his term.

[20] US embassy pleased with Greece-US MoU on renewable energy in Balkans

"I've very pleased with the event, because Greece is a very important country in terms of stability in the Balkans," US ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard said, adding that "working together, we have a great opportunity to use the expertise of Greece and some of the technical know-how of the Unted States to address environmental issues".

Deputy assistant administrator Woody Mefford of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) signed the MoU for the United States, and foreign ministry secretary general for international economic affairs and development cooperation Theodoros Skylakakis signed for Greece.

The press release added that the work will be carried out by the International Resources Group for the United States, and by the Center for Renewable Energy Sources for Greece.

[21] Credit expansion slowed in March

The central bank, in a report, said the private sector's debt to commercial banks totaled 225.3 billion euros in March, around 92 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.

Greek households' debt totaled 107.9 billion euros, with the growth rate slowing to 20.7 pct in March, from 22 pct in February. Mortgage loans' growth rate fell below 20 pct for the first time in years (19.0 pct), from 20.4 pct in February, while consumer loans' growth rate eased to 23.5 pct in March from 24.4 pct in February and 22.6 pct in January 2008.

Greek enterprises' debt totaled 117.4 billion euros, with a growth rate of 22.8 pct in March from 23 pct in February and 22.7 pct in January 2008. Corporate loans outstanding debt totaled 20.7 billion euros in March, up from 14.2 billion euros in March 2007. Excluding corporate loans, enterprises' debt to banks grew by 19.7 pct in March from 20.1 pct in February and 20.6 pct in January 2008.

Greek banks moved with further securitization of mortgage loans in March (6.62 billion euros) from 4.05 billion in March 2007.

[22] Alpha Bank says profits up 18 pct in Q1

The Greek bank said net lending grew 31.1 percent to 44.4 billion euros, while its loan portfolio quality remained at high levels with the delay repayment index at 3.7 pct.

Pre-tax profits from operations in Southeastern Europe totaled 42.9 million euros, up 74 pct from the previous year, accounting for 16.5 percent of total pre-tax profits of the group. Loans and saving deposits grew by 80 pct and 34 percent, accounting for 18.8 pct and 14.9 pct of total portfolios in the Group. Alpha Bank operated a branch network of 829 units in Greece and abroad at the end of March.

Commenting on the results, the bank's chairman Yiannis Kostopoulos said the bank managed to offer significant benefits to its shareholders despite increased volatility in international financial markets and expressed his belief that the bank's position in the market and its prudent policy in risk management offered a comparative advantage to the bank.

Dimitris Mantzounis, the bank's chief executive, underlined the significance of Alpha Bank's entry in the Ukrainian market with the purchase of 90 pct in Astra Bank.

[23] Autohellas/Hertz reports Q1 loss of 349,000 euros

Consolidated turnover rose 15 percent to 27.6 million euros in the January-March period this year, from 24 million euros in 2007, while pre-tax, interest and amortization earnings (EBITDA) also rose by 8.6 percent to 13.9 million euros from 12.8 million euros. The company said it had changed a method of evaluating real estate assets that led to an increase of shareholders' net position by 15.6 million euros.

[24] PPC reports lower Q1 results

Pre-tax, interest and amortization earnings (EBITDA) eased 12.8 percent to 205.5 million euros in the January-March period, while EBITDA margin fell to 14.6 pct from 19 pct in the first quarter of 2007. PPC said its first quarter results were burdened by a provision of 23.5 million euros, representing the cost of the electricity utility's CO2 emission rights.

Revenues totalled 1.41 billion euros, from 1.24 billion euros in 2007, for an increase of 13.5 percent. PPC said electricity demand rose 3.0 pct in the first quarter despite strike mobilizations by its workers and stressed that the strike had a negative effect of 33 million euros on its energy balance spending.

Amortizations fell 10.7 pct in the first quarter to 125.6 million euros, while investments eased 2.0 pct to 160.9 million euros.

Commenting on the results, P. Athanasopoulos, PPC's chairman and chief executive said the first quarter of 2008 was a challenging period for the enterprise.

[25] Thessaloniki Water reports spectacular Q1 results

[26] OA raises fuel surcharge on fares

[27] Greek stocks end 0.45 pct lower

Most sectors moved lower, with the Raw Materials (2.91 pct), Industrial Products (2.84 pct) and Utilities (2.48 pct) suffering the heaviest percentage losses of the day, while Travel (1.16 pct), Media (0.87 pct) and Banks (0.13 pct) scored gains.

The FTSE 20 index eased 0.08 pct, the FTSE 40 index ended 1.36 pct lower and the FTSE 80 index eased 0.76 pct. Broadly, decliners led advancers by 170 to 67 with another 41 issues unchanged.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Insurance: -2.13%

Industrials: -2.84%

Commercial: -1.64%

Construction: -1.26%

Media: +0.87%

Oil & Gas: -0.24%

Personal & Household: -0.91%

Raw Materials: -2.91%

Travel & Leisure: +1.16%

Technology: -0.36%

Telecoms: -0.90%

Banks: +0.13%

Food & Beverages: -0.99%

Health: -0.11%

Utilities: -2.48%

Chemicals: -0.52%

Financial Services: -0.42%

The stocks with the highest turnover were OPAP, National Bank, OTE and SingularLogic.

Selected shares from the FTSE/ASE-20 index closed in euros as follows:

Alpha Bank: 20.56

ATEbank: 2.60

Public Power Corp (PPC): 25.00

HBC Coca Cola: 28.00

Hellenic Petroleum: 10.20

National Bank of Greece: 31.92

EFG Eurobank Ergasias: 17.64

Intralot: 11.58

OPAP: 26.68

OTE: 17.62

Piraeus Bank: 20.36

Bank of Cyprus: 8.12

Marfin Popular Bank: 5.04

[28] ADEX closing report

Volume in futures contract on the Big Cap index totaled 7,270 contracts worth 75.886 million euros, with 29,558 open positions in the market, while on the Mid Cap index volume was 53 contracts worth 1.259 million euros with 223 open positions.

Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 13,702 contracts worth 19.178 million euros, with investment interest focusing on OTE's contracts (2,684), followed by Eurobank (378), Marfin Popular Bank (1,260), OPAP (1,259), National bank (1,018), Alpha Bank (1,725), Mytilineos (467) and ATEbank (867).

[29] Greek bond market closing report

In the interbank money market, interest rates moved higher. The 12-month Euribor rate was 5.05 pct, the six-month rate 4.92 pct, the three-month rate 4.85 pct and the one-month rate 4.57 pct.

[30] Foreign Exchange Rates - Wednesday

U.S. dollar 1.588

Pound sterling 0.803

Danish kroner 7.519

Swedish kroner 9.358

Japanese yen 164.96

Swiss franc 1.628

Norwegian kroner 7.939

Canadian dollar 1.569

Australian dollar 1.650

General News

[31] Exhibition on new Acropolis Museum opens at Athens airport

Entitled "The New Museum of the Acropolis - Soon a new destination" the exhibition gives visitors from every country a foretaste of the new museum that is expected to open its doors to the public in the autumn.

It is housed within the airport departures area and will run until February 2009, providing information on the work underway for preparing the museum, as well as on the museum exhibits and services. This will be updated on a regular basis as the opening date for the new Acropolis Museum approaches.

In his address during the inauguration ceremony for the exhibition on Tuesday, Liapis stressed that the new Acropolis Museum will be a rare landmark in the map of world museums, being a thematic museum built within the Acropolis archaeological area and on the remains of ancient Athens itself, which will be visible and accessible to visitors.

The minister said the museum would provide an additional point of attraction for visitors in Athens itself, which the government wanted to be more than a transit destination for tourists heading for the islands but a city offering culture in its broader sense, that included both its cultural heritage and modern artistic endeavour.

Through photographs and a four-minute audiovisual display, the exhibition presents the history of the museum's construction from the start until the present day, some of the exhibits that will be on display, the transfer of antiquities from the old museum to the new museum. It will also feature a life-size copy of part of the western frieze of the Parthenon and a copy of a marble statue of a girl, both of which are among the new museum's exhibits.

It is open on a 24-hour basis, next to the permanent exhibition of archaeological finds unearthed during the construction of the airport itself, and accessible to everyone in the airport.

[32] Pilot programme to teach migrant mothers Greek

The programme mainly targets foreign, migrant mothers whose children attend municipal day-care centres in Athens and who wish to learn how to read and write in Greek so that they can become better integrated into Greek society and also assist their children with school work.

During Tuesday's press conference, the municipality presented figures showing that the children of migrants make up 34.2 percent of the total population of pre-school children in the municipal day-care system, or 1,713 children in total.

The pilot programme is already in operation, having begun on May 12, and will run until July 18. Classes are held every afternoon at the 4th municipal day-care centre at Metaxourgio and there are currently two groups of 16 and 18 people, respectively, while the children are engaged in organized play in an adjoining room.

Of the mothers taking part, 17 are Albanian, nine are Egyptian, three are from Poland, three from the Ukraine, one from Iran and one from China.

Organizers hope that the initiative will also be adopted by other municipalities in addition to that of Athens, where it is due to begin again from September and until November in another three day-care centres and benefit a total of 200 migrant families during 2008.

The aim for 2009 is to extend the programme to all central day-care centers within the seven districts of the Athens municipality.

The programme is sponsored by Western Union Bank C. C. Varvias and Associates S.A.

[33] Int'l conference on 'climate change and human security'

The sessions of the conference will be opened on Thursday morning by Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister George Souflias.

The Foreign Ministry placed main priority on the issue of "climate change and human security," during its annual presidency of the DAA, focusing its developmental initiatives for the relief of the most vulnerable groups of the population from the repercussions of climate changes, who are mainly women, children and populations changing residence, in the developing countries.

In a briefing on Tuesday, International Economic Relations Secretary General Theodoros Skylakakis said that the ministry's actions, with Developmental Cooperation and Aid as a tool, centered in the promotion of aid to Africa and the Small Island Countries, in order for them to adjust to the new climate conditions and to the transfer of technical know-how in the Balkans, in cooperation with USAID.

The DAA, which has been around for a decade, is a human-centered forum, with starting point the position that people today are exposed to threats which go beyond national borders. It has also dealt with such issues such as the eradication of mines against personnel, the inspection of small and light weapons and the protection of women and children in armed clashes.

Taking part in this, apart from Greece, are Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Jordan, Mali, Chile, Costa Rica, Thailand and Ireland, which takes over the presidency.

[34] Speedboat with Portuguese ambassador rams into reef off Egina, all aboard safe and well

The tourist boat MOUS had set sail early in the morning under excellent weather conditions from Poros, headed for Marina Zea near Piraeus, when it rammed into the reef under as yet unknown conditions.

The ambassador and embassy staff boarded a sea taxi to take them to Zea.

[35] Infant strangled by father during drunken rampage

According to reports, the alleged suspect, an Albanian national living in the working-class west Athens district of Aghii Anargyri, attacked the infant after a drunken rampage against residence against his wife, the infant's mother. The latter fled the home and sought shelter in an adjacent residence of a relative.

Relatives subsequently discovered the lifeless body of the child -- who had been treated in an intensive care unit in Athens for four months after its birth -- when the suspect notified them that the infant was motionless.

The suspect reportedly confessed to police overnight and is expected to appear before a local prosecutor. A post-mortem report is also pending.

[36] Mini heat wave forecast

The forecast for Tuesday is fair weather with scattered clouds in the north.

[37] Man crushed by truck

Weather forecast

[38] Mostly fair on Wednesday

Cyprus Affairs

[39] Christofias satisfied with EU joint position on Turkey

The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the EU-Turkey Association Council and the joint position of EU members.

Speaking Tuesday evening on the sidelines of a reception hosted by the Bulgarian embassy, President Christofias said: "I would like to express my satisfaction with the joint position the EU 27 adopted, regarding Turkey's EU accession course."

"The position expressed by the EU member states is correct and satisfactory. The point is Turkey has to align itself with this position," President Christofias stressed.

The president said that he would keep trying in every way possible to make Turkey act in line with the EU position.

The European Union said Tuesday it expects Turkey to actively support the ongoing peace process in Cyprus, aiming at a viable political settlement based on UN resolutions and EU principles.

This is stated in the text of the EU joint position presented by the EU Slovenian Presidency to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, during the EU-Turkey Association Council.

The EU recalled its conclusions of 11 December 2006, and noted "with regret that Turkey has not fulfilled its obligation of full non-discriminatory implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement and has not made progress towards normalisation of relations with the Republic of Cyprus."

"Under the Negotiating Framework and the Accession Partnership, the EU expects Turkey to actively support the ongoing process agreed on 21 March 2008 leading to a comprehensive and viable settlement of the Cyprus problem within the UN framework and in line with the principles on which the EU is founded, as laid down in Article 6(1) of the EU Treaty, and consistent with relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions," the EU joint position said.

Furthermore it underlined that "this support should include concrete steps to contribute to a favourable climate for such a comprehensive settlement. The EU also underlines the importance of progress in the normalisation of bilateral relations between Turkey and all EU member states, including the Republic of Cyprus."

In this regard, the EU calls on Turkey "to stop blocking the accession of Member States to international organisations and mechanisms. Furthermore, the EU recalls the sovereign rights of EU Member States to enter into bilateral agreements in accordance with the EU acquis and international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," the EU 27 said.

The EU common position was adopted as representatives of the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities are meeting in Cyprus to discuss substantive issues and day to day concerns, in an effort to prepare the ground for direct negotiations between the two community leaders, leading to a comprehensive settlement.

[40] President hopes for progress in Cyprus talks

Cyprus President Demetris Christofias said here Tuesday that he is satisfied with his meetings with leaders of parliamentary parties, noting that he always takes seriously into account their views.

The president is in the process of briefing parliamentary party leaders about his recent meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat, which aimed at assessing progress at ongoing discussions between teams of experts from the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities.

His remarks came in the wake of comments by party leaders, some of which were critical of the president's handling of the Cyprus question.

Asked if the National Council will convene, he said the Council, which is the top advisory body to the President on the handling of the Cyprus problem, will meet soon.

The Council comprises all parliamentary parties, who meet when the president calls a meeting.

Responding to questions about accelerating the peace process, Christofias pointed out that the two sides in Cyprus will jointly evaluate the situation when they meet in June, noting also that, as Talat has said, they have some different views.

"We have another month until then, I hope there is progress, this is our goal to have a clear basis at the end of the day to be able and decide on a date to start face to face negotiations," he concluded.

At last Friday's meeting with Talat, the two community leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a bizonal bicommunal federation and decided to meet again in the second half of June to make a new assessment of the situation.

The six working groups and the seven technical committees have been meeting for the past 4-5 weeks discussing issues such as governance, property, territory, health and EU matters, the economy and other aspects of the Cyprus question to prepare the ground for direct negotiations between the two leaders.

[41] Turkey responsible for illegal immigration in Cyprus, says Euro MP

Turkey will have to assume responsibility with regard to illegal immigration in Cyprus, whose northern areas it occupies since 1974, a European Parliament Committee has said.

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs is determined to call on the competent European Commissioner in order to urge Turkey to undertake responsibility regarding the problem of illegal immigration in Cyprus, Committee President Martine Roure told a press conference here on Tuesday.

Speaking at the end of a two-day visit here by a Committee delegation, she said the purpose of the visit was to evaluate the reception places of asylum seekers and the conditions under which illegal immigrants are being kept.

She said that the number of detainees here is relatively small, around 200 persons and expressed satisfaction with the fact that "here asylum seekers have freedom of movement, which we very much appreciate."

On the other hand, Roure expressed dismay at the lengthy procedures required for the examination of applications for political asylum and stressed the need to speed up this process.

She also mentioned that the delegation visited detention centres here, meaning state prisons, and found them to be clean and without any particular problems in comparison, as she said, with similar establishments in other countries, which she described as "hell."

As she noted, the majority of illegal immigrants arrive in the Republic through the northern Turkish occupied areas, something she said is "a serious problem which Turkey is to blame for."

"Turkey applied to join the EU and so it must take its responsibilities and show solidarity," she said, adding that the Green Line dividing the occupied areas from the southern government controlled part of the country "is very difficult to be monitored by the Republic authorities."

She assured that the Committee in the forthcoming days will be calling on the competent European Commissioner to urge Turkey to take its responsibilities on the matter.

Asked to say whether complains have been forwarded to the committee from non-governmental organisations as regards the detention conditions of immigrants and incidents of torture against them, she said the Committee delegation "had the opportunity to speak with detainees freely and none of them had mentioned anything about torture against them."

[42] House President: Turkey must contribute to solution efforts

Cyprus House President Marios Karoyan has said that Turkey must change its position on the Cyprus question and contribute constructively to efforts towards a political settlement.

Karoyan met Tuesday a delegation of US Congress officials, whom he briefed on the various aspects of the Cyprus question.

He highlighted the commitment of the Greek Cypriot side to a settlement of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, which will be viable and functional, with full respect to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of all the people.

This, he pointed out, must be in line with UN Security Council relevant resolutions and the principles and values on which the European Union is founded.

Karoyan's comments to the US officials came as experts from the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities meet to prepare the ground for direct negotiations, leading to a solution that will reunite Cyprus, divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion.

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