Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 15-11-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Banks recapitalization enter the final phase

[02] Economic Policy council forwards draft on bank recapitalisation to cabinet, expected to go into effect on Monday (Nov. 2)

[03] Greek banks recapitalization needs below 25 bln euros is positive, German FinMin says

[04] Bank recapitalization will open new chapter for economy, says head of bank association

[05] There is clear road map on economic issues, no reason to panic, Gerovasili says

[06] Migration policy minister announces cross-party committee on refugee issue from next week

[07] First refugee relocation from Greece to Luxembourg on Wednesday

[08] No 'conditions' for tearing down Evros fence at present, Alt. Min Toskas says

[09] PM Tsipras inaugurates therapeutic community for detained drug users

[10] Coalition partner ANEL stresses government's determination to crack down on tax evasion

[11] Luxembourg's priorities during EU Council presidency discussed between Alt. FM and country's envoy

[12] Deputy Min Mardas and Ukrainian ambassador Skourof aim at closer ties between Greece and Ukraine

[13] Tsipras congratulates Turkish PM Davutoglu on election win

[14] Erdogan's victory renders Turkey a powerful negotiator, Alternate Migration Min Mouzalas says

[15] Greece opposed to UK nuclear power plant construction, Skourletis tells Austrian ambassador

[16] PM meets delegation of 'Aggelioforos' newspaper staff

[17] Government has prepared proposals for protecting homes, says Economy minister

[18] Government drawing up bill for undeclared funds in Greece or abroad

[19] Council of State cancels minister's decision revoking mining license for Hellas Gold

[20] Eurobank aims to attract high-quality investment capital

[21] Greek city to host satellite station for inflight internet in European flights

[22] Greek lender Attica bank denies reports it is under liquidation

[23] Greek economic sentiment index up in Oct

[24] Greek PMI up in Oct

[25] Greek stocks end sharply higher

[26] Greek bond market closing report

[27] ADEX closing report

[28] Vessel with 200 refugees onboard arrives on Rhodes island

[29] Ships docked at ports on Monday

[30] Large oil spill off Kythira island

[31] Greek university delegation to visit Israel

[32] Athens to host 11th world meeting of Bulgarian media

[33] Metro system and tram strike announced on Tuesday night

[34] Students rally against deficiencies at schools

[35] The Monday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance Politics

[01] Banks recapitalization enter the final phase

Banks have a deadline until Friday, November 6 to send their plans and at the same time start a series of discussions and meetings with foreign investors that already participate in their portfolios as well as new ones.

The banks expressed their optimism that the private sector will cover their capital needs and the procedure will be successful.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos also expressed optimism that the recapitalization of the banks and the bad loans will have been completed by the end of the year.

[02] Economic Policy council forwards draft on bank recapitalisation to cabinet, expected to go into effect on Monday (Nov. 2)

The act will be forwarded to the cabinet and issued by today (Monday), according to an announcement by the office of the government vice president.

The draft outlines the options related to the role of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund in the capital injection (depending on whether there is private participation or not) and in terms of the Greek state's preference shares.

Following this announcement, the government called on the management of all four systemic banks to expend any effort to encourage and secure the participation of domestic investors during the process of recapitalisation.

[03] Greek banks recapitalization needs below 25 bln euros is positive, German FinMin says

"The fact that the Greek banks recapitalization needs do not surpass 25 billion euros is positive," German Finance ministry spokesman Juerg Weissgerber said on Monday adding that it is too early, however, to estimate whether the total Greek programme could be contained.

"We have to see first the plans of the Greek banks and then wait for the ECB's reaction," he noted.

"Banks can cover their needs with private funds," he said adding that their plans should be submitted by November 6. "If they manage to do so, there is no need to be restructured based on European regulations."

"The next step is to present their plans based on the bad scenario by the end of the year. We first have to wait for that," he underlined.

[04] Bank recapitalization will open new chapter for economy, says head of bank association

"The successful conclusion of the new bank recapitalization which starts today opens a new chapter for our national economy," she told ANA-MPA. "It also provides a prompt to restore confidence of thousands of depositors to the banking system, to return deposits and remove restrictions on financial transactions," she added.

Katseli also noted that after the recapitalization, banks will be in a position to deal more effectively and justly with the major issue of non-performing loans, as they will understand the huge social implications.

[05] There is clear road map on economic issues, no reason to panic, Gerovasili says

"The road map until Christmas has clear and crucial issues for economic and social life," she said, noting that success on individual issues - such as the discussion on Greece's debt, bank recapitalisation and the matter of non-performing loans - also bought time to fight for other problems as well.

"We are here to be judged on our performance. It is a daily, constant and hard struggle," she added.

Commenting on the protests and reactions on the part of various groups, she said that justified reactions strengthened the government's negotiating position.

Gerovasili also clarified that a recent lifting of restrictions on foreclosure auctions did not extend to primary residences and protected groups, which continued to be protected until the end of the year.

On the refugee issue, the spokeswoman noted that Greece's geopolitical position was crucial and that it was now having to bear the brunt of the problem.

"Given that there is no solution to the problem of Syria, the effort is focused on proper management with respect for human rights," she added.

She said the government was undertaking initiatives for talks with Turkey, noting that such a discussion would be key to the management of the problem, while adding that no date has yet been set for a visit to Turkey by the prime minister.

[06] Migration policy minister announces cross-party committee on refugee issue from next week

"We will make an effort as a ministry, with the agreement of the prime minister, to come into contact with the parties of the democratic arc in order to establish a permanent conduit, if possible on a weekly basis," Mouzalas told reporters following meetings with Democratic Left (DIMAR) President Thanasis Theoharopoulos and main opposition New Democracy representatives Costas Tasoulas and Yiannis Plakiotakis to present his idea.

Mouzalas said the aim of setting up the cross-party committee was to minimise disagreement and ensure the greatest possible exchange of ideas and proposals on what was clearly an issue of national importance.

The minister on Monday launched a round of meetings with party representatives to present his idea, starting with DIMAR and ND. He is scheduled to meet PASOK President Fofi Gennimata and Centrists' Union President Vassilis Leventis on Tuesday.

Following Mouzalas' briefing, Tasoulas stressed that Turkey played a key role in this issue and must be pressured into allowing the process of refugee identification to be carried out within its territory, in order to stop the refugee flows that led to repeated tragedies in the Aegean. He also expressed concern at what he called "important and burdensome commitments" made by Greece on this issue at the recent informal EU summit.

DIMAR's president said that the international community and the European Union must put priority on tackling the problem at its source by restoring peace in Syria. He expressed concern that Greece had made excessive commitments regarding the completion of migrant hotspots and noted the danger that the country had taken on more than it could handle.

[07] First refugee relocation from Greece to Luxembourg on Wednesday

Four of the six families are from Syria and two are from Iraq and all have small children, including some children with special needs.

A ceremony will precede the first relocation and is to be attended by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Parliament President Martin Schulz, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and Greece's Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas.

The refugees will depart at 8:30 on Wednesday morning on an Aegean Airlines flight to Brussels and will then travel to Luxembourg by bus, accompanied by a representative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). According to sources, the six families were gathered at the Greek Asylum Service on Monday and briefed on the details of their journey and their residence in Luxembourg once they arrive.

Countries that have expressed an interest in accepting refugees for relocation so far include Belgium, France, Cyprus, Germany, Lithuania and Finland.

[08] No 'conditions' for tearing down Evros fence at present, Alt. Min Toskas says

"This fence does not stand in the way and send the refugees to the islands. This is a theory that does not stand up to scrutiny using any logic. Nor can we equate this 12-kilometre-long fence and say it is the same as the inhuman fences in Central Europe," Toskas told the radio station 'Vima FM'.

He noted that the Evros fence blocked the land border between Greece and Turkey where there was no river.

[09] PM Tsipras inaugurates therapeutic community for detained drug users

"It is a window of hope," Tsipras underlined. He stressed that this therapeutic community constitutes a new approach to the prison policy, which is based on leniency and the ability to provide a second chance.

The Prime Minister announced that the next steps will involve the building of cooperation between Korydallos prison and the psychiatric clinic of Attikon hospital for the psychiatric treatment of prisoners and the creation of second-chance schools in three prisons.

[10] Coalition partner ANEL stresses government's determination to crack down on tax evasion

The spokeswoman for the ruling coalition's junior party, Chrysoveloni was commenting on revelations in the newspaper "Real News" concerning the wife of former minister Yiannos Papantoniou and an agreement she signed with an offshore firm based in the Cayman Islands for the sum of 1.3 million euros.

She said that the affair, which was revealed via the so-called 'Lagarde list' "fully vindicates the present government's decision not to allow any tax evasion case to be written off for which a tax audit or public prosecutor's investigation order had been issued."

"It is especially positive and hopeful that this government has the will to solve the major tax evasion cases, especially the Lagarde list," she added.

[11] Luxembourg's priorities during EU Council presidency discussed between Alt. FM and country's envoy

Luxembourg's priorities, which assumed the rotating six-month EU presidency on July 1 and until the end of the year, taking over from Latvia, is structured around seven areas: 1) to stimulate investment for boosting growth and employment, 2) deepening of the EU's social dimension, 3) management of migration, including freedom, justice and security, 4) the revitalization of the single market with an emphasis on its digital dimension, 5) integration of the EU competitiveness in a global and transparent framework, 6) promoting sustainable development and 7) strengthening the EU presence on the world stage.

The discussion between the two officials also covered issues of bilateral and European interest, as well as the recent developments concerning the refugee and migration issue.

[12] Deputy Min Mardas and Ukrainian ambassador Skourof aim at closer ties between Greece and Ukraine

The two sides recognized the need for further development of bilateral trade and strengthening of the bilateral cooperation. More specifically, the sectors examined for the development of Greek-Ukrainian cooperation were tourism, construction and food trade.

[13] Tsipras congratulates Turkish PM Davutoglu on election win

Speaking to Davutoglu, Tsipras noted the need to maintain open diplomatic channels between the two countries, especially in conditions of regional tensions, while they also discussed the refugee crisis. The Greek premier also confirmed he has accepted the invitation to visit Turkey as soon as the date is set.

The prime minister's office said the Greek government has intervened in the negotiations between the EU and Turkey and proposed that refugees be identified and recorded on Turkish soil; however it is not clear to what extent Brussels have suggested it to Turkey.

As it is known, Germany has intervened at a bilateral level to try to convince Turkey to cooperate better with the EU. It also supports Turkey's the economic assistance and the acceleration of its accession talks. The Greek government has agreed on all these issues. As it is known, Cyprus is refusing to open a series of chapters on accession talks because Turkey refuses to recognize it. Greece has noted many times that Turkey's European outlook is related to the country's compliance with all the criteria, but also with a change of behavior on the Aegean and Cyprus.

Diplomatic sources noted it is wrong for the EU to link the accession negotiations with Ankara's cooperation on the refugee crisis, because the EU has a completely separate framework of accession negotiations which the candidate countries must comply with.

In this light, the agenda of topics which will be covered during Tsipras' visit to Turkey will be very long. The two premiers will inevitably discuss the Cyprus issue, the restart of exploratory talks on the Aegean which were frozen because of elections, the refugee crisis, the situation in Syria but also the general situation in the wider Middle East.

[14] Erdogan's victory renders Turkey a powerful negotiator, Alternate Migration Min Mouzalas says

"I am afraid that he will become a more powerful negotiator," Mouzalas stated. However, he could not make an estimate whether political developments in Turkey will have an impact on migration flows to Greece.

On the possibility of abolishing the fence along the Evros river, he said that it is a good approach both ideologically and practically, but he stressed that the right conditions are not in place. "It is a government plan that is always on the table when the refugee issue is discussed. But at that certain period of time, the right conditions are not place," he added.

[15] Greece opposed to UK nuclear power plant construction, Skourletis tells Austrian ambassador

During a meeting held in Athens, Skourletis was briefed on the actions taken by Austria's government to challenge planned state aid for the construction of a new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point in the UK. Austria objects on the grounds that the prices guaranteed to EDF for its power over the next 35 years are a form of state subsidy that skews the electricity market.

Skourletis noted the right of EU member-states to decide their energy mix but added that in the specific matter, this right must be examined in relation to the general dangers involved in the operation of nuclear plants, which extend beyond the borders of the states in which they operate.

[16] PM meets delegation of 'Aggelioforos' newspaper staff

Tsipras told them that an investigation was underway into the loans given to mass media enterprises and referred them to Minister of State Nikos Pappas.

[17] Government has prepared proposals for protecting homes, says Economy minister

The document was presented after a question posed by PASOK MP Odysseas Konstantinopoulos who asked to be briefed on the government's plan concerning non-performing loans and whether the reports claiming they will be sold to foreign funds are true.

"Our side has already made an extensive preparation with a batch of proposals which includes a special provision for the protection of the primary residence from auctions, social criteria that associate the rate of repayment with income, while we will set up an independent authority to monitor the creditworthiness of individuals and legal entities with full respect to the personal date," the minister said in the document.

[18] Government drawing up bill for undeclared funds in Greece or abroad

Responding to a question by an ANEL MP in parliament, Alexiadis announced the bill will be ready in two months and will provide a last chance to those who have money that cannot be justified by their tax declarations.

He also said those who do not declare any form of asset in time, will face serious tax and criminal penalties. "In the next few months, we will start the procedures for drawing up a wealth register in which all assets should be entered, so we want to give everyone a chance to declare them beforehand," he said.

[19] Council of State cancels minister's decision revoking mining license for Hellas Gold

According to the ministry, the revocation of the mining license had been decided because the company had violated a condition stating that the planned tests on deposits from the site of Olympias and Skouries had to be done on site, within the premises of the mines and not at Outotec in Finland.

In its first ruling, the CoS had said that the fact that these tests had taken place abroad was not enough to justify a revocation of the license. The full decision will be announced within this month.

Financial News

[20] Eurobank aims to attract high-quality investment capital

In a letter to its personnel, Eurobank's management said that "the evaluation of ECB/SSM is a strong starting point to begin -in the next few days- our effort to cover the bank's fully manageable capital needs and its capital fortification," adding that existing shareholders fully support this effort.

"A recapitalizatin of the banking system is critical for the country's economic outlook. Therefore, we look forward to the success of share capital increase plans for all Greek banks and we believe that current data allowed optimism over the positive outcome of this process," the bank's management said.

"Completion of the recapitalization will allow creation of necessary conditions for the return of deposits, so that our bank will be able to move with the financing of Greek households and enterprises and to deal with the big problem of non-performing loans in a fair and efficient way with the necessary social sensibility," the bank said.

[21] Greek city to host satellite station for inflight internet in European flights

Under an agreement with OTE the Satellite Access Station (SAS) will be set up in Nemea, in the Peloponnese. When the project is completed, aircraft will be able to switch automatically between satellite and terrestrial connectivity using an onboard network communicator for optimal service delivery. As a result, airlines will be able to offer reliable, high-speed onboard internet access to passengers across Europe's high-traffic flight paths, utilizing Inmarsat's 30MHz S-band spectrum allocation in all 28 EU member states.

This will be the first aviation passenger connectivity solution in Europe to combine an advanced satellite network and LTE-based ground network, the latter of which will be operated by OTE's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, the press release said.

"The European Aviation Network is an important development for Inmarsat, for the aviation industry, and for Europe," said Leo Mondale, President of Inmarsat Aviation.

"OTE, as the existing operator of our Global Xpress SAS in Nemea, has already demonstrated its abilities as a successful and efficient supplier for Inmarsat. We are delighted to extend the partnership with our new EAN satellite access station, especially as the weather conditions in Nemea are optimal for high-quality feeder links."

On his side, Zacharias Piperidis, OTE Group Chief Operating Officer, said: "With this partnership, which fits perfectly with current EAN cooperation between Inmarsat and DT, the OTE Group shows that besides providing traditional satellite services, it can reliably support the demanding global market of new generation technologies, which require infrastructure and services of the highest standards."

[22] Greek lender Attica bank denies reports it is under liquidation

"Reports claiming the bank is insolvent and is thus entering into liquidation by creating a 'good bank' and 'bad bank', are totally untrue and misleading," the bank said in a press release.

"Attica Bank will proceed successfully with the recapitalization process, with the support of its main shareholder [the social security fund] TSMEDE / ETAA which will continue to hold in the future the same shares, but with the possible addition of new private investors with whom it is at the consultation stage," it added.

Any capital that may be missing after the above actions are completed will be covered by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), as the recent law on bank recapitalization stipulates.

[23] Greek economic sentiment index up in Oct

The Institute for Economic and Industrial Research (IOBE), in a monthly report, said all sectors recorded improved expectations with the exception of the services sector, while consumer confidence also improved in October. Both enterprises and consumers were moving in an after-election environment defined by a new program and an agreement reached with the country's creditors.

More analytically, expectations in the industrial sector remained flat over production in the next few months, while the balance of expectations over inventories eased slightly and negative expectations over demand and orders improved slightly.

In the services sector, negative expectations over current and short-term demand deteriorated.

In the retail sector, expectations over current and short-term sales improved while inventories fell.

In the construction sector, expectations were less negative over current work program, while forecasts over employment in the sector recovered slightly.

Consumer confidence improved in October, although expectations over households' finances remained unchanged in the month. Expectations over the country's finances in the next 12 months, unemployment and savings recorded a positive change in the month.

[24] Greek PMI up in Oct

Greek manufacturers recorded a further decline in their production levels in October, however, the contraction rate was the slowest recorded in the last five months. The report attributed this development to a combination of capital controls and lack of demand. Greek manufacturers also recorded a decline in pending works at the faster rate in the last three months, while supply inventories fell in October.

Inflow prices grew further in October, while average outflow prices fell in the month as Greek manufacturing companies offered price discounts to secure new contracts.

The PMI measures business activity in the manufacturing sector. Readings above 50 indicate a growing sector, while readings below 50 a shrinking sector.

[25] Greek stocks end sharply higher

The composite index of the market jumped 3.08 pct to end at 722.80 points. The Large Cap index rose 3.60 pct and the Mid Cap index ended 0.91 pct higher. Turnover was an improved 45.99 million euros with volume at 391,098,064. The market's capitalisation grew by 1.5 billion euros compared with Friday.

Eurobank (29.03 pct), Alpha Bank (28.70 pct), Piraeus Bank (18.28 pct), National Bank (7.67 pct) and Ellaktor (5.62 pct) scored the biggest percentage gains of the day among blue chip stocks, while Lamda Development (1.92 pct) and Folli Follie (0.33 pct) were the only blue chips to end lower.

Among market sectors, Banks (16.05 pct), Financial Services (5.46 pct) and Insurance (5.33 pct) scored big gains, while Chemicals (2.90 pct), Real Estate (0.57 pct) and Commerce (0.35 pct) suffered losses.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 72 to 25 with another 20 issues unchanged. Audiovisual (29.79 pct), Kekrops (29.60 pct) and Eurobank (29.03 pct) were top gainers, while Attica Bank (13.33 pct), Nikas (11.39 pct) and Newsphone Hellas (10 pct) were top losers.

[26] Greek bond market closing report

In interbank markets, interest rates continued moving lower. The 12-month rate fell to 0.104 pct from 0.108 pct, the nine-month rate eased to 0.042 pct from 0.047 pct, the six-month rate was 0.004 pct, the three-month rate fell to -0.068 pct from -0.067 pct and the one-month rate was -0.119 pct.

[27] ADEX closing report

General News

[28] Vessel with 200 refugees onboard arrives on Rhodes island

The refugees will be hosted in specially designated areas at the port of Rhodes.

[29] Ships docked at ports on Monday

The strike will keep ships docked from 6:00 on Monday morning to 06:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

However, the ferry "Ariadni" with 1,004 refugees on board arrived early in the morning at Piraeus port.

In a press release, the PNO called on travellers to show understanding for the strike over what it called the destruction of the seamen's pension fund (NAT), the reduction of permanent positions on passenger ships that endangered travelling and passengers, the reduction of pensions to extremely low levels, and the overall effort by the state to dismantle and destroy medical and social insurance for both retired and active sea personnel.

[30] Large oil spill off Kythira island

The oil spill, longer than 1,000 meters, was possible caused by a ship which emptied a large amount of oil in the sea. Due to the adverse weather conditions, the satellite could not record the incident.

The mayor of the island Efstratios Charchalakis in statements to ANA-MPA underlined that the damage caused is very serious, especially at the village Agia Pelagia, where the spill has reached the coast.

"You cannot stay in the village as a result of the smell of the oil," he noted adding that the walls of the houses are also black as strong winds are blowing in the area.

The Port Authority has taken a sample of oil spilled into the sea for analysis.

[31] Greek university delegation to visit Israel

According to a statement of the embassy of Israel in Greece, which organized the visit, the Greek academics will have the opportunity to meet with senior officials of the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor, the Hebrew University of Israel, the Science University Technion, the University of Tel Aviv, the Inter-University Centre of Herzliya (Inter-Disciplinary Center) and the University Ben Gurion.

The discussions of the Greek delegation will cover a wide range of topics such as economics, physics, biology and agricultural technology. Emphasis will be given on the prospects of cooperation in the fields of research, innovation and entrepreneurship. For this reason, the Greek researchers will have meetings with officials for the promotion of the entrepreneurship of Israeli universities, such as the Centre Bronica of Technion, StarTAU, the University of Tel Aviv, and Yissum Hebrew University of Jerusalem in order to be briefed on the successful way with which Israel has linked research with entrepreneurship.

[32] Athens to host 11th world meeting of Bulgarian media

The forum is organized by the Bulgarian News Agency and the Association of Bulgarian Media Abroad.

Participants will discuss issues of migration, education and tourism in the light of the Greek-Bulgarian relations and the possibilities for cooperation between the two states.

The meeting will also be attended by Vice President of the Bulgarian Government Ivailo Kalfin and Tourism Minister Nikolina Angkelkova with the participation of more than 100 representatives of Bulgarian newspapers, magazines, news websites and television channels.

[33] Metro system and tram strike announced on Tuesday night

Metro, ISAP railway and tram workers said the warning strike was being held to highlight the "mismanagement of public transport and even negligence on the part of those responsible for the current state of fixed-rail public transport today."

The workers object to a new restructuring plan included in a recently passed law, saying it lacked any strategic design or even quantitative data or targets indicating its expected benefits, while the envisaged spending and staff cuts from mergers would likely create needs that would then have to be covered by outside contractors.

The Proastiakos suburban railway, which also serves the Athens airport, will be running as usual.

[34] Students rally against deficiencies at schools

Meawhile, the high school teachers' labour union OLME has declared a working stoppage from 11 am to 14 pm to support the rally.

Weather forecast

[35] The Monday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance

EFIMERIDA TON SYNTAKTON: The need of lifeline

ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: The 5 secrets for pensions based on the new plan

ESTIA: The fear of destabilization is visible

ETHNOS: The plan for bad loans

KONTRANEWS: No more tolerance to new taxes

NAFTEMPORIKI: New funds in the banks

TA NEA: November - a difficult month

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