Greece and Tunisia sign tourism agreement
NEWS IN DETAIL
Kranidiotis-Fino meeting called off
The meeting scheduled to take place between Foreign Undersecretary Yannos
Kranidiotis and Albanian Prime Minister Bashkim Fino in Gjirokaster today
has been cancelled, following complaints from the Albanian side that it had
not been informed of the Greek official's visit.
''The Albanian government had been informed about my visit to southern
Albania, in fact I notified Mr. Fino personally,'' Kranidiotis said,
returning from Gjirokaster to Ioannina, northern Greece.
Kranidiotis said he had informed Fino when the two met aboard an Italian
frigate in the Adriatic some days prior to his visit.
Kranidiotis was responding to a demarche lodged by the Albanian Foreign
Ministry with the Greek Embassy in Tirana concerning meetings between the
undersecretary and rebel representatives in southern Albania.
The demarche notes that the rebel representatives have no institutional
competency for such meetings and Kranidiotis' visit should not have taken
on such a nature.
In Athens, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas also underlined that the
Albanian government had been informed of Kranidiotis' visit.
''(The visit) was necesary for calm and the restoration of normality which,
together with humanitarian aid, is contributing to the efforts being made
by Greece for the restoration of calm in the region,'' Reppas said.
The spokesman added that the Albanian demarche would not affect the course
of Greek-Albanian relations.
Kranidiotis said he would convey the views expressed by the representatives
of political parties, local government and rebels during his two-day visit
to southern Albania not only to the Greek government but also to the
Albanian government and the European Union.
''Greece's aim is for Albania to return to normality,'' Kranidiotis said,
expressing the hope that Albanian President Sali Berisha's refusal to give
in to the rebels' ultimatum to step down would not lead to an exacerbation
of the situation.
Reppas said the Greek government had responded to the Albanian demarche
underlining that Tirana had been aware of the visit, which constituted the
continuation of initiatives aimed at ushering in a new period for relations
between the two Balkan neighbours.
He stressed that the cancellation of Kranidiotis' meeting with Fino was in
no way connected to the Albanian demarche.
The spokesman said the government believed that a political solution in
Albanian was now nearer, this being due to the activities and initiatives
of both the European Union and of Greece.
Meanwhile, Reppas linked the visits by Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos
today to Skopje and Belgrade to developments in Albania, referring in
particular to the Albanian minority in Kosovo and Tetovo.
Pangalos' visit, he said, is a Greek initiative and ''constitutes Greece's
contribution to efforts to avert destabilisation in the Balkans''.
Replying to questions, Reppas said Pangalos would not be discussing the
FYROM issue with President Kiro Gligorov.
''In any case, the (Greece-FYROM) intermediate agreement does not provide
for discussion in this manner and at this level on the issue of (FYROM's)
name,'' Reppas said, noting that there was no movement on the name issue
and that FYROM must display good will.
If the name issue is raised by Skopje, Reppas added, ''Mr. Pangalos will
reply on the basis of Greece's known positions''.
Pangalos leaves for Skopje, Belgrade
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos left today by air for a lightning visit
to Skopje and Belgrade to discuss the Albanian crisis, foreign ministry
sources said.
Pangalos later had four hours of talks with FYROM's political leadership,
including President Kiro Gligorov, Prime Minister Branco Crvenkovski,
Foreign Minister Lubomir Frckovski and the ministers of defence and the
interior, according to an ANA despatch from Skopje.
He told a press conference that ''the situation in the region made it
necessary for the Greek government to have direct consultations'' with
FYROM.
The two governments are working for peace and stability in the region, he
said, adding that such types of meetings would continue during the coming
weeks between the foreign ministers of the two countries and possibly the
defence ministers.
During the talks, the two sides exchanged views on Europe's enlargement in
the Balkans and Pangalos briefed the FYROM leadership on a proposal being
worked on by the Greek government providing for economic assistance from
the European Union and international economic organisations to the Balkan
region, without which, he noted, it would be difficult to make the
transition to a market economy.
This proposal, Pangalos went on, will be discussed in Thessaloniki on 9
June at the meeting of Balkan foreign ministers, in order to put the final
touches to it and present it to the international community, the EU, the
USA and international economic organisations.
Asked by the ANA if there was a danger of the Albanian crisis spreading to
the areas of Kosovo and FYROM, Pangalos replied that there was an immediate
danger of a broader crisis.
''A simpler phenomenon is the mass migration (of Albanians) to neighbouring
countries, without of course ruling out even worse developments. Which is
why we must be ready for the worst, while working for the best,'' Pangalos
said.
On the issue of FYROM's name, Pangalos said both countries wanted a
solution but that ''Athens and Skopje cannot take the place of the United
Nations and the Security Council''.
''Both countries are determined to look to the future. We express the
majority of our respective peoples and we shall overcome the voices which
want to lead us backwards,'' Pangalos said.
Government defends Pangalos after Kinkel comments
''Mr. Pangalos is in good health as proven by his two visits today to
Skopje and Belgrade,'' government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said on
Wednesday responding to a German Foreign Ministry statement.
The statement from Bonn yesterday was responding to comments made by
Pangalos on Monday concerning Germany's foreign policy.
''The Germans are crazy about the Croats. They love the Slovenians. They
love them because these people collaborated with them in the Second World
War. They also love the Turks, for similar reasons. It is evident that from
the perspective of an atavistic perception of history, when memories come
back, that they don't love the Greeks,'' Pangalos had said.
German Foreign Ministry official Martin Erdmann replied yesterday
saying:
''We hope that (Pangalos) is well (in health) and we wish him to continue
successfully handling the representation of Greece's interests in the
sector of foreign policy.''
Reppas expressed the government's full support for Pangalos, saying the
minister was correctly handling the country's foreign policy issues and
effectively promoting Greek interests.
Replying to questions on relations between Athens and Bonn, Reppas said
Greece and Germany were working together in the European Union and it was
the common desire of both countries for there to be good cooperation.
''Our relations cannot be ensnared in such types of reactions,'' he
added.
Simitis: Greece's Balkan policy can contribute to regional stability
Prime Minister Costas Simitis said in Thessaloniki last night that Athens'
Balkan policy is the tool capable of contributing to stability, democracy,
development and cooperation in the Balkans.
Mr. Simitis was speaking at the closing session of a two-day conference
entitled "Business Cooperation in Southeastern Europe" held in northern
Greece for the fourth consecutive year.
"We can defend our common future in the Balkans, we have a voice and
influence in shaping developments," he noted.
Mr. Simitis outlined initiatives which the government had taken and intends
to take to handle the crisis in Albania, to prevent it from spreading and
having unfavourable repercussions for the ethnic Greek minority as well as
to prevent a wave of mass im migration to Greece.
He referred to the inter-Balkan conference being prepared by the government
at a foreign ministers' level in Thessaloniki on June 9-10 and recalled
action taken by Athens from the time events began in Albania.
"Greece has processed a structured and overall proposal aimed at the
longterm handling of problems faced by Balkan states and this proposal was
presented at the European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers on Feb. 24,"
he said.
Mr. Simitis said the proposal is aimed at mobilising the EU in cooperation
with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European
Investment Bank and other international fiscal organisations.
Mr. Simitis said that developments in Albania and the rest of the Balkans
have shown that a more substantive and integrated policy is required by
European organisations for the entire Balkan region.
Papantoniou: Greece entered a period of lower budget deficits
Last year was the first year of real convergence of the Greek economy with
the rest in the European Union, according to National Economy Minister
Yiannos Papantoniou.
Speaking during the same conference in Thessaloniki, Mr. Papantoniou said
that the country has entered a period of low budget deficits, low inflation
and comparatively higher growth rates, forecasting that lower lending
interest rates would maintain the stabilisation of the economy and
accelerate the pace of economic growth.
Specifically, he said that the fiscal deficit will be reduced to 4.2 per
cent of GDP, public debt to 109 from 111.8 per cent of GDP last year, and
that a further substantial fall in interest rates will contribute to an
improvement of the competitiveness of businesses, despite a strict exchange
policy.
The recovery in investment, public and private, is expected to accelerate
the rate of growth, bringing it to 3.5 per cent. Inflation is expected to
fall to 4.5 per cent with the appropriate combination of fiscal, monetary
and exchange policy, he stated.
Mr. Papantoniou said 1996 was the first year of real convergence of the
Greek economy to Maastricht Treaty targets, inaugurating a period of low
fiscal deficits, low inflation and comparatively higher growth rates.
He described the overall record of the Greek economy in the last 3.5 years
as satisfactory, given that fiscal deficits came down by 7 percentage
points, from 14.4 per cent in 1993 to 7.4 per cent last year, and inflation
from 12.3 per cent in 1993 to 6. 6 per cent in February this year.
"This rate is the lowest in the last 25 years, while the exchange parity of
the drachma has been fully stabilised and constitutes a crucial factor of
confidence in the Greek economy," he said.
Greece and Tunisia sign tourism agreement
A protocol agreement has been signed between the Greek Tourist Organisation
(EOT) and the Tunisian Tourist Organisation during a visit paid to Tunisia
by EOT President Yiannis Stephanidis, who was representing Greece at the
second session of the joint Greek-Tunisian tourist cooperation committee.
The session ascertained considerable possibilities to increase tourist
movement in both countries.
The protocol provides cooperation in tourist promotion, investments and
cultural tourism sectors, a visit by Tunisian officials to Greece for an
exchange of views on issues concerning marinas, golf courses and hotel
management, the hold ing of a three- to four-week training seminar in
Greece to train Tunisian tourist occupation academy educators, the issuing
by both countries of a pamphlet containing Ulyses' sailings in the
Mediterranean and the twinning of the cities of Ithaca and Jerba and the
island of Kalymnos with the island of Kerkennah.
WEATHER
Cloudiness that will gradually become heavier in central and northern
Greece with the possibility of rain in the evening is forecast for today.
Winds will be moderate reaching gale force in the west at night. Athens
will be cloudy with temperatures between 6-14C. Thessaloniki also cloudy
with possible drizzle and temperatures between 1-13C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tuesday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 264.160
Pound sterling 419.199 Cyprus pd 521.078
French franc 46.404 Swiss franc 181.834
German mark 156.577 Italian lira (100) 15.601
Yen (100) 215.234 Canadian dlr. 192.250
Australian dlr. 207.918 Irish Punt 411.184
Belgian franc 7.589 Finnish mark 51.961
Dutch guilder 139.113 Danish kr. 41.001
Swedish kr. 34.149 Norwegian kr. 38.553
Austrian sch. 22.260 Spanish peseta 1.844
Portuguese escudo 1.555
(M.P.)
