Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-06-11

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 11/06/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Parliament approves Schengen treaty amidst protests
• Talks in Athens on Cyprus issue
• PM to meet with Albanian socialist leader
• FM meets with Albanian delegation
• Simitis warns: 'don't relax European unification efforts'
• British woman drowns
• Albanian drug courier sought
• Major support for SMEs in eastern, southeastern Europe
• Budget revenue up 11.8 percent in Jan-May
• Balkan ministers agree on regional trade centre
• Kos island airport project completed
• V. Papandreou sees increase in Russian tourist flow to Greece
• Sainz wins 44th Acropolis Rally
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Parliament today ratified by a large majority the European Union's Schengen border control agreement despite an all-night protest outside by opponents claiming it violated individual freedoms.

With 78 deputies absent, the 300-seat House voted 142 to 80 for ratification of the pact, which provides for the removal of border controls between EU member-states and increased law enforcement cooperation.

About 200 protesters, including many members of the clergy, remained outside the Parliament building all night, dispersing only after the agreement was ratified.

The demonstration caused extensive traffic problems in the city centre today when the number of protesters swelled to about 500.

Opposers of the pact claim it will result in the creation of a massive electronic file of information on EU citizens and a 'police state' regime in Europe.

Members of religious groups maintain the agreement contains a direct reference to the number ''666'', which represents the anti-Christ in the Book of Revelations.

Shortly before the vote, a policeman on duty outside parliament joined the protesters, took a cross and declared his opposition to the pact. A monk lifted him on his back and carried him among the crowd of cheering protesters.

In much the same fashion, a second policeman later joined the protesters.

Public Order Minister George Romeos later expressed regret at the action of the two police officers, adding that the procedure would be followed as foreseen by the police disciplinary code.

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said that although there were certain reservations concerning human rights, what made the greatest impression on him was the fact that ''many colleagues spoke without being familiar with the text of the pact''.

''I have greater respect for those who fear Satan, because I cannot say with certainty that he does not exist, than for those who are not even familiar with the treaty,'' Pangalos said.

Commenting on the pact yesterday, Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou said the state would keep information only on citizens who have been convicted or are being prosecuted.

''Greek citizens are free to check on the type of information being kept by the state,'' he added.

Talks in Athens on Cyprus issue

Foreign Undersecetary Yiannos Kranidiotis had talks here today with Britain's envoy on the Cyprus problem, Sir David Hannay, a foreign ministry annoucement said.

The announcement added that the talks focused on developments in the Cyprus problem, while Hannay briefed Kranidiotis on his latest talks on the divided island.

In statements earlier at Larnaca airport, Hannay said ''give and take'' was not a method but ''common sense'' and the only way for any agreement to be reached, according to an ANA despatch from Nicosia.

''We are at the end of the beginning and not at the beginning of the end,'' Hannay said, adding that determination and realism was required if an agreement was to be attained.

Speaking after a three-day visit to Cyprus before departing for Athens, Hannay said forthcoming direct talks between Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash provided an ''opportunity'' for the Cyprus issue.

The UN-sponsored talks will be held in New York next month.

''The solution to the Cyprus problem will take time because it is a complex problem involving sensitive issues. I hope it will be possible for progress to be achieved in the first rounds (of talks)...'' Hannay told reporters in Larnaca.

PM to meet with Albanian socialist leader Nano

Visiting Albanian Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano will meet with Prime Minister Costas Simitis tomorrow evening, the government announced today.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said Nano, who arrived here today at the head of a party delegation for a four-day visit, would meet with Simitis at 20.00 local time.

Replying to questions on forthcoming elections in the neighbouring country and the return of Albanians presently working in Greece, Reppas reiterated that the government would provide every possible facility to ensure mass participation in the elections.

The spokesman stressed that the government intended to give ''permits'' even to Albanians currently in Greece illegally ''but does not intend to take them to Albania by force''.

FM meets with Albanian delegation

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and president of the ruling Democratic Party of Albania Tritan Sehu today discussed the situation in the nighbouring country in view of elections pending there at the end of the month.

No statements were issued after the meeting, but sources said Pangalos reiterated the Greek government's ''undivided support for the course of Albania's democratisation''.

Sehu later briefed main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis on the situation in Albania.

He said after the meeting that elections would go ahead as scheduled on June 29 ''at all costs'', despite the fact that pre-electoral campaigns could not be conducted in some citieis because ''they have been taken over by extremists''.

Sehu expressed gratitude for Greece's assistance to Albania during the ''difficult times'' it went through, saying this had helped maintain stability in the country.

Simitis warns: 'don't relax European unification efforts'

Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday cautioned that recent changes in the electoral map of Europe should not cause a relaxation of Greece's efforts to remain firmly in the process of European unification.

"For Greece, changes in Europe are welcome, they are an encouragement, but if we stay outside European unification, we shall have deprived the country of another opportunity. Therefore, there must not only be no illusion of a relaxation, but on the contrary there must be a new impetus for the attainment of permanent national objectives," he said during the pre-agenda debate in Parliament on the government-sponsored "social dialogue" on economic and labour issues.

He reiterated that the dialogue was a process of planning the developmental priorities of the country, and agreeing on the social conditions for the planned policies.

"Social dialogue represents the multiplying dynamics of all the productive and creative forces of Greek society, and was successfully applied in other countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Ireland," he stressed.

The premier stressed that the government had succeeded in establishing a climate of confidence in the economy, and that issues concerning the labour market should be discussed in combination with a policy for development.

British woman drowns

A young English woman drowned today after the motorcycle she was riding went off the road and crashed into the sea near Alykes, Elounda on Crete.

The body of the woman, identified as Amanda Clair Selleck, 35, was taken to Aghios Nikolaos State Hospital for autopsy.

Albanian drug courier sought

Police in northern Greece have issued a warrant for the arrest of a 28-year- old Albanian who is alleged to have smuggled an unknown quantity of marijuana into the country in a tanker-truck.

The warrant was issued for the arrest of Arben Daouta (phonetic spelling) who is believed to have smuggled the marijuana into Greece about two months ago and delivered it to his compatriot, Matei Artankov, 22 in Yiannitsa.

Light was shed on the case at dawn yesterday when police arrested two Greeks driving a motorcycle without license plates in the area of Chalkidona.

Antonios Karavavas and Sarantis Mourmouras, both 26 and residents of Imathia, were found in possession of 11 kilos of marijuana which, they told police, they had bought from Matei Artankov for 400,000 drachmas per kilo.

Major support for SMEs in eastern, southeastern Europe

European Investment Bank (EIB) vice-president Panayiotis Gennimatas said yesterday that the European Commission and the EIB are in the process of drafting two ambitious financial mechanisms to support to private enterprises, especially small- and medium-s ized enterprises, in eastern and southeastern European countries which aim to attain full EU membership.

Addressing a meeting of southeast European businessmen in Thessaloniki, which was timed to coincide with a conference of Balkan foreign ministers in this northern Greek city Mr. Gennimatas said the programmes aim to assist those countries converge with the economies of European Union member- states, so as to be able to become members themselves.

"The first programme concerns a new special pre-accession financial mechanism, the aim of which will be to facilitate even further the process of economic convergence. It should be ready by the end of the year," he said.

"Equally important, and perhaps more interesting for businessmen, is the planning of an additional financial mechanism for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), undertaken by the EU, EIB, and the PHARE programme," he added.

The amount to be disbursed in the form of loans was likely to exceed Ecu3.5 million, while the Community's financial organ par excellence, the PHARE programme, envisaged additional funding to the tune of Ecu6.7 million until 1999.

Budget revenue up 11.8 percent in Jan-May

Finance Undersecretary George Drys repeated that the government would impose no new taxes in 1997 and that it had abandoned its 1996 policy of debt rescheduling.

Briefing the parliamentary economic affairs committee on state revenue for 1997, Mr. Drys said that implementation of the budget would produce no major deviations.

"Targets set in the budget are very difficult but attainable," he said. Revenue had risen by 11.8 percent in the first five months of the year compared with the corresponding period in 1996 to reach 3.2 trillion drachmas, Mr. Drys said.

Predicting the course of budget revenue for the rest of the year, Mr. Drys said that monies from income tax, new state securities and privatisation would rise.

Balkan ministers agree on regional trade centre

Balkan ministers meeting in Thessaloniki yesterday agreed to create a regional centre based in Turkey to promote trade.

They also supported a proposal to extend the activities of the Bucharest- based Balkan Centre for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises to southeast Europe.

Kos island airport project completed

An airport development and modernisation project for the Dodecanese island of Kos was completed in record time for the peak summer tourist season.

The project, worth 3.7 billion drachmas, included extension of air terminal facilities, extension of landing slots by 35,000 square metres - up 100 percent from last year's capacity, runway extension to 2,400 metres, and the purchase of three new passen ger buses.

V. Papandreou sees increase in Russian tourist flow to Greece

In an interview with "Pravda-5" newspaper, Development Minister Vasso Papandreou expressed her conviction that in the near future Russian tourists will occupy third place among visitors to Greece after the Germans and the British.

Ms Papandreou said 1.2 million tourists from eastern European countries visited Greece in 1996, a figure representing 12.2 per cent of Greece's total number of visitors. This figure is expected to increase to 1.35 million in 1997, or 13.5 per cent.

She said traditional relations between Russia and Greece can contribute to a further significant increase in the number of Russian tourists, provided that problems are also resolved concerning the ease with which visas are given to tourists.

Sainz wins 44th Acropolis Rally

Two-time world champion driver Carlos Sainz is the winner of the 44th Acropolis Rally.

At the end of yesterday's sixth special stage (Analipsi II), the Spanish driver was in the first place in the general standings with a total penalty time of 4:56.24. It was the third time Sainz, driving a Ford Escort, won the Acropolis Rally, after 1990 and 1994.

Second place after 20 special stages went to Juha Kankkunen from Finland (Ford Escort) with 4:56.41 followed by Briton Richard Burns (Mitsubishi) with 4:58.31.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(M.P.)

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