Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 99-08-26

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

ATHENS, GREECE, 26/08/1999 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Gov`t to push for Commission support to Turkey, veto still in force
• Cem: Greek-Turkish dialogue proceeds well
• Athens mayor tours quake-stricken areas
• Gov't, trade unions reach agreement on key points
• Gov't pleased with outcome of Simitis visit to Albania
• US Sen. Lugar briefed by Greek leadership
• Onassis Foundation donation to Istanbul-based university
• Archbishop Dimitrios-Niotis meeting in Athens
• Investigation over report on bogus passport ring
• Inflation needs to drop below 2.0 pct for euro zone entry
• Stocks sprint through 5,200 pts in renewed ascent
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

The government stressed yesterday that it will spearhead an initiative to secure support from the European Commission towards earthquake-stricken Turkey.

Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said Athens wanted Turkey to receive ecomonic assistance, "and for this reason we have decided to actively contribute to the issuing by the Commission of a decision in this respect."

However, the government also clarified that no decision had been taken to lift Greece's veto over funding for Turkey under a separate European Union financial protocol.

Speculation in the press that the government may lift its long-standing veto has been fuelled recently, partly by the speed and extent of Greek humanitarian aid to quake-stricken residents in NW Turkey.

"Providing aid to Turkey is a completely different matter and has nothing to do with that country's accession to the EU. The criteria are quite specific," Mr. Reppas said.

Athens insists that Ankara must fulfil certain conditions pertaining to human rights and abandon its often aggressive stance before the former lifts its veto on funds allocated by the EU.

"To express one's solidarity and support to the suffering people of the neighbouring country does not mean that we have changed our policy. And I presume the same holds for Turkey," Mr. Reppas said.

The Coalition for the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) yesterday requested of the President Kostis Stephanopoulos to convene a meeting of all political leaders to discuss the issue of the Greek veto.

In a press release, the fourth-ranking party in the Greek parliament noted that "the veto for the financing protocol has out-lived its usefulness; has led the country into isolation within the European Union and has allowed the powerful countries of the Union to take cover behind the Greek stance."

Cem: Greek-Turkish dialogue proceeds well

In a related development, Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said Greek- Turkish dialogue has proceeded well to date and the same is expected in the future.

In an interview to a Kuwait-based newspaper, Mr. Cem said "dialogue with Greece has proceeded very well and there is no reason why its continuation may not be the same."

According to a dispatch by the Turkish Anadolu news agency, Mr. Cem also expressed a hope that "the process may continue so that all problems between Turkey and Greece are examined and resolved."

The Turkish FM noted that as far as the Cyprus problem is concerned, "any solution beyond the creation of a confederation would not be realistic."

Finally, speaking of Turkey's long-desired entry into the European Union, Mr. Cem said "12 of the EU member-states support Turkey's accession in the Union," adding that he hoped that "soon, the remaining three member-states will change their opinion."

Meanwhile, Hellenic Navy Chief Vice-Adm. Georgios Ioannidis yesterday arrived in Ankara at the invitation of his Turkish counterpart Salim Dervishoglu, as he is handing over his post to Adm. Ilhami Erdil.

Athens mayor tours quake-stricken areas

The deputy mayor of Istanbul, Umit Ozerol, yesterday welcomed Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos here, saying that a "true friend appears in difficult times". Mr. Avramopoulos arrived in Istanbul to coordinate an earthquake relief initiative undertaken by Greece's five biggest municipalities.

Immediately after arriving, Mr. Avramopoulos toured the worst hit areas of Istanbul before meeting with his counterpart Ali Mufti Gurduna.

Mr. Avramopoulos toured the devastated areas of the city, where he received a warm reception from local residents.

"We are representing the feelings of solidarity of the Greek people, who with reacted from the first moment, showing their most humane and best self to their neighbours," he said.

Following the meeting with Mr. Gurduna, Mr. Avramopoulos announced their joint decision for the creation of a first camp for the earthquake victims within 10 days, comprised of three units that will provide shelter to 10, 000 people.

Mr. Gurduna thanked Mr. Avramopoulos for his visit and said that "since Aug. 17 we have faced and still face many problems, we have to repair homes, but above all we have to heal the souls which have been shattered."

The Athens mayor and the mayors of Athens, Thessaloniki, Patra and Irakleio met on Tuesday to discuss the coordination of humanitarian aid to Turkey.

In a related development, countless messages reached the Greek embassy in Ankara from various Turkish citizens thanking the Greek people for the humanitarian aid offered.

Many callers requested telephone numbers and addresses of agencies in Greece to express their gratitude, embassy officials said.

Turkish public opinion was especially moved by the Greek emergency task force (EMAK) following the televised rescue of a child.

The Turkish daily "Milliyet" wrote: "It was revealed that the Greek people are friends in these difficult times for Turkey. Now the image of Greeks is different in Turkey, as Turkey's image is different in Greece."

Gov't, trade unions reach agreement on key points

The government and country's main trade union umbrella group yesterday reached agreement on issues central to the economy and industrial relations.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis, his economics ministers and leaders of the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE) had met to debate their agenda.

After the meeting, a statement from the premier's office said that agreement between the two sides covered the following points:

National Economy Undersecretary Christos Pahtas told reporters that one of the priorities of projects being devised for funding under the European Union's Third Community Support Framework was to reduce domestic unemployment to 5.0-6.0 percent by 2006 a nd increase per capita income from 68 percent of the EU average to 80 percent.

Also at the meeting, GSEE leader Christos Polyzogopoulos asked for a hike in the tax on stock market transactions in order to help fund social policy and the battle against unemployment.

Other demands were a rise in the tax-exempt bracket to 2.3 million drachmas and an inflation-linked tax scale.

In addition GSEE also pressed for higher wages and pensions. Mr. Simitis refererred trade unionists to talks with employers, according to trade union sources.

Unions would back their demands in the talks with employers, and, if needed, through strike action, Mr. Polyzogopoulos added.

Gov't pleased with outcome of Simitis visit to Albania

Greece yesterday described as "positive" the outcome of Prime Minister Costas Simitis' visit to Albania, saying Athens wanted to contribute to the development of the region.

Commenting on Mr. Simitis' one-day trip to Tirana on Tuesday, during which two cooperation protocols were signed, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas noted, however, the different stance of the two countries regarding Kosovo. He said this difference ha d emerged quite clearly in talks yesterday between Mr. Simitis and Albanian President Rexhep Mejdani and Prime Minister Pandeli Majko. During talks in Tirana, both sides reaffirmed their desire to further improve bilateral relations. Asked by reporters wh ether former Albanian president Sali Berisha was pressing for the withdrawal of the Greek military contingent stationed in Albania, Mr. Reppas said the force was in the neighbouring country by decision of the Albanian parliament, and whose mandate is rene wed every six months.

US Sen. Lugar briefed by Greek leadership

US Sen. Richard Lugar, currently on a visit to Greece, yesterday met with National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos and Foreign Minister George Papandreou.

Mr. Lugar, the second ranking Republican in the US SenateYs foreign affairs committee, was briefed by the Greek officials on a number of issues regarding the SE Mediterranean region as well as Athens' position on the Greek-Turkish issues and the Cyprus problem.

Onassis Foundation donation to Istanbul-based university

The Onassis Foundation's board of trustees has donated 32 million drachmas to Istanbul's Bosporus University for the relief of quake victims.

The Onassis Foundation, stated in a release, that the funds will be allocated by priority to the University's teaching staff, employees and students, as an expression of solidarity to the Turkish university.

Archbishop Dimitrios-Niotis meeting in Athens

Deputy Foreign Minister Grigoris Niotis yesterday met with the new Archbishop of America Dimitrios.

Afterwards, Mr. Niotis said that "the new Archbishop was an individual enjoying the respect, love and trust of the entire Greek people".

On his part, Archbishop Dimitrios said "we always rely on the assistance, support and the inspiration of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, but we also count on the support of the state...``

Investigation over report on bogus passport ring

An Athens prosecutor yesterday commenced a probe into allegations of a forged passport ring, following press reports that passports are offered at 80,000 dollars via an Internet site.

The Athens daily ``Vima`` last week followed up an article by a Russian reporter regarding a Greek-Russian ring allegedly supplying Greek passoports to foreign nationals.

Inflation needs to drop below 2.0 pct for euro zone entry

National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said yesterday that inflation would have to fall below 2.0 percent for Greece to qualify for euro zone entry by the target date of January 1, 2001.

The government's target of 2.0 percent inflation this summer would be met despite a rise in global oil prices, but it needed to fall further due to low inflation rates in Europe, Mr. Papantoniou said.

The minister called on businesses to cut their prices rather than freeze them, as bringing inflation below 2.0 percent would be tough.

He was speaking to reporters after a lengthy meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis and other economics ministers and deputy ministers to debate the budget for 2000 and changes in taxation.

Mr. Papantoniou did not say what new measures the government would take as part of its counter-inflationary drive. According to sources, being debated are cuts in indirect taxation and a reduction of Value Added Tax in public utility rates.

The meeting was followed by another on projects to be submitted for funding under the European Union's Third Community Support Framework, and another to discuss incomes policy.

Stocks sprint through 5,200 pts in renewed ascent

Equity prices resumed their record rally yesterday pushing the general index to its 43th record closing this year and beyond the 5,200-point level.

Traders said buying interest was transferred from smaller capitalisation stocks to blue chips in the banking sector, which outperformed the market to end 6.08 percent higher.

The general index ended 3.32 percent up at 5,224.15 points to stand 90.83 percent up from the start of the year.

Turnover was heavy at 319.725 billion drachmas with 38,940,064 shares changing hands.

A decision by the US Federal Reserve to raise short-term interest rates by 25 basis points had already been discounted in markets abroad, and there was no negative impact domestically.

Sector indices ended as follows: Leasing (+2.89 pct), Insurance (-1.19 pct), Investment (-3.25 pct), Construction (+2.06 pct), Industrials (+2.08 pct), Miscellaneous (-0.03 pct) and Holding (-0.77 pct).

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks fell 2.0 percent while the FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 5.11 percent higher at 2,921.05 points.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 175 to 113 with another seven issues unchanged.

Hellenic Telecoms and Bank of Piraeus were the most heavily traded stocks while National Bank, Alpha Credit Bank, Piraeus Bank, Hellenic Telecoms and Intracom led the day's turnover.

National Bank of Greece ended at 24,700 drachmas, Alpha Credit Bank at 25, 290, Commercial Bank at 30,186, Titan Cement at 37,500, Hellenic Petroleum at 3,070, Intracom at 25,000, Minoan Lines at 7,300, Panafon at 8,960 and Hellenic Telecoms at 6,790.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Thursday's rates (buying)
U.S. dollar          309.950
Pound sterling       491.774
Japanese yen (100)   279.198
French franc          49.371
German mark          165.581
Italian lira (100)    16.725
Irish Punt           411.203
Belgian franc          8.028
Finnish mark          54.468
Dutch guilder        146.956
Danish kr.            43.565
Austrian sch.         23.535
Spanish peseta         1.946
Swedish kr.           37.258
Norwegian kr.         39.263
Swiss franc          202.160
Port. Escudo           1.615
Can. dollar          207.526
Aus. dollar          196.074
Cyprus pound         560.797
Euro                 323.848

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