Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-05-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cem - Greek-Turkish relations - Cyprus

[02] Weather Forecast-Wednesday

[03] FAA - Olympic - Airbus

[04] Hellenic Technodomiki-1st quarter results

[05] Spanish premier - Expected visit

[06] ASE-close

[07] Papantoniou-Greek Eurodeputies

[08] European Commission-drachma parity

[09] Greece-employment-measures

[01] Cem - Greek-Turkish relations - Cyprus

ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) -- Turkish Prime Minister Ismail Cem this week reiterated that Ankaras current relations with Athens stand at one of the best levels that theyve ever been.

Speaking on a Turkish television programme, Cem also touched on the Cyprus issue, noting that the entire problem has entered a ?course where Turkey can now better explain its (Cyprus problem) particulars.?

The Turkish FM also referred to recent developments in Turkish-Iranian relations, where he said that ?the new government in Iran provides hope?. He added that although Ankaras relations with its eastern neighbour are still not at a desired level, ?they are much better than in the past.?

[02] Weather Forecast-Wednesday

Fair weather is forecast throughout the country on Wednesday with scattered cloud in central and northern mainland Greece from late afternoon. Winds northerly, light to moderate.

[03] FAA - Olympic - Airbus

A decision by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the powerful agency that oversees air traffic control and the airline industry in the United States, to reportedly ban two new Olympic Airways ?Airbus 340? from landing at US airports has taken Greeces civil aviation authority (YPA) by surprise.

According to reports, no official memorandum from the FAA to its Greek counterpart has arrived, although OA officials were informed last week of the ban on the two 340s passenger jets. Another two OA Airbuses, conversely, have already been included in an FAA register of planes allowed to land and take off from US airports as of early 1999. OA at present has six planes, including two of the four Airbuses, on the FAAs register.

OA officials said the US agency cited 'bureaucratic reasons' for the decision to delay replacement of OA's two Boeing 747 'Jumbos' with the European-made 'Airbus' 340s on the Greek national carrier's routes to the United States.

[04] Hellenic Technodomiki-1st quarter results

Hellenic Technodomiki, a listed construction group, on Tuesday reported a 140 percent jump in its 1st quarter pre-tax profits to 2.9 billion drachmas from 1.2 billion the same period in 1999.

The group's consolidated turnover totalled 29.9 billion drachmas from 13.3 bln last year, an increase of 125 percent.

Hellenic Technodomiki announced pre-tax profits of 2.0 billion drachmas in the period January-March from 709 million last year, up 189 percent and a 40 percent rise in its turnover to 14.5 billion drachmas over the same period.

Aktor and TEB, two members of the group, also reported higher results.

[05] Spanish premier - Expected visit

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar will reportedly arrive in Athens for a working visit on June 6-7, press sources said on Tuesday from the Greek capital.

At press time, Aznar's visit had not been verified by the Spanish foreign ministry.

[06] ASE-close

Equity prices ended lower on Tuesday, reflecting losses in blue chip stocks and subdued turnover as many investors remained on the sidelines awaiting fresh news.

Analysts said the general index was currently moving sideways trying to find the necessary strength to break above the 4,800 resistance level. They said that low volumes undermined such efforts and predicted that the market would find support at the 4,550 level.

The general index ended at 4,570.19 points, down 0.52 percent, but off the day's lows of 4,534.60 points. Turnover was a low 138 billion drachmas.

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 0.54 percent lower at 2,539.15 points and the FTSE/ASE 40 index fell 0.22 percent to 663.35 points.

The parallel market index for smaller capitalisation stocks ended at 979.11 points, up 2.13 percent.

[07] Papantoniou-Greek Eurodeputies

National Economy and Finance Minister, Yiannos Papantoniou, on Tuesday urged for a strengthened role of the 12 finance ministers of euro zone member-states in shaping the EU's economic policy.

Addressing a meeting with Greek Eurodeputies, Papantoniou said it was important to strengthen the institutional role of the finance ministers' council to create a counterbalance to the European Central Bank's powers in shaping economic policy in the European Union.

Commenting on plans for the EU's expansion, Papantoniou said there must be forms of a more enhanced cooperation to boost integration and predicted that the expansion drive with the 12 candidate states would have been completed by 2005.

Turkey, was a separate chapter, he said.

Speaking to reporters, after the meeting, Papantoniou said that the government's privatisation programme "forbidded lay-offs" and that it ensured job positions.

He said that the government would further support lower and medium-sized incomes through tax and social spending measures.

[08] European Commission-drachma parity

The European Commission on Tuesday adopted the necessary community legislative regulations ahead of the drachma's entry in the euro currency and recommended that the Greek currency's switch parity should be its current ERM II central rate of 340.750 drachmas against the euro.

An ANA dispatch from Brussels said that the EU's executive's proposals were included in the framework of legislative procedures adopted two years ago, when a decision was taken for the creation of a single European currency, and aiming to complete the drachma's euro entry by June 20 following a decision by an EU summit in Portugal.

The Commission's decision typically announces that the Greek currency's parity will be permanently fixed against the euro on January 1, 2001.

The European Commission also adopted recommendations to amend community regulations on the euro currency aiming to legislatively establish the circulation of euro coins and notes by January 1, 2002 in Greece and the other 11 members of the euro zone.

EU sources said that the Greek government would seek rapid adjustment of the Greek law to EU regulations.

[09] Greece-employment-measures

The Greek government plans to create 75,000 new jobs this year aiming to boost employment by 300,000 jobs in the period 2000-2004, Labour and Social Security Minister Athanasios Yiannitsis said on Tuesday.

Presenting the government's national action plan for employment to the parliament's social affairs committee, Yiannitsis said that Greece was among the top EU states in employment growth rates, based on 1994-1999 figures, with 150,000 new jobs created in the previous four years, excluding an "indefinite number of jobs" occupied by immigrants.

Yiannitsis said the national employment action plan focused on four points: improving workers' skills, equal opportunities for both sexes, promoting a business culture and adjusting workers and businesses to a new economic environment.

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