Athens News Agency: News in English, 00-12-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] Onassis foundation-lectures

[02] Parliament-2001 Budget-National Economy Minister

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Wednesday

[04] Weather Forecast-Wednesday

[05] Greece - Nepal - FM visits Katmandu

[06] Foreign minister - PASOK - Greek politics

[01] Onassis foundation-lectures

The Onassis Foundation on Tuesday announced a series of lectures on physics, biology, chemistry, information systems and mathematics, for professionals, during a press conference in Athens.

The ?Onassis Foundation Science Lectures? aim at the continuing education of Greek scientists and university students and will take place every summer in Iraklion, Crete over the period of a week.

Noted international scientists will be invited to deliver lectures on the aforementioned subjects.

[02] Parliament-2001 Budget-National Economy Minister

National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, speaking in Parliament on Tuesday during the ongoing debate on the 2001 state budget, said that if the aim of fiscal policy in the past was to cover deficits, from now on "budgets will distribute surpluses."

"We have a budget which, for the first time in recent history, does not impose any new tax but, on the contrary, is distributing a surplus of 450 billion drachmas among low and medium incomes through tax decreases and social expenditures," he said.

Papantoniou said that due to the decrease in the public debt and the decrease in interest rates low and medium incomes benefit again since additional funds amounting to 1.7 trillion drachmas are being released in their favour in the case of this year's budget.

He said that this proves that to date government policy combines stability with development and social justice and "the progress of the Greek economy is not only reflected in the nominal but in the real convergence we have achieved as well."

"Over the past four years development rates in Greece were substantively higher than the average of our partners in the EU, while the productivity of labour and salaries also increased considerably. The average income of the Greek citizen also increased from 62 percent of the average income of the European citizen in 1993 to 70 percent in 2000," he added.

[03] Foreign Exchange Rates-Wednesday

Indicative rates released by the central bank for the next working day.

Wednesday's rates (buying)

Euro 338.024

U.S. dollar 380.432

German mark 172.829

French franc 051.531

Pound sterling 556.591

Irish punt 429.202

Belgian franc 008.379

Luxembourg franc 008.379

Dutch guilder 153.389

Italian lira (100) 017.457

Austrian schilling 024.565

Danish kroner 045.330

Swedish kroner 038.859

Finnish mark 056.852

Spanish peseta 002.032

Portuguese escudo 001.686

Japanese yen (100) 339.740

Swiss franc 224.544

Norwegian kroner 041.793

Cyprus pound 589.327

Canadian dollar 249.071

Australian dollar 205.468

[04] Weather Forecast-Wednesday

Scattered cloud is forecast throughout Greece on Wednesday, with sunshine in the west and showers or sleet and snow on high ground in the northeast, centre, the eastern Peloponnese, the Cyclades and Crete. Temperatures will drop. Winds northerly, moderate to strong, turning very strong in the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from -2C to 9C; in the west from 4C to 16C; and in the rest of the country from 3C to 14C. Light cloud over Athens and possibly showers from afternoon; with temperatures between 5C and 13C. Same in Thessaloniki with temperatures from 3C to 9C.

[05] Greece - Nepal - FM visits Katmandu

KATMANDU (ANA - D. Konstantakopoulos) - Beginning the first ever official visit to Nepal by a Greek foreign minister on Tuesday, George Papandreou had a series of meetings with the leadership of this Himalayan country, one of the poorest in the world.

In statements to the ANA, Nepalese Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Banstola said that his country looked to Greece to become Nepal's voice within the European Union, from which it seeks access for its products to European markets and not just "rhetoric for the poor".

With regard to Greek-Nepalese bilateral relations, Katmandu invited investments in hydroelectric projects, and Greek participation in upcoming telecoms privatisation tenders and the tourism sector.

Nepal supported Athens in its unsuccessful candidacy to become a member of the UN Security Council and pledges to support it again in 2005, while it is also interested in Athens' support for its own candidacy in 2007.

Finally, Papandreou and Banstola discussed cultural and tourism issues.

[06] Foreign minister - PASOK - Greek politics

KATMANDU (ANA - D. Konstantakopoulos) Speaking from Nepal, where he began the first ever official visit by a Greek foreign minister on Tuesday, Foreign Minister George Papandreou called for radical changes within ruling PASOK so that it could reflect the political concerns of the younger generation.

Noting the distance of current party mechanisms, which were based on the experiences of the post-dictatorship political era, from the concerns and expectations of citizens, particularly the young, he called for "more participatory and political processes".

Continuing, he said the problem was not whether PASOK could have a "twin leadership" and said it would be a mistake for the party to focus on this issue. Making an indirect reference to the new party currently under formation by Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, he said that PASOK had the potential to express a wide population base, to evolve, to modernise and to address the feelings of young people that the parties did not represent them.

Asked about his relations with Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Papandreou underlined that he did not feel doubted by the defence minister, that they worked well together and supported each other within the framework of the government's collective operation.

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