Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-10-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] Stephanopoulos calls for Balkans to delete ''powder keg'' identity

[02] Foreign minister announces Powell's invitation to visit Athens

[03] Olympic preparations the focus of Economist Group conference

[04] Finmin calls for investment in Olympic projects after the games

[05] Greece ''very much interested'' for pan-European network projects,

[06] Central banker complains of misleading advertising

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates: Thursday

[08] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud, some rain on Thursday

[09] Greek stocks return early gains on Wednesday

[01] Stephanopoulos calls for Balkans to delete ''powder keg'' identity

BELGRADE (ANA/N. Megadoukas) - President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos on Wednesday wished for the ''Balkans and its peoples to stop being identified with conflict and abnormality of the past''.

''Ideas and principles, such as freedom, democracy, equality before the law, the rule of law, justice, security, stability, development and cooperation, should permanently find their real meaning in all the peninsula,'' Stephanopoulos said.

Stephanopoulos visited and addressed the Parliament of Serbia and Montenegro, stressing that the European identity and the European prospects of that country, which Greece is warmly supporting, ''are a political given and a geo-strategic necessity''.

''The future acceptance of all the countries of Southeastern Europe to the European Union will for ever delete from the international vocabulary the characterization of the region as a powder keg, with which the region has unfortunately being stigmatized and lift for ever the reasons that often in the past, even recently, contributed to its troubles,'' Stephanopoulos underlined.

[02] Foreign minister announces Powell's invitation to visit Athens

Foreign Minister George Papandreou on Wednesday said that he invited his U.S. counterpart Collin Powell to visit Athens and the latter accepted the invitation in principle.

He made the statement following a meeting at the Maximos Mansion, but gave no further details of the U.S. official's program.

Commenting on the recent terrorist attack in the Gaza Strip, the foreign minister expressed his sorrow, saying that many diplomats that were in the convoy that was attacked were working for the promotion of the ''road map'' to peace in the Middle East.

''The road map has been agreed on by the European Union, the United Nations, Russia and the United States so as to resolve the Palestinian issue. As a result, every such action, beyond the loss of human lives, for which we express our deepest sorrow, also makes us sad on a political level since it does not promote the peace process,'' he said.

[03] Olympic preparations the focus of Economist Group conference

The latest high-profile event focusing on preparations for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games convened here on Wednesday, with a relevant conference entitled ?Countdown towards the 2004 Games: What should we consider a successful Olympiad??

In addressing the Economist Group-sponsored conference, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos told delegates that the question now is not ?if the Games will succeed, but to what extent.?

He also referred to what he called a radical change in the international perspective on terrorism following 9/11, as well as ?prejudice? due to Greeces geographic position vis-a-vis security concerns for the Games.

[04] Finmin calls for investment in Olympic projects after the games

Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis on Wednesday called on businesses to invest inprojects for the Athens 2004 Olympics that could be used after the international event.

''This is so that the major projects under construction will not remain as idle monuments to a great moment,'' Christodoulakis told a conference on the Olympics arranged by ''The Economist'' business magazine.

[05] Greece ''very much interested'' for pan-European network projects, FinMin says

Greece is very much interested for the promotion of pan-European networks in transport, energy and telecommunications, because Southern Europe suffers from inadequate networks in all three sectors, Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with other cabinet ministers chaired by Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Mr Christodoulakis said that south European states needed more road and railway networks, lacked oil and natural gas pipelines and needed more investments in telecommunications.

The Greek minister stressed that Greece was largely interested in promoting new programmes for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises and noted that an informal EU summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday was considered crucial for the development of Europe.

An informal EU summit over the next two days is expected to discuss funding of pan-European network projects in the sectors of transport, energy and telecommunications.

[06] Central banker complains of misleading advertising

Central bank chief Nikos Garganas on Wednesday told senior executives of commercial banks that they tended to advertise their products in a way that misled the public.

Garganas outlined the terms of a bill that aimed to protect consumers from misleading advertising, while stressing that the Bank of Greece had no intention of restricting the banking business or setting prices for products.

The main problem lay in the ''fine print'' of contracts for banking products although some credit institutions had advertised returns on investment products that could only be attained in exceptional market conditions, he added.

The head of the central bank was hosting a luncheon for commercial bankers.

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates: Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.176

Pound sterling 0.704

Danish kroner 7.487

Swedish kroner 9.035

Japanese yen 128.7

Swiss franc 1.557

Norwegian kroner 8.331

Cyprus pound 0.589

Canadian dollar 1.562

Australian dollar 1.707

[08] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud, some rain on Thursday

All parts of the country will see scattered cloud, with rain and storms in the Ionian, on the mainland and in the northern Aegean. Winds variable, moderate to very strong. In the north, temperatures will range from 7C to 18C; in the west 11C to 22C; and in the rest of the country from 10C to 25C. Temperatures in Athens between 17C and 24C; and in Thessaloniki from 12C to 17C.

[09] Greek stocks return early gains on Wednesday

Greek stocks were unable to follow a rise in other European markets on Wednesday as investors preferred to take early profits by the end of the session leaving share prices with minor changes in the Athens Stock Exchange.

The general index, rose 0.18 percent to end at 2,118.46 points, after rising to 2,131 points early in the session. Turnover was a moderate 119.2 million euros.

The Wholesale and Holding sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (1.64 percent and 1.55 percent, respectively), while the Cement and IT Solution sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (1.38 percent and 1.22 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 0.17 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 0.55 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.57 percent up.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 163 to 114 with another 76 issues unchanged.

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