Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-03-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] Bank of Greece presents monetary report to Parliament

[02] PM to embark on lightning tour of western Balkans on Wednesday

[03] Deputy FM on development cooperation, economic diplomacy

[04] Metropolitan Theoklitos resigns over alleged links with Yiossakis but insists he is innocent

[01] Bank of Greece presents monetary report to Parliament

Presenting the report, the Greek central banker said that the Greek economy was moving satisfactorily. The report will be distributed to political parties and will be debated in Parliament and in the Economic Affairs Commission.

The report examines thoroughly changes in an international economic environment, inflation and economic activity in the Eurozone and Greece during 2004 and economic prospects for the current year. It also analyses developments in money, credit and capital markets in Greece and evaluates stability in the domestic financial system.

The central bank, in its report, said that Greek Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed to 3.8 percent in 2004 from 4.5 percent in 2003 and predicted a further slowing down this year, although it stressed that Greek GDP growth rate "will still be significantly higher compared with Eurozone growth rates". The report said that Greece would make further progress towards real economic convergence in 2005.

Greek inflation eased in 2004 "due to a sharp fall in fresh fruit and vegetable prices, but core inflation rose further," the central bank said. The Bank of Greece said it expected the inflation rate to be slightly higher this year compared with 2004 "above Eurozone average rate", a development likely to hurt the country's international economic competitiveness.

[02] PM to embark on lightning tour of western Balkans on Wednesday

The Greek premier is due to arrive in the Croatian capital Zagreb at 15:00 on Wednesday, where he will have talks with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and will then immediately leave for Belgrade, where he is to have successive meetings with Serb President Boris Tadic at 18:30 and Montenegro Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic at 19:30.

He will stay in Belgrade overnight and meet with Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica at 9:00 on Thursday morning, to be followed by a courtesy call on Serbia and Montenegro President Svetozar Marovic shortly after.

Karamanlis will then depart for Kosovo, arriving in Pristina around noon. His first port of call will be the base of the Greek Force in Kosovo 'Rigas Ferraios', where he will meet with Greek troops stationed in the region.

The Greek premier is then due to meet the head of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Soeren Jessen Petersen and the President of Kosovo Ibrahim Rugova, in the presence of Kosovo premier Ramush Haradinaj and the rest of Kosovo's political leadership.

Karamanlis is expected to depart from Pristina at 18:30 to return to Athens.

The premier's upcoming tour was also commented on by foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos, who said it was an extension of organised and active efforts by Greek diplomacy in the area.

Koumoutsakos said that Greece had a clearcut and specific target in its Balkan policy, which was to make a positive and constructive contribution to establishing stability. Athens' support for the European prospects and European course of Balkan countries arose in the context of this goal and this would be the central message of the premier's tour, the spokesman added.

[03] Deputy FM on development cooperation, economic diplomacy

"We must move aggressively in economic diplomacy in order to reverse the negative situation which exists in exports and foreign investment," he said.

In terms of development policy and economic diplomacy in the Balkans, the Black Sea region and the Mediterranean, the government is looking to upgrade Thessaloniki's role as a metropolitan centre, he said, adding that Thrace will also have a new role to play as an energy, transport and commercial hub.

Stylianidis also cited Greece's role in the relief effort for the victims of the tsunami, which hit Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004 as one of four instances of development cooperation in the past year.

As for the National Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans, Stylianidis said that "our hands and feet are tied" due to bilateral agreements that were signed by the previous PASOK government, which do not serve Greek national interests. "However, we will implement these agreements because as Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis has said several times 'continuation of foreign policy' is paramount," Stylianidis said.

[04] Metropolitan Theoklitos resigns over alleged links with Yiossakis but insists he is innocent

The metropolitan's decision, known several days beforehand, was made after his name was embarrassingly linked with that of jailed former archmandrite Iacovos Yiossakis, currently in Korydallos Prison facing charges of antiquities smuggling, and an emerging scandal involving both courts and clergy, in which judges were apparently bribed in order to hand out lighter sentences to known drug dealers.

Theoklitos, a former spokesman for the Permanent Holy Synod and a close associate of Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos, insists that his intentions in recommending that Yiossakis be promoted were innocent and that he is resigning to avoid all hint that the archbishop was in any way linked with "covert" centres.

He also calls for a full investigation into those aspects of the case that involve him so that the truth should be known.

Theoklitos ended the letter by expressing his gratitude to Archbishop Christodoulos, who he said had acted as his spiritual father and guide over the past 27 years. "All that I am I owe to him," he said.

As his letter of resignation arrived at the Holy Synod, meanwhile, the resigned metropolitan was appearing before a Supreme Court justice to assist in the Supreme Court's disciplinary inquiry concerning corruption in the judicial system.

Emerging from a three-hour session, Theoklitos told reporters that he had "told the truth. Nothing more, nothing less."

He is implicated in the suspected rigging of trial at a Piraeus court, along with remand prisoner Yiossakis.

In a related case, meanwhile, Greek prosecuting authorities have applied to Swiss courts for permission to open the accounts for former first-instance judge Constantina Bourboulia, while three judicial officials will face prosecution for failing to submit 'means and assets' statements.

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