Macedonian Press Agency: News in English,99-12-03
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 3, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PREMIER: ANKARA HAS TO ACCEPT THE COMMON
EUROPEAN VALUES
[02] EXPATRIATE GREEKS HOLD FOUR FORUMS IN
THESSALONIKI
[03] PRESIDENT OF SAE'S EUROPEAN REGION SALUTES
DELEGATES
[04] PRESIDENT OF SAE'S OCEANIA REGION SPEAKS TO
THE MPA
[05] MPA TO HOST INTER-BALKAN CONFERENCE ON
REGIONAL PEACE
[06] CULTURE MINISTRY DEDICATES YEAR 2000 TO
GREEK POET SEFERIS
[07] THESSALONIKI TO GRANDLY CELEBRATE END OF
THE MILLENNIUM
[08] THESSALONIKI HOSTS UNESCO HUMAN RIGHTS,
PEACE CONFERENCE
[09] COMMITTEE REVIEWS THESSALONIKI - ISTANBUL
ROAD, RAIL LINKS
[10] THE GREEKS LIVING IN ASIA AND AFRICA TRY TO
PRESERVE THEIR IDENTITY
[11] GREEK COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD
COOPERATION NETWORK
[12] THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOUR FORA OF THE
GREEK DIASPORA AND THE REGIONAL SAE CONTINUE
[13] MEETING OF GREEK INTELLECTUALS LIVING
ABROAD
[14] GRIGORIS NIOTIS IN THE FORUM OF THE GREEK
WOMEN LIVING ABROAD
[15] THE GREEK PARLIAMENTARIANS OF THE DIASPORA
COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS
[16] THE PROSECUTOR WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO
INTERVENE IN SCHOOLS OCCUPIED BY STUDENTS
[17] OTE RESPONDED TO THE LEGAL ACTION
UNDERTAKEN REGARDING ACTIVITIES IN ROMANIA AND
ARMENIA
[18] LOSSES WERE RECORDED AGAIN TODAY IN THE
ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] PRESIDENT OF HELLENIC REPUBLIC ON OFFICIAL
VISIT TO PORTUGAL
[20] CYPRUS PROXIMITY TALKS BEGIN TODAY IN NEW
YORK
[21] GREEK AND ROMANIAN STATE RADIOS TO
ESTABLISH COOPERATION
[22] FRAUD AND SECRET DEALS REPORTED ON OTE-KPN
BUYOUT OF BTK
[23] EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSES A "SINGLE
EUROPEAN SKY"
[24] STEPHANOPOULOS: GREECE EXPERIENCES
UNPRECEDENTED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
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NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] PREMIER: ANKARA HAS TO ACCEPT THE COMMON
EUROPEAN VALUES
Following the Athens-held talks with his
Finnish counterpart Paavo Liponnen yesterday,
Greece's Prime Minster Costas Simitis stated
that Ankara has to accept the common European
values, while he stressed the need to draw
decision during the forthcoming European Union
Summit in Helsinki.
In turn, Mr. Liponnen stated that Athens's
concerns are wholly justifiable and reasonable
and added that a postponement at the Summit
would not b useful. Concerning Cyprus's
accession to the EU, the Finish Premier stated
that no one can pose an impediment, although he
added that a resolution to the political
problem would help.
[02] EXPATRIATE GREEKS HOLD FOUR FORUMS IN
THESSALONIKI
Four different forums of overseas Greek
entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and Greek
women are beginning in Thessaloniki's "I.
Vellidis Conference Center" today, where the
delegates will review Greece's role as a
starting point for the development of economic
cooperation with Balkan and Black Sea countries.
Participants will have the opportunity to
discuss potential ventures in the sectors of
industry, exporting, trade, banking,
construction, energy, telecommunications,
transportation, high technology and tourism. The
event will be inaugurated by the Minister of
Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis Magriotis.
Meanwhile, over one thousand Greeks from
all five continents will attend the World
Council of Hellenes (SAE) Third International
Assembly, also to be held in the northern
capital between December 5-8.
The event will be opened by Prime Minister
Costas Simitis and will be attended, among
others, by President Costis Stephanopoulos,
Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and several
party leaders.
[03] PRESIDENT OF SAE'S EUROPEAN REGION SALUTES
DELEGATES
Matters of national interest, education and
culture, as well as the perseverance of the
Hellenic identity are just some of the issues
that concern the delegates of the European
Region of the Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE),
whose conference is presently being held in
Thessaloniki's "N. Germanos" conference center.
The president of SAE's European Region
Aggelos Aslanides stated that the recent
developments in the international scene,
especially in the European sector, have avert
not only worldwide political balances, but
principles, values and morals as well.
"We, the Greeks, felt embittered when we
saw the primordial values which our ancestors
spread throughout Europe to crumble in the name
of economic and political-military interests,"
he stated. Referring to the Balkan region, Mr.
Aslanides stated that "all of us felt a sense
of profound disppointment when we saw that not
even Europe, which has a glorious history of
struggles for democracy, liberty and justice,
was able to face the lingering problems in a
peaceful manner."
[04] PRESIDENT OF SAE'S OCEANIA REGION SPEAKS TO
THE MPA
The president of the Oceania Regional
Council of Greeks Abroad Costas Vertzayias
conveyed to the Macedonian Press Agency the
agony felt by his area's Greeks and outlined
their priorities.
"Our agony stems from the problem of
assimilation. We must maintain our identity and,
trying to discover solutions to this problem, we
are looking for ways to include the teaching of
the Greek language in Australia's educational
system and to establish foreign exchange program
with Greece where the children will get a first
taste from the motherland."
Referring to the issue of representation,
Mr. Vertzayias stressed that two of Australia's
largest Greek communities (Sidney and Adelaide)
are not represented since they belong to an
Autocephalus Church which is not recognized by
the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
The Oceania Region of SAE intends to submit
a resolution to the council ‘s plenary session
requesting the representation of the two
aforementioned communities.
[05] MPA TO HOST INTER-BALKAN CONFERENCE ON
REGIONAL PEACE
The Macedonian Press Agency is to host a
journalism conference, titled "the Prospect of
Inter-Balkan cooperation after Kosovo: the Role
of the Media", which will be attended by senior
journalists from 60 of the Balkan region's
largest media organizations.
The event, to be held in Thessaloniki on
December 10-11, will feature the participation
of leading journalists from Albania, Bulgaria,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, FYROM,
Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and
Yugoslavia, as well as directors and chief
editors from Greece's largest media.
The strife-torn region of Kosovo will also
be represented at the conference; the publisher
of the "Koha Ditore" daily Beton Suroi will
attend, as well as the director of the "Rilidia"
daily Plerim Reka, the journalist-historian
Skelcem Ratsa, and others.
Moreover, the event will feature the
participation of officials from the United
Nations and the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, as well as FYROM's
alternate Minister of Press and Information
Dragi Arsov and Albania's Minister of Press Musa
Oulkini.
The conference is taking place under the
auspices of the Ministries of Press and Mass
Media, Development, and Macedonia-Thrace, as
well as with the assistance of the Thessaloniki
Trade and Industry Chamber and the Northern
Greece's Journalists Association.
[06] CULTURE MINISTRY DEDICATES YEAR 2000 TO
GREEK POET SEFERIS
The Culture Ministry will dedicate the year
2000 to Greece's renowned poet Giorgios Seferis,
1963 Nobel Laureate in Literature, marking the
centennial anniversary since his birth in
Smyrna.
A series of events will be held throughout
the year, starting with Cyprus which will host a
seminar on Seferis.
A vast selection of photographs,
manuscripts and personal items will be on
display in Athens in an exhibition that will
travel throughout the cities associated with the
life of the man who is regarded by many as the
greatest Greek poet of the 20th century.
[07] THESSALONIKI TO GRANDLY CELEBRATE END OF
THE MILLENNIUM
Thessaloniki plans to grandly celebrate the
end of he millennium and the beginning of the
new one, with a series of events that will
include music, dancing, and theatrical shows,
while the city's port will play host to a
6,500m2 exhibition and design space geared
toward the younger generation.
Also, the city's new concert hall is
scheduled for inauguration on January 2.
The culture ministry plans a year of
events, including celebrations to mark 10,000
years of Hellenic civilization, 5,000 years of
urban living, 3,000 years of the Greek alphabet
- entitled "From 'Word' to Software" - and
"2,000 years of Christianity".
The Autocephalus Orthodox Church of Greece
will work closely with the culture ministry in
planning for the series of events that will
comprise the "2000 Years of Christianity"
subject, which will also include participating
in "Bethlehem 2000" events at the Jerusalem
Patriarchate.
[08] THESSALONIKI HOSTS UNESCO HUMAN RIGHTS,
PEACE CONFERENCE
An international conference titled "Towards
a culture of human rights and peace. The role of
universities" is presently being hosted by
UNESCO in Thessaloniki and aims at the
establishment of a network that will develop
these ideas.
The said network, which is already in
informal operation, features the participation
of university schools, UNESCO chairs, research
institutes and non-governmental organizations
which are working on programs of education,
teaching, research related to the culture of
peace.
Psychology professor Dimitra Papadopoulou,
who is also the chairwoman of the conference's
organizing committee at the Aristotle University
of Thessaloniki stated that the UNESCO chairs in
universities aim at leading the way to the
construction of a culture of peace and non-
violence and are proceeding towards the
development of this network.
UNESCO's director of the Unit for the
International Year for the Culture of Peace
David Adams stated that "it is significant that
the universities be linked by a network of
information, mutual support and cooperation,
which would not only be at a departmental and
administrative levels, but also at the level of
students who should also have contact among
them."
The three-day conference features the
participation of UNESCO officials, university
deans and professors, as well as UNESCO
chairholders in Balkan and Mediterranean
universities.
[09] COMMITTEE REVIEWS THESSALONIKI - ISTANBUL
ROAD, RAIL LINKS
A joint transportation committee of Turkish
and Greek officials met in Athens this week in
order to discuss the planned road and railway
routes that will link Thessaloniki with
Istanbul.
The discussions also spanned issues
concerning the easing of border traffic through
the simplification of customs, health and police
controls.
Following the meeting, Greece's Minister of
Transportation and Communications Tasos Mantelis
stated that the Turkish side is corresponding
to the proposals set forth by Greece.
"The two countries will be linked via motor
ways and rail routes, a fact that will boost
their transport, illustrating Greece's role as
the overall region's junction," Mr. Mantelis
stated, adding that "if this first step is
successful, then cooperation can be expanded
into other sectors."
[10] THE GREEKS LIVING IN ASIA AND AFRICA TRY TO
PRESERVE THEIR IDENTITY
The Asia-Africa Regional World Council of
Hellenes Abroad, SAE, focused its attention in
the effort to preserve the identity of the
Greeks living in these parts of the world.
In the period of 1998-1999 the Asia-Africa
Regional SAE was occupied with issues of
education, culture, participation and
organization of conferences, assistance to the
Greeks in need, visits to regions with Greek
communities and cooperation with the mass media.
A significant issue that was finally
resolved was the financial support of the modern
Greek language department in South Africa's RAU
University that was offered by the Greeks state.
Also, the issue of the establishment of
education offices was settled after a decision
by the Greek ministry of education. Already, two
education coordinators have been appointed in
Johannesburg and Cairo for the current school
year.
Meanwhile, the establishment of a post-
graduate studies' center named after Alexander
the Great will soon materialize. The young
Greeks living in Asian and African countries
also have stressed the need to preserve the
existing Greek schools and increase the number
of Greek educators, while they have underlined
that the teaching material has to arrive in
time.
[11] GREEK COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD
COOPERATION NETWORK
The Black Sea Greek Civilization Center of
Studies and Development will implement the "5+5
Program" aimed at creating the 1st World Network
of Cooperating Greek Communities.
The goal of the network is to bring closer
the Greeks around the world from the Black Sea
to the Pacific Ocean. Through this network the
Greeks living in different parts of the world
will have the opportunity to discover the
elements that unite them as well as their
differences that compose the mosaic of the world
Greek community.
The formal opening of the "5+5 Program"
will take place in Thessaloniki on December 7
within the framework of SAE's 3rd World
Conference.
[12] THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FOUR FORA OF THE
GREEK DIASPORA AND THE REGIONAL SAE CONTINUE
The proceedings of the four fora of the
Greek Diaspora and the Regional SAE of Europe,
United States, Australia, Asia and Africa
continue in Thessaloniki.
Oceania Regional SAE president Mr.
Vertzagias expressed the agony of the Greeks
living in this distant continent and analyzed
the main priorities of the Oceania SAE. The
delegates in the Europe SAE will examine
national issues, issues of education and
culture. Its president Mr. Aslanidis stressed
that the international developments in the past
few years especially in the European region have
overturned not only the international political
balance but the principles, moral values and
ideals. The Greeks living in Asian and African
countries who want to preserve their identity
will also discuss their problems in the Asia-
Africa SAE.
[13] MEETING OF GREEK INTELLECTUALS LIVING
ABROAD
A two-day forum of Greek intellectuals
living abroad opened in Thessaloniki today with
the participation of over 60 distinguished
intellectuals and artists from many countries
among them author Vasilis Vasilikos and film
director Kostas Gavras.
Undersecretary of foreign affairs Grigoris
Niotis, responsible for issues concerning the
Greeks living abroad, stressed that the cultural
dimension of Hellenism is a basic element that
must be taken under consideration when planning
the future.
Famous film director Kostas Gavras, who
has made a career in France, stressed that the
cultural presence of Greece abroad and
specifically in France, is very poor and more
should be done in order for the Greeks to make
their presence more notable abroad. Author
Vasilis Vasilikos, who is Greece's ambassador to
the UNESCO, expressed his joy for the
opportunity offered to exchange views and get
programs underway in view of the new century.
Poet Takis Varvitsiotis stated that the
values of the Greek civilization are constantly
undermined as the people have been turned into
apathetic consumers and the spiritual values of
Hellenism and Christianity are being seriously
threatened. He also said that the large
communities of the Greeks in the United States,
Australia and Canada are being at risk to be
absorbed by the country where they live and
disappear in an anonymous reality.
Greek Language Center president Dimitris
Maronitis stated that the Greek language is
unprotected. He added that it is placed among
the weaker EU languages and efforts should be
made in order to preserve it among the Greeks
who were born outside Greece.
[14] GRIGORIS NIOTIS IN THE FORUM OF THE GREEK
WOMEN LIVING ABROAD
Greek undersecretary of foreign affairs
Grigoris Niotis, responsible for issues
concerning the Greeks living abroad, formally
opened the proceedings of the forum of the Greek
women living abroad in Thessaloniki today.
Mr. Niotis welcomed them to the 3rd World
Assembly of SAE expressing the hope that Greece,
Cyprus and the Greeks all over the world will
appear stronger and more united to welcome the
new century. The undersecretary of foreign
affairs stressed that it is very important that
dynamic groups such as the women, are included
in this organized world entity of the Greeks
living abroad.
The Greek undersecretary of foreign affairs
said that since 1995 it has been observed that
the organized institutional forces of the Greeks
abroad are being dominated by men and pointed
out that women are those who work for the
promotion of men to different posts. He
expressed the satisfaction of the foreign
ministry and the responsible agencies over the
fact that starting next week the women will be
organized within the framework of SAE with the
election of an 11-member coordinating body.
[15] THE GREEK PARLIAMENTARIANS OF THE DIASPORA
COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS
The proceedings of the 3rd Inter-
Parliamentary Union will start tomorrow with the
participation of about 80 parliament deputies of
Greek origin from around the world. During the
conference proceedings there will be an
evaluation of the work done by the World Inter-
Parliamentary Union.
World Inter-Parliamentary Union president
Nikos Papadopoulos, who is a Swedish parliament
deputy stated to MPA that the basic goal of the
members of the union is to establish
parliamentary unions of Greek friendship and
culture in state parliaments across the world.
He said that the first step has already
been made toward this direction with the
establishment of a parliamentary group in Sweden
with 128 members and Lithuania with 21 members,
while other three similar parliamentary groups
are being prepared in Britain, France and
Germany and are expected to be established by
June 2000.
According to Mr. Papadopoulos, one of the
main priorities of the World Inter-Parliamentary
Union is the promotion of the Olympic Games
ideal and the adoption of the Olympic Games
Truce through the establishment of the Central
World Committee of Truce in Greece based in
ancient Olympia.
[16] THE PROSECUTOR WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO
INTERVENE IN SCHOOLS OCCUPIED BY STUDENTS
The Greek cabinet in its meeting today
accepted the proposal made by minister of
justice Evangelos Yiannopoulos to give the right
to prosecutors to intervene in the schools that
are occupied by the students.
Minister of education Gerasimos Arsenis
stated that the prosecutors will have the right
to intervene to determine if the school
buildings suffer damages during their occupation
and if the responsibility for the occupation of
the school buildings belongs to individuals
outside the student community. This way, said
Mr. Arsenis, it will be easier for the school
principals who find it difficult for sentimental
reasons to report to police law violations
committed inside the schools under student
occupation.
[17] OTE RESPONDED TO THE LEGAL ACTION
UNDERTAKEN REGARDING ACTIVITIES IN ROMANIA AND
ARMENIA
The Greek Telecommunications Organization,
OTE, in a statement issued after the recent
developments and the legal action against its
former executive adviser, who is accused of
embezzling billions of drachmas, it stresses
that the activities of OTE both inside the
country and abroad are being undertaken based on
the interest of the organization itself and its
shareholders in an open and mature way.
The prosecutor has filed a suit against OTE
former executive adviser Giorgos Chrisolouris,
OTE foreign investments director Panagiotis
Nikakis and businessman Socrates Kokkalis owner
of the Intracom Group.
According to the prosecutor, the accused
used OTE as a cover in order to facilitate
Intracom's investments in Romania and Armenia
using unlawful means.
[18] LOSSES WERE RECORDED AGAIN TODAY IN THE
ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
More losses were recorded again today in
the Athens Stock Exchange. The general index
closed at 5.560,14 with losses of 0.31%, while
the volume of transactions reached 338.5 billion
drachmas.
The main characteristic of today's session
was that in spite of the downward trend in the
general index the bank shares moved upward. The
stocks of the parallel market received strong
pressures due to the liquidation and the
majority of the stocks closed with losses.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[19] PRESIDENT OF HELLENIC REPUBLIC ON OFFICIAL
VISIT TO PORTUGAL
The President of the Republic Costis
Stephanopoulos is presently conducting a four-
day, state visit to Portugal, which takes over
the EU's rotating presidency on January 1, at
the invitation of his Portuguese counterpart
Jorge Sampaio with whom he held talks
yesterday.
President Stephanopoulos referred to Greek-
Turkish relations and noted that the recent
earthquakes that devastated both countries
brought the two peoples closer together and
improved bilateral relations. Nevertheless, he
added, in order for Turkey to proceed with its
European prospect it has to actively display a
spirit of cooperation that will allow for the
resolution of the Cyprus issue and the
continental shelf matter, in accordance with
International Law.
In addition to Mr. Sampaio, President
Stephanopoulos also met with Portuguese Prime
Minister Antonio Guterres. Mr. Stephanopoulos
will inaugurate the new Greek embassy building
in Lisbon and an exhibition of Byzantine icons
at the dos Jeronimos Monastery.
The Greek president is accompanied by
deputy foreign minister Christos Rokofyllos and
a delegation of Greek businessmen. Mr.
Rokofyllos and his Portuguese counterpart signed
an agreement on the avoidance of double
taxation.
[20] CYPRUS PROXIMITY TALKS BEGIN TODAY IN NEW
YORK
The President of the Republic of Cyprus
Glafcos Clerides and the leader of the Turkish -
Cypriots Rauf Denktash are to start proximity
talks at the United Nations headquarters in New
York today.
Upon his arrival in New York, President
Clerides stated that he and his delegation
arrived at the UN headquarters with a sense of
good will and with the aim to take advantage of
the international community's interest in
resolving the Cyprus issue.
UN officials have said there will be a news
blackout during the talks, which are scheduled
to last for between 10 and 12 days.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will chair
the initial rounds of the talks while the UN
Security Council has called on both sides "give
their full support" to comprehensive
negotiations on the future of the island.
[21] GREEK AND ROMANIAN STATE RADIOS TO
ESTABLISH COOPERATION
Greece's and Romania's state-owned radio
stations are to sign a cooperation protocol in
Bucharest today, which will call for the
establishment of an Emergency Action Radio
Network.
The said network, which Romania is to
support at a Balkan level, is aiming towards the
activation of the region's radio stations during
times of crisis or natural disaster.
Greece's National Radio had taken the
aforementioned initiative during the Second
Congress of National Radio-Television
Organizations of Southeast Europe.
[22] FRAUD AND SECRET DEALS REPORTED ON OTE-KPN
BUYOUT OF BTK
Numerous reports in Sofia's press are
focusing on the Greek prosecutor's investigation
into the 51% buyout of Bulgaria's state-run
telecommunications organization BTK by its Greek
and Dutch counterparts, OTE and KPN
respectively.
While OTE and KÑÍ have agreed to buy a 51
percent stake in BTK, the deal is still pending
approval from the Bulgarian parliament and
regulatory authorities.
Today's edition of the Bulgarian daily "24
Hours" ran an article with the headline "Kostov
issues ultimatum for BTK", where it states that
the Bulgarian Premier met yesterday with KPN's
executive director Marten Peters and pressured
him into reaching a deal by the end of 1999.
Other dailies focused on an "Associated
Press" dispatch, which reports that Greek
prosecutors are conducting a probe into alleged
fraud and secret dealings conducted by OTE and a
leading electronic systems provider, Intracom
S.A.
According to the "Associated Press", the
charges follow a year-long inquiry into ÏÔÅ's
1998 acquisition of 35 percent of Romania's
state telecommunications company RomTelecom. The
inquiry accuses certain of ÏÔÅ's former
officials of secretly negotiating the terms of
the $675 million deal.
Intracom is a shareholder in Bulgaria's
card phone provider company "Bulfon".
[23] EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSES A "SINGLE
EUROPEAN SKY"
The European Commission has proposed the
creation of a "single European sky" that would
cut growing and vexing delays in civil air
travel in Europe, according to the French news
agency AFP.
"With more than one flight in three being
delayed by over 15 minutes in 1999, the
situation gives cause for serious concern,"
said a statement summarizing the official
proposal.
"And even if some of the delays are due to
airports operating at the limits of their
capacity or to the airlines themselves, more
than half (of the delays) are a direct result of
Europe's airspace reaching the saturation
point," it said.
Some flights, said Transport Commissioner
Loyola de Palacio, who presented the proposal,
"can be delayed several hours at peak times.
"Based on realistic (air) traffic
projections, we can expect continuing
deterioration of this situation over the next
five years," she said, adding, "the situation is
very serious, even catastrophic in certain
cases."
Referring to what it termed "shared
responsibility," her report said the problem was
"aggravated by the fact that Europe's airspace
is divided between 15 sovereign states who, for
various reasons--above all military--reject any
closer cooperation."
The commission figures the organization of
air space "suffers from the fragmentation
created by national frontiers," as well as
difficulties in optimizing the use of this
airspace by civil and military users."
"Airspace," said the report, "is a common
asset which shall be managed collectively as a
continuum, regardless of borders, with the view
to satisfy all its users, civil and military,
and to optimize air traffic management.
"To achieve that objective, a central
organization shall be empowered to decide on the
strategic and tactical phases of airspace
management," it said.
The war in Kosovo, noted the report, made
clear that the current European air traffic
control system--Eurocontrol--was incapable of
dealing with such crisis situations.
[24] STEPHANOPOULOS: GREECE EXPERIENCES
UNPRECEDENTED ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos,
speaking in the Commerce and Industry Chamber of
Lisbon where a forum of Greek and Portuguese
businessmen took place, stressed that Greece
experiences unprecedented economic activity and
the stock exchange is in a period of exceptional
growth.
Mr. Stephanopoulos stressed that inflation
in Greece is 2.2%, the annual deficit is 1.7%,
the public debt is 100% of the annual GDP
following a downward trend, while unemployment
is close to the average recorded in the European
Union. He also stressed that economic growth
will be over 3.5% in the years to come.
The Greek president stated that the Greek
businessmen have expanded their activities in
neighboring countries such as Bulgaria, Romania
and Albania as well as the countries in the
Caucasus region and this fact can be exploited
jointly by the Greek and the Portuguese
businessmen. He also stressed that state-run
companies in Greece give their place to private
companies underlining that a big part of the
state Telecommunications Organization, OTE, has
been privatized and now is undertaking a notable
activity in Bulgaria, Romania and Armenia, while
the state Electricity Company will also be
privatized as well as the Greek ports and
railways.
The president of the Commerce and Industry
Chamber of Lisbon stressed that Greece very soon
will join the Euro-zone countries to the benefit
of the Greek people. He also referred to the
achievements of Portugal and stressed that
reforms are being made in different sectors in
his country namely, the taxation system, the job
market and the specialized training of the
workforce.
Meanwhile, a protocol of Greek-Portuguese
cooperation for the reconstruction of the
Balkans was signed today by the representatives
of the companies participating in the effort.
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