From: zarros@turing.scs.carleton.ca (Theodoros Sp. Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Fri, 21 Jan 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, Vienna, 21/01/94 (ANA - D. Dimitrakoudis) - Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, who will pay a brief visit to Athens on January 26, told the Athens News Agency in Vienna yesterday, he attributed extremely great importance" to his forthcoming talks with European Union President Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. Mr. Vranitzky's talks with Mr. Papandreou are part of his policy of visiting the country holding the European Union presidency for an exchange of views with its leadership. He said that since negotiations for Austria's accession to the EU are entering their final phase, he will be visiting Mr. Papandreou at the start of the Greek presidency. He said he considered it of "exceptional importance" Mr. Papandreou, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and Alternate Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, in charge of European affairs, had expressed a clear intention for a speedy conclusion to negotiations. Mr. Vranitzky said he is convinced this intention will be reiterated and consolidated during his talks in Athens. Apart from the question of the EU, he said, talks will reaffirm in all respects the particularly friendly, exceptionally well-shaped and fully developing relations between Greece and Austria. On the question of the accession negotiations' prospects, Mr. Vranitzky said conditions and their progress so far are good. Certainly, he added, difficult points will be encountered along the way, necessitating an intensification of efforts. Despite the fact no one can guarantee that they will be completed by March, he believes "possibilities are good". Mr. Vranitzky said he is convinced that he country holding the EU presidency can influence the progress of accession negotiations, adding he believes that since assuming the presidency as of January 1, Greece has so far displayed great impetus in its European policy. Completion of negotiations for all four candidate countries (Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway) is important, he said, adding this is the target of efforts by all sides. If serious delays appear for one country or another, then the others should not be delayed for the same reason, and this also applied to Austria, he added. Mr. Vranitzky said that for the time being he did not see any different results in the course of negotiations of individual countries, although each followed its own path. Referring to the referendum in which Austria will have to ratify the results of negotiations between Vienna and Brussels, Mr. Vranitzky said he expected it to be held before the summer, adding that matters is not the date of the referendum, but completion of negotiations. Austria was the first European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member to submit an accession application to the then "European Community" on July 17 1989. Negotiations started about a year ago, in Brussels, on February 1, 1993. Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic arrives in Athens today on a private visit. Mr. Karadzic will meet Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias tomorrow morning and later call on Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou at his residence in Ekali. Helsinki, 21/01/94 (Reuter) - Greek Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs Theodoros Pangalos said yesterday he was more optimistic than before that negotiations on Finland's becoming a member of the European Union could be completed on time. Mr. Pangalos came to Helsinki to meet Finnish leaders before traveling on to Norway and Sweden, which are also negotiating to join the EU. Finland, which applied for membership in March 1992, hopes to join the EU on January 1, 1995, after holding a referendum later this year on the outcome of the talks. "I think we share the feeling that although it is a difficult task we can have success, it is possible to have success, by the end of February ", Mr. Pangalos told a news conference. "I've never had a pessimistic approach. I am more optimistic now, this I can say, than I was before coming here", Mr. Pangalos said, stressing he was not in Helsinki to Finnish Foreign Minister Heikki Haavisto also expressed hope that the talks would be completed by the March 1 deadline set by EU leaders last October. "I am a little bit more optimistic today than (I was) yesterday", Mr. Haavisto said. Finnish officials have expressed concern about the pace in the talks, saying the Commission has yet to put forward its positions on a number of negotiating issues, the most important being within agriculture and regional policy. The question of how to ensure survival of Finland's Arctic and sub-Arctic agriculture is seen by Finland as the most difficult issue in the talks. An opinion poll published yesterday, showed the number of Finns opposing membership had declined sharply over the last month. The poll, carried by the Helsingin Sanomat daily, said 41 percent were in favor and 27 percent against membership. Mr. Pangalos also met with Finnish President Mauno Koivisto. Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - Greece said yesterday that the concrete examples of goodwill which it is awaiting from Skopje must be in the form of "unilateral actions" by the neighboring state. Making the statement, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos underlined that Greece was expecting "deeds not words". The spokesman said that the examples demanded by Greece were "not exactly prerequisites set by Greece", but rather obligations stemming from international law. "If Skopje fulfills those prerequisites", he said, "Greece will be willing to participate in dialogue under UN auspices". Replying to other questions, the spokesman said that Greece had asked the US and the European Union countries, which recently established diplomatic relations with Skopje, to exert pressure on the neighboring state to implement international law and maintaining stability in the region. Earlier, the Communist Part of Greece (KKE) said it was in favor of immediate commencement of dialogue between Athens and Skopje. The party's position was made known by KKE Central Committee member and deputy Orestis Kolozov at a 45-minute meeting with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Kolozov underlined that dialogue between the two countries did not mean direct recognition of Skopje by Athens. Mr. Kolozov said that "entanglement" over the issue of the neighboring state's name had created a deadlock. 'Macedonia", he added, should be used only as a geographical determination term. Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - The government said yesterday that it was awaiting an official briefing by British and German foreign ministers Douglas Hurd and Klaus Kinkel on their talks in Turkey. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos told the press the obligation to brief stemmed from the Maastricht treaty, if issues of interest to the European Union were discussed. The spokesman urged Mr. Kinkel and Mr. Hurd to discuss such issues as the Cyprus problem "as a matter involving the occupation of part of an independent member of the UN", including human rights in Turkey. Mr. Venizelos said Mr. Hurd would visit Athens soon, without specifying the date. Mr. Hurd arrived in Ankara Wednesday, while Mr. Kinkel was due to join him at a tripartite meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hikmet Cetin yesterday. Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias will pay a three-day visit to Washington commencing January 30, as president of the European Union Council of Foreign Ministers, the Foreign Ministry said yesterday. Mr. Papoulias would meet with his US counterpart Warren Christopher and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Lee Hamilton on January 31, ministry spokesman Kostas Bikas said. There were no plans at present for talks between Mr. Papoulias and Us officials to include bilateral issues, he added. Mr. Papoulias will not visit New York or meet with UN special mediator on the Skopje issue Cyrus Vance, Mr. Bikas said. Athens, 21/0/194 (ANA) - Foreign Under-secretary George Papandreou meets with Swedish government officials to discuss EU enlargement in Stockholm today, Foreign Ministry sources said yesterday. European Affairs Minister Theodore Pangalos would also attend the talks efforts to open the 12-member Union to Scandinavian countries, the sources said. As EU presiding country, Greece has pledged to promote membership of Norway, Sweden, Austria and Finland by the end of its six-month presidency. Mr. Papandreou, on a two-day visit to Stockholm, will also confer with Swedish ministers on bilateral relations. Tirana, 21/01/94 (ANA) - The Joint Greco-Albanian Inter- ministerial Committee's 4th session ended in Tirana yesterday with the signing of a co-operation protocol. Delegations from the two countries discussed investments, banking, infrastructure works, agriculture, energy and technical aid. The need was stressed for completion of settlements on protecting investments through signing an agreement on preventing double income taxation. The Albanian side said it viewed the intention of Greek banks to establish a dynamic presence in Albania positively, promising to reduce the time for examining the National Bank of Greece's application to open a branch to 90 days. The two sides agreed to co-operate in determining infrastructure works that may be financed by Community sources, while the Albanian agricultural sector will be provided with Greek know-how. In the sector of energy, it was agreed that co-operation should be promoted through construction of a hydroelectric power station on the Aoos River on the Albanian side of the border between the two countries. Co-operation is already underway between the Public Power Corporation (DEH) and the corresponding Albanian organization KESH, including overall co-operation between the two organizations in the electric power sector. The Greek side indicated that the possibility of preparing programs in the form of seminars on tourism, health, agricultural applications, public works, transport and environmental protection will be examined in the framework of the bilateral technical aid program. The Greek and Albanian delegations, headed by Alternate National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou and Commerce and Industry Minister Sellm Selortaja respectively, held talks in a cordial atmosphere which both sides considered "extremely effective in promoting bilateral economic co-operation". On the sidelines of discussions, Mr. Papantoniou had talks with Albanian Prime Minister Aleksandr Meksi, Deputy Prime Minister Mr. B. Koplikou, Foreign Minister Alfred Sereqi, Energy Minister Mr. A. Zaja, Finance Minister Mr. P. Disnika, Agriculture Minister Mr. Ch. Halili and Transport Minister Mr. F. Bitinska as well as with State Bank Governor Mr. D. Vrioni. Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - The European Union yesterday welcomed a three-power agreement to scrap Ukraine's nuclear arsenal signed by the US, Russia and Ukraine in Moscow last Friday. A Greek presidency announcement said "this important step constitutes a major contribution to international security and stability". Ukraine agreed to transfer its 1,600 nuclear warheads, the world's third biggest nuclear arsenal, to Russia for destruction, in exchange for security guarantees from Moscow and Washington, including compensation for the weapons. "The EU lauds progress in relations between Russia and Ukraine and is confident co-operation between those two countries and Western political and security organizations will expand and be strengthened", the announcement said. The Union also hailed Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk's confirmation that Ukraine would sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, adding it looked forward " to development of an all-round and fruitful relationship of co-operation between Ukraine and the EU". Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - The Greek presidency of the European Union yesterday expressed "deep concern" at the recent upsurge of fighting in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The EU presidency urged warring sides to exercise self-restraint, and avoiding subjecting the civilian population to further suffering. A EU appeal called for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, a cease-fire and immediate implementation of UN Security Council resolutions. Athens, 21/01/94 (ANA) - Us Army Chief of Staff General Gordon R. Sullivan had talks yesterday with the political and military leadership of the National Defense Ministry. General Sullivan said that the purpose of his recent visit to Skopje was to be briefed on matters relating to Us troops stationed under the UN flag in the area. General Sullivan will visit Thessaloniki and tour the Vergina archaeological site today.