From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Wed, 23 Nov 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, November 23, 1994 ---------------------------------------------- * Prospects for meeting 1995 convergence targets 'favourable', premier tells AHCC conference * Simitis calls for new industry policy * Papademos: confidence needed for investment * Papadopoulos: Gov't to clamp down on tax evasion * Polish premier invites Papandreou to Warsaw * Premier's physician denies reports of imminent heart surgery * Clarification * Soysal to ask Germany to intercede with Greece on Turkey-EU customs union * Russia says freedom of navigation in Aegean of primary importance * Moscow spokesman * Mitterrand receives Mitsotakis * OA flight attendants occupy runways to protest rescue bill * Greek exports move from EU to eastern European markets Prospects for meeting 1995 convergence targets 'favourable', premier tells AHCC conference ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): In a response to comments Monday that Greece's convergence programme targets were overly ambitious, Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou said yesterday that prospects for meeting targets in 1995 were "favourable". Mr. Papandreou added that Greece would have faced the same difficult economic course regardless of whether it was a member of the European Union or not. The prime minister was addressing the 5th annual Hellenic American Chamber of Commerce (AHCC) conference on the Greek economy. Mr. Papandreou said that, although the current year had been "difficult", the targets set in the convergence programme for the Greek economy had been attained. He said there had been minor differences in targets for the budget, that significant steps had been taken in battling tax evasion, and interest rates were coming down rapidly. He added that, as a result, prospects for 1995 in the context of the convergence programme were favourable. He called on entrepreneurs and foreign investors to contribute to the country's development effort. Referring to the recent private meeting by four leading PASOK members, Mr. Papandreou said "such meetings are welcome as long as they don't harm the party." He added that the unity of the party was not threatened and that "PASOK is here to stay". Simitis calls for new industry policy ------------------------------------- Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Industry, Energy and Technology Minister Costas Simitis yesterday called for a new industrial strategy to reverse Greece's "ever-decreasing competitiveness" in relation to its European Union partners. Opening the second day of sessions at the AHCC conference, Mr. Simitis underlined that such a strategy would not yield results unless accompanied by a broader effort to modernise and bring about "qualitative changes" in the way Greek society works. Mr. Simitis spoke of the "absence of reliability" in Greece and acknowledged delays in the government's privatisation programme "for social and institutional reasons". He stressed, however, that the delays were to some extent justified, since they resulted from efforts by the government to achieve consensus with social groups and organisations. Mr. Simitis said that the government's economic convergence programme must be implemented "without deviation", warning that otherwise Greece would be in for "an unpleasant surprise" at the end of 1995, since the relevant Community funds would no longer be available due to penalties imposed by the Cohesion Fund. Admitting that the "hard drachma" policy created difficulties for Greek competitiveness and exports, Mr. Simitis said that "the right form and extent" of state intervention continued to be absent". Greece, Mr. Simitis said, has long since lost the advantage of low labour costs and in order to once again attract foreign investment, new comparative advantages would have to be found such as know-how, infrastructure and worker skills. Papademos: confidence needed for investment ------------------------------------------- Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Central bank governor Lucas Papademos said that the main targets of the future policy of the Bank of Greece would be the creation of a climate of confidence for investors as well as the modernisation of the banking system and efforts to make it more competitive, "a process," he said, "which will reduce the cost of money". Addressing the conference, Mr. Papademos said that the main target of monetary policy for 1995 would be to bring inflation down to 8 per cent, while remaining firm on the policy of allowing the drachma to gradually slide. "The existence of reserves of over one trillion drachmas allows room for a further reduction of the interest on state securities in the immediate future," Mr. Papademos said, adding that the nominal interest rates of banks would also fall "provided all goes well with respect to monetary policy". He said, however, that there was little chance of actual interest rates being substantially reduced. Mr. Papademos said he was in favour of the independence of the central bank as the highest authority supervising monetary stability. Development, he continued, would be achieved through "structural adjustments", particularly in the public sector, and increased productivity, as opposed to monetary or fiscal policy. Anti-inflation monetary policy must be harmonised with the "appropriate" incomes policy, Mr. Papademos said, stressing that calls for the abandonment of the anti-inflation policy were particularly damaging for a country like Greece with marked fiscal imbalances. Papadopoulos: Gov't to clamp down on tax evasion ------------------------------------------------ Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Finance Minister Alexandros Papadopoulos told delegates that "the period of tolerance" for the black economy was "irrevocably over" and that the government was determined to "strictly" implement tax legislation. "Greece has a future only if the Greeks abandon waste and the model of consumption, only if we strike at the piranhas and vermin which have stuck like leeches and are devouring the Greek state," Mr. Papadopoulos said. The rehabilitation of public finances cannot be achieved without the radical organisational restructuring of the Finance Ministry, he stressed, adding that the relevant draft bill would be made public in the next few days. "We have reached the point of social vulgarity, the point where anyone who does not steal from the state is considered to be naive," Mr. Papadopoulos said, estimating that the state had lost over one trillion drachmas in revenue from the non-payment of Value Added Tax. Mr. Papadopoulos said that he opposed increasing indirect taxes, describing it as "a politically immoral method concealing class self-interest and insistence on the unequal distribution of the tax burden". Alternate Industry, Energy and Technology Minister Christos Rokofyllos told the (Cont. page 3) (Continued from page 2) conference that "as soon as economic conditions allow, a large number of public enterprises will be admitted to the Stock Exchange". Within the first half of 1995, the privatisation of the Skaramangas Shipyards will have been completed, he said, stressing that perhaps for the first time, serious foreign business groups were showing interest in the government's privatisation programme. By the end of 1995, Mr. Rokofyllos added, the privatisation of nearly all the companies in the Organisation for the Rehabilitation of Ailing Enterprises' (OAED) portfolio will have been completed. He stressed however that Greece was not "the land of opportunity, selling off its national assets". Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Alternate Minister Costas Geitonas said that, despite existing problems, major infrastructure works would continue to "lead the country down the road to development." Mr. Geitonas urged the government to take "bolder action" in that direction, and the private sector to invest and co-finance such works. Addressing the conference, Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras said modernisation of the economy had so far been all theory and no action He said the slide of the drachma should be more dramatic in order to support exports and urged the government to strive towards a more stable economic climate and not impose new taxes for the following six years. He said initiatives should be given to businesses to expand their interests internationally, especially to countries with a strong Greek presence. Polish premier invites Papandreou to Warsaw ------------------------------------------- Warsaw, 23/11/1994 (AFP): Polish Prime Minister Waldemar Pawlak has invited Premier Andreas Papandreou to visit Poland. The invitation was extended by Mr. Pawlak at a meeting with visiting Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday. The visit is scheduled for the spring. Mr. Papandreou will sign a friendship treaty initialled by the foreign ministers of the two countries Monday. Mr. Papoulias was quoted as saying "Greece could not conceive European integration without Poland." The two ministers also signed another agreement abolishing visas between the two countries as of 1995. Greece is the last European country to maintain visa rules with Poland. The accord provides that Polish or Greek nationals illegally residing in either country should return to their homeland. Thousands of Polish citizens work illegally in Greece. Mr. Papoulias was also received by President Lech Walesa. Premier's physician denies reports of imminent heart surgery ------------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's personal physician and Health Minister Dimitris Kremastinos yesterday slammed press reports of the premier preparing for heart surgery as "figments of the imagination" and "malicious". "Malice which undermines every intelligent person and violates every concept of ethics," Professor Kremastinos said in response to Monday's article in the Financial Times which was carried on the front page of the Athens daily Eleftheros Typos yesterday. Mr. Kremastinos said that the article's claims about heart surgery existed "only in the imagination of the persons who wrote such garbage". The Financial Times article claimed that Mr. Papandreou, 75, had been in poor health since double-bypass surgery in London in 1988 and that he was expected to be operated on early next year in Athens because he was too weak to travel. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos also expressed deep regret over the press report saying it was a "farcical and in The worst taste." Clarification - ANA Bulletin, 22/11/1994, page 2 ------------------------------------------------- Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): A clarification is needed of certain passages in National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis' speech as reported on page 2 of Tuesday's Bulletin. Mr. Arsenis said: "The best guarantee for Greece's security is its economic initiatives in the Balkans ..." not "infiltration" as reported. Further, Mr. Arsenis said that Greece needed its own "vital space" in the Balkans, Mideast and Black Sea, meaning "to promote its vital political and economic relations" in the regions. Soysal to ask Germany to intercede with Greece on Turkey-EU customs union ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ankara, 23/11/1994 (ANA/C.Verros): In statements to European journalists at a conference on European Union-Turkish relations yesterday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mumtaz Soysal clearly implied that he will ask his German counterpart Klaus Kinkel in Bonn today to pressure Greece not to exercise its right of veto on the completion of Turkey's customs union with the EU. Europe, said Mr. Soysal, should not be "short-sighted and follow Greece's stand", but in case it did, then "it will be Europe that will regret it more than us in the long-run". "It ought to be explained to Athens," he added, that such a stand "is not to its own benefit", because the customs union provides the opportunity for a significant increase in trade exchanges and economic co-operation. Of course, he said, the reasons are political, and when Ankara proposes negotiations on the Aegean, "the Greeks prefer to put us in a difficult position regarding our relations with the European Union, which is a way of avoiding negotiations". Meanwhile, speaking to a private Greek television channel, Mr. Soysal said that the situation in the Aegean today "is as it should be", and explained that his recent statement that the extension of Greek territorial waters in the Aegean to 12 miles would constitute a 'casus belli' did not mean that Turkey was in favour of war, but was designed to show "how determined we are to maintain the status quo". "I believe it is right for every country to say that, when doubt is cast on one of its vital interests, the ultimate solution is, unfortunately, the use of violence," he said. He added that there could be a peaceful, negotiated solution of all problems, such as the continental shelf or the Flight Information Region (FIR), and that the open seas should not be restricted, especially the Aegean which interests not only Greece and Turkey, but all countries bordering on the Black Sea. In reply to a question whether his previous statement that the Aegean ought to be shared implied territorial claims on the Greek islands, Mr. Soysal said, "No, on the contrary, just like two neighbour s sharing a garden... I meant sharing the benefits of the world, sharing the beauty of the Aegean". Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, speaking at a gathering of her party, said that Turkey was ready to improve relations with Greece and resolve outstanding problems. Referring to the recent separate air and naval exercises of the two countries planned concurrently in the Aegean, which caused some concern, she said that both countries had acted sensibly and obeyed the rules. Russia says freedom of navigation in Aegean of primary importance ----------------------------------------------------------------- Istanbul, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Russia's ambassador to Ankara has told a Turkish paper that freedom of navigation in the Aegean is of great importance and that Russia would encourage "constructive dialogue" on the issue. "Freedom of navigation in the Aegean is of great significance," Vadim Kuznetsov said in an interview with the Turkish Daily News, Ankara's English language newspaper, published Monday and yesterday. "Greece may be entitled to theoretically claim 12 miles but, in practice, this would not be practicable. We believe and hope Greece and Turkey will succeed, in the final analysis, in reaching a compromise over their interests, and working out mutually acceptable solutions based on a delicate compromise on the Aegean issue, which includes air space, continental shelf rights, as well as territorial water limits," Mr. Kuznetsov noted. He added Russia would encourage any effort to begin constructive dialogue aimed at seeking a mutually acceptable settlement, stressing "such settlement should, naturally, include maintaining freedom of navigation". The envoy's remarks were made in light of an intensive campaign waged by Turkey recently over the possibility Greece might extend its territorial waters in the Aegean. Moscow spokesman ---------------- Moscow, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Ministry spokesman Gregory Karachin yesterday referred to "not altogether accurate reporting" by Turkey's Anatolian news agency of an earlier statement he had made on the Russian attitude to the extension of Greece's territorial waters in the Aegean. Anatolian quoted Mr. Karachin as saying Russia "wishes to maintain the status quo in the Aegean and is prepared to mediate between Turkey and Greece in order to remove tension." Correcting Anatolian, Mr. Karachin clarified that Russia believes "that the 1982 treaty on the Law of the Sea includes all necessary principles allowing neighbouring countries and others (whose shores) are washed by the same sea to settled all problems that may emerge in relation to defining outer boundaries and territorial waters." He added further: "In the case under consideration, Greece has, in principle, the right to set its territorial waters at 12 miles, on the condition, however, that it will take into account, in the appropriate manner, both the lawful interests of its neighbours and those of the traditional users of Aegean waters. "The problems that might arise on this issue between Greece and the neighbouring countries could very well be settled -- in the event sides cannot come to a bilateral agreement -- through the established procedures for peaceful resolution of differences which are provided for both in the UN charter and the convention on the Law of the Sea." Mitterrand receives Mitsotakis ------------------------------ Paris, 23/11/1994 (ANA/Y. Zitouniati): French President Francois Mitterrand received Greek former conservative prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis at the Presidential Palace last night for talks on issues of European concern. Mr. Mitsotakis arrived in Paris for a private visit 10 days ago. "I am glad I had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Mitterrand, who is such an important leader and friend of Greece, about the problems of Europe and our country's domestic and foreign policies because he is a man who can help and will help Greece as much as he can at this difficult phase," Mr. Mitsotakis said. Mr. Mitsotakis declined any comment on Greek domestic political issues and said he will state his positions when he returns to Athens today. "Greece's position has worsened tragically abroad. The foreign policy it follows is basically mistaken on certain points. And it is essential that our country regains its reliability," he added. Replying to questioners, Mr. Mitsotakis said no particular issue was discussed at the meeting, which he termed "friendly" since he has known Mr. Mitterrand for years. Mr. Mitsotakis reiterated a statement he made in Brussels recently that Greece's major issues are not those highlighted in the Greek press and media. OA flight attendants occupy runways to protest rescue bill ---------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Hundreds of Greek flight attendants took over the runways at Athens airport yesterday to demand the government withdraw a draft bill designed to rescue national carrier Olympic Airways from overwhelming debts. Police said about 500 flight attendants gathered for two hours at the landing runway, resulting in delays to domestic and international flights. Two protesters were injured in minor clashes with riot police at the site. The government's four-yea r survival plan, to be voted by parliament this month, calls on the company's 9,900 employees to accept wage freezes, early retirement and benefit cuts. Representatives of the Flight Attendants Union (EISF) said they had agreed to continue protests and would hold rolling 24-hour strikes from November 30. Greek exports move from EU to eastern European markets ------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 23/11/1994 (ANA): Greece's exports to the five largest European Union markets have gradually decreased over the years, with a parallel increase in exports to eastern European countries. Federation of Exporters of Northern Greece (SEBE) Secretary-General Apostolos Genitsaris told a press conference yesterday Greek exports to the five countries in 1993 decreased by one billion ECU over 1992 figures, while the increase in exports to the five principal eastern European countries was 260 million ECU. According to SEBE assessments, the embargo imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and subsequent transit problems was greatly responsible for the decline in Greek exports to EU markets. Losses sustained by Greek exports in the past three years due to the Yugoslav crisis have amounted to 2.5 billion dollars.