NEWS IN DETAIL

In addition, all the leaders of the EU member-states expressed a desire for processes to be concluded in order to facilitate a new treaty at an upcoming Amsterdam summit in June 1997.

This position was also supported by Greece, although Prime Minister Costas Simitis, speaking at a press conference after the summit meeting, said he was not optimistic that a revised Maastricht Treaty could be ready in June.

He said the reason for this relates to elections in Britain next May, which he said will not give British Prime Minister John Major much freedom of movement. However, Mr. Major assured EU leaders during discussions that he will make efforts to ensure th at the revision of the Maastricht Treaty will proceed promptly.

In addition, Mr. Simitis said that at the session a proposal by certain countries - evidently referring to positions by France and Germany - to have only a few focal points in the new treaty promoted was not approved.

Most countries, including Greece, reacted to this proposal and as a result, the agenda for negotiations on revising the treaty will remain the same, while the right of small countries to express their positions will not be restricted.

Stressing that the extraordinary summit in Dublin was useful, Mr. Simitis said that on the intricate issue of foreign and defence policy, Greece underlined the need for a substantive and effective foreign and security policy, and that the new treaty mus t cover territorial integrity matters, as well as safeguarding external borders. It must also establish the principle of political solidarity and promote the development of defence cooperation, he added.

Replying to questions, Mr. Simitis said there is a basis for promoting Greek positions and added that the response of EU partners to them is slow but steadfast.

Commenting on the principle of "flexibility", which was being promoted by France and Germany, Mr. Simitis said Greece and other countries were opposed to a general flexibility clause. However, they were prepared to discuss special settlements.

During Saturday's session, Mr. Simitis also raised the issues of employment, development of islands, the environment and drug trafficking.

Assessments

The usefulness of the session can be assessed, in connection with European developments in general, by the fact that the object of the next confrontation in the EU appeared. While, regarding issues of Greek concern, considerable progress was achieved, a t least with regard to their understanding.

According to assessments by members of the Greek delegation, results are positive for Greece, which is gaining ground slowly but steadily, both in connection with its national issues and the positions it supports on European unification issues.

The position observed by the Dutch representation at the Dublin session was positive for Greece, who made overtures towards Athens. Confirmation of this assessment is the premier's intention to visit The Hague at the end of November, before the OSCE's session in Lisbon, to discuss bilateral issues.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis will receive ministers at his office today, while in meetings over the next few days he and his Cabinet will shape the government's finalised policy statements.

According to reports, the government will emphasize efforts to increase revenues by one trillion drachmas in the next year, expected primarily to be obtained through cracking down on tax evasion, reducing public expenditures and curbing tax exemptions.

The government's target for 1997 will be to reduce the public deficit and bring inflation down to 4.5 per cent at the end of next year.

Mr. Simitis will read the government's policy statements in Parliament on Thursday. Opposition party leaders will take the floor on Friday and the debate will be extended afterwards, with speeches by representatives from all parties represented in Parli ament.

The three-day debate will be concluded on midnight Saturday with a vote of confidence for the new government.

"It has been proven that the government's much-advertised goal that Greece's borders also become Europe's borders remains within the sphere of wishful thinking, while at the same time constituting a dangerous policy, by leaving the defence of national s overeignty to those who divide nations and peoples, the EU and NATO," a statement in response to the EU summit in Dublin said.

"At Dublin, it was again re-affirmed that the revision of the Maastricht Treaty will form a more reactionary European Union, dominated by the hard core of the major imperialist forces, the Franco-German axis, and with the peoples of Europe as their vict ims," the statement read.

Conference on regional European mass media ends in Hania

Some of the conclusions emanating from the conference stressed the need for globalising mass media through conditions currently being shaped.

The need to exceed existing stereotypes in the news sector was also underlined, as well as establishing a Mediterranean Centre for Journalism in Hania.

Addressing the conference, the representative of the Audiovisual Media Institute, Manolis Hairetakis, said the average annual increase in advertising expenditure in Greece is 25.7 per cent, exceeding by far the European Union average, which is 12.2 per cent. He added that the participation of television in advertising expenditure amounted to 50 per cent in Greece during 1986 and to 67 per cent in 1994.

The representative of the French newspaper "Le Monde", Jean-Pierre Lanselliet said that in his country the regional press is the strongest and has the highest circulation. He said the newspaper with the largest circulation in France is a regional one and has a daily circulation of some one million copies.

On his part, the managing director of the Athens News Agency (ANA), Nikolas Voulelis, said the condition for the mass media's survival is their participation and development in accordance with conditions being shaped on the international scene, adding that press freedom in a proper sense can shape conditions for appropriate information.

Mr. Voulelis said that the ANA supports the proposal by the Hania prefect concerning the establishment of a Mediterranean Centre for Journalism in Hania.

Sources said yesterday that Mr. Evert had received several recommendations from ND cadres to proceed with a reorganisation of the party's structure, to convene party bodies and to begin procedures for a party congress sometime in the spring.

Meanwhile, deputy Costas Karamanlis, the nephew of former president of the republic and ND founder Constantine Karamanlis, clearly indicated in an interview in yesterdayYs "Eleftherotypia" newspaper that he would be prepared to contest the leadership of the party in the future, but under certain conditions.

"I wish to become the leader if it is certain that the party can be resurrected and governed under favourable terms," he added.

Mr. Karamanlis confirmed in his interview that he had been approached to run for ND`s leadership, but had considered it prudent not to be involved, saying the race had taken place on terms more reminiscent of a beauty pageant.

He added that the clash between Mr. Evert and former premier Constantine Mitsotakis was purely personal, stressing that there were no ideological and political differences within the party and that "perhaps the solution would be for both of them to fin d themselves outside the leadership".

Rallis

Commenting on a statement by Mr. Mitsotakis that a party also needs supporters, Mr. Rallis largely blamed the honorary ND leader for the ND's misfortunes.

"Mr. Mitsotakis would do well not to talk so much, because he bears a great responsibility for the state the party is in," he said.

In addition, Mr. Rallis said he considered that there was no prospect for the party espousing the ideas of former ministers Andreas Andrianopoulos and Stephanos Manos, both ardent supporters of privatisations.

"New parties need leaders. Andrianopoulos and Manos are not personalities capable of leading a new party," he said.

Dissension in Crete

Members of the latter local office said they would reopen when a change in ND's leadership occurred.

Regional trade exhibition opened in Kavala

It is expected that approximately 600 trade representatives from the Balkans, the Middle East, countries of the former Soviet Union and the Black Sea region will attend the exhibition.

The president of Kavala professional chamber, Apostolos Mardyris, noted that large orders were placed during the exhibit's opening day from Russian, Ukrainian, Albanian, and Yugoslavian businessmen.

According to organisers, the number of participants has reached 140, and includes noted university, research foundation and hi-tech industry researchers from 14 countries.

Twenty-one companies representing high technology international companies in the sector will also be represented at the conference.

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