Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 97-06-02

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 02/06/1997 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Premier pleased with course of major projects in Epirus
• Premier comments on political situation in Albania
• Mediterranean news agencies air prospects in new communication era
• Karamanlis criticises government's policies
• Samaras re-elected president at first Pol.An congress
• Premier to visit Sweden tomorrow
• High-ranking Greek delegation at EU council
• Japanese delegation at Thessaloniki Cultural Capital events
• Lyssarides declared honourary citizen of Patra
• IAAF championships in Athens 'will be the best'
• US wins water polo FINA Cup, Greece second
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Prime Minister Costas Simitis expressed satisfaction over his three-day tour of Epirus, which ended yesterday saying he was pleased with the course of infrastructure projects in the border region, which would put an end to Epirus' isolation.

"The region's development is not aided by incentives, which are wasted money if there is no possibility for any economic activity in the region to have an effect," he said. "What the area needs in order to achieve its goal is infrastructure, and these a re created and are the access roads which will provide Epirus with the ability to communicate with the rest of the country and with the neighbouring northern countries. The same is true of its connection via the sea with Europe, which will be achieved by upgrading the port of Igoumenitsa."

Mr. Simitis met with the district official of Leivadia, a southern Albanian region comprised of 15 villages, 12 of which are predominately populated by ethnic Greeks.

In his speech in Preveza on Saturday, the premier warned those receiving subsidies that the money must be used to create development, and not "to be pocketed without anything being done, as has occurred on numerous occasions in Thrace."

He also spoke of the need for Greece to follow its course towards Europe, saying that not to do so would have dramatic consequences on the country's politics and economy, as Greece's position would be weakened, both internationally and in the face of the Turkish threat.

He said the Greek economy was more effective today than it has ever been in the post-junta era, adding that the government had achieved this while implementing a social policy.

"No one can dispute this," he said.

The prime minister also referred to Greece's place in international developments. The country, he said, cannot close its borders in an effort to stop other countries' problems from entering Greek society.

Greece's integration into European unification, he added, "constitutes an important goal for our national strategy, aimed at making Greece competitive in the international division of the labour market."

Mr. Simitis also referred to Greece's role in the Balkans.

He said this role was aimed at helping these countries overcome their problems and complete the process of their countries' institutional reforms.

Premier comments on political situation in Albania

Prime Minister Costas Simitis, commenting on the situation in Albania, said current efforts to find a political solution were the result of Athens' initiatives.

"We have ensured the presence of the United Nations and of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and of the European Union," the premier said.

He added that his government had helped in the direction of the solution, hoping that this would be implemented over the next few months.

"If things evolved in a different way, then we would be swarmed by a tremendous wave of refugees, while ethnic Greek minority rights could run the risk of being restricted," he noted.

Mediterranean news agencies air prospects in new communication era

An Athens News Agency-organised two-day seminar for Mediterranean news agencies on the theme of "National News Agencies in the New Communiucation Era" wound up its two-day sessions yesterday, with a discussion on marketing strategies for news agencies in the new information era, transmission of visual images among national news agencies as well as the challenge posed by Internet.

The seminar, which began on Saturday, also discussed the issues of news agencies' role in an information society, with diversification as a strategy for survival, subscribers' expectations from a national news agency, tailored services such as sports, finance and video news, as well as on-line databases and CD-ROM.

The seminar, sponsored by the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) and its subsidiary OTEnet, was opened by Press and Media Minister Dimitris Reppas.

Summing up the results of the seminar, ANA General Director Andreas Christodoulides said the level of participants and interest from Mediterranean news agencies had indicated the need to discuss the issues involved with operating in a new era.

"I think we have touched on all the problems being faced by the media these days, particularly by the national news agencies," he said.

"The two-way relationship emerging from the development of the various communication networks, the large number of options offered to users and the possibilities they have to determine the shape and form of the information accessed (according to volume, to depth and to type, such as text, photograph, graphics, video or a blend of all these) are some of the characteristics of the new era," he said.

"Sources have multiplied along with fears as to the credibility of information reaching users. Thus, the role of the news agencies is a decisive one, since to a great extent they are a 'tried and true' factor in the news business".

News agencies will have to adapt to the new technological methods of collecting, editing and distributing news and information in order to meet changing needs as well as new aesthetic standards, Mr. Christodoulides said.

"Here, we will be facing new competitors - perhaps even with those who were until recently our own subscribers - and we will have to realise that gradually the comfort offered to many agencies by the state will disappear, " he said.

"We have to come out of the wings, onto the stage of the media and to offer services aimed at individuals and their specialised needs. Developments are expected to be so rapid that indeed, as Socrates said 2,500 years ago 'We know that we know nothing', " he said.

The next meeting of Mediterranean news agencies will be the general assembly in Cairo, Egypt on June 22-24.

Karamanlis criticises government's policies

Main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis has strongly criticised the government's policies concerning national issues and the economy.

Speaking to the party's central committee, Mr. Karamanlis said the attempt to achieve nominal convergence was not enough, and criticised the government for not proceeding with structural changes.

"Any developments in the economy are futile. The final conclusions are that nothing advances, while on the contrary, everything is happening for the party nomenclature to be fed and to maintain the government in its (political) party area," he said.

The ND leader stressed that the development and progress progamme "is connected to permanent ruptures in the establishment which is holding the government hostage to its past."

Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Karamanlis said the procedure of dialogue could prove to be dangerous due to its unspecific and vague nature. He added that dialogue may fail, which could lead to a crisis or to concessions in order to keep the dialogue alive.

Samaras re-elected president at first Pol.An congress

Political Spring (Pol.An) party and founder leader Antonis Samaras was elected for another term as party president during Pol.An's first congress.

Mr. Samaras described the congress as being one of "substance, political speech, proposal and position."

He also called on the government to rally the forces which are seeking "a Maastricht with a more social face" which would safeguard European solidarity and protect the EU member-countries' external borders.

Premier to visit Sweden tomorrow

Prime Minister Costas Simitis will visit Sweden tomorrow afternoon for a working visit, following an invitation extended by his Swedish counterpart Goran Persson.

He is due to leave for Malmo on Thursday in order to participate in a conference of European socialist and social democratic parties.

High-ranking Greek delegation at EU council

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou and EU Affairs Secretary General Stelios Perrakis are to attend the last council before the EU Summit Council. The council begins in Luxembourg tomorrow.

The EU Summit Council is scheduled to be held in Amsterdam on June 15- 16.

Japanese delegation at Thessaloniki Cultural Capital events

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos met yesterday with former Japanese prime minister Toshiro Kaifu, who is currently in Thessaloniki at the head of a Japanese delegation visiting Cultural Capital of Europe events.

The two discussed Greek-Japanese cultural cooperation, while Mr. Kaifu expressed particular interest on the institution of the European Cultural Capital and on the issue of the Parthenon Marbles. The former Japanese premier called for their return to Greece.

Lyssarides declared honourary citizen of Patra

Socialist EDEK party leader Vassos Lyssarides was declared an honourary citizen of Patra, in the northwestern Peloponnese, on Saturday evening during a special ceremony.

Yesterday, the veteran Cypriot politician visited the village of Kaletzi in Achaia prefecture, the birthplace of Greek statesman and postwar premier George Papandreou.

IAAF championships in Athens 'will be the best'

President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos on Saturday told International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) President Primo Nebiolo that the Greek people believe the World Athletics Championships, to be held in Athens this August, "will be the best ever held."

Mr. Nebiolo expressed his conviction that the championships "will be the best in our history," adding that "the sports facilities, the stadiums and the preparation are very good. The Greek government has spent more than eight million dollars in order to achieve the best quality television coverage, as at least 200 countries will receive the image."

Mr. Nebiolo also announced the cash payoffs for the IAAF world championships, namely, US$60,000 for an event winner; $30,000 for a silver medal and $100, 000 for a world record.

Speaking on the 2004 Olympic Games, which both Athens and Rome have bid to host, Mr. Nebiolo said that "in Rome, we wish for the best result, but if we don`t host the Games, we will be the first to congratulate the winner."

US wins water polo FINA Cup, Greece second

The US won the water polo FINA World Cup after beating Greece 8-5 in Athens' Olympic indoor pool facilities last night. The aggregate score was 0-3, 0-1, 4-2, 1-2.

Greece's silver medal in the FINA Cup was considered a major success, as it was the first time the Greek national team has played in a world cup final. This is the second time the US has won gold the event, after the World Cup in Barcelona in 1991.

The final standings of the eight-team tournament were: USA, Greece, Hungary, Russia, Italy, Spain, Yugoslavia and Croatia.

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