Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-06-12
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 12/06/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Greek offices in Albania operating normally, Athens says
- Albanian socialist leader in Athens for meetings
- Greek GDP growth forecast at 3.5%
- Hash haul in northwest Greece
- MPs condemn Turkish military strikes in Iraq
- 11.7 trillion to be invested in energy
- Ministry works to combat corruption
- Greek stocks end down in robust trade
- Greece-FYROM trade volume surge
- EU to fund liaison offices for Balkan regional authorities
- Premier opens debate on Constitution's revision
- Stolen manuscript to return to Mount Athos
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Greek offices in Albania operating normally, Athens says
Greece said today that its embassy in Tirana and consulate in Gjirokaster
were operating as usual, with the exception of the consulate section which
issues visas.
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said that the suspension of visa
issuing was temporary.
The consulate in the southern Albanian town was again attacked by gunmen
yesterday. Guards said the gumen fired about 40 rounds, causing minor
damage to the building but no casualties.
Reppas said that the government was checking the accuracy of reports
concerning the ''extent'' of yesterday's attack which resulted in the
suspension of the visa section's operations.
Commenting on elections in the neighbouring country later this month,
Reppas said Greece was making every effort aimed at the holding of
elections in an atmosphere ''without outrages''.
He appealed to all parties wishing to act as observers in Albania ''to
contribute to the smooth holding of the elections''. His appeal was
directed to academics, journalists and others.
The number of Greek observers, he added, may surpass 100 ''and the
government has taken all the necessary measures to facilitate them in their
task''.
Meanwhile, Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Konstantopoulos
today expressed concern over the situation in Albania.
Speaking at a press conference, Konstantopoulos attributed responsibility
to President Sali Berisha, accusing him of ''pursuing tension of a civil
war nature''.
He also criticised the government over its diplomatic handling of the
crisis in Albania, as well as for the absence of Greek diplomatic
representatives in the neighbouring country following the recall of
Gjirokaster Consul Nikos Kanellos and Ambassador Constantine Prevedourakis.
Konstantopoulos is scheduled to meet with visiting Albanian Socialist Party
leader Fatos Nano tomorrow.
Albanian socialist leader in Athens for meetings
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos met today with visiting Albanian
Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano, who is heading a party delegation here
at the invitation of the ruling PASOK party.
The two men discussed the situation in Albania in view of June 29 elections
there.
No statements were made after the meeting.
Nano meets later today with a PASOK delegation, and with Prime Minister and
PASOK leader Costas Simitis tonight.
Nano later had talks with PASOK Executive Bureau members Yiannis Souladakis,
Theodoros Tsoukatos and alternate secretary of the international relations
section, Foreign Undersecretary Yiannos Kranidiotis, centring on the
possibility of cooperation between the two parties in view of Albanian
general elections on June 29.
After the talks, Nano and Souladakis appealed to Greek media to contribute
to creating a positive climate in the run-up to the elections, noting that
this would encourage the thousands of Albanians currently in Greece to
return home to vote.
The Greek government has already assured Albanians in Greece that it will
do everything to facilitate their travelling to Albania and return to
Greece.
Nano expressed satisfaction at cooperation between his party and PASOK, as
well as regarding cooperation between the governments of the two countries.
Socialists and Social Democrats in the Balkan peninsula ''may constitute a
more rapid alternative for the incorporation of their countries in the
European Union'' he said.
Nano also underlined the importance for ''all to cooperate in efforts
towards normalisation and the overcoming of the crisis'' in Albania. He
referred in particular to the members of the Greek minority in Albania and
''Albanian refugees'' in Greece, ''in a course characterised by the direct
operation of institutions, democratic trust and the creation of common
opportunities in the future''.
Greek GDP growth forecast at 3.5%
National Economy and Finance Minister Yannos Papantoniou today anticipated
GDP growth at 3.5% for 1997.
He said after a three-hour meeting with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, with
the participation of Development Minister Vasso Papandreou, Finance
Undersecretaries George Drys, Christos Pachtas and Nikos Christdoulakis and
governor of the Bank of Greece Loucas Papademos that positive trends had
started to appear in key economic indicators.
Papantoniou said the budget was being strictly adhered to, presenting an
''impressive recovery'' in public revenues in the past two months and
inflation was on a ''steady decline'', while GDP growth this year would be
at 3.5%.
He said there was ''absolutely no need for new economic measures, simply
strict adherence to the economic policy being exercised'', adding that if
that was secured, ''development in 1998 will be very positive for
everyone''.
Hash haul in northwest Greece
The Greek coastguard today found 330 kilograms of hashish packed in 16
plastic bags on a coast of Parga in northwestern Greece, the Merchant
Marine Ministry announced.
Informed sources said a coastguard patrol boat spotted four men aboard an
Albanian speedboat unloading the hashish. The same sources said the
Albanians unloaded the bags on Parga's Lichini beach and then sped off into
Albanian territorial waters after being chased by the patrol boat.
MPs condemn Turkish military strikes in Iraq
Twenty-three MPs, members of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs,
have expressed concern over and condemnation of the ongoing Turkish
military strikes in northern Iraq.
In an announcement, the MPs said the strikes comprised a ''blatant
violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity (by one UN member
state) of another UN member nation''.
They called on the Turkish government to withdraw its troops from Iraqi
territory, adding that they were ''monitoring with concern'' the develoments
in the Kurdish matter.
They also appealed to the Turkish government to realise that a political
settlement was the ''only solution to any demands of the country's Kurdish
population''.
The announcement was signed by MPs Karolos Papoulias, Sifis Valyrakis and
Stelios Papathemelis of the ruling PASOK party, and L. Lymberakidis and
Christos Vyzovitis of the main opposition New Democracy party.
11.7 trillion to be invested in energy
Development Minister Vasso Papandreou has announced 11.7 trillion dr. in
energy investments over the next five years, and said she would give
further details today.
Speaking on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Hellenic Refineries
S.A. at Aspropyrgos (ELDA), Ms. Papandreou said investments of one trillion
dr. were planned in the energy sector and 500 million dr. in natural gas,
while the Public Petroleum Corporation (DEP) group would also make
investments of 230 billion dr. during that same period.
She said another 150 billion dr. would be invested in the development of
renewable energy sources by the year 1999 via the Operational Programme for
Energy.
The Minister was expected to announce some of the projects in the renewal
energy sector at a press conference today, including the approval of a 4.7
billion dr. investment for the development of photovoltaic systems in Mires,
Crete, by the American firm IWEKO. The Mires investment would be the
largest such installation in Europe and one of the largest worldwide.
The aim of the huge investment programme is to secure the country's energy
adequacy and to increase its competitiveness in the energy sector in view
of an imminent deregulation of the markets.
The investments would be accompanied by structural reforms in the state
enterprises carrying out the investments so as to ensure their efficiency
in the new framework being formed.
A study is currently underway for re-organisation of the Public Power
Corporation (DEH), while the restructuring of DEP is also being considered,
aiming at its listing on the Athens Stock Exchange by the end of the
year.
Ministry works to combat corruption
Interior and Public Administration minister Alecos Papadopoulos intends to
propose new disciplinary procedures, designed to combat corruption in
public services.
The ''regime of impunity'' in the public administration could not continue,
he told a television interview last night, adding that he would propose, at
Friday's Cabinet meeting, new disciplinary procedures for civil servants
implicated in corruption, which would be contained in the new civil
servants' code.
He said mechanisms to control and eliminate in the public sector were being
established ''for the first time'', and recalled the introduction of
economic inspectors, public administration inspectors and the institution
of Ombudsmen, which he anticipated would begin operating in October.
Asked to comment on a recent ALCO opinion poll showing that 65% of the 2,
400 people surveyed believed the state to be corrupt (18%) or rather
corrupt (47%), Papadopoulos said it was unacceptable that one should speak
of corrupt civil servants and consider that society was ''without
blame''.
''Corruption does not apply to the total of civil servants, but is in
society itself'', the minister said, adding that ''the law of 'omerta' is
applied by many sides because it suits them''.
Greek stocks end down in robust trade
Stock prices halted a two-day rally on the Athens Stock Exchange to end
moderately lower despite vigorous trading and big gains in the construction
sector.
The general index closed 0.41 percent lower at 1,631.90 points reflecting a
drop in heavily weighted Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) and
a fall in bank shares.
OTE remained the barometer of the market on the second day of subscription
to a public offering of 45 million shares. Its price fell 250 drachmas to 7,
200 reversing a strong advance of more than 800 drachmas in the last four
sessions.
Greece-FYROM trade volume surge
The general director of the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board (HEPO) elaborated
on what he called the "positive prospects for both economic and commercial
cooperation between Greece and FYROM."
He was speaking during a special ceremony marking the close of an HEPO-
organised seminar for 20 senior managers of the public and private sector
in FYROM.
G.Koutsodimos said the volume of trade between the two countries increased
considerably in the past year. "Greece now holds the fourth position on the
list of FYROM's most important trading partners with trade volume worth
US$180 million," Koutsodimos said. Greece stood at the 14th position in the
beginning of 1996.
He forecast that in 1998 Greece will be FYROM's second most important
trading partners after Germany, with a trade volume reaching US$300
million.
Meanwhile, according to HEPO data, Greece is expected to be the largest
investor in Skopje in 1997, with investments amounting to more than US$160
million.
EU to fund liaison offices for Balkan regional authorities
A conference on cooperation between regional authorities in Greece and
other Balkan states will be held in Thessaloniki on June 17 as part of
efforts under the European Union funded Lace programme to set up liaison
offices throughout the region.
Organised by central Macedonia's regional authority, the conference will
discuss setting up one of the eight liaison offices in Macedonia to handle
cooperation between Greece and Bulgaria, Albania and Italy.
The new liaison offices will arrange seminars, coordinate information
exchanges on cross-border EU programmes, set up a computerised data base,
and offer technical assistance to cross-border working groups.
Premier opens debate on Constitution's revision
Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday stated his support for the proposal
to disengage the election of president of the republic from the possibility
of dissolving Parliament envisaged under the current Constitution.
Opening Parliament's debate on the revision of the Constitution, the prime
minister said that "recourse to elections is not justified in the present
context of the president`s responsibilities", and that "political life has
achieved a level of maturity which allows an appropriate innovation".
According to current provisions on the election of a president, the 300-
member Parliament is dissolved if a candidate fails to secure a two-thirds
majority in the first two rounds and a three-thirds majority in the third
round. A three-fifths majority is again required by the new Parliament, and
if not attained, the president is elected by an absolute majority.
Stolen manuscript to return to Mount Athos
A rare 18th century manuscript that was stolen from the all-male monastic
community of Mount Athos and recently located in Bulgaria will be returned,
Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov promised yesterday.
Mr. Stoyanov pledged the return of the 1762 manuscript "Slavo-Bulgarian
History", written by Paissios Hiliendarios to the Agios Georgios Zographos
Monastery on Mount Athos.
The manuscript was stolen from the monastery in the 1980s and has been
displayed at the National Historial Museum of Sofia since September
1996.
WEATHER
Mostly sunny weather with a rise in temperatures is forecast for most parts
of Greece today with some local clouds in the mainland in the afternoon and
possible intermittent rain in the mountainous regions of eastern Macedonia
and Thrace. Winds variable, weak to moderate, turning strong in the
southeastern Aegean. Fair weather in Athens with temperatures between 19-
32C. Locally cloudy in Thessaloniki with temperatures between 16-30C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Wednesday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 270.419
Pound sterling 442.452 Cyprus pd 530.164
French franc 46.628 Swiss franc 188.168
German mark 157.728 Italian lira (100) 15.992
Yen (100) 243.397 Canadian dlr. 195.503
Australian dlr. 205.344 Irish Punt 411.283
Belgian franc 7.642 Finnish mark 52.467
Dutch guilder 140.194 Danish kr. 41.428
Swedish kr. 34.843 Norwegian kr. 37.811
Austrian sch. 22.410 Spanish peseta 1.864
Port. Escudo 1.557
(M.P.)
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