NEWS IN DETAIL

Greeks throughout the country today celebrate the first day of Lent known as Clean Monday, with the traditional "lagana" bread, seafood and other lenten delicacies excluding meat and dairy products, while children flew their traditional kites and elders danced and feasted all day, marking the end of carnival and the beginning of a 40-day lent before Greek Orthdox Easter.

Mass exodus death toll

Twenty people were killed and 253 were injured in 197 road accidents since Friday, when thousands of major city dwellers left for their villages and the provinces to celebrate carnival and the first day of Lent. Traffic police took extra precautionary measures to prevent further accidents in the country's main national highways, as the holydaymakers start returning home this afternoon.

Journalist in George Polk case dies

Gregoris Staktopoulos, a veteran Greek journalist, who was accused 50 years ago of being an accomlice in the murder of an American correspondent during Greece's civil war, died at the age of 88, it was announced today.

Staktopoulos was born in Trebizond (Trapezounta) in Pontos. His family moved to Thessaloniki after the Asia Minor disaster. He graduated from the American College in Thessaloniki in 1930 and worked for a local Greek Communist daily published clandestinly during the German occupation.

After Greece's liberation, Staktopoulos worked for the Thessaloniki daily "Macedonia" until October 1948 when he was accused of being an accomplice in the murder of American journalist George Polk, who went to the northern Greek capital to interview Markos Vafiades, head of the then Communist-led "Democratic Army".

Polk's body was fished out of Thessaloniki bay a few days later.

In April 1949, a Thessaloniki criminal court sentenced Staktopoulos to life imprisonment, but his sentence was reduced twice and was set free, under certain conditions, in 1960.

After his release he worked for "Ethnikos Kyrix" newspaper and was the Athens correspondent for the "Macedonia" newspaper. At the same time, and until his retirement in 1982, he was worked as a stringer for the Associated Press and Reuters news agencies and the London Times.

Vigil for Archbishop Serapheim

The Church of Greece's longest serving Archbishop, Serapheim, has suffered irreversible damage to several vital organs, according to last night's hospital bulletin. The 85-year-old prelate has been in hospital since last Tuesday, suffering from a viral infection that complicated a chronic kidney condition.

However the hospital has announced today the possibility that the infection may be effectively combatted and the Archbishop could partly recover his vital organ's functions.

US Embassy goes on-line

The US Embassy in Athens has announced three on-line services including a direct line to Ambassador Nicholas Burns (amb/burns&usisathens.gr). General information on other issues can be accessed at: usembassy&usisathens.gr, while academic or general research information can be accessed from the Information Resource Centre at: irc&usisathens.gr.

Tough negotiations under way over EU enlargement, Cyprus

Athens is reportedly experiencing strong diplomatic pressures over Greek- Turkish relations by many European Community countries and, according to all indications, these pressures are expected to heighten.

Pressures concern the issue of allowing for the normalisation of relations between the EU and Turkey, and more specifically, the issue of activating a financial protocol for Turkey, which Greece is blocking.

Many EU countries, including the British presidency, are using the Cyprus issue as a lever, believing that in this way they will oblige the Greek side to lift objections on the issue of financially aiding Turkey.

Such pressures became clear in Brussels yesterday during the discussion at a Council of Ministers group at the diplomatic and experts level, which is responsible for EU enlargement.

The British presidency presented the plans concerning the EU's opening positions during the meeting concerning the start to inter-governmental consultations with the five candidate-countries from central and eastern Europe and Cyprus, due to take place in Brussels on March 31.

The plan on Cyprus was not satisfactory for the Greek side since, in essence, it mentioned that the accession of Cyprus to the EU necessitates the creation of an bi-communal and bi-zonal federation.

The Greek side rejected the plan and expressed reservations over all the plans (even those concerning eastern countries). Greek diplomats believe that the opening position of the "15" on Cyprus must correspond to the spirit and letter of relevant decisions taken on Cyprus at the Luxembourg summit, saying the proposal by the British presidency lies outside this framework.

The issue is expected to be discussed at the Committee of Permanent EU Representatives, at the ambassadorial level, possibly at the informal session of EU foreign ministers in Edinburgh in three weeks' time.

If there are no developments by then, it might be the main issue at the Foreign Ministers' session which will precede the official start to accession negotiations at the end of March.

Pressures are also intensifying on the Greek side to consent to the activation of the fiscal mechanism for Turkey which is anticipated by the agreement concerning customs union between Turkey and the EU.

The European Commission is expected to discuss on Wednesday a report which, based on decisions taken at the Luxembourg summit, it must deliver to the Council of Ministers on strengthening the agreement on customs union between Turkey and the EU.

The Greek side, however, argues that for activation of the protocol procedure, based on previous Council decisions, Turkey is required to make steps of goodwill in the direction of normalising Greek-Turkish relations.

These steps have not been taken and, consequently, Greece does not have the possibility of consenting to the release of EU funds to Turkey, a Greek diplomatic source said in Brussels.

Greece submits '98 economic forecasts to EU

Greece Friday submitted its economic forecasts for 1998 to the European Union ahead of a decision by the 15-nation bloc in May on which candidates are to participate in the single currency next year.

The general government deficit is forecast to fall to 855 billion drachmas this year from 1.3 trillion in 1997, representing 2.4 percent of the country's gross domestic product from 4.0 percent last year.

The public debt is forecast to rise to 37.9 trillion drachmas at the end of 1998 from 35.8 trillion last year, or 106.7 percent of GDP.

Germany, Italy, France and Finland announced better-than-expected 1997 deficit figures that should ensure a timely launch of EMU with 11 founding members.

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the last surviving architect of the 1991 Maastricht Treaty still in office, said the news showed the euro would be as stable a currency as the deutschemark and would start on time on January 1, 1999.

Analysts say the figures announced by 10 countries this week showed a remarkable pattern of control of public borrowing and inflation, especially in southern European economies with a history of chronic deficits.

Even Greece, which will not qualify for the first wave of EMU, has slashed its deficit and inflation in a race to catch up with the founders by the time euro banknotes and coins come into circulation in 2002.

Perhaps the most impressive effort has been Italy's last-minute dash for fiscal rectitude, launched at a time when Rome was widely considered a non- starter for EMU. Rome has cut its deficit to gross domestic product ratio from 10 percent to 2.7 percent in just four years.

Greek economy is stable, minister says

A Greek international syndicated bond issued in the US market was an answer to recent negative surveys on the Greek economy, National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said Friday.

"Economic stability is an undisputed reality," he said.

Mr. Papantoniou was commenting on recently published surveys by international firms on the country's creditworthiness and other analysis suggesting that the Greek currency was overvalued.

He said the terms of the syndicated bond issue were extremely favourable, a proof of confidence felt by international capital markets in the Greek economy.

"There is a climate of confidence that cannot be undermined by any private surveys," Mr. Papantoniou said.

Mr. Papantoniou urged Greek investors to remain calm and maintain a positive attitude on the future of the economy.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(M.S.)

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