Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-05-24
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 24/05/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- IMF urges Greece to adopt tighter economic policy in 1999
- SE Europe agrees on Balkan peacekeeping force
- Banks to strike Mon after riot police end Ionian Bank occupation
- Economy minister jeered by ruling party trade unionists
- Young Greeks travel less to EU countries than counterparts
- Spanish royal couple to open archaeological exhibition
- Teachers to stage three days of strikes in May, June
- Construction of Greek-Bulgarian road may finish in a year
- Greek stocks surge on privatisation, Hellenic Petroleum float
- Thessaloniki commuters to face transport turmoil this week
- Weather
- Foreign Exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
IMF urges Greece to adopt tighter economic policy in 1999
Greece's government needs to tighten its economic policy in 1999 in order
to gain entry into the European Union's economic and monetary union by
January 1, 2001, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Greater effort and stringency would be needed in 1999, a landmark year for
the economy before possible EMU entry, said the IMF's outline, which is due
to be followed by a detailed report.
The IMF, which described the government's planned EMU entry date as
ambitious, recommended the abolition of redundancy ceilings, cuts in
severance pay and lower minimum wages, especially for youth and unskilled
workers.
The recommended measures, coupled with the government's bid to make working
hours more flexible and encourage part-time work in the public sector,
would allow greater elasticity in the labour market, the IMF said.
Despite several years of progress in the economy, the government had to
adhere to its existing policy and tighten it further, it said.
SE Europe agrees on Balkan peacekeeping force
Defence undersecretaries representing eight countries of southeast Europe
and the United States have agreed to create a peacekeeping force to prevent
conflict in the Balkans.
Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Turkey and the
US signed a letter of intent in Tirana on Friday setting out the force's
political structure, which will provide the basis on which the respective
defence ministers will discuss the military aspect of a plan at a meeting
in Skopje on Sept. 26.
The letter states that the signatories recognise that political and
military cooperation strengthens the capacity for securing peace and
stability in Europe.
Further, it explains that the multinational brigade-size force is available
for deployment under orders by the United Nations, the OSCE, NATO, or the
Western European Union.
Banks to strike Mon after riot police end Ionian Bank occupation
Riot police on Sunday morning raided Ionian Bank's computer centre in
Piraeus, arresting two strikers and ending a workers' occupation that had
paralysed operations at the bank. The two workers were later released.
Workers at Ionian Bank have been on an indefinite strike for some two weeks
in protest at the government's decision to sell the bank.
The incident came a day before a court is due to rule whether the strike is
illegal following a petition filed by management late last week. The
blockade had frozen on-line systems and halted ATM transactions.
Reaction to the raid from the labour movement was swift. The General
Confederation of Greek Labour, the Federation of Bank Employee Unions and
the Athens and Piraeus Labour Centres called a snap 24-hour strike at all
banks tomorrow.
Trade unionists called on the public order ministry to remove police from
the site or "face a situation which might be uncontrollable."
Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said later that the government would
use any legal means at its disposal to normalise operations at Ionian
Bank.
"The government feels a commitment towards the public and towards Ionian's
customers, and will ensure smooth operations (at the bank) using all legal
means, which is what it is already doing," Reppas said.
Economy minister jeered by ruling party trade unionists
National Economy and Finance Minister Yannos Papantoniou was jeered by
ruling PASOK-aligned trade unionists on Saturday when he said that the
government would not backtrack on its plans to modernise public companies.
Papantoniou told a meeting of PASOK-aligned (PASKE) public sector union
representatives that opposition to the government's radical reform
programme was coming only from "those afraid of losing their privileges".
The minister was able to continue his speech only after the intervention of
the president of the council of civil service unions, Yannis Koutsoukos.
General Confederation of Greek Labour President Christos Polyzogopoulos,
who is also the secretary of PASKE, said later that Papantoniou's comments
equating labour activism with protecting privilege were "unacceptable".
Young Greeks travel less to EU countries than counterparts
Young Greeks travel less to European Union countries compared to young
people from other EU member-states.
According to figures from the European Commission's Eurobarometer unveiled
in Thessaloniki by PASOK Eurodeputy Nikos Papakyriazis, only 17 per cent of
young Greeks up to 25 years of age have travelled to EU countries over the
past two years in contrast to young people from Luxembourg, who have
visited European countries by up to 97 per cent.
Spanish royal couple to open archaeological exhibition
"Greece in Spain, in the steps of Hercules" is the title of an exhibition
to open at the National Archaeological Museum on Wednesday.
The exhibition will run through to July 5. Organised by the Spanish culture
and foreign ministries, with the cooperation of the Greek culture ministry,
the exhibition will be officially opened at 10 a.m. by the visiting Spanish
royal couple, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia.
The exhibition attempts to trace the myth of Hercules through art, commerce,
letters and historical sources, throwing light on Greek settlements and
commercial posts established in the 6th-5th centuries B.C. on the Iberian
peninsula and tracing the impact of ancient Greek civilization on the
evolution of art and culture.
The exhibition is made up of artifacts from Spanish museums, photographic
material, and models of tombs as well as five items from the Phoenicians.
Teachers to stage three days of strikes in May, June
Teachers' unions late on Saturday decided to hold a 48-hour strike on June
11-12 but rejected a proposal for a 48-hour strike on June 1, the day
nationwide school examinations are due to begin.
Also approved was a 24-hour strike for Wednesday, the day on which the
General Confederation of Greek Labour and the Supreme Administrative
Council of Civil Servants (ADEDY) have called a national strike to protest
the government's sweeping privatisation plans.
The June 11-12 strike coincides with a state exam to appoint new teachers
to state schools.
The use of exams is expected to gradually phase out a waiting list
arrangement for recruitment, providing 20 percent of new teaching
appointments for the 1998-1999 school year. Some teachers have opposed use
of the exam.
Construction of Greek-Bulgarian road may finish in a year
Construction of a new road between northern Greece and Bulgaria to aid the
movement of goods and passengers may be completed in a year, Foreign
Minister Theodoros Pangalos said on Sunday.
Pangalos was speaking to reporters after talks with the neighbouring
country's foreign minister, Nadia Michailova, who inaugurated new premises
for Bulgaria's consulate in Thessaloniki.
Work on the Greek side of the road at Exohi, near the northern town of
Drama, was on schedule and Sofia had tendered its share of construction,
probably allowing completion of the project in a year.
A total of three new highways are to be built to improve transport between
the two countries, in turning opening access to Balkan markets.
Pangalos repeated Greece's policy of aiding entry for Bulgaria into the
European Union and NATO, saying political and economic cooperation between
the two countries was sound.
Michailova said inauguration of the new consular premises symbolised
healthy ties and cooperation between the two countries.
Greek stocks surge on privatisation, Hellenic Petroleum float
Greek equities ended the week substantially higher taking a mini price
rally into a third consecutive session.
Traders said the market had regained confidence over the government's
privatisation drive ahead of an expected flotation of state-owned Hellenic
Petroleum shares in June.
The general index ended 1.26 percent higher at 2,606.48 points on Friday to
show a net gain of 5.53 percent on the week. Sector indices were mostly
higher.
The FTSE/ASE 20 index ended 0.96 percent higher at 1,560.69.
Trading was moderate to active with turnover at 73.1 billion drachmas.
Thessaloniki commuters to face transport turmoil this week
Commuters in Thessaloniki will face chaos as urban transport workers
protesting the government's plans to change labour relations are to hold
work stoppages spanning peak morning and evening hours on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Friday.
During the first stoppage on Friday, many commuters were forced to go to
work by car, adding to congestion on the roads, since taxis were unable to
meet the demand. Dozens of people stood at bus stops all over the city
waiting for transport that failed to arrive.
Weather
The weather in most parts of the country will be sunny tomorrow, turning to
cloud later in the day and then maybe rain or storms. Winds light to
moderate. Athens will be mostly sunny with temperatures ranging from 14C to
28C. Cloud is expected in the evening. The weather in Thessaloniki will be
overcast and possibly rainy later in the day with temperatures between 14C
and 27C.
Foreign Exchange
Friday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 300.685
British pound 489.790 Japanese yen(100) 221.196
French franc 50.830 German mark 170.555
Italian lira (100) 17.290 Irish Punt 429.238
Belgian franc 8.255 Finnish mark 56.086
Dutch guilder 151.275 Danish kr. 44.733
Austrian sch. 24.229 Spanish peseta 2.008
Swedish kr. 39.121 Norwegian kr. 40.364
Swiss franc 204.466 Port. Escudo 1.665
Aus. dollar 189.571 Can. dollar 206.634
Cyprus pound 579.626
(C.S.)
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