Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
EU notes improvement in Greece's economy
A European Union Commission report of the course of the Greek economy says
that the country "has made substantial progress in reducing the large
imbalances in its public finances over recent years".
"Its deficit declined to 4 per cent of GDP in 1997 and is projected to
below the Maastricht Treaty reference value in 1998, while the public debt
ratio, after remaining stable since 1993, started to decline in 1997," the
report states.
National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou yesterday expressed
satisfaction over findings on the Greek economy, contained in the European
Commission's report on the basic orientations of the economic policies by
th e 15 member-states, adopted by the EU's finance ministers' council
(ECOFIN) yesterday.
Premier welcomes BSEC's new international status
Prime Minister Costas Simitis yesterday welcomed the outcome of a Black Sea
Economic Cooperation pact (BSEC) summit, which formally upgraded the five-
year-old regional grouping to international status.
The 11 members of BSEC signed a charter at the summit in Yalta, Ukraine,
allowing the group's elevation to an official international organisation.
The BSEC is comprised of Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Georgia, Romania,
Bulgaria, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Greece.
Mr. Simitis told reporters after attending the signing ceremony that Greece,
the only BSEC member in the European Union, would work to strengthen ties
between the group and the 15-nation bloc.
Transport Minister to visit Albania
Transport and Communications Mi-nister Tassos Mantelis will pay an official
three-day visit to Albania beginning Monday.
The purpose of his visit is to focus on bilateral cooperation in the
transport and communications sector, following the signing of a cooperation
protocol between the two states last December.
Foreign, Defence Ministers comment on NATO CBM Aegean agreement
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said yesterday that Greece would do
everything possible to make even more specific NATO Secretary-General
Javier Solana's announcement on a Greek-Turkish agreement to implement a
1988 memorandum.
Mr. Solana yesterday announced that Greece and Turkey had agreed to fully
implement accords signed in 1988 concerning rules of conduct related to
military activities in the Aegean and, when possible, to supplement
them.
While describing the announcement as "quite general", Mr. Pangalos
acknowledged that it contained "a number of new elements".
National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos said later that although Mr.
Solana's announcement expressed the common political will of Greece and
Turkey to implement the agreement, certain "arrangements" required further
elaboration "as a supplement or prerequisite" for its realisation.
Ankara calls for Madrid comminique to be made binding
Turkey yesterday called on Greece to accept the "transformation" of last
year's Madrid communique into a legal document.
In July 1997 Athens and Ankara signed in Madrid a joint communique on
principles that should govern bilateral relations and good-neighbourliness.
A Turkish foreign ministry statement yesterday said that the Solana
statement was an important step, adding however, that this development was
"a result of Turkey's combined efforts towards a settlement of problems in
the Aegean."
Bomb attack against TV station condemned
Government and opposition parties today condemned the bomb attack late last
night against the private television station "New Channel" in Athens.
The bomb had been placed in the accounts department on the eighth floor of
the building on Pireos Street. The blast was not very strong but the
resulting fire destroyed part of the TV station's records and three
photocopying machines.
"This terrorist act is unacceptable and we condemn it. Greek citizens will
not yield to behaviour which dynamites social calm and undermines the
operation of institutions," Press and Media Minister Dimitris Reppas
said.
Macedonia-Thrace Minister denies Kosovo refugees' centers report
The government is not at the present time considering establishing
reception centres for refugees from the Serbian province of Kosovo,
Macedonia-Thrace Minister Philippos Petsalnikos told the state-run ERT-3
radio station in Thessaloniki yesterday.
The minister denied a report in a local newspaper according to which new
reception centres had begun to be set up for refugees from strife-torn
Kosovo.
US national rescued off Lefkada
An American national, who had fallen off a Patras-Brindisi passenger ferry,
was plucked from the sea off the southern coast of the Ionian island of
Lefkada by a passing fishing boat.
Dorian Briselston, 21, told authorities he had fallen from a ferry and had
been in the water for about three hours before being rescued by the fishing
boat. He was taken to a Lefkada hospital for medical check, while local
port authorities are conducting a preliminary investigation.
Foreign national investigated over forest fires
Police in Crete are investigating a 50-year-old foreign national arrested
yesterday on theft charges. Authorities suspect that Mohammed Abrahan, who
was found in posession of a UK as well as a Swedish passport, is also
involved in various forest fires in Greece, as two photographs were
discovered at his residence showing such blazes.
Acropolis Rally begins Sunday
The 45th international Acropolis Rally begins on Sunday at the foot of
Athens' most famous landmark - the "Sacred Rock" - with the participation
of 33 foreign and 72 Greek teams.
The rally will include five new special sections, four of which are near
Athens and therefore expected to draw large crowds. The participating cars
will cover an overall distance of 1031.97 kilometres over three days, which
will include 17 special sections totalling 388.76 kilometres.
Police patrols on Greek-Turkish border stepped up
Border police patrols had been stepped up in the region in recent days on
reports that some 3,000 illegal immigrants were waiting to cross the border
into Greece from Turkey.
Police said on Thursday they had arrested an Iraqi man thought to be a
central player in the trade in smuggling illegal immigrants and narcotics
from Turkey to Greece.
Celebrations, protests mark World Environment Day
World Environment Day was celebrated in Athens yesterday with various
events and protests by dozens of environmental groups and organisations.
Athens suburb Agia Paraskevi residents and local government officials
protested outside the Environment, Urban Planning and Public Works ministry
against the construction of a new ring road in the Ymittos area.
Earlier, about 400 demonstrators from environmental groups and members of
the Coordinating Committee for the Rescue of the Saronic Gulf gathered
outside the ministry to protest proposed sports facilities for the Athens
2004 Olympics along the coast.
Meanwhile, various events were organised in schools and other centres to
mark the day, while a two-day "Celebration for the Environment", organised
by the ministry, culminated last night at the Peace and Friendship indoor
stadium with a concert.
Greek, FYROM representatives meet in NY
Greece's permanent UN representative met on Wednesday with his Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) counterpart to exchange views within
the context of Article V of a 1995 interim agreement between Greece and
FYROM.
Greece's Christos Zaharakis and FYROM's Ivan Tosevski's meeting was held
under the auspices of UN mediator Cyrus Vance.
An announcement issued yesterday by the UN secretary general's spokesman
said the two parties agreed to hold a new meeting after the summer.
Meanwhile Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos visited FYROM and met
President Kiro Gligorov and Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski underlining
the two countries' willingness for closer ties.
Mr. Avramopoulos' visit aims to explore cooperation prospects at a local
government level.
Report on Yakovlev air crash to be published soon
Authorities have completed a report on the December 17 crash of a Ukrainian
Yakovlev-42 aircraft that cost the lives of all 72 people on board and will
be handing it to the Ukrainian and Russian governments shortly for comments,
Transport and Co mmunications Minister Tassos Mandelis said on Thursday.
Mr. Mandelis said Russian and Ukrainian experts would examine the report.
He was speaking in Thessaloniki after relatives of the people killed in the
crash held a news conference to express their concern over the delay in the
issuing of the report.
Press sources said the report attributed responsibility for the accident to
a combination of technical factors and human error.
Ionian Bank administration seeks to declare strike illegal
Ionian Bank's administration took legal action yesterday requesting that a
strike until Wednesday by the General Confederation of Workers of Greece
(GSEE) be declared illegal and abusive, as was the case with previous
strikes called by the bank's employee s' union and the Federation of Bank
Employee Unions (OTOE).
The new development had in essence been announced in advance through
statements by government spokesman Dimitris Reppas who stressed that the
government has safeguarded jobs in the best possible way and called on
employees to turn up for work and avoid political intrigues.
Consumer price inflation holds steady at 5.3 pct
Consumer price inflation in May held steady at 5.3 percent year-on-year
from April, the Greek National Statistics Service (GNSS) said yesterday.
Inflation is expected to resume its downward trend in June after absorbing
the impact of a 13.8 percent devaluation when the drachma joined the
European Union's exchange rate mechanism on March 14.
Weather
Fine weather is expected throughout the country for most of Sunday. In the
afternoon central and northern in-land areas can expect some cloud and
scattered showers with the possibility of local thunderstorms. Northerly
moderate winds, strong in parts of the Aegean. Athens will be fine with a
temperature range of 19-32 degrees centigrade. Thessaloniki in the
afternoon can expect cloud and the possibility of rain, temps 17-32.
Foreign exchange
Friday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 297.650
British pound 487.965 Japanese yen(100) 213.826
French franc 50.207 German mark 168.342
Italian lira (100) 17.097 Irish Punt 425.171
Belgian franc 8.161 Finnish mark 55.383
Dutch guilder 149.351 Danish kr. 44.200
Austrian sch. 23.933 Spanish peseta 1.981
Swedish kr. 38.349 Norwegian kr. 40.063
Swiss franc 202.308 Port. Escudo 1.645
Aus. dollar 179.175 Can. dollar 204.531
Cyprus pound 572.067
(K.G.)
