Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-06-23

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 23/06/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Cyprus developments dominate Simitis-Holbrooke talks in Athens
• New communications centre inaugurated at foreign ministry
• Gov't will not bow to unions in privatisation plan
• Greek stocks slump, shrugging off Ionian sale approval
• Olympic Airways seeks EU's approval for share capital rise
• OA-Cypriot Airways cooperation announced
• Rate on 3-year Greek bonds rises after commission scrapped
• Listed Papastratos makes new deal with Philip Morris
• Macedonia-Thrace Bank, Piraeus Bank to bid for Cretabank
• Greece details latest Turkish threats in letter to the UN
• Military experts meet on multinational Balkan force
• Photo exhibition on Andreas Papandreou inaugurated
• Thessaloniki to host international conference on Jewish law
• Alistratis cave opens to tourists
• Greek, Italian commercial federations sign cooperation protocol
• Clause on raising work hours during peak periods scrapped
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Prime Minister Costas Simitis held talks yesterday with newly appointed US ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke, who arrived in Athens earlier in the day.

The meeting, which lasted 40 minutes, was also attended by Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and US ambassador in Athens Nicholas Burns.

According to government sources, the meeting was requested by Mr. Holbrooke, who leaves Athens this morning on a regional tour taking in Belgrade, Kosovo and Skopje.

Diplomatic sources said Mr. Simitis and Mr. Holbrooke reviewed developments in the Cyprus problem, Greek-Turkish relations and Greek-US relations.

Also discussed was cooperation between the two countries in the Balkans. No statements were made after the meeting.

Mr. Reppas said the prime minister had agreed to the meeting in light of Mr. Holbrooke's new appointment to the United Nations.

New communications centre inaugurated at foreign ministry

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos inaugurated new installations of the Information Service's Communications Centre at the foreign ministry yesterday morning.

The centre hopes to become the gateway for entry of information from news agencies, the Greek electronic mass media as well as certain foreign ones having particular importance for the country so readouts can reach computers quickly.

Consequently, the foreign ministry's needs for speedy access to open electronic information will be covered to a considerable degree.

This system will be further strengthened with the installation of an Internet link at the homes of the ministry's directors, while an "Intranet" system is expected to operate at the ministry soon.

Gov't will not bow to unions in privatisation plan

National Economy and Finance Minister Yannos Papantoniou yesterday pledged that the government would not soften its wide-ranging privatisation plan in order to appease trade unions.

Mr. Papantoniou also warned opponents of the programme within the ruling PASOK party that it would be hazardous to return to state-oriented economic policies of 1974-1994.

"It would be a crime if PASOK returned to the economy with the perceptions and practices of 1974-1994," he told Flash radio station in an interview.

"There will be no concessions or postponements in the privatisation programme."

Mr. Papantoniou said the hardest part of the government's privatisation programme would be to restructure public transport, but a balance between viability and consensus could be found.

Greek stocks slump, shrugging off Ionian sale approval

Greek equities yesterday ended a roller-coaster session substantially lower, brushing off the approval of shareholders at the end of last week for the privatisation of Ionian Bank after a lengthy strike.

The general index ended 1.38 percent lower at 2,417.97 points after starting the day 2.60 percent up.

Trading was light to moderate with turnover at 45.7 billion drachmas.

Sector indices were mixed. Banks fell 2.35 percent, Insurance eased 0.35 percent, Investment dropped 1.16 percent, Leasing was 0.84 percent off, Industrials rose 0.04 percent, Construction fell 0.43 percent, Miscellaneous ended 0.85 percent higher and Holding rose 0.14 percent.

The parallel market index fell 0.59 percent, and the FTSE/ASE 20 index dropped 2.09 percent to 1,439.87 points.

European Credit, Mouzakis, Vis, Daring, Ergas, Agrinion Metalplastic, Elfico and Keranis suffered the heaviest losses.

National Bank of Greece ended at 39,300 drachmas, Ergobank at 26,550, Alpha Credit Bank at 26,800, Ionian Bank fell to 13,700, Commercial Bank of Greece dropped to 22,405, Delta Dairy at 3,935, Titan Cement at 20,500, Intracom at 10,975 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 7,160 drachmas.

Olympic Airways seeks EU's approval for share capital rise

A seven-member delegation from Olympic Airways went to Brussels yesterday in order to persuade the European Union to lift its objections to the release of an instalment in a share capital rise for the ailing national carrier.

OA's management has to prove that it is successfully carrying out a plan to restructure the airline before approval can be granted for the government to proceed with the 35 billion drachma instalment, and the release of funds for fleet renewal.

Approval for the instalment has been delayed for two years due to poor implementation of a 1994 restructuring plan. The government recently announced a new plan to cut costs by 50 billion drachmas annually for five years.

OA-Cypriot Airways cooperation announced

Transport Minister Tassos Mantelis yesterday announced an agreement with his Cypriot counterpart Leontios Ierodiakonou to promote cooperation between Olympic Airways and Cyprus Airways, as well as between OA's Macedonian Airways subsidiary with the island republic's Euro-Cyprus charter company.

Mr. Mantelis said the agreement was the result of re-negotiation of an older one, which had become inoperative.

The minister also announced the granting of a licence in the next few days to Cypriot businessman S. Hatjioannou's British-based Easyjet for flights between London and Athens.

The company plans to run a 9,800-drachma single fare and 19,600-drachma return fare offer for 10 days as of July 10.

Rate on 3-year Greek bonds rises after commission scrapped

The average rate on three-year Greek bonds rose to 10.03 percent at an auction yesterday, up from 9.63 percent in the previous tender after commissions were scrapped, the finance ministry said in a statement. The ministry said that the difference was due to a government decision to scrap commercial bank commissions with the market now working through primary dealers.

The move took effect yesterday for the first time.

In the current auction, the state accepted bids totalling 100 billion drachmas, as planned. Bids submitted totalled 177.5 billion drachmas.

Listed Papastratos makes new deal with Philip Morris

Papastratos, a tobacco company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, yesterday signed a long-term agreement with US tobacco giant Philip Morris for the production and distribution of Marlboro cigarettes in Greece. The two companies have been partners since 1975. In a joint statement, they underlined that the new deal did not include any equity participation by Philip Morris in Papastratos and that the two firms had no such plans for the future.

Macedonia-Thrace Bank, Piraeus Bank to bid for Cretabank

Macedonia-Thrace Bank and Piraeus Bank are to submit a joint bid in a tender for the privatisation of Cretabank next Monday.

The announcement was made yesterday at a shareholders' meeting of Macedonia- Thrace Bank, which is partly privatised.

Cretabank is being sold as part of the government's privatisation plan. Two earlier tenders were abortive.

Shareholders of Macedonia-Thrace Bank, which is listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, also approved a share capital increase of 35.7 billion drachmas through the issue of three new shares for two old ones, priced at 3,500 drachmas each.

Greece details latest Turkish threats in letter to the UN

Greece's permanent representative to the UN has submitted a letter to the Security Council drawing attention to repeated Turkish threats to use force against Greece and Cyprus.

"My government has instructed me to bring to your attention the continuing provocative attitude of the Turkish government and its systematic practice of threatening the use of force in connection with Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus problem," Christos Zacharakis said in the letter, sent after public statements Thursday by Turkish officials containing threats on the occasion of a training flight of four Hellenic Air Force jets to Cyprus.

"Flights of Greek air force jets to Cyprus have repeatedly taken place in the past upon invitation of the government of Cyprus. It is within this framework that a short training visit of four aircraft was carried out to the airbase of Paphos," he said in an accompanying aide-memoire, also discounting Turkish claims that the airbase constituted a threat against Turkey.

Military experts meet on multinational Balkan force

Military experts from seven countries of southeast Europe began a five-day meeting in Athens yesterday to discuss procedural matters related to the creation of a multinational peacekeeping force to prevent conflict in the Balkans.

The decision to set up the force was taken at a meeting of the defence undersecretaries of eight countries of southeast Europe and the United States in Tirana last month.

The Athens meeting is being attended by delegations from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Italy, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Romania. Representatives from the USA and Slovenia are attending as observers.

The meeting will focus on issues concerning the organisation and structure of the force's headquarters as well as legal and financial matters.

Issues related to the location of the headquarters and which country has command will be discussed at a meeting of defence ministers of the participating countries in FYROM in September.

Photo exhibition on Andreas Papandreou inaugurated

Prime Minister Costas Simitis last night inaugurated a photo exhibition at the Zappeion Hall focusing on the life of PASOK founder and three-time prime minister Andreas Papandreou.

In a short speech, Mr. Simitis spoke about Andreas Papandreou, emphasising his qualities as an individual, and describing the late PASOK leader as a warm person that had the ability to get his message across to people.

"There is a great man behind a great work," he concluded, adding that Andreas Papandreou "will continue to inspire us".

Thessaloniki to host international conference on Jewish law

Prominent Jewish lawyers and legal experts from Europe and the US converge in Thessaloniki on Thursday for a four-day international conference to commemorate the Jewish community of the city almost totally wiped out in the Holocaust and to mark the contribu tion of Jewish lawyers, jurists and intellectuals to Greek law.

Organisers of the conference, to be held from June 25-28, said a total of 180 Jewish lawyers and jurists from the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Sweden, Australia and Argentina will be attending.

The conference is part of a series of congresses being held in various European cities in memory of thousands of Jewish lawyers, jurists and intellectuals who perished in the Holocaust during World War Two with Thessaloniki heading the list.

The conference will be opened by Justice Ministers Evangelos Yannopoulos and Culture Minister and law professor Evangelos Venizelos, and the President of the Thessaloniki Bar Association.

Alistratis cave opens to tourists

One of Europe's largest and most beautiful caves, the Alistratis Cave in Serres, which is believed to date back two million years, was opened yesterday to visitors and researchers in the presence of government, local government and parliamentary officials

The prehistoric cave, covering an area of 25,000 sq.m. with an estimated three kilometres of underground passages, has been described by the Greek Speleology Society, involved in its exploration since 1975, as a "rare geological phenomenon of exceptional beauty". The calcified bones of small and larger prehistoric animals have been discovered on the surface, and authorities believe that simultaneous exploration will not obstruct the tourist exploitation of the cave.

Sources said the cave's location was favourable to attracting visitors, as it was only 250 metres from the Serres-Drama rail line and an Alistratis Cave Station was to be built soon to facilitate tourists' direct access.

Greek, Italian commercial federations sign cooperation protocol

A protocol of bilateral cooperation was signed yesterday between the National Federation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) and the Italian Confederation of Commerce, Tourism and Services (CONFCOMMERCIO).

During the meeting, the presidents of the two bodies outlined the targets for their cooperation, which include the development of Euro-Mediterranean commercial cooperation, electronic links for information exchange, and jointly implementing EU programmes.

Clause on raising work hours during peak periods scrapped

Labour and Social Insurances Minister Miltiades Papaioannou said yesterday that a bill on labour relations, to be presented tomorrow, will not ultimately include a clause providing employers with unilateral "administrative right" to increase working hours to 9 or 10 a day.

The clause could have been implemented in periods of peak production, over a period of up to two months a year, without paying for overtime work but in return for days off or longer leave of absence.

Speaking on the radio, Mr. Papaioannou said the controversial clause, which trade unions considered an abolition of the eight-hour workday, was his own choice and is being withdrawn to facilitate creation of a climate of dialogue as well as the passing of the bill's overall policy.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(C.E.)

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