Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 98-11-27

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 27/11/1998 (ANA)

MAIN HEADLINES

• Greece and Cyprus hold top-level talks in Athens
• Athens support for Italian handling of Ocalan issue
• Simitis-Klima meeting set for Dec. 2, prior to Vienna EU summit
• Greek soldiers in NATO force to be stationed in FYROM
• Central bank forecasts rapid drop in inflation
• Titan Cement in Bulgaria
• OA management contract signed between gov't, state-run carrier
• Greece to see better days under EMU, Simitis says
• Hellenic Petroleum posts 100 pct consolidated profit jump Jan-Sept
• Equities resume upward course
• GSEE: 22% of unemployed in Greece higher education graduates
• Farmer shoots dead Albanian cattle rustler
• Weather
• Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides on Friday held talks on the Cyprus problem attended also by the leaderships of the two countries' foreign and defence ministries.

As expected, no statements were made after the meeting concerning Nicosia's plans to procure and install Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to bolster the island republic's defence.

The plans have been criticised by the United States and European countries which say it will only increase tension. Turkey has openly threatened that it will prevent deployment of the defensive missiles.

During today's talks the two sides ascertained an escalation of Turkish intransigence, Simitis said, citing in particular a recent proposal by Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash for the creation of a confederation in Cyprus.

Simitis said neither Greece nor Cyprus had anything to gain from the tension, but that Turkey did.

"Any defence measures taken are aimed solely at bolstering the island's defence and ensuring the peaceful settlement of the Cyprus problem. We remain true to the commitments we have undertaken within the framework of the (Greece-Cyprus) joint defence doctrine," Simitis said.

Athens support for Italian handling of Ocalan issue

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said yesterday that he supported Rome extending political asylum to Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan.

"Greece is in favour of political asylum being given to Mr. Ocalan," Mr. Simitis said, adding: "Italy has handled the matter properly." Mr. Simitis was responding to questions from the foreign press at an annual Foreign Press Association luncheon hel d yesterday.

The prime minister was harshly critical of the Turkish reaction to the Italian government's handling of the Ocalan issue, underlining that European leaders had to evaluate these reactions.

He called them "intense, exaggerated and almost violent".

"(European leaders) must make clear that in relation to Turkey-EU relations these tactics will not be allowed to pass," Mr. Simitis said.

He noted that Turkey had reacted in a similar fashion recently against the European Union when it was left off the list of candidate-countries, acting with the rationale of, "if we are not a chosen country there will be no cooperation".

Simitis-Klima meeting set for Dec. 2, prior to Vienna EU summit

The preparation and issues at the Vienna European Council, to be held on Dec. 11-12, will be discussed in Athens on Dec. 2 between Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Austrian Chancellor and European Union President Viktor Klima.

The latter is touring the capitals of the remaining 14 EU member-states as of Wednesday for the same reason.

Mr. Klima considers the employment policy, the euro and the "Agenda 2000" as issues of primary interest at the Vienna European Council, with which the Austrian EU presidency will be concluded.

Greek soldiers in NATO force to be stationed in FYROM

National Defence Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos told Parliament yesterday that Greece would participate with a contingent of 40-45 soldiers in a N ATO force to be stationed in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

The contingent will be set up to protect more than 2,000 OSCE observers in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo.

Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said the NATO force under French command would comprise a total of 250 troops and had nothing to do with "NATO's supposed intervention in Kosovo" as borne out by the fact that it will be based in FYROM.

Central bank forecasts rapid drop in inflation

The Bank of Greece expects a rapid fall in inflation in the first six months of 1999 and an annual rate below 2.0 percent by the end of the year.

The central bank's governor, Lucas Papademos, submitting the bank's interim report on monetary policy for 1998 to Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis on Friday, said that the aim to contain inflation below 2.0 percent by the end of next year was "feasible".

Papademos noted that the issue of relaxing interest rates would be examined by the bank's monetary council in its regular meeting in two weeks' time.

Kaklamanis said that the Greek people was making "unbearable" sucrifices in anticipation of economic progress and that it was doing so without complaints.

Titan Cement in Bulgaria

Plevchem, a Cyprus-based company, has purchased a 34 percent equity stake, worth 8.2 million US dollars, in Bulgarian cement company Pleven Cement, based in the northern city of Pleven, Bulgaria's public works ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Plevchem is a member of Greek cement producer Titan, which already controls 49 percent of the Bulgarian company.

Plevchem's annual production is estimated at 360,000 tonnes.

OA management contract signed between gov't, state-run carrier

Goals and guidelines for debt-ridden Olympic Airways and OA's subsidiaries over the next five years are included in a management contract signed yesterday by the government with the state-run companies' administrations.

Targets include an increase in revenues from an increase in passenger volume, attraction of more affluent travellers, as well as a decrease in expenditures through the implementation of new staff regulations.

The main directives and strategies included in the plan are the restructuring of OA's route network, a "radical" improvement in the state-run national air carrier's image and services, including the inclusion of new aircraft.

National Ecomony Minister Yiannos Papantoniou and Transport Minister Tassos Mantelis signed the agreement on behalf of the government.

Greece to see better days under EMU, Simitis says

Greece can expect better days following the country's entry into European economic and monetary union (EMU) by January 1, 2001, Prime Minister Costas Simitis said yesterday.

Addressing a Foreign Press Association luncheon, he said that the government's policies would ensure Greece's participation in the euro, the EU's future single currency.

"We will be able to achieve what we are seeking, as we are to some extent doing now," Mr. Simitis said.

EMU entry would bring a 35-hour working week, transformation of the tax system, lower taxes, a more effective employment policy, and increased national funding to tackle unemployment, he said.

The prime minister rejected the possibility of a political deal to ensure the country's entry into EMU: "There is no such leeway."

Hellenic Petroleum posts 100 pct consolidated profit jump Jan-Sept

The Hellenic Petroleum Group defied a slump in international oil prices to report a spectacular 100 percent increase in its consolidated profits for the first nine months to 32.6 billion drachmas against the same period last year.

The Group's chairman and managing director, Eleftherios Tzellas, told a news conference yesterday that the results for January-September showed that the company was achieving its business targets for the year and fully implementing its investment programme.

The programme includes construction of a propylene unit in Thessaloniki, which has already begun; investment in another unit nearing completion in Komotini; and the acquisition of Mamidakis Oil on Wednesday, which has given Hellenic Petroleum seven new storage facilities and 593 new gas stations around the country.

Pre-tax profits of the parent company, listed Hellenic Petroleum SA, more than doubled to 26.2 billion drachmas in January-September from 9.7 billion last year.

Pre-tax profits of its retail subsidiary EKO-ELDA totalled 5.4 billion drachmas and those of its research subsidiary ASPROFOS totalled 1.05 billion drachmas in the first nine months of 1998.

The group's turnover, however, fell to 523 billion drachmas from 550 billion last year, hit by a sharp fall in international oil prices in 1998.

Equities resume upward course

Greek equities resumed their upward course in Friday's slow session following a two-day correction on the Athens Stock Exchange.

The general index ended 0.95 percent up to 2,478.37 points in heavy turnover of 62.9 billion drachmas. Volume was 14,278,000 shares.

Sector indices were mixed. Banks rose 0.73 percent, Insurance fell 0.32 percent, Leasing dropped 0.65 percent, Investment soared 2.77 percent, Construction eased 0.28 percent, Industrials ended 1.82 percent up, Miscellaneous fell 0.49 percent and Holding increased 1.84 percent.

The parallel market index for small cap companies fell 0.17 percent. The FTSE/ASE 20 index rose 0.82 percent to 1,530.81.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 140 to 105 with another 18 issues unchanged.

GSEE: 22% of unemployed in Greece higher education graduates

The General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) Labour Institute's director said that 22 per cent of unemployed people in Greece are university and technical institute graduates.

Speaking at a conference on "The University and Employment" yesterday, Savvas Robolis said that this percentage strengthens the view of those who maintain that there must be a change in the university's orientation towards providing vocational education and its direct linkage with the labour market's short-term needs. Referring to the total percentage of unemployment, he said that unemployment will increase gradually until the year 2000, adding that according to a report by the OECD in a country with a 10 per cent unemployment rate 6 per cent is due to the structural crisis, 2 per cent to changes in professions and 2 per cent to the relation between the educational system and the labour market.

Farmer shoots dead Albanian cattle rustler

A stock farmer shot and killed an Albanian man and seriously wounded his brother on Thursday after the two had stolen 70 head of cattle and were heading for the border.

The dead man was identified as Jezin Kazo, 45. His brother, Afrim Kazo, 38, was later found by compatriots and taken to hospital in Gyrokastr, southern Albania where he is currently being treated.

The two Albanians from Lazarati had stolen the cattle from the Makris brothers who have a stock farm in a mountainous region of Ioannina near the border with Albania.

George Makris, 58, gave chase and caught up with the two Albanians as they were herding the animals towards the border. He gave himself up to the police late last night.

According to Makris, the Albanians had threatened him with a gun and an axe and told him to come to Lazarati and pay them 20 million drachmas to get the cattle back.

Makris is being held at police headquarters in Ioannina and was expected to appear before a public prosecutor on completion of a preliminary investigation being conducted by the Greek and Albanian police.

Meanwhile, the police and army have stepped up patrols in the area, fearing possible reprisals from relatives of the dead Albania.

WEATHER

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

(S.S.)

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