Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-09-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] FM: Greek EU presidency will consider EU-Asia relations a 'priority'

[02] Net EU inflows to Greece account for 3.5 percent of GDP

[03] French Embassy, archaeological school open for visitors this weekend

[04] Weather Forecast: Rain on Friday

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[06] Greek Church delegation returns from Europarliament visit

[07] Archaeology service OKs work at Olympic venue in Marathon

[08] Greek stocks continue recovering in ASE

[01] FM: Greek EU presidency will consider EU-Asia relations a 'priority'

ISTANBUL (ANA - M. Vihou) - Greece's EU presidency in the first half of 2003 will support stable relations between the European Union and Asian countries, regardless of developments in Iraq, Foreign Minister George Papandreou stressed here on Thursday.

Papandreou spoke after the completion of the 5th Economic Conference of the European Union and Asian countries.

Referring to developments and concerns regarding the Iraq crisis, he cited Turkey's reservations in particular, saying the neighbouring country has special interests in the region. Along those lines, the Greek FM noted that former Turkish president Suleyman Demirel's speech at the conference focused on this issue.

Turning to Athens' views, Papandreou said Greece will maintain its standing position that any initiative must emanate from the United Nations, a position Turkey agrees with.

[02] Net EU inflows to Greece account for 3.5 percent of GDP

BRUSSELS (ANA - V. Demiris) - Net inflows to Greece from the European Union's budget amounted to 4.513 billion euros in 2001 and account for 3.5 percent of GDP.

This figure is the highest among the five countries (Greece, Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Britain) having a net benefit from EU funds.

A report by the European Commission publicised here on Thursday on the allocation of EU funds for each member-state in 2001 mentions this development.

Countries benefiting the most from EU funds after Greece are Portugal with 1.53 percent, Spain 1.24 percent, Ireland 1.13 percent and Britain 0.05 percent

[03] French Embassy, archaeological school open for visitors this weekend

The French Embassy and the French Archaeological School in Athens will participate in the European cultural heritage weekend by opening their doors to the public free of charge.

Visitors will be able to view the murals and decorations in the Embassy's reception halls in the elegant 'Hotel Merlin de Douai' neoclassical building on Saturday from 10:00 until 16:00.

The nearby archaeological school will allow the public to visit its gardens and provide guided tours of its library at the same times on Sunday, with tours of the library at 10:30, 12:30 and 14:30.

[04] Weather Forecast: Rain on Friday

Cloud is forecast for most parts of the country on Friday, with possible rain in the northwest. Winds northwesterly, light to moderate, turning strong in parts of the Aegean. In the north, temperatures will range from 11C to 21C; in the west from 15C to 26C; and in the rest of the country from 16C to 28C. Cloudy in Athens with temperatures between 19C and 27C; same with the possibility of rain in Thessaloniki and temperatures from 15C to 21.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 0.987

Pound sterling 0.632

Danish kroner 7.487

Swedish kroner 9.190

Japanese yen 121.1

Swiss franc 1.476

Norwegian kroner 7.380

Cyprus pound 0.578

Canadian dollar 1.558

Australian dollar 1.816

[06] Greek Church delegation returns from Europarliament visit

A Greek Church delegation returned home from Brussels on Thursday after visiting the European Parliament from September 16-19 at the invitation of Eurodeputy Dimitris Tsatsos.

An announcement by the Holy Synod said the mission was the fifth consecutive one and included the Metropolitans of Mantineia Alexandros, Arta Ignatios, Thessaliotida Theoklitos, Kaisariani Daniel, Kassandreia Nikodimos and Syros Dorotheos.

[07] Archaeology service OKs work at Olympic venue in Marathon

The influential Central Archaeological Council (KAS) on Thursday provided the ?green light? for the continuation of closely watched construction of an Olympic rowing centre near the ancient Marathon battlefield.

The ruling follows the recent discovery of three pre-Mycenean era settlements in an area where works for the major 2004 Games venue were taking place.

However, KAS said the three sites are not located on the spot where the Battle of Marathon took place during Classical antiquity. (more)

[08] Greek stocks continue recovering in ASE

Greek stocks continued rebounding on Thursday in the Athens Stock Exchange following a recovery in international markets.

The general index soared 2.36 percent to end at 1,879.50 points, at the day's highs, with turnover remaining a disappointing low 94.1 million euros.

The Textile, Wholesale, Telecommunications and Construction sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (5.65 percent, 4.28 percent, 3.62 percent and 3.12 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks rose 2.24 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.67 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 2.43 percent up.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 293 to 47 with another 20 issues unchanged.

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