Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-05-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greek, Polish central bankers meet in Athens

[02] Gov't announces ambitious tram extensions for Athens

[03] Conference on European social model opens in Ioannina

[04] Greek and Balkan publishers to meet in Thessaloniki

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

[06] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud turning to rain on Thursday

[07] Greek stocks end 1.39 pct lower on Wednesday

[01] Greek, Polish central bankers meet in Athens

Bank of Greece's governor Nikolaos Garganas on Wednesday met with visiting president of the National Bank of Poland, Leszek Balcerowicz to discuss the Greek monetary experience in the long path towards entering an Economic and Monetary Union and in particular the drachma's experience in the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Union.

The Greek case is of special interest for all EU new members, like Poland, who believe that the Greek experience is the most similar with the challenges their economies are expected to face in the accession course towards the single European currency.

[02] Gov't announces ambitious tram extensions for Athens

The government on Wednesday unveiled a highly ambitious plan to extend the under-construction tram network in Athens by up to 57.1 extra kilometers of new lines in the traffic-congested greater Athens area.

Currently, a new ?Y-shaped? tram network linking downtown Athens with its southern coastal districts and a bevy of 2004 Olympics venues is being built, with a deadline before next years Games in August.

The envisioned extensions seven in number -- were announced by Transport Minister Christos Verelis, who said the works are projected to be completed in two phases, the first with a 2008 deadline and the second in 2010.

The largest extension (27.6 kilometers) from the port city of Piraeus to the large west district of Peristeri and onwards to Aghia Paraskevi municipality in northern Athens costs 300 million euros. The figure includes rolling stock and infrastructure.

The Athens Polytechnics experts committee submitted the study for the extensions.

Finally, Wednesdays announcement coincided with the arrival of the first tramcar for the new Athens network from a plant in Florence, Italy.

[03] Conference on European social model opens in Ioannina

A two-day conference in the context of the Greek European Union Presidency opened on Wednesday in the northern Greek town of Ioannina on ?Modernization of the European Social Model, EU Policies and Tools?.

Greek Labour Minister Dimitris Reppas, who inaugurated the meeting, said that the conference aimed at looking into Europes social model and to conclude on an acceptable definition or an institutional consensus regarding the models governing values and principles.

To that end, one of the conferences major targets is to analyze EU procedures in the area of social policy.

The three fields of discussion on how to modernize the EU social model, between approximately 240 participants from many EU member-states are: pensions, social inclusion and social legislation.

Opening the meeting, Reppas stressed that taking as a starting point a landmark decision taken during the Lisbon EU Council, the aim was to make it even more obvious that the Union was there and operated primarily for its citizens, meaning that social protection occupies a prominent place among the targets and choices jointly formulated.

[04] Greek and Balkan publishers to meet in Thessaloniki

Greek and Balkan publishers will meet in Thessaloniki in an event organized by the Greek National Book Center in cooperation with HELEXPO, in light of the opening of the Balkan Translation Center and the organizing of the SCRIPTA International Book Fair.

The Balkan Translation Center was established at the initiative of the National Book Center and aims at developing the cultural dialogue in the region, through the translation and publication of books.

The choice of books to be translated will be made by a joint 11-member committee, which will be composed of academics, writers and critics.

SCRIPTA will be inaugurated in May 2004.

[05] Foreign Exchange Rates - Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.178

Pound sterling 0.717

Danish kroner 7.483

Swedish kroner 9.256

Japanese yen 138.0

Swiss franc 1.519

Norwegian kroner 7.904

Cyprus pound 0.591

Canadian dollar 1.590

Australian dollar 1.791

[06] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud turning to rain on Thursday

Scattered cloud is forecast in all parts of the country, turning to rain and storms in the Ionian, the mainland and northern Aegean, interspersed with sunny spells, especially in the west and south. It may rain overnight. In the north, temperatures will range from 12C to 24C; in the west from 15C to 26C; and in the rest of the country from 14C to 28C. Temperatures in Athens between 16C and 27C; and in Thessaloniki from 14C to 22C.

[07] Greek stocks end 1.39 pct lower on Wednesday

Greek stocks came under heavy selling on Wednesday to end sharply lower in the Athens Stock Exchange, following a trend in other European markets.

The general index fell 1.39 percent to end at 1,708.26 points, with turnover a low 93.3 million euros.

The Cement, Holding, IT, Investment and Industrials sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (3.31 percent, 2.87 percent, 2.69 percent, 2.08 percent and 1.83 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 1.75 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index eased 1.14 percent, the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.92 percent lower and the wider FTSE/ASE 140 index dropped 1.56 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 247 to 72 with another 46 issues unchanged.

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