Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-09-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] EU foreign ministers concerned over situation in Balkans and Middle

[02] PM receives BoG Gov.; latter denies report over deficit warning

[03] Main opposition unveils its plans for local authorities, state sector

[04] Culture minister on Elia Kazan's death

[05] Taxis begin 24-hour strike on Saturday

[06] Greek and Cypriot broadcasting corporations sign cooperation protocol

[07] Greek books to be exhibited in Madrid, Frankfurt book fairs

[08] Weather Forecast: Showers on Tuesday

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

[01] EU foreign ministers concerned over situation in Balkans and Middle East

BRUSSELS (ANA/G.Zitouniati) - The European Union's 15 foreign ministers convened here on Monday and expressed concern over the tense situation prevailing in the Balkans, primarily in Kosovo, as well as over the state of the Middle East.

The ministers also warned Iran of stricter inspections and the need for closer cooperation with the international community regarding its nuclear programme.

Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou, referring to the initiative on rapprochement between the countries of the western Balkans during the Thessaloniki summit last June, stressed the need for promoting dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade which has entered its initial stages with an agreement in principle on the agenda of talks.

The ministers also called on Iran to countersign the Treaty's additional protocol on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons with the International Atomic Energy Service headed by Mohammed El Barady, while warning Tehran that an evaluation of steps it has taken in this direction will take place in October with repercussions on the country's economic and trade transactions.

The Greek foreign minister said the EU's foreign ministers want Iran to commit itself on stricter inspections on its installations on atomic energy manegement and to abstain from activities capable of being used in producing materials for the making of nuclear weapons, stressing that such an attitude would strengthen prospects for political and economic dialogue, as well as cooperation.

[02] PM receives BoG Gov.; latter denies report over deficit warning

Prime Minister Costas Simitis received Bank of Greece Gov. Nikos Garganas on Monday, with the latter again denying a local press report on Sunday claiming he sent the premier an urgent letter warning of widening budget deficits and lagging fiscal discipline in light of the upcoming Olympic Games and a recently announced social spending package.

The government spokesman first denied the report on Sunday afternoon, stressing that the Bank of Greece governor assured him that he did not send a letter to Simitis over the recent period.

Mondays meeting, meanwhile, focused on the Greek central banks initiative to mint a commemorative 2-euro coin in honour of the 2004 Olympic Games of Athens. The coins are expected to circulate throughout the ?euro-zone? as of Jan. 1, 2004, with revenue forecast to reach the 100-million-euro mark, money Garganas said will be funnelled via the state budget for financing various 2004-related works.

[03] Main opposition unveils its plans for local authorities, state sector

Presenting his party's programme for public administration and local government on Monday, New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis said the main opposition was ready to steer a new policy and a new model of government with a clear-cut programme, vision and set of positions.

Noting that Greece was coming to the end of the cycle that began with the restoration of democracy in 1974, Karamanlis presented his vision for government that ''did not separate or make distinctions'' between citizens and had no room for discrimination and exclusion based on party flags and affiliations in public administration.

He pledged that his party will place priority on transparency and respect for the laws in public administration when in government, and promised to abolish laws that facilitated corruption and graft.

[04] Culture minister on Elia Kazan's death

Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Monday said that director Elia Kazan ''was undoubtedly a man that marked the history of cinema and was always connected with the Hellenism of the East. No one can forget the well-known negative points of his political stance, but no one can refuse that he was a great director''.

[05] Taxis begin 24-hour strike on Saturday

Taxi drivers in Athens and Attica are to stage a 24-hour strike on Saturday, their union said in a statement.

The drivers are protesting against a government plan to make the use of electronic cash registers in their vehicles mandatory from January 1, 2004; and against the government's refusal to allow taxis to use bus lanes, the SATA union said in a statement on Monday.

The government has said it will not backtrack on receipts; taxi owners say they have accepted the move in principle but object to the procedure. Another demand is a rise in tariffs.

The SATA union is also to hold a general assembly meeting the day of the stoppage.

[06] Greek and Cypriot broadcasting corporations sign cooperation protocol

NICOSIA (ANA/G. Leonidas) - The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) and Greece's Radio and TV Corporation (ERT) signed a cooperation agreement on Monday, while ERT President Angelos Stangos said the cooperation protocol will strengthen cooperation already existing between the two broadcasting corporations.

Stangos said the protocol will create better conditions in satellite cooperation between the two channels.

[07] Greek books to be exhibited in Madrid, Frankfurt book fairs

The Greek Book Center on Monday announced that Greek book titles first issued in 2002 and 2003 will appear in exhibitions in Madrid and Frankfurt, two of the most commercial book exhibitions in the world.

The exhibition in Madrid will take place between Wednesday and Friday and the second in Frankfurt between Oct. 8 and 13.

It was also announced that the book center will invite all directors of International Book Exhibitions to discuss a cooperation program in light of the new International Book and Graphics Fair called Scripta, which will be inaugurated in May 2004 in Thessaloniki and is under the auspices of the Greek culture ministry.

[08] Weather Forecast: Showers on Tuesday

All parts of the country will be cloudy, with showers in the Ionian, on the mainland, and in the northern Aegean islands. Storms may break out in the west and north. The weather will improve from the west, starting early evening. Winds variable, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 11C to 24C; on the rest of the mainland from 13C to 27C; and in the islands from 17C to 26C. Temperatures in Athens between 17C and 27C; and in Thessaloniki from 15C to 24C.

[09] Foreign Exchange Rates - Tuesday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.150

Pound sterling 0.698

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 8.975

Japanese yen 128.3

Swiss franc 1.554

Norwegian kroner 8.152

Cyprus pound 0.589

Canadian dollar 1.566

Australian dollar 1.715

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