Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-02-29

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

CONTENTS

[01] Karamanlis to Skopje: no solution, no NATO

[01] Karamanlis to Skopje: no solution, no NATO

Karamanlis repeats warning to Skopje; intransigence will block path to NATO

Greece has informed the UN secretary general's personal envoy (Matthew Nimetz) for the name dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), outlining Athens' objections, observations and proposals regarding the text of ideas he has submitted, Karamanlis said on Friday. He explained that the series of alternative names proposed in the text did not exhaust all the possibilities, nor were they binding.

"A clear, practical, viable solution cannot be built on the basis of a name that simply describes the existing regime in the neighboring country. Such a name is not a composite one, and therefore cannot comprise a solution," he said.

Karamanlis was speaking during the Hour of the Prime Minister, in response to a question tabled by Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS) leader George Karatzaferis on the government's handling at the present phase of the FYROM name talks.

Karamanlis underlined that "nothing we have said to date is changing - the rationale, the aspirations, the framework. Our strategy is known and firm. The individual handlings are formulated following extensive assessment. We are not lowereing the standard but, on the contrary, we are increasing the pressure for a solution".

"The neighboring country's intransigence closes the road to its ambitions for NATO and EU accession," the prime minister said.

"Greece has the means to safeguard its interests, and is not abandoning them. I am fully aware of the adversities, but neither danger-mongering nor scenario-mongering or the cultivation of a climate of introversion are of any benefit," he said.

In his question, Karatzaferis said that the prime minister, "in refusing to convene the Council of Political Party Leaders, under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic, assumes total responsibility for the course of the negotiations and for the national consequences of his decisions", and asked the premier if he intended to bring any agreement reached, in the FYROM name talks, to parliament for ratification or before the people with a referendum.

Elaborating on his question, Karatzaferis cited the proclamation of the "Communist Party of 'Macedonia' " of 1944, which called for "unification of 'Macedonia' which was partitioned by the imperialists of the Balkans", and referring to the more recent past, noted statements by former foreign minister Michalis Papaconstantionou that "that country wants to take all of Macedonia", as well as statements by the late Andreas Papandreou (former prime minister and PASOK founder) that "there is no possibility that I will accept the term 'Macedonia' in any form being contained in a name for Skopje".

Addressing himself to main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou (a former foreign minister and son of the late Andreas Papandreou), Karatzaferis asked: "Do you believe that, Mr. Papandreou? Your father had said this, verbatim".

Karatzaferis further recalled statements by Karamanlis himself (in 1995) calling for a convening of the Council of Political Party Leaders under the President of the Republic.

Karamanlis, with respect to Karatzaferis' question on whether he intended to put any agreement reached to the judgement of the people via a referendum, replied: "The government, the Parliament of the Hellenes, are not institutions of lesser democracy or lesser representationality, nor institutions of limited responsibility. Our Constitution does not make gradations in legitimacy and responsibility. We are all elected representatives of the people".

"Passing off responsibilities is not a solution. There is nothing more important than daring in the decisions that contribute to the country and its future. Patriotism is not the facile, big words that in the end lead the country to more difficult positions. Patriotism is assuming the responsibilities demanded by the circumstances, for safeguarding the just national rights. And we are meeting this obligation with prudence and daring, with cool-headedness and determination, and with full awareness of our historical responsibility," the prime minister concluded.

Karamanlis replies to PASOK leader on education issues

"Today we are building the school of the future," the prime minister said on Friday in his reply to criticism from main opposition PASOK leader George Papandreou in Parliament regarding the state of education in the country. At the same time, he dismissed the proposals put forward by PASOK as "commonplace wishful thinking paraded as policy".

"The big difference between us is that you offer words and we offer works," the prime minister said in response to a pledge by Papandreou to devote 5 percent of GDP to education and distribute free computers to students.

Stressing that education was an area that required national consensus and not petty party-political disputes, Karamanlis said the government was carrying out a series of innovative reforms, introducing modern books, providing each student with a laptop, investing in human resources and the life-long education of teachers. He also pointed to a building programme for 1200 new schools throughout Greece and hundreds of school renovations.

At the same time, Karamanlis stressed that the government will not deviate from implementing the framework law on education exactly as it was voted and that this reform would be neither abandoned nor changed.

The prime minister rejected Papandreou's claim of a reduction in spending on Education, saying that the money spent in absolute terms in 2004-2008 came to 2.2 billion euros, which was almost double the 1.3 billion euros spent in 1999-2003. Regarding a proposal for one computer per student, Karamanlis said this was happening at the present for the first time.

He roundly criticised Papandreou's stance on revising article 16 of the Constitution, which he said had undermined the entire process of revising the Constitution.

PASOK's leader had attacked the government over a "stifling air of scandal and degradation of public benefits, such as that of education" and spoke of shortages and delays in teachers, books and infrastructure.

While noting that past PASOK governments bore a share of the responsibility for the current domination of private crammers offering extra tuition in Greek education, he said the party was "ready to use its experience and wanted to offer solutions".

Among the pledges made by Papandreou was a radically different exam system for entering universities, that lower high schools would provide children with knowledge of computers and and a certificate in at least one foreign language.

During the debate, both Karamanlis, Papandreou and the leaders of the other political parties expressed their best wishes for the speedy recovery of former education minister Marietta Yiannakou, who recently experienced major health problems, while Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas expressed the solidarity of Parliament.

PM pledges to protect jobs at ports and airports

Karamanlis repeated the government's pledge to protect the jobs of workers at the country's ports and airports, in his reply to a question put to him in Parliament by Communist Party of Greece (KKE) General Secretary Aleka Papariga regarding the civil aviation service and Greek airports.

"We will not favour monopoly-type situations," Karamanlis said and stressed that deregulating markets would boost healthy competition, create new jobs and improve the quality of services given.

On her part, Papariga claimed that the "modernisation" of airports referred to by the government actually meant the privatisation of the larger airports, such as those in Rhodes, Iraklion, Corfu, Kos and Thessaloniki.

KKE's leader said these five profitable airports, whose income currently financed the operation of the smaller airports around the country and especially those serving the islands, were being eyed by multinational corporations.

She also expressed concern that the Greek civil aviation authority would be scrapped as a result of European Union plans for a "Single European Sky" that would set up nine 'Flight Information Regions' in Europe, with Greece would belong to two of these, one passing through Italy and the other Romania. KKE's leader said this would undermine the security of national airspace and that it would intensify confusion in terms of search-and-rescue jurisdiction in the Aegean.

Karamanlis assured her that the single and public civil aviation authority would not be scrapped.

"There is no private body providing aeronautical services and no interest in something like this has been expressed," he stressed.

The prime minister also underlined that there was no reason for concern over national airspace and national security issues, either through the improvement of airports or as a result of measures for the Single European Sky initiative.

"The regulatory framework of the EU is absolutely harmonised with national sovereignty. The purpose of the Single European Sky is the safety of air traffic and optimising transport capacity," he said.

With respect to the islands, the prime minister noted that both national and Community legislation ensured their unobstructed air transport coverage.

Outlining the government's plans for airports, meanwhile, he said the government's aim was to attract investment partners to help upgrade and improve these:

"We do not plan to sell airports but seek partnerships aiming at their improvement. The aim is to attract new investments and secure more income for the public sector, without burdening the citizens," he said.

PM counters SYRIZA criticism over culture ministry scandal

Responding to harsh criticism from the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) regarding a recent scandal at the culture ministry on Friday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis mounted a counter-offensive against those that he said "promoted levelling views" that downgraded public life for petty party benefits.

"Meritocracy, transparency and protection of personal data are goals of major importance and it is contradictory, to say the least, when the government finds itself being accused while efforts to achieve these goals are being systematically undermined," Karamanlis stressed,

The case was being investigated by the courts and "those responsible, whoever they are, will be made to answer," the prime minister added.

The premier also listed measures taken by the government to promote transparency, such as the new civil service code, the public posting of all information regarding state advertising in the media and strengthening the National Radio and Television Council.

SYRIZA's parliamentary spokesman Alekos Alavanos, a former leader of the party, countered that the government was not actually implementing many of the measures it had announced.

"If you do not exercise self-criticism with regard to this question, when will you," he asked, while criticising Karamanlis for his failure to appear before Parliament's Educational Affairs committee to give an account of his term as culture minister and Zachopoulos' actions at the ministry.

"When you were handing over the culture ministry you made a speech concerning the doings of the ministry and you were most voluble. Now that things are difficult, you are trying to escape," Alavanos said.

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