From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Fri, 30 Dec 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, December 30, 1994 ---------------------------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottaba, Kavadas E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) * Premier protests French plan to drop Greek from official EU languages to Balladur * Universal condemnation * French embassy response * Dutch academic protests, applauds Greek response * Economy recovering, ministry report says * Macedonian Committee * Arsenis awaits further moves from Tirana * US State Dep't official due in Athens for talks next week * Clinton says international conference should be called on Cyprus Premier protests French plan to drop Greek from official EU languages to Balladur ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou yesterday sent a letter to his French counterpart Eduard Balladur protesting French EU Presidency plans to reduce the number of official European Union languages to five. In his letter, according to an announcement, the premier expressed his conviction that the equal status of languages of member-states will be safeguarded, and stressed the particular significance of the Greek language to Europe. He said that such a plan could not be countenanced. Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis yesterday instructed Greek embassies in the EU member states to lodge demarches with the respective governments. Mr. Kranidiotis has also written a personal letter to French Minister for European Affairs Alain Lamassoure, who said during a press conference that it was necessary for practical reasons to limit the EU working languages to five in the future, most probably French, English, Italian, Spanish and German. The EU today has nine working languages, including Greek, and will add an extra two when Sweden and Finnish join the Union on January 1. The French EU Presidency's plan has sparked a deluge of criticism from member-states, which claim that the French proposal is contrary to the Treaty of Maastricht. Mr. Kranidiotis stressed in a statement yesterday that the Greek government "opposes every effort to undermine the principle of equal representation of each member-country in the context of the European Union and supports the maintenance, at all levels and in all EU organs, of the Greek language as an official and working (EU) language". Mr. Kranidiotis, who takes a seat in the new European Parliament as of the New Year, will visit Paris on January 11 where he will meet with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe and possibly also with Mr. Lamassoure. Universal condemnation ---------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): The French plan to relegate Greek to the six 'unofficial' languages yesterday came in for strong criticism from a wide range of sources in Greece and abroad, especially the academic community. Director of the Thessaloniki-based Centre of International and European Law Krateros Ioannou told the Macedonian Press Agency that the implementation of the French proposal required a revision of European Union treaties, which cannot be effected without the consent of a member country of the Union. Culture Minister Thanos Mikroutsikos said that "the Greek language, along with Latin, constitutes the mother tongue of Europe, and presently, both the international scientific terminology and the 'dialect' used by technocrats in the European Union and its organs have their origin in the Greek language. In other words, Mr. Lamassoure must consult the great French dictionaries and encyclopaedia Universalis before proceeding to the implementation of his views". Chancellor of the Aristoteleian University of Thessaloniki, Professor Antonis Mantis said that Greek, in combination with Latin, is the language on which the other European languages are based. A study of the European Union itself, he added, has shown that Greek is the only language which can be used by modern computer systems in future, in the form of direct phonetic translation. Others who issued relevant statements include deputy Education Minister Philippos Petsalnikos, Chancellor of Athens University Professor Petros Yemtos, Professors Mario Vitti and Peter Mackridge, British MP Eddie O' Hara, the General Confederation of Workers of Greece, the Communist Party of Greece, the Coalition of the Left and Progress, Archbishop of Athens Serapheim, writers and poets. French embassy response ----------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): The French Embassy in Athens later issued a statement denying that France was moving to reduce the number of official EU languages. "There is no initiative by the French Presidency to revise the existing language code in the European Union," the announcement said. "Ongoing and future enlargement of the Union simply present technical problems in organisation and operation." It also noted that the promotion of European cultural identity and all national cultures, and proposals aimed at Europe maintaining its diversity were among the priorities of the French presidency. Dutch academic protests, applauds Greek response ------------------------------------------------ Brussels, 30/12/94 (ANA/P. Pantelis): A Dutch scholar yesterday was strongly critical of French plans to relegate Greek and other languages to 'unofficial status'. "It would be catastrophic for the smaller member-states," Professor of Modern Greek Studies at the University of Amsterdam Arnold von Hemert said. "The Greeks are justifiably proud of their language and I'm glad they reacted," he said. "I believe the Swedes and Danes will also react strongly," he said. "If the smaller countries unite, I hope that together we will avert this development." Economy recovering, ministry report says --------------------------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): The Greek economy is coming out of its slump, a National Economy Ministry report said yesterday. The regular six-monthly report of the Macroeconomic Policy Department said the Greek economy was exiting from recession after four years with a small increase in GDP of 0.6 per cent, as against the European Union average of 1.3 per cent. Inflation, the report said, was at its lowest rate (9.5 per cent) since 1975. Successful counter-inflationary policy has consolidated confidence in the economy and the foundations have been laid for a further decrease in inflation in 1995, it added. The rate of the drachma's depreciation against the basket of foreign currencies decreased to 7.2 per cent in 1994 as against 9.3 per cent in 1993. The development is in line with the Convergence Programme. The volume of goods and services exports increased 4 per cent in 1994, compared to a decrease of 0.7 per cent in 1993 and the volume of imports increased 6 per cent compared to a decrease of 4.2 per cent in 1993. A small recovery in the production sector in 1994 will lead to a 0.2 per cent increase in employment but, combined with a 0.6 per cent increase in the labour force, it will mean a further slight increase in unemployment from 9.7 per cent in 1993 to 10 per cent this year. Unemployment is expected to increase to 10.3 per cent in 1995. The average salary increased by 12.5 per cent in 1994 and 1.5 per cent in real terms. The average salary is expected to increase nominally by 8.5 per cent in 1995, slightly higher than anticipated inflation. Macedonian Committee -------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): The Macedonian Committee, in its New Year message, said it hoped that "1995 will be prove a year of justice for our national struggles as well as a year of peace, friendship and brotherhood for the Balkan peoples." Arsenis awaits further moves from Tirana ---------------------------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis said yesterday that the Albanian move to release one of the five ethnic Greeks imprisoned on charges of espionage was "in the right direction but has yet to be completed". "Albania has to conform to the rules and behaviour of a (democratic) state to win the co-operation of its neighbours," Mr. Arsenis said yesterday after visiting army bases and outposts along the Greek-Albanian border where he exchanged holiday wishes an d gifts with the soldiers. Albanian President Sali Berisha pardoned Iraklis Sirmos, jailed for six years for military espionage, on Christmas Eve, and reduced jail terms for the four others. Commenting on reports that the French EU Presidency intended to drop Greek from the list of official languages, Mr. Arsenis said: "European culture is based, among others, on Greek culture. It would be seen not only as anti-Greek but as an anti-European stand to exclude the inherited language of the European people." Mr. Arsenis said the issue of military officers' wages was being examined by the National Defence Ministry committee and would be resolved within the year. Turning to the issue of illegal immigration, particularly along the Greek-Albanian border, Mr. Arsenis said the co-operation of the Greek community was imperative to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, given the difficulty of guarding the vast area along the border. "We have a definite increase in illegal immigrant arrests. The (border coverage) measures are satisfactory, but they can and should be intensified," he said. US State Dep't official due in Athens for talks next week --------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 30/12/1994 (ANA): US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs Richard Holbrooke is due in Athens on January 5 for talks with the Greek government on issues concerning the Balkans and Cyprus, Foreign Ministry spokesman Constantine Bikas announced yesterday. Mr. Holbrooke will meet that same afternoon with Foreign Under-Secretary for European Union Affairs Yannos Kranidiotis, Mr. Bikas said. Mr. Holbrooke, who will be accompanied by US Co-ordinator for Cyprus James Willians, will visit Cyprus on January 4 for meetings with the Cypriot government as well as the Turkish Cypriot leadership, according to a State Department spokesman quoted by the Cyprus Radio Foundation (RIK). The spokesman said Mr. Holbrooke would be making "acquaintance visits" to the countries his post covers. Mr. Holbrooke is further expected to visit the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Turkey, for consultations on matters concerning the wider region. Clinton says international conference should be called on Cyprus ---------------------------------------------------------------- Washington, 30/12/1994 (ANA/D. Dimas): The United States yesterday proposed an international conference on the Cyprus issue, according to US President Bill Clinton's report to Congress on developments in the Cyprus issue in October and November. At the end of this period, the UN Secretary-General's representative to Cyprus Gustave Feissel and the US Ambassador to Nicosia Richard Boucher continued talks with both the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides to "seek common ground on basic issues which would lead to successful negotiation and put into immediate implementation the confidence building measures package, and recommended calling an international conference to promote a settlement to the Cyprus problem", the report said.