Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 98-11-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] Formal negotiations for 6 EU candidate-states begin today

[02] Latest Turkish provocation against Halki academy draws rebuke

[03] Athens reiterates objections to EU funding for Turkey

[04] Several local Indian parliament heads in Greece

[05] European unification dominates Simitis' talks in Poland

[06] German training ship in Piraeus

[07] Laliotis on political coalition schemes

[08] Dutch army chief in Athens

[09] NATO's Naumann in Greece

[10] Finnish delegation in Sappes

[11] Australian police confiscate, return ancient Greek artifacts

[12] Communication policy discussed by 2004 organising committee

[13] Upgrading of Omonia Square announced

[14] Four Turks convicted of illegal immigrant smuggling

[15] Economic News

[01] Formal negotiations for 6 EU candidate-states begin today

BRUSSELS, 10/11/1998 (ANA - M. Spinthourakis)

EU foreign ministers yesterday reaffirmed their commitement to an eastward expansion but many warned that the upcoming negotiations could be long and difficult.

They also avoided mention of a specific date at which candidates would become full members of the Union.

Greece was represented at the session by Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou.

During yesterday's session and within the framework of endorsing common positions which EU member-states will present in the negotiations with candidate countries today, France, Germany and the Netherlands signed and tabled a joint declaration on Cyprus , warning of "particular difficulties" linked to the opening of accession talks with the island republic. Italy also signed the declaration.

Greece tabled a counter-statement concerning the process for the accession of Cyprus to the EU.

A political solution to the division and partial occupation of Cyprus must be found as a matter of urgency as the only way which would resolve problems that will arise in the country's accession course, the statement by France, Germany and the Netherlan ds said.

"The course of the process of negotiations will give rise to a series of problems which originate from the specific situation in Cyprus. France, Germany and the Netherlands therefore believe that a political solution is imperative as urgent, because thi s is the only means which will enable the solution of these problems," the statement read.

"Welcoming the opening of negotiations on seven chapters of the acquis communautaire, the three state they are aware of the particular difficulties the specific situation in Cyprus has for the negotiations relating to these seven chapters.

"They draw in particular attention to the fact that the division of the island poses fundamental problems for the operation and the coherence of the Common Foreign and Security Policy," the statement said.

It also declares that member states note that it has not been possible so far to make progress towards a political solution which would end the continuing division of Cyprus.

Responding to the joint statement, Mr. Papandreou pointed out in a statement he tabled to the Council that any action or statements inconsistent with the EU Luxembourg decisions pose a threat to the entire process of accession.

In Luxembourg, the EU said Cyprus' accession should benefit all communities and contribute to internal peace and reconciliation.

Mr. Papandreou also called on the EU to act in a positive manner to achieve Turkish Cypriot participation in the accession process and encourage the Cyprus peace effort.

Mr. Papandreou reminded his EU partners that the government of Cyprus has put forward specific proposals to include Turkish Cypriots in the accession negotiations but "unfortunately these attempts ha-ve yielded no results so far."

Speaking during a press conference yesterday afternoon, the Council President and Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel and EU Commissioner Hans van den Broek downgraded the statement by the three countries, saying that what is mentioned in the d eclaration are already known and that the EU has already taken its decisions and in whose framework substantive negotiations for Cyprus' accession to the EU have already started.

The General Affairs Council also preoccupied itself with the issue of enlargement yesterday in the light of recent European Commission reports on central and eastern European countries, Cyprus and Turkey.

In his address regarding enlargement, Mr. Papandreou referred to a report on Turkey, saying that the fact there is no clear reference to Turkey's commitment to establish satisfactory and stable relations with Greece, to settle its differences with legal means, including the International Court at The Hague and, lastly, to support negotiations for a political settlement of the Cyprus issue is a serious omission by the report, which must be remedied. He further said that the Commission's report might comp licate instead of clarifying the EU's relations with Turkey, noting that the Luxembourg summit decided that Turkey will be judged with the same criteria which which the 11 candidate countries will be evaluated.

Mr. Papandreou said that this process is aimed at contributing to the support of Turkey's European orientation and that this can only be done when the EU does not send "garbled messages."

He also said that for this to take place the EU must be absolutely clear towards Turkey on the principles and values which Ankara must observe to become a candidate country. He added that these principles are respect for human rights, recognition of the

International Court's general jurisdiction, normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations and a political solution to the issue of Cyprus.

Furthermore, Mr. Papandreou reiterated that what Athens' statement stresses, in his opinion, is that there will never be a Greek Parliament to approve accession of countries to the EU if Cyprus was not among them.

Mr. Papandreou added that Cyprus' accesssion is an issue of moral and political obligation.

Athens News Agency

[02] Latest Turkish provocation against Halki academy draws rebuke

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

Deputy Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis, speaking on a decision by the Turkish government to abolish the supervisory committee of the school, said that "it should be stressed that the issue goes beyond the narrow framework of Greek-Turkish relations, since it is a problem of respect of human rights and r eligious freedoms in Turkey, and as such, it has provoked the reaction of other governments and international organisations."

He added that the Greek government follows closely the developments regarding the operation of Halki, which was ordered closed by Ankara in 1971.

Recently, the Turkish government decided to dismiss the remaining members of the committee, claiming financial mismanagement and anti-Turkish propaganda.

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos lashed out on Sunday against the state of human rights and religious freedoms in Turkey, interpreting the indignation of the small ethnic Greek community in Istanbul over the "high-handed abolition of the school's commi ttee."

Mr. Kranidiotis also responded by issuing a demarche to the Turkish ambassador in Athens in late October. Christodoulos: On his part, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece Christodoulos yesterday stressed that the dismissal of the supervising board aims at transferring the school's property to the Turkish state.

The Archbishop spoke during the feast day of Agios Nectarios on the island of Aegina, saying "the measure aims atIgrabbing someone else's property."

Religious celebrations were also attended by a representative of President Kostis Stephanopoulos, the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Petros and Merchant Marine Minister Stavros Soumakis.

Athens News Agency

[03] Athens reiterates objections to EU funding for Turkey

BRUSSELS, 10/11/1998 (ANA - M. Spinthourakis)

The issue of enlargement and relations between the European Union and Turkey were among the issues discussed by the EU's Foreign Ministers here yesterday.

The discussion on Turkey at the European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers was brief and no decision was taken, as expected, and the issue will be discussed again in the framework of the Permanent Representatives Committee. According to a Greek diplo matic source, the remaining countries, even with their silence, clarified that they accept the Commission's proposals positively.

Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou said that according to the Cardiff summit's mandate the Commission should have presented proposals to enable Turkey to prepare itself for its future accession to the EU and not to base itself on an article in the treaty concerning developing countries.

He said that the Commission ignored certain basic principles concerning the EU's relations with Turkey such as paragraph 35 of the decision taken at the Luxembourg summit and stressed that the proposal tabled by the Commission is contrary to the vital i nterests of a member-state, ignores the fundamental principle of EU solidarity and violates the EU's legal order.

Speaking during the session, Mr. Papandreou said that Greece is the "most sincere" EU country in its relations with Turkey to the degree that it has clarified that it is in favour of its European prospect on condition that Turkey will also respond posit ively to a series of issues such as the recognition of the International Court at The Hague's jurisdiction, its positive contribution to a solution to the issue of Cyprus, respect for human and minority rig-hts, etc.

Mr. Papandreou made special reference to the issue of minority rights and stressed the case of the Greek minority, which shrank from 300,000 in the '50s to 3,000 at present. Additionally, he stressed Greece's concern over the abolition of the Halki Scho ol of Theology's board and the possibility of an expropriation of land belonging to it, something which he said has created heightened concern for Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos.

Athens News Agency

[04] Several local Indian parliament heads in Greece

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

Athens News Agency

[05] European unification dominates Simitis' talks in Poland

WARSAW, 10/11/1998 (ANA - S. Liarellis)

Afterwards, Mr. Simitis said that "the pursuit of EuropeYs unification and the expansion of security networks for peace and cooperation in Europe and elsewhere is a belief shared by both".

"The Balkans prove that even today there is a need to seek procedures that overcome confrontations," he said, adding that "more states should join the European Union and NATO as soon as possible".

"Greece maintains that Europe is in need of peaceful means for the resolution of disputes and the implementation of international law is required, while the International Court at The Hague could be such a procedure," Mr. Simitis said.

"The procedure for EU enlargement must go on, but in a way that rules, limits and regulations are clear to all. Greece will contribute to that effort because European unification will not be feasible if these negotiations do not arrive at a conclusion," he added.

Poland is one of the six candidate-states for EU accession. Substantial accession talks between the EU and Cyprus, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Estonia and the Czech Republic start today in Brussels.

Asked about CyprusY accession process, the Greek prime minister replied that "by the time this was decided in 1994, the political problem had been already known for 20 years", and that "the accession was decided despite the (existing) problems and to ev eryoneYs knowledge. Consequently, no issues can be generated from this matter".

CyprusY northern part has been invaded and occupied by Turkey since 1974. Some EU nations warned that a non-resolution of the island republicYs political problem might create problems in CyprusY bid to join the Union.

Mr. Simitis said that it was decided during his talks here to further improve the already very cordial Greek-Polish relations in all areas, making particular mention of Mr. BuzekYs proposal for Greek language courses at Polish universities, which was ac cepted.

He also reiterated that Athens was making efforts to resolve labour and pension concerns of Polish workers in Greece.

On his part, Mr. Buzek expressed satisfaction about the support provided by Greece to Poland on his countryYs designs to join NATO and the EU, saying that the two leaders discussed economic issues as well as cultural and technological cooperation.

"The financial and political system in Poland guarantees investments," Mr. Buzek said.

Upon completion of the talks between the two premiers, a cooperation agreement on research and technology issues was signed by Deputy Development Minister Anna Diamantopoulou and her Polish counterpart.

Mr. Simitis had an earlier meeting with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, focusing on economic cooperation issues.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos met with his Polish counterpart Bronislav Geremek to focus on issues of European unification.

The Greek prime minister, replying to reporters' quetions on whether the social protest against the governmentYs economic and social policies entailed early elections, stated that "there is no reason for early elections in Greece".

"Protest and different views existing in Greece were always within the framework of democracy, therefore creating no probems. So, there is no reason for early elections," Mr. Simitis said.

Later in the evening, and speaking at an official dinner hosted by his Polish counterpart, Mr. Simitis said that for Greece the axis in its international relations was "respect for international law and recognition of the validity of international agree ments," adding that "recenty unacceptable demands have been put forth against my country aimed to alter the status prevailing for decades in the area".

Saying that the same principles were also valid for the Cyprus issue, he said that "we are seeking a fair and viable solution to the problem and, in any case, CyprusY unobstructed accession to the EU."

Athens News Agency

[06] German training ship in Piraeus

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

Athens News Agency

[07] Laliotis on political coalition schemes

In an interview with yesterday's issue of the Athens daily 'Ta Nea', Mr. Laliotis addressed a call even to his own party to examine the possibilities for a "policy convergence".

He further called on PASOK, which suffered a major setback in the recent local elections, to "leave aside the one-party governing model", which as he said gave rise to an arrogant attitude on behalf of the ruling party.

Replying to Mr. Laliotis' notion of a PASOK cooperation with Synaspismos and DHKKI, a Synaspismos cadre categorically rejected any idea of dialogue with the ruling party until the election law changed.

He added that the quest for a coalition government in Greece had no practical value while the election law, which puts the ruling party in an advantageous position against other opposition parties, remained in place.

Athens News Agency

[08] Dutch army chief in Athens

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

Talks focused on general issues of European security and bilateral cooperation in the field of weapons systems.

Mr. Apostolakis stressed to Lt.-Gen. Schouten that Greece was making every effort to consolidate security and stability in the region and for this reason maintained good relations with all neighbouring countries, sans Turkey.

He added that Ankara was solely responsible for this situation.

Lt.-Gen. Schouten briefed Mr. Apostolakis on the ongoing process of reducing the strength of the Dutch army by 50 per cent, in terms of both personnel and armaments.

Describing the process as a welcome development, Mr. Apostolakis noted that Greece was, unfortunately, not in a position to follow suit because of what he called the "Turkish threat", which forced Athens to field one of the largest military forces among countries of the same size. Yesterday's talks were attended also by the Hellenic Army chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Manousos Paragioudakis and the Netherlands' ambassador in Athens, Paul Brouwer.

Athens News Agency

[09] NATO's Naumann in Greece

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

Issues expected to be discussed during the meeting will centre on the alliance's new structure, especially the establishment of a NATO land sub- headquarters in Larissa, as well as the overall security in the region. Gen. Naumann is also scheduled to me et with national defence general staff chief, Gen. Athanasios Tzoganis.

Athens News Agency

[10] Finnish delegation in Sappes

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

Athens News Agency

[11] Australian police confiscate, return ancient Greek artifacts

MELBOURNE, 10/11/1998 (ANA - S. Hatzimanolis )

The four items - two small amphorae and two plates - were handed over by Victorian State Premier Jeff Kennett to Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who was in Melbourne for the opening of the Greek Archaeological Museum over the weekend.

Mr. Kennett pledged that Australian authorities would continue to return to Greece any ancient item found to have been acquired illegally. He also renewed his support for Greece's campaign to retrieve the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum.

"The message from Melbourne today is that cultural items must return to where they belong," Mr. Venizelos said.

Greece has sent the Aidonia treasures - 308 artefacts stolen from the Aidonia region near Corinth by antiquity smugglerts in the 1970s and later retrieved by the Greek state - to be the inaugural exhibition at the new museum. It is the first time the treasure has left Greece since it was returned following an out-of-court settlement with the Greek state. The collection was destined for the auctioneer's hammer in 1993 when Greece filed suit for its return.

Mr. Venizelos will receive an honorary doctorate from Victoria's La Trobe University today, before travelling to Canberra for a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Ale-xander Downer.

Athens News Agency

[12] Communication policy discussed by 2004 organising committee

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

The board decided to create a committee to study a short-term public relations programme, cooperation with the International European and Economic Law Centre of Thessaloniki for legal and technical support and cooperation with relevant authorities for t he relocation of the parimutuel horse track to Markopoulo, eastern Attica.

Athens News Agency

[13] Upgrading of Omonia Square announced

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

In an announcement, Environment, Town Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis said major changes to the way traffic flows in the area would arise from a study by Attiko Metro, the state-run company overseeing construction of the Athens metro .

Mr. Laliotis said changes would widen pavements on major streets. Measures are expected to come into effect by the end of 1999.

The underground sections of the metro at Omonia Square will feature glass bricks, allowing light to enter the areas. Billboards in the square - a longtime characteristic of Omonia - will be removed and rundown escalators leading to the present Omonia st ation will be replaced.

Athens News Agency

[14] Four Turks convicted of illegal immigrant smuggling

Athens, 10/11/1998 (ANA)

The four were identified as Mustafa Zohar (the skipper), Hadar Abdolkarim, Samir Baska and Mustafa Aze.

They smuggled the illegal immigrants to Greece on the Albanian-flagged vessel "Amir Osim".

The 57 illegal immigrants, of various nationalities, are being temporarily hosted at a church-run cultural centre in Moires.

Most have applied for political asylum, while some have gone on a hunger strike.

Athens News Agency

[15] Economic News

The budget is expected to be submitted to parliament in coming days, well before the constitutional deadline of November 30.

It may be given to parliament tomorrow after the cabinet meeting, according to government sources.

Workers warn of strikes if budget demands not met: The country's biggest trade union federation said yesterday that workers would strike during a parliamentary debate on the 1999 budget in December if the government failed to meet their demands.

Chairman Christos Polyzogopoulos of the General Confederation of Greek Labour, which represents nearly a million public and private sector workers, told reporters the demands were a rise in lower wages and pensions; higher unemployment benefits with a l onger duration; an increase in tax-exempt income; and indexation of the tax scale.

Mr. Polyzogopoulos was speaking after a meeting with National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, who repeated the government's new policy of cutting indirect taxes to help bring down inflation, also aiding the public.

"Up to now we were imposing taxes. From this year we are starting to give something back," Mr. Papantoniou told reporters.

He was referring to cuts in indirect taxes on fuel and car prices, which, combined with a reduction in Value Added Tax on electricity, will lose the state budget more than 100 billion drachmas.

The minister also predicted a major decline in inflation and interest rates by next spring.

Retail car prices to drop avg 5.5 pct Monday after tax cut: Consumers will be able to buy new and imported second-hand cars for an average 5.5 percent less starting on Monday under a government bill that eases indirect taxes in order to lower inflation.

Deputy Finance Minister George Drys told a news conference that the tax reduction on new cars of up to 900 cc would lead to a 6.0 percent drop in retail prices compared with their current price.

For cars up to 1,400 cc the price reduction is expected to be 7.0 percent; for cars up to 1,600 cc, 6.22 percent; up to 1,800 cc, 6.19 percent; up to 2000 cc, 6.0 percent; and for cars of 2,001 or more cc, 4.9 percent.

Major price reductions are also expected for used cars built from 1996 that are equipped with the latest anti-pollution technology.

Alico, EFG sign buyout of Bulgarian Post Bank: Alico/CEH Balkan Holdings Ltd signed an agreement in Sofia yesterday for the purchase of a 78.23 percent stake in Bulgarian Post Bank (BPB) from state-owned Bulgarian Bank Consolidation Company.

The group is a joint venture of American Life Insurance Company (Alico), a member of American International Group (AIG); and Private Financial Investments Holding (PFIH), a member of EFG Bank Group, itself the parent of EFG Eurobank.

Each group holds a 50 percent share in the venture whose investment cost is 38 million US dollars.

BPB was founded in April 1991 and quickly developed into one of the country's main banks, operating the second largest network in Bulgaria with a total of 125 branches and 1,650 employees.

The bank has signed an agreement with Bulgaria's post office company to provide services at 2,800 of the latter's outlets around the country.

BPB's assets were 406 million DMarks on October 31. Its loans portfolio totalled 100 million marks, and deposits totalled 338 million marks.

Most of BPB's assets and liabilities are in foreign currency.

Alico and EFG Eurobank executives will gain seats on BPB's new board, including Eurobank chairman Yiannis Gontikas and general director Christos Sorotos. Alico's chairman, Kendall Nottingham, also has a seat. The new board agreed to raise the bank' s share capital by 20 million US dollars in the next 12 months in order to fund development.

Investors submit bids for three out of five state Xenia hotels: Investors submitted bids for three out of five state Xenia hotels yesterday, which was the deadline in the government's tender for sale of the units in the chain owned by the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO).

Tourism entrepreneur Manos Tsatsakis of Manos travel agencies offered 223 million drachmas for the Xenia located on the island of Patmos, the sole bidder for the unit.

Mr. Tsatsakis also submitted the highest of five bids for the Paros Xenia at 250 million drachmas.

A local hotel bid 326 million drachmas for Itea's Xenia, the highest of two.

No bids were submitted for the Kalambaka and Andros units.

Short money market rates drop after central bank intervention: The Bank of Greece intervened in the domestic money market yesterday after a shortage of liquidity drove up short-term rates, with the move lowering the overnight rate to 12.5 percent from a high of 13.5 percent earlier in the day.

The central bank injected liquidity into the interbank market by offering 191 billion drachmas in two-day funds at 13.25 percent, bringing down rates by increasing the money supply.

One-month depos fell to 12.25 percent and three-month depos to 12.0 percent.

Following the move, traders said the Bank of Greece would have to lower its intervention rate in order to avoid a vicious circle of inflated rates.

Current rate levels, which are still seen as high, are expected to have a negative impact on an auction of 10-year state paper today by the finance ministry.

Heavy demand seen for Ecu in forex trade: Heavy demand was seen for the Ecu in domestic foreign currency trade yesterday both before and after the central bank's daily fix.

The demand for 100 million Ecu, believed to stem from expiry of a coupon on Ecu-linked debt paper, was met without intervention by the Bank of Greece, said dealers, who ruled out speculative motives.

Most foreign currencies closed around Friday's levels at the fix with the mark at 168.385 drachmas; the Ecu at 331.150 drachmas, slightly up on last week; and the dollar at 282.130 drachmas.

Trade between Greece, China rises 26.7 pct in January-August: The value of trade between Greece and China increased by 26.7 percent to 248 million US dollars in January-August compared with the corresponding period last year, the ambassador of the People's Republic of China, Jiang Quonsen, said yesterday.

Speaking in fluent Greek, the Chinese diplomat told a seminar on Greek- Chinese relations that bilateral ties were healthy.

He said China's average economic growth neared 10 percent in the last two decades, while trade totalled 325 billion US dollars in 1997, sharply up from 20.6 billion in 1978.

China's foreign exchange reserves were currently at 140 billion dollars, ranking second worldwide after Japan.

The ambassador said that the Chinese currency will remain stable and will not be devalued in the aftermath of a financial crisis in Asia.

T. Vlassopoulos, director of the national economy ministry's secretariat of international economic relations, told the seminar that bilateral trade relations could further improve.

"The institutional framework exists, but the availability of information is lacking," Mr. Vlassopoulos said.

The seminar, entitled "The financial crisis in Asia and China, and growth prospects for Chinese-Greek relations", was held by the Institute of International Economic Relations.

Greek stocks slip, still fail to take 2,300 pts: Greek equities ended slightly lower on the Athens Stock Exchange yesterday after an unsuccessful fourth attempt to break the 2,300-point barrier.

The general index ended 0.23 percent off at 2,250.59 points, dramatically reversing an early 1.80 percent advance.

Trading was moderate with turnover at 44.5 billion drachmas on 11,560,000 shares traded.

The market remains cautious with players waiting to see if the Bank of Greece, or central bank, will take any action on interest rates. Sector indices were mixed. Banks fell 0.45 percent, Insurance eased 0.52 percent, Investment rose 0.79 percent, Lea sing dropped 0.18 percent, Industrials rose 0.37 percent, Construction ended 0.91 percent off, Miscellaneous eased 0.79 percent and Holding fell 0.31 percent.

The parallel market index for small cap companies rose 0.69 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 123 to 111 with another 27 issues unchanged.

Xifias's shares ended 15 percent higher on their first trading day in the market.

Lambrakis Press Organisation, Thessaliki, Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation and Xifias were the most heavily traded stocks.

Sato, Hellenic Sugar, General Warehouses, Kyriakoulis Yachts, Alcatel, Ridenco and Bitros hit the daily 8.0 percent limit up.

Galis, Lanacam, Halcor, Metka, Mouriadis, St. George Mills, Delta Dairy and Boutaris suffered the heaviest losses.

National Bank of Greece ended at 41,900 drachmas, Ergobank at 25,600, Alpha Credit Bank at 23,210, Ionian Bank at 12,215, Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 6,200, Delta Dairy at 3,600, Intracom at 13,800, Titan Cement at 17,900, Hellenic Petro leum at 2,365 and Minoan Lines at 6,400 drachmas.

Change of direction at agriculture policy: Agriculture Minister George Anomeritis yesterday previewed some of the new policies he intends to implement in the agricultural sector.

Mr. Anomeritis, in addition to his responsibilities regarding the governmentYs policies in the agricultural sector, maintains the responsibility for agricultural cooperatives, bank supervision and collective bodies (work groups etc).

Deputy Minister Costas Vrettos was assigned the responsibility of plant production, fisheries, land improvement projects and applications.

The other Deputy Minister, Paraskevas Fountas, was assigned the responsibility for the forestry, animal production and veterinary medicine sectors.

One-day seminar on Mediterranean energy market: The Athens Polytechnic will organise a one-day seminar on Dec. 4 focusing on the "Energy Market and the Mediterranean," part of the European Union's "Sy-nergy" programme.

The conference aims at covering the educational needs for the training of managers and staff in the energy sector.

National Bank branch in Durres: The National Bank of Greece will today inaugurate a branch in Durres, Albania, officials announced.

The Durres branch follows the opening of a National Bank office in Tirana. National Bank has branches operating in the capitals of Bulgaria and Romania as well.

More participations at this year's 'Philoxenia': Officials at the HELEXPO- Thessaloniki International Fair appeared satisfied over the weekend with the recently concluded 14th annual international tourism exhibition 'Philoxenia'.

A total of 346 exhibitors participated in this year's exhibition, while the number of visitors approached 12,000, a 21.5 per cent increase compared to last year. In addition, 500 foreign visitors from 36 countries also visited the exhibition.

Visitors' interest focused primarily on travel agencies, hotels and hospitality organisations.

2-day conference on Internet sales: The National Society of Business Management (EEDE) P Macedonia branch is organising an international two-day conference on computer information systems next week in Thessaloniki.

The conference is entitled "Strategies of Superiority in the Society of Information P Critical Choices for the Future of a Business". It will focus on increasing trade via the Internet.

According to EEDE, sales through the international computer web account for 5 per cent of total global sales, while this number is increasing by 60 per cent on a yearly basis.

Currently, as EEDE noted, 4.5 per cent of employees in the US work with the Internet.

Athens News Agency

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