Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 06-04-27

Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] Rice-Bakoyannis meeting 'extremely useful', Athens says

[02] Deputy FM Stylianidis at Bucharest meeting; election of Chrysanthopoulos as BSEC's SG ratified

[03] DM on Iran, Souda, local gov't elections

[04] Papaligouras to attend EU justice ministers' council

[05] Patriarch of Alexandria condemns recent terrorist attacks in Egypt

[06] Ministers and Thessaloniki prefect discuss school buildings

[07] Olympic Airlines to continue flying at least until October, FinMin says

[08] Gov't aid to poultry farmers over bird 'flu

[09] FinMin worried over increasing oil prices

[10] Tourism minister addresses Munich's Construction Union

[11] Gov't to back 500 mortgages for gypsies

[12] Minister briefs German executives on investment

[13] Greek trade deficit up 10.3 pct in Jan-Feb, yr/yr

[14] World Intellectual Property Day celebration

[15] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise

[16] Gov't prepares for wildfire prevention ahead of summer season

[17] Fewer traffic accidents during Easter this year

[18] Greeks do not wear safety belts, ETSC says

[19] Half of elderly Greeks still sexually active, lifestyle survey shows

[20] 'World Press Photo' exhibition at Athens International Airport

[21] Government: Rice's reference on 'north Cyprus' inappropriate

[22] Rehn says Commission expects Turkey to fully meet obligations

[23] Cypriot House President holds meetings with EP officials

[01] Rice-Bakoyannis meeting 'extremely useful', Athens says

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Presenting Athens' assessment of Tuesday's meeting between Rice and Bakoyannis to reporters, foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos particularly emphasized that the Greek side had been able to present its views just before the US Secretary of State began talks with Turkish officials in Ankara.

He also played down any divergence of views between Athens and Washington speculated on by the Greek press, saying that these were a "symptom of health that in reality contributed to mutual understanding".

The spokesman was questioned extensively on Greece's stance regarding Iran's nuclear program, where he again emphasized that Athens wanted diplomatic means for overcoming the crisis to be exhausted first, as well as statements by Rice calling on Cyprus to facilitate Turkey's accession to the European Union that were seen as unfavorable to the Greek side by local media.

He also noted that Athens had outlined its views concerning the Kosovo status talks and its opposition to "rushing" things through.

Athens on Iran's nuclear program: Noting Athens' opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons, Koumoutsakos stressed that Iran's nuclear program was a major issue of international security.

At the same time, he underlined that Athens wants the UN Security Council to have a central role in handling the crisis and stressed the need to respect international law and the decisions of the UN Security Council.

Asked to comment on rumors of a planned U.S. military attack on Iran and whether Athens would be prepared to provide facilities at the Souda naval base for an attack that was not sanctioned by the Security Council, the spokesman pointed out that the Souda base had not been used in the attack on Iraq. He also disputed that a military crisis was in any way imminent.

Reiterating the need to exhaust diplomatic means to overcome the crisis, he said Athens wanted to align its position with that of the other EU member-states and underlined the importance of a single EU position on this issue.

Koumoutsakos was also asked whether Athens - currently a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council - will support a chapter 7 resolution in the Security Council's mandate that could authorize the use of force. Pointing out that discussion on this will not begin before Friday, the spokesman also added that a chapter 7 resolution would not automatically mean military action.

During her visit to Athens, Rice said that the United Nations would have to consider what measures to take next and that these should go beyond just statements.

"I think that we are going to have to take a next step. It seems logical that we should consider a Chapter 7 resolution under the Security Council's mandate," she said, referring to a resolution that can allow for sanctions or even military action.

Cyprus and Turkey's EU accession course: Koumoutsakos contradicted the US official's statement that the Republic of Cyprus had joined the European Union as a still-divided island with the 'understanding' that it would not block Turkey's accession course, saying that he was "unaware of the existence of any such agreement".

Referring to Turkey's continued refusal to allow Cyprus-flagged craft to dock at its ports and airports, as well as Ankara's continued non-recognition of the Cyprus Republic, Koumoutsakos underlined that Greece and Cyprus retained the option to exercise all the rights arising from their membership of the EU.

He also stressed that the improvement in Greek-Turkish relations and Athens' support for this improvement did not mean a "blank cheque" policy where Turkey was concerned.

The EU accession negotiations process is not targeted against Turkey and does not concern only that country, Koumoutsakos underlined.

At the same time, the spokesman did not attach great importance to Rice's failure to mention the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, pointing out that a State Department statement on this issue had been made just one month ago, nor to a reference by Rice to 'northern Cyprus'.

There was nothing in the statements made by the US Secretary of State that indicated recognition of two states on Cyprus, Koumoutsakos stressed in response to questions that also highlighted the lack of any response by the Greek foreign minister.

Noting that foreign ministers "do not bicker in public", the spokesman stressed that the Greek side would be wronging itself if it overlooked Rice's invitation to Turkey to work hard to meet its obligations to the European Union.

[02] Deputy FM Stylianidis at Bucharest meeting; election of Chrysanthopoulos as BSEC's SG ratified

BUCHAREST, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The initiative which Greece undertook last year, when it held BSEC's presidency, for the approach to the EU, in parallel with the policy of European Neighborliness, was appreciated at the meeting by BSEC's member states. Such a dimension of cooperation of the EU in a region which constitutes an energy crossroad, will give the possibility for the use of new funding tools, with beneficial economic and political results for both sides, Stylianidis said at the close of the meeting.

The Greek Foreign Ministry, which has been authorized by the BSEC countries to negotiate with the EU presidency for the growth of the Black Sea Dimension on the model of the Northern Dimension in Northern Europe, has conducted a series of contacts with the Austrian EU presidency which was present at the Bucharest meeting, like all the major powers, the U.S., China and Japan. Greek diplomacy seeks the inclusion in the conclusions of the summit meeting, if not at the current, of the next presidency, of a special reference for the development of this dimension with the Black Sea countries and has received from Brussels the first positive messages.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Stylianidis had the opportunity to hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Russia, Albania and of host country Romania.

With Romanian Foreign Minister Mihai Razvan Ungureanu, as well as with his Romanian counterpart Teodor Baconschi, Stylianidis discussed the controversial hosting by the Romanian government of the Black Sea Forum which is scheduled for June 5 in Bucharest, with security issues in the region at its focus.

On the holding of the forum in question, at which countries in and out of BSEC have been invited, Greece expressed reservations and insists on the position that such an initiative can be developed within BSEC. Reservations have also been expressed by Turkey, while refusal has been expressed by Russia. It must be noted that Russia and Turkey, along with Greece, constitute the three strongest powers of the organization and its main funders.

A Greek success is also viewed the decision of the meeting to set up, following a Greek proposal, of a Working Group for cultural cooperation, which can bring the member-states closer, as well as certain countries which have problems between them, while noted was the enormous cultural heritage which most of these twelve BSEC countries have.

[03] DM on Iran, Souda, local gov't elections

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

On the issue of Iran, Meimarakis said that a military intervention in the near future is difficult and reiterated Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis who on Tuesday, in talks with US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice stressed the need to exhaust all diplomatic means.

Asked whether Souda's military base on the island of Crete would be used, Meimarakis replied that Greece has long-standing contractual obligations towards its allies which it fulfills.

As for the local government elections in October, the defense minister noted that governments are judged during general elections, but added that political messages will be extracted from the results of the upcoming mayoral and prefecture elections.

Regarding the prefecture candidates that ruling New Democracy will back, Meimarakis said an announcement will soon be made by ND Secretary Lefteris Zagoritis.

[04] Papaligouras to attend EU justice ministers' council

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The ministers' council will cover a series of important issues, including the mutual recognition of criminal convictions. The issue greatly interests Greece, since it paves the way for sentences by EU member-states to be served in their country of origin.

Other issues on the table will be a single European warrant for the collection of evidence for use in criminal proceedings, the start of operation for the N-Lex system that will give EU citizens direct access to the national legislations of EU member-states and a presentation of the Eur-Lex database of Community law and, finally, combating organized crime.

The last seeks to harmonies the legal framework in Europe for crimes linked to participation in criminal organizations and the sentences that are imposed.

[05] Patriarch of Alexandria condemns recent terrorist attacks in Egypt

Patriarch of Alexandria Theodoros B' on Wednesday expressed he deep sorrow over the loss of life by terrorist attacks in Egypt.

"We categorically condemn this recent terrorist attack," the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Africa said.

At the same time, Patriarch Theodoros B' expressed "the sincere condolences of the Patriarchate of Alexandria to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak."

[06] Ministers and Thessaloniki prefect discuss school buildings

27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

After the meeting, Yiannakou said that there were currently two wide-ranging programs for the construction of schools in the region, one supervised by the prefecture and a second through municipalities that were funded by the School Buildings Organization (OSK).

She said the meeting had also discussed the financing of past debts and that an agreement had been made for these to be settled by the national economy via the education ministry by June.

Afterward, Psomiadis said he was fully satisfied with the results of the meeting and with the ministry's response to the prefecture's demands.

Psomiadis had shut down the prefecture in protest on March 22, demanding that the government provide an emergency cash injection of ¬ 40 million to cover the prefecture's outstanding debts for school buildings and medium-term cash flow needs.

[07] Olympic Airlines to continue flying at least until October, FinMin says

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Speaking to reporters, Alogoskoufis said the EU executive's decision was expected since "solutions" offered were not authorized by the EU. Finance Deputy Minister Petros Doukas said it was clear that Olympic Airlines would continue flying until October and that the Greek government has prepared a reply to the European Commission.

The Greek minister said there was very strong interest for Olympic Airlines both by groups and Arab countries.

Commission authorizes 2.0-mln-euro aid to Olympic Airways: The European Commission on Wednesday decided to authorize some 2 million euros of aid granted by Greece to Olympic Airways in compensation for losses resulting from the closure of airspace between 11 and 14 September 2001.

However, in line with established practice in respect of other countries the Commission is unable to accept measures taken to compensate for flights not carried out after 14 September 2001. The total amount to be recovered is accordingly about 2.8 million euros.

In a communication on the repercussions of the terrorist attacks in the United States on the air transport industry, adopted in October 2001, the Commission accepted certain types of aid, including aid to insurance companies and aid to cover the costs resulting from the partial closure of airspace.

The Greek aid scheme totaled around 5 million euros. The formal investigation conducted by the Commission following its decision of 27 May 2003 revealed that Greece had justified a direct link between the losses for which compensation could be given and actual flight restrictions, in an amount of 2 million euros of aid transferred to Olympic Airways. The particular losses concerned were incurred through cancellations of flights to the United States, Canada and Israel, whose airspaces were totally or partially closed to traffic during the days in question.

On the other hand, another portion of the aid transferred to Olympic Airways either concerns flights not carried out after 14 September 2001 (i.e. beyond the period referred to in the Commission's communication) and has already been the subject of a final negative decision for other EU Member States, or it has not been justified by Greece.

Finally, Greece has supplied no documents to substantiate the aid of around 140,000 euros paid to Aegean Cronus, and the Commission has likewise decided to recover that aid.

EU Commission takes Greece to court over state aid to national carrier: The European Commission on Wednesday decided to refer Greece to the European Court of Justice for failure to comply with its state aid decision of 14 September 2005.

The decision required Greece to quantify and recover all the unlawfully granted aid to Olympic Airways and Olympic Airlines since December 2002. It also asked Greece to immediately suspend all further payments of aid to Olympic Airways and Olympic Airlines, and gave Greece two months to inform the Commission of the steps taken to comply.

In its decision of September 2005, the Commission found that Greece had granted illegal and incompatible state aid through a number of measures, as follows:

" ¬ 40 million from the Greek State and Olympic Airways to cover part of the costs to Olympic Airlines of leasing aircraft;

" an unjustified payment of some ¬ 90 million from the Greek State to Olympic Airways when Olympic Airlines was set up and transferred to the State, achieved by overvaluing the assets transferred to the State;

" the Greek State s toleration of Olympic Airways failure to pay more than ¬ 350 million in tax and social security liabilities due between December 2002 and December 2004;

" the assumption by the Greek State of a number of Olympic Airways financial obligations, e.g. in connection with aircraft leasing contracts and the repayment of a bank loan, amounting to up to ¬ 60 million.

Greece was required to recover the aid without delay, the exact amount of which had to be defined during the execution of the September 2005 decision. It was also required to immediately suspend all further payments of illegal aid to Olympic Airways and Olympic Airlines.

Nevertheless, at this stage, the exact amount to be recovered has not been determined yet. No recovery has taken place, and Greece has not demonstrated that it is has suspended all payments of new illegal aid.

In May 2005, the European Court of Justice had already ruled that Greece had not implemented the decision taken by the Commission in December 2002, which required Greece to recover ¬ 161 million of illegal aid. The Commission recently decided to send a reasoned opinion to Greece for failure to comply with this Court ruling and its 2002 decision. Depending on the answer of the Greek authorities, the Commission may also refer Greece to the Court on this ground to request penalty payments.

Main opposition accuses gov't of abandoning OA: The main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) on Wednesday accused the government of abandoning Olympic Airlines to its fate.

"The government has left OA to its fate, legally and otherwise undefended, thus serving the interests of rivals, which is closure of the company," said PASOK deputy Christos Verelis, also a former transport minister.

He was responding to a decision earlier in the day by the European Union's executive Commission to send Greece to the European Court of Justice for a failure to quantify and recover unlawful state aid to the airline and its predecessor, Olympic Airways, since December 2002.

[08] Gov't aid to poultry farmers over bird 'flu

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The finance ministry amendment aims to aid farmers whose businesses have slumped due to bird 'flu.

The ministry also announced recently that the state would act as guarantor for working capital loans taken out by poultry farmers.

[09] FinMin worried over increasing oil prices

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

However, Alogoskoufis expressed his belief that a problem with higher oil prices and their side effects would be resolved and reminded that Greece was highly dependent on oil while the government was making efforts to reduce this dependence.

The Greek minister noted that 2006 was a crucial year but prospects were better than in 2005 and underlined a significant reduction in state spending and an increase in budget revenues in the first two months of 2006.

Alogoskoufis said that a visit by Eurostat's officials to Greece, scheduled for early May, would focus on a methodology of gathering statistic data and stressed that he did not expect any review in the country's fiscal deficit. The Greek government has made a very big effort to restore transparency in fiscal statistics, Alogoskoufis said.

The Greek minister said privatization procedures were progressing normally.

Main opposition raps gov't over economic policy: The main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) on Wednesday criticized Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis for allowing high consumer prices, especially fuel.

"Instead of controlling high prices, especially in the fuel market, in which Greece has become a champion, he (Alogoskoufis) is planning a new burden for the public and the economy through an increase in the special consumer tax on fuel," charged PASOK's economy spokeswoman, Vasso Papandreou.

She was responding to statements earlier in the day by the finance minister.

[10] Tourism minister addresses Munich's Construction Union

27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Palli-Petralia underlined that Greece after the 2004 Olympic Games "won a very valuable material legacy" and that the country "restored its position on the world tourism map."

She added that "for the government, tourism constitutes one of the basic pillars of economic growth."

The tourism minister noted that the main objectives of tourism policy "are the upgrading and competitiveness of the Greek tourism product, the development of new forms of tourism, but also the extension of the tourism period."

She stressed that "Greece after the Olympic Games has attracted the investment interest," adding that "the goal is for the best possible utilization of the Olympic and tourism real estate."

On his part, the president of Munich's Construction Union underlined that Greece after the hosting of the Olympic Games has reached its highest point of recognition, adding that exploratory contacts are being made with Greek construction companies so as to examine the possibility of further investments.

[11] Gov't to back 500 mortgages for gypsies

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Deputy Finance Minister Peter Doukas ordered the move on Wednesday, which covers a total of 500 mortgages of up to 60,000 euros each.

The mortgages will offered to domestic gypsies who live in encampments, tents, shacks or other forms of housing that fail to meet minimum requirements for a permanent home, the ministry said in a statement.

[12] Minister briefs German executives on investment

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The government's new tax law lowers corporate tax brackets, and its development legislation allows grants of up to 55% on investments, Sioufas told the 40 executives from Munich.

In addition, procedures for the issue of company licenses had been greatly accelerated, he noted.

The minister also outlined investment opportunities in the sectors of energy, manufacturing, tourism and home-building.

[13] Greek trade deficit up 10.3 pct in Jan-Feb, yr/yr

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The value of Greek import-arrivals totaled 7.145 billion euros in the January-February period, from 6.283 billion euros last year, for an increase of 13.7 pct, while the value of export-deliveries totaled 2.365 billion euros from 1.951 billion euros over the same period, respectively, for an increase of 21.2 percent.

[14] World Intellectual Property Day celebration

27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The information was presented on Wednesday by Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas during his address at an event on the occasion of World Intellectual Property Day celebrations.

The event was held at the Metro station at Syntagma Square, where an exhibition is taking place on the issue which would last until night time.

Sioufas reminded that the OBI recently decreased, and in certain cases annulled altogether, dues required for submitting invention diplomas and has created a special service for inventors.

The minister noted that it is the first time that World Intellectual Property Day is being celebrated in the country and stressed that the purpose of the celebration is to promote the innovation and the importance of its consolidation.

[15] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks rise

ATHENS, 27/4/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for high capitalization shares ended 0.99% up; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium cap stocks closed 1.08% higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap shares finished 2.38% up.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 217 to 56 with 40 remaining unchanged.

The stocks with the highest turnover were National Bank of Greece, OPAP, Intralot, Hellenic Technodomiki, and OTE.

Derivatives Market Close: Hellenic Technodomiki top in stock futures trade

Stock Futures: