Athens News Agency: News in English (AM), 98-05-06
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 06/05/1998 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Main opposition criticises gov`t over handling of EMU entry
- German support for Greece's CoE peace initiatives
- Tsohatzopoulos calls for parallel development of WEU, NATO
- EU Commissioner Van den Broek pins blame of Denktash
- Anarchists claim responsibility for Reppas office attack
- Israeli 50th Jubilee week in Athens
- Parthenon sculptures exhibition to tour Britain
- More support for AIDS sufferers
- Archaeologists uncover rare dog grave
- EU summit shows Greece way to Euro, Simitis says
- Banks propel Greek bourse to new record close
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Main opposition criticises gov't over handling of EMU entry
Main opposition New Democracy leader Costas Karamanlis yesterday called May
2 a day of "sadness and reflection" for Greece since, in essence, the
advantages the country had as an equal EU member in 1980 were revoked,
relegating Greece to a second category .
Mr. Karamanlis spoke at a press conference on what he described as Greece's
failure to join the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
The ND leader accused the government of failure and lack of boldness in
going ahead with privatisations and claimed that a mistaken economic policy
was applied, which was based on high taxation and the "hard drachma"
policy.
Mr. Karamanlis said that the government's policy is only aimed at nominal
convergence, resulting in the widening of the distance between the real
state of the economy and that of European countries since options are not
chosen for high development rates and unemployment is increasing.
He said that through the failure to join the first phase of EMU, the
country will face political, economic and possibly national consequences
since insecurity will be maintained, while it is possible that new
pressures will be exerted on the drachma with an increase in interest rates
and the loss of the advantage resulting from the decrease in the cost of
money, while at the same time the country's negotiating capacity will
decrease since it will not be participating in the decision-making centres
of the "11".
Responding to criticism, National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said
ND showed its complete lack of proposals.
"The main opposition is out of place and timeIat a time when the countryYs
entry into EMU in 2001 was taken for granted in the statement at the (EU)
summit", Mr. Papantoniou said.
Replying to the minister, ND press spokesman Aris Spiliotopoulos charged
that Mr. Papantoniou seemed to have forgotten that the 1994 convergence
programme was projecting GreeceYs inclusion in EMU on Jan. 1, 1999.
German support for Greece's CoE peace initiatives
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel yesterday assured Alternate Foreign
Minister George Papandreou that Bonn would support Athens' initiatives
during its Council of Europe (CoE) presidency, aimed at defusing crises in
the Balkans, particularly in the troubled Yugoslav province of Kosovo.
Mr. Kinkel gave the assurance during a private meeting with Mr. Papandreou
at the CoE's headquarters in Strasbourg. Greece assumed the rotating six-
month presidency of the Council of Europe at a special ceremony here
yesterday.
The German foreign minister expressed hope that a rapprochement between the
two sides will be achieved during Athens' current six-month CoE presidency.
Tsohatzopoulos calls for parallel development of WEU, NATO
The Western European Union (WEU) must develop in tandem with NATO and not
in opposition to the Alliance, visiting National Defence Minister Akis
Tsohatzopoulos said in Madrid yesterday.
"The principle of compatibility and joint - and not separate - use of
available means and facilities must be maintained," Mr. Tsohatzopoulos told
a meeting of WEU parliamentary assembly in Madrid. The WEU and NATO plan
their first-ever joint exercise for the year 2000.
Mr. Tsohatzopoulos said the flexibility offered by the use of multi-
national rapid deployment forces provided the WEU with new political and
operational prospects, which allowed the "dual" development of relations
between the European Union and with NATO.
This meant that the WEU would be in a better position to serve as a bridge
between the EU and the Alliance.
Greece will be hosting a two-day WEU defence and foreign ministers' meeting
on Rhodes which begins next Monday.
EU Commissioner Van den Broek pins blame on Denktash
Hans van den Broek, the European commissioner responsible for extrenal
relations, yesterday clearly placed the blame for the failure to begin
intercommunal talks on Cyprus on the Turkish Cypriot side and leader Rauf
Denktash.
Responding to a question put by New Democracy Eurodeputy Panayiotis
Lambrias at a conference organised by the European Peoples Party in Berlin,
Mr. van den Broek said it was "clear" that Mr. Denktash's stance on the
Holbooke initiative had shown that he was in no way inclined to go into
talks on finding a solution to the Cyprus problem.
"Mr. Denktash's terms cannot be accepted and his stance had confirmed his
intransigence," Mr. van den Broek said.
He added that there were still problems in EU-Turkish relations, citing the
ongoing occupation of Cyprus, problems with Greece, and the area of respect
for human rights.
He said that Turkey needed to achieve progress in these three areas if it
wanted to bolster its relations with the European Union.
Mr. van den Broek also mentioned that the forthcoming WEU ministerial
council of Rhodes was "particularly important" given the Greek presidency's
decision to place the issue of Kosovo and Balkan peace on the agenda.
"It is beneficial for the WEU to analyse the situation in Kosovo and to
examine the possibility of intervention with the aim of maintaining peace
in the region," the commissioner said.
Anarchists claim responsibility for Reppas office attack
An anarchist group calling itself "Arsonists of Conscience" today claimed
responsibililty for a firebomb attack on the office of government spokesman
and press minister Dimitris Reppas causing damage but no injuries.
The home-made explosive device, made up of gas cannisters burned the door
of the minister's political offices on the fifth floor of a building on
Alexandrou Soutsou street in the central residential district of Kolonaki.
Police said that an unitendified caller telephoned the Athens afternoon
daily "Eleftherotypia" saying that the group was claiming credit for the
attack.
The caller was quoted as saying that "unemployment, austerity and
suppression are in store for Greece from the European Union in cooperation
with the reformists of PASOK (the ruling socialist party)".
Israeli 50th Jubilee Week in Athens
The embassy of Israel in Athens in cooperation with the Hilton Hotel will
organise a festival from May 8-17, commemorating the 50th anniversary of
that country's founding.
This "Israeli Cultural Week" includes live music, food, a photographic
exhibition, among others, and is the first of a series of summer events.
Parthenon Sculptures exhibition to tour Britain
The British Committee for the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures is
organising a photographic exhibition entitled "Worthless Stones P Monuments
of the Gods" at the architects' federation in London.
The exhibition will be inaugurated today by noted Greek singer and
Eurodeputy Nana Mouschouri.
The photographic exhibition deals with the return of the Parthenon
Sculptures to Greece, and features visuals and documents. The exhibition
shows how the Parthenon Marbles were lifted from the ancient temple
dedicated to Athina and transported to Britai n, while it supports their
return.
Moreover, it further details the work done to date to protect the Parthenon
and the new Acropolis museum, which was planned to promote the friezes in
relation to the temple itself.
The mobile exhibition will visit universities and public sites in Britain
during 1998, in an effort to stimulate discussions and dialogue.
More support for AIDS sufferers
Treatment expenses, medicines and examinations for AIDS patients insured
with social security funds will from now on be paid by relevant funds,
according to Health and Social Welfare Undersecretary Theodoros Kotsonis.
Speaking during yesterdayYs one-day meeting on AIDS, organised in the
framework of proceedings of the IVXX National Medical Congress, Mr.
Kotsonis also announced that treatment and medicine costs for uninsured and
poor AIDS patients will continue to be covered by the health ministry.
Further, it was decided that AIDS medicines will be freely available by
drugstores for all those patients not wishing to get their treatment
through the social security system.
According to the undersecretary the annual cost by the state for AIDS
patients amounts to 3.5 billion drachmas.
Archaeologists uncover rare dog grave
Archaeologists say they have uncovered the first example in the northeast
Aegean region of the grave of a dog which died during the late Hellenistic
period.
The grave was discovered during excavations at the picturesque resort of
Molyvos, which was built on the ruins of the ancient town of Mythymna, on
the northern coast of Lesbos.
Offerings of two clay vases, a weaving weight and an as yet unidentified
lead object were found in the grave.
In nearby excavations, archaeologists recently uncovered the graves of
seven people from the same period.
EU summit shows Greece way to euro, Simitis says
Prime Minister Costas Simitis said yesterday that a weekend European Union
summit that launched economic and monetary union (EMU) with 11 member
states, showed what Greece must do to gain entry, probably in 2001.
Mr. Simitis was speaking after a 45-minute meeting to inform President
Kostis Stephanopoulos of the summit's outcome.
"The summit took important decisions. The framework of Europe's course to
EMU is now crystal clear, and so is the framework of what we must do and
the timetable for doing it," Mr. Simitis said.
The Euro will be launched on January 1, 1999 with 11 members, and Greece
hopes to join by January 1, 2001. Greece has pledged to cut public spending
and reform the state sector in order to ease entry into EMU. Mr. Simitis is
due to brief political party leaders on the summit results in separate
meetings on Wednesday.
Banks propel Greek bourse to new record close
Greek equities posted a new record close on the Athens Stock Exchange
yesterday helped by a buying spree in banks following speculation of an
imminent merger between state-owned Commercial Bank and Ionian Bank, its
subsidiary.
But the market remained nervous awaiting the government's final decisions
on its privatisation programme, traders said.
The general index ended 1.22 percent higher at 2,634.54 points.
Sector indices were mixed. Banks soared 3.60 percent, Insurance rose 1.23
percent, Investment fell 0.57 percent, Leasing jumped 2.33 percent,
Industrials eased 0.29 percent, Construction was 1.27 percent off,
Miscellaneous ended 2.60 percent up and Hold ing fell 2.82 percent.
The parallel market index for small cap companies ended 1.05 percent off.
Trading was active with turnover at 74.11 billion drachmas. Broadly,
advancers led decliners by 139 to 111 with another 18 issues unchanged.
Newly listed Minoan Lines, Commercial Bank, Ionian Bank, Bank of Pireaus,
Elais, Papastratos, Elmec Sport, Sportsman and Papoutsanis scored the
biggest percentage gains hitting the day's 8.0 percent limit up.
Fintexport, Sarandopoulos, Intertyp, Zampa and Benroubi suffered the
heaviest losses.
National Bank of Greece ended at 54,500 drachmas, Ergobank at 29,150, Alpha
Credit Bank at 34,500, Delta Dairy at 5,236, Titan Cement at 25,900,
Intracom at 20,395 and Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation at 8,
785.
In the domestic money market the drachma was substantially higher against
most foreign currencies.
WEATHER
Overcast weather and scattered showers is forecast for most parts of Greece
today. Winds westerly, light to moderate. Partly cloudy in Athens where
temperatures will range between 14-25C. Scattered showers in Thessaloniki
with temperatures from 14-24C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Tuesday's rates (buying) U.S. dollar 304.941
British pound 507.170 Japanese yen(100) 229.866
French franc 51.310 German mark 172.072
Italian lira (100) 17.436 Irish Punt 433.008
Belgian franc 8.342 Finnish mark 56.572
Dutch guilder 152.704 Danish kr. 45.116
Austrian sch. 24.454 Spanish peseta 2.025
Swedish kr. 39.924 Norwegian kr. 41.394
Swiss franc 205.508 Port. Escudo 1.674
Aus. dollar 195.493 Can. dollar 212.090
Cyprus pound 586.074
(C.E.)
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