Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-05-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] Two main political parties agree on economic goal, differ over method

[02] Environment ministry figures point to cleanest beaches around Greece

[03] Culture minister inaugurates Greek-Turkish business council

[04] 'Balkan media in the Digital Age-The challenge of the Olympic Games'

[05] Event held in Swedish Parliament on 2004 Olympic Games

[06] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Saturday

[07] Environment ministry figures point to cleanest beaches around Greece

[08] Greek stocks rebound strongly on Friday

[01] Two main political parties agree on economic goal, differ over method

The country's two largest political parties said on Friday that their economic objectives tallied concerning Greece's membership of the eurozone - but their methods of attainment diverged radically.

Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis of the ruling PASOK party told a panel debate that he backed social consensus in forging economic policy.

But economic affairs spokesman George Alogoskoufis of the main opposition New Democracy (ND) party countered that governments should persuade the public of the rightness of their policies.

''In 1990-1993, the New Democracy party in government did not follow a policy of social consensus, resulting in a failure of its attempts at economic reform,'' Christodoulakis said in the debate pitting him against Alogoskoufis.

The ND spokesman riposted: ''The role of politicians is not to follow in the public's wake but to try and sway public opinion in favour of the policies they want to advance. If the reverse occurs, then we merely become managers.''

The challenge to the two politicians to name their common points and differences was issued by EFG Eurobank Ergasias, the Athens-quoted private sector bank that arranged the debate.

[02] Environment ministry figures point to cleanest beaches around Greece

The environment ministry on Friday released its latest figures on water quality for Greeces vast coastline, stressing that its sampling showed that a whopping 99.4 percent of inspected beaches are suitable for swimming, with an equally impressive 97.1 percent considered as ?excellent? in quality.

Fridays results follow a mid-May survey by the independent non-profit organisation Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which bestowed 354 of its coveted ?Blue Flags? to 354 Greek beaches and seven marinas for 2002.

The ministrys leadership said slightly more than 23,000 water samples were taken from 1,891 beaches four at fresh-water sites -- in 40 prefectures around Greece.

Specifically, out of the 1,887 coastal sites checked, 1,875 were judged as clean and safe for swimmers, having met both Greek and EU-wide standards.

In the 12 beaches deemed unsuitable for swimmers, five are sites with recurring problems over the years, whereas the other seven have recorded occasional pollution.

In presenting the figures, Public Works and Environment Minister Vasso Papandreou said more tests would be conducted on those seven beaches in order to gain more accurate readings before the height of the summer season.

Amongst the 1,891 sites inspected, ?red flag? spots include the INOA region near the northern Peloponnese town of Aigio, due to detected sewage runoff in the waters; off the Elefsina township, west of Athens, one of Greeces most industrialised areas, and at the Voula resort, southeast of the Greek capitals centre, due to the outfall of rain waters.

?Orange Flags? have been temporarily given to the Alikanas site on the Ionian island of Zakynthos; at the Mon Repo beach on Corfu; two sites in Ileia prefecture of western Greece, Epitalio and Palaiohori, and at two beaches in eastern Attica, both in the Loutsa area.

The cost of the water-sampling programme in 2001 reached the 440,000-euro mark, officials said.

FEEs 2002 figure includes three more ?Blue Flags? given to Greek beaches from last year, with Crete (76) again earning top honours among Greece's numerous tourist attractions.

Eight beaches in the greater Athens area Vouliagmeni, Asteras, Alimos, the Mavro Lithari site at Anavissos, Edem beach, Varkiza, the Brexiza beach at Nea Makri and both beaches at Lagonissi also earned ?Blue Flags?.

The Blue Flag is an exclusive eco-label awarded to more than 2,800 beaches and marinas in 23 countries across Europe and South Africa for the coming year.

[03] Culture minister inaugurates Greek-Turkish business council

ISTANBUL (ANA - A. Kourkoulas) - Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz jointly inaugurated the 5th meeting of the Greek-Turkish Business Council here on Friday.

The president of the Greek-Turkish Business Council, Panayiotis Koutsikos, referred to the development of economic relations between the two countries over the past two years.

''Greek and Turkish businesses can invest in EU countries with joint initiatives,'' he said.

The president of the Turkish-Greek Business Council, Sarik Tara, commented on the issue of Cyprus's accession to the EU, saying that ''we want only one Cyprus to join the EU'', adding that ''we want a Cyprus which will not make us sceptical.''

[04] 'Balkan media in the Digital Age-The challenge of the Olympic Games' conference

The directors and editors-in-chief of the 70 largest mass media organisations from all the Balkan countries will be taking part in the 7th Balkan Journalists' Conference to be held next week in Thessaloniki.

The theme of the conference, to take place June 7-8, is ''The Balkan Media in the Digital Age - The Challenge of the Olympic Games'', and is being organised by the Macedonia Press Agency (MPA) in cooperation with the AThens 2004 organising committee (ATHOC).

Among the speakers at the conference will be several Olympics champions from the Balkan countries, including Naim Suleimanoglou, Stefka Constantinova, Niki Bakoyanni, Victor Mitrou and Petros Galaktopoulos.

Delegates will also include senior staff members from newspapers, news agencies, radio and television stations and electronic newspapers from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, FYROM, Turkey, Moldova, Slovenia and Croatia.

Also attending will be the chairman of the FYROM radio and television council, and constitutional experts/professors from Yugoslavia, Romania, Turkey and FYROM, who specialise in media matters.

[05] Event held in Swedish Parliament on 2004 Olympic Games

STOCKHOLM (ANA - M. Vichou) - An event was held in the Swedish Parliament on Thursday night on the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, at the initiative of the President of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union of Greek Expatriate Deputies and Federal Deputy of Sweden Nikos Papadopoulos.

Also participating were members of the Greek-Swedish Parliamentary Friendship Federation in the presence of Greek Ambassador Nikos Kouniniotis and Cyprus Ambassador Costas Papadimas.

Addressing the event, Greek PASOK Deputy Grigoris Niotis, who is also president of the Expatriate Hellenism Committee, outlined the targets of the 2004 Olympic Games.

Among others, the targets are the organising of technically excellent Games, providing athletes and spectators with a unique Olympic experience, the promotion and implementation of the Olympic Truce and the highlighting and promotion of Greece's cultural and historical heritage.

Niotis also called on the Swedish deputies to meet in Athens in 2003 in a joint Parliamentary session on the values of the Olympic Games in the modern era and the visions of peace and cooperation.

[06] Weather Forecast: Sunshine on Saturday

Sunny weather is forecast in all parts of the country, with scattered cloud on the central and northern mainland from early evening. It may rain in eastern Macedonia and Thrace. Winds north-northwesterly, light to moderate, turning strong at sea in the south. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 13C to 26C; on the rest of the mainland from 16C to 30C; and in the islands from 18C to 26C. Sunny in Athens, with temperatures between 18C and 29C. Scattered cloud in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 17C to 26C.

[07] Environment ministry figures point to cleanest beaches around Greece

The environment ministry on Friday released its latest figures on water quality for Greeces vast coastline, stressing that its sampling showed that a whopping 99.4 percent of inspected beaches are suitable for swimming, with an equally impressive 97.1 percent considered as ?excellent? in quality.

Fridays results follow a mid-May survey by the independent non-profit organisation Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), which bestowed 354 of its coveted ?Blue Flags? to 354 Greek beaches and seven marinas for 2002.

The ministrys leadership said slightly more than 23,000 water samples were taken from 1,891 beaches four at fresh-water sites -- in 40 prefectures around Greece.

Specifically, out of the 1,887 coastal sites checked, 1,875 were judged as clean and safe for swimmers, having met both Greek and EU-wide standards.

In the 12 beaches deemed unsuitable for swimmers, five are sites with recurring problems over the years, whereas the other seven have recorded occasional pollution.

In presenting the figures, Public Works and Environment Minister Vasso Papandreou said more tests would be conducted on those seven beaches in order to gain more accurate readings before the height of the summer season.

Amongst the 1,891 sites inspected, ?red flag? spots include the INOA region near the northern Peloponnese town of Aigio, due to detected sewage runoff in the waters; off the Elefsina township, west of Athens, one of Greeces most industrialised areas, and at the Voula resort, southeast of the Greek capitals centre, due to the outfall of rain waters.

?Orange Flags? have been temporarily given to the Alikanas site on the Ionian island of Zakynthos; at the Mon Repo beach on Corfu; two sites in Ileia prefecture of western Greece, Epitalio and Palaiohori, and at two beaches in eastern Attica, both in the Loutsa area.

The cost of the water-sampling programme in 2001 reached the 440,000-euro mark, officials said.

FEEs 2002 figure includes three more ?Blue Flags? given to Greek beaches from last year, with Crete (76) again earning top honours among Greece's numerous tourist attractions.

Eight beaches in the greater Athens area Vouliagmeni, Asteras, Alimos, the Mavro Lithari site at Anavissos, Edem beach, Varkiza, the Brexiza beach at Nea Makri and both beaches at Lagonissi also earned ?Blue Flags?.

The Blue Flag is an exclusive eco-label awarded to more than 2,800 beaches and marinas in 23 countries across Europe and South Africa for the coming year.

[08] Greek stocks rebound strongly on Friday

Greek stocks rebounded strongly in the last trading session of the week in the Athens Stock Exchange, with news of a sale of Skaramanga Shipyards and rumours over a reapproachement between National Bank and Alpha Bank encouraging sentiment in the Greek market.

The general index jumped 1.52 percent to 2,297.56 points, with turnover an improved 152.9 million euros.

The Publication sector suffered the heaviest percentage losses of 1.14 percent, while the Holdings, Textile and Retail sectors scored the biggest percentage gains of the day (3.75 percent, 3.73 percent and 2.87 percent).

The FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index rose 1.85 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 1.61 percent higher and the FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks ended 1.47 percent up.

Broadly, advancers led decliners by 294 to 43 with another 26 issues unchanged.

The general index ended the week 1.37 percent higher.

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