Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-01-15

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] "COLD FEET" IN ETHNIKI-ALPHA "MARRIAGE"

[02] MEETING ON OLYMPIC BUDGET

[03] THE PARTHENON MARBLES WILL NEVER LEAVE THE BRITISH MUSEUM

[04] ECONOMIC SUPPORT TO THE FAMILIES OF THE GREEK-AMERICAN VICTIMS IN THE

[05] MARGINAL LOSSES IN THE ASE

[06] GREEK BUSINESS MISSION TO SYRIA IN FEBRUARY

[07] PROTOPAPAS ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BANKING SYSTEM

[08] HAPPY END IN THE ETE-ALPHA BANK MERGER AGREEMENT

[09] SIMITIS ON THE NEW GENERAL STAFF CHIEFS IN THE ARMY AND AIR FORCE

[10] SIMITIS: GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES ON FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES

[11] TELESTET: 41.7% CLIENT INCREASE IN 2001 4TH QUARTER

[12] PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS 9/11 VICTIMS FAMILIES

[01] "COLD FEET" IN ETHNIKI-ALPHA "MARRIAGE"

The bells have stopped ringing for the Ethniki-Alpha Bank wedding, due to problems risen while allocating duties between the staff members of the two institutions in the soon to be formed bank. Consecutive meetings took place yesterday morning for that reason, in the head offices of the two banks.

In an announcement it made yesterday morning, the Employees Association of Alpha Bank called the staff members of Ethniki to seek out those amongst them that are seeking a safe little position through the merger of the two banks.

On the other hand the Board of Directors of Ethniki met yesterday, and appreciated that there are certain problems, but no final decisions have been made that would endanger the merger of the two credit institutions.

According to the Employee Association of Alpha Bank, its Board of Directors met today in order to make its final decisions.

According to information, the Director of Ethniki, Mr. Th. Karatzas, and the President of Alpha Bank, Mr. G. Kostopoulos, exchanged letters during the weekend, in which they accepted that there are problems with the merger procedure.

The exchange of letters between the two bank Heads, strengthens the version that wants the unions of the two banks merely at the tip of the iceberg, since Alpha Bank has kept lines of communications open, with banks abroad that had expressed an interest in it in the past.

An intervention was attempted, with no apparent results so far, by the Minister of Economy and Finances, Nikos Christodoulakis.

In any case, the outcome of the situation, whatever it may be, cannot be foreseen, since a final rupture in the deal of the two major banks, will have multiple financial and political effects.

In the meanwhile, the banks' stock value closed at 3.23% for Alpha Bank (at 18.56 euro) and 3.69% (at 24.5 euro) yesterday.

The role of BNP Paribas

An important role in developments according to information will be played by the recommencing of discussions between Alpha Bank and BNP Paribas, concerning a possible cooperation between them, which was terminated in September. Similar contacts seem to be being made with the Italian Unicredito. Final decisions concerning the issue are expected to be announced at the emergency meeting of its board of directors of Alpha Bank, which will take place tomorrow.

[02] MEETING ON OLYMPIC BUDGET

The government's budget for the Olympics maybe revised for a second time, in order for the cost of the Olympics to remain at 4,372,707.26 euro. The issue is being discussed at "Maximos Hall", presided over by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, with the participation of the Ministers of National Economy, PEHODE (the Environment, Planning and Public Works) and Culture.

However, government staff members estimate that the budget for the preparation of the Olympics will need a lot of time in order for it to be finalized, if one takes into consideration that the studies on the Olympic works in Faliro, Elliniko and Goudi have not been completed yet.

A characteristic of the efforts to redistribute funds being attempted by the government, in order for the maximum expenditure of 4,372,707.26 euro to be kept, is the Calatrava study for the refashioning of the OAKA stadium, as is mentioned in press publications. It should be noted that the specific study surpasses 176,082,171.68 euro.

According to Mr. Venizelos, carrying out only part of the work is still under consideration, the part concerning the covering of the Olympic Stadium, at a cost of 73,367,571.53 euro, or a larger part (covering the cycling track) at a cost of 132,061,628.76 euro.

[03] THE PARTHENON MARBLES WILL NEVER LEAVE THE BRITISH MUSEUM

The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, will never leave the British Museum to return to Greece, stated the London Museum director to the London Times newspaper. The statement was made in response to the campaign for the return of the marbles to the Acropolis launched by at least 90 British parliament members and personalities from the world of art and literature.

Greek Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos stated that Greece is not interested in the legal aspect of the dispute and it simply wants the marbles to be returned to their natural place.

[04] ECONOMIC SUPPORT TO THE FAMILIES OF THE GREEK-AMERICAN VICTIMS IN THE TWIN TOWERS

Economic assistance of 300.000 Euro to support the families of the Greek-American victims in the Twin Towers, that were hit in the September 11 terrorist attack on New York, was offered by the Greek parliament.

The above were announced by Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis in the joint meeting of the Committees on the Greeks Abroad and Orthodoxy that was held today in the presence of Archbishop Dimitrios of America.

From his side, the Archbishop stressed that the Greeks living abroad are dedicated to the promotion of the issues of national importance and hellenism.

[05] MARGINAL LOSSES IN THE ASE

Marginal losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.09% at 2.521,63 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 94.9 million Euro or 32.3 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 152 recorded gains and 140 had losses, while the value of 62 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] GREEK BUSINESS MISSION TO SYRIA IN FEBRUARY

A Greek businessmen delegation will be in Syria on February 2-4 within the framework of the formal visit of President Kostis Stephanopoulos to the country. Mr. Stephanopoulos will be accompanied by Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannis Zafiropoulos, responsible for international economic relations.

The visit will focus mainly on the sectors of farming equipment, building materials, telecommunications materials, plastics and textile.

[07] PROTOPAPAS ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE BANKING SYSTEM

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis was briefed by the parties concerned and watches closely the case of the merger of the National Bank of Greece with Alpha Bank, stated government spokesman Christos Protopapas, adding that there was no intervention on behalf of the Prime Minister or any other government official.

Mr. Protopapas stated that it is not the responsibility of the government to intervene in the issue but it follows developments closely because it is an issue that concerns the country's economy in general.

The talks are being handled by the management of the National Bank of Greece and Alpha Bank for the operational plan and merger to proceed.

Mr. Protopapas expressed optimism that things will follow a positive course, stressing that everybody wants a positive development in the Greek banking system.

[08] HAPPY END IN THE ETE-ALPHA BANK MERGER AGREEMENT

The intention of the management of the National Bank of Greece, ETE, and Alpha Bank to continue the merger procedure of the two institutions aimed at the establishment of a strong bank with a European structure, was formally confirmed today.

In a joint statement issued at noon, the two managements stressed that the difficulties will be overcome through mutual understanding and good faith. They also underlined that the goal is to establish a strong Greek bank for the benefit of the national economy, the stockholders and the employees in the two banks.

The part of the statement that concerns the way the new bank will operate namely, based on private sector economic criteria, in essence dissolves the fears of the Alpha Bank management that the new money and credit institution, that will result from the merger, will be under state control.

[09] SIMITIS ON THE NEW GENERAL STAFF CHIEFS IN THE ARMY AND AIR FORCE

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis briefed President Kostis Stephanopoulos on the changes in the Armed Forces leadership that were decided this morning in the Governmental Council on Foreign Affairs and Defense meeting.

Mr. Simitis praised the new General Staff chiefs in the Army and the Air Force and referred to the need for the reorganization of the armed forces.

On the new Army General Staff Chief lieutenant general Panagiotis Harvalas stated that he has a great experience and has worked for the reorganization of the army, while on the new Air Force General Staff chief lieutenant wing-commander Panagiotis Papanikolaou stated that he is very able.

[10] SIMITIS: GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES ON FOREIGN POLICY ISSUES

The government will undertake initiatives on foreign policy issues aimed at strengthening Greece's international position as a factor of stability and peace, according to statements made by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis after his meeting today with President Kostis Stephanopoulos.

Mr. Simitis briefed Mr. Stephanopoulos on his visit to the United States and stated that it was successful because it strengthened the basis of the Greek-US cooperation.

Exiting the presidential building, Mr. Simitis told reporters that it is time for Greece to undertake initiatives on foreign policy issues. He said that such initiatives are necessary because the Cyprus-EU talks on Cyprus' EU accession are at their final phase, the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot talks are in progress, and Turkey should undertake initiatives on the continental shelf issue by the year 2004 at the latest. He added that there are security and cooperation issues in the Balkans and for this reason he will visit the Balkan countries in the following months.

[11] TELESTET: 41.7% CLIENT INCREASE IN 2001 4TH QUARTER

The increase of TELESTET's, a mobile telephony company, clientele last year, was 29.8%, amounting to 2,135,338 customers. The increase was even greater in the 4th quarter of 2001, when TELESTET gained 145,353 new customers, a 41.7% increase in relation to the same period in 2000.

The new customers with a contract for the new quarter, came to 74,174, increased by 272.8% compared to 2000, while new users of mobile card-telephony surpassed 71,170. In total in 2001, TELESTET had 1,472,575 users of mobile card telephony (69% of the clientele), while customers with contracts came to 662,763.

[12] PARLIAMENT SUPPORTS 9/11 VICTIMS FAMILIES

Financial aid amounting to 300.000 euro for the support of the families of the 9/11 victims, that were members of the Greek community, is being offered by the Greek Parliament.

During today's joint session of the Commissioners of Hellenism and Orthodoxy Abroad, in the presence of the Archbishop of America Dimitrios, the President of the Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis, underlined that "Greece has many hopes in the contribution, the role and the activities of the Greek community in national issues".

Referring, more specifically, to the Cyprus issue, Mr. Kaklamanis stressed that "the support of Greek communities abroad has an especially heavy hand in convincing the only 'superpower' in the world, that the least it should do, is to keep impartiality on the issue".

"For us, the only problem is the violation of International Law and the continuing Turkish occupation", he characteristically noted, and added that "efforts to incorporate Cyprus to the EU must be sincere and should not be downgraded.

On his side, Archbishop Dimitrios assured that all national issues and the progress of Hellenism have literally bound up all of the Greek community's time and the community's contribution.

He also, once more, thanked the the Greek Parliament for its contribution , not just the amount raised, but for its symbolic importance, since it is the first support offered to the victims's families, that was given in euro at this historic moment in Greece.

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