From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Tue, 21 Jun 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, Convergence Plan ready, may go before EU tomorrow ------------------------------------------------ Athens, 21/6/1994 (ANA): The Greek economy Convergence Plan will be made public today. It carries provisions for economising 2.5 trillion dr. by 1999, freezing salaries, and will probably be submitted to European Union agencies concerned tomorrow. Salaries and pensions will increase in accordance with the inflation rate. Included are increases in fuel prices, circulation duties, a gradual abolition of tax exemptions, a reduction in insurance fund subsidising, speeding up denationalisation and closing unprofitable enterprises with staff going on early retirement. Main opposition New Democracy party said the Greek economy's Convergence Plan constitutes "a national issue and should be the result of broad political and social dialogue between parties and social partners." Instead, the statement said, the PASOK government "had opted to decide alone, without dialogue, and in the absence of the people and their representatives." New Democracy requested a parliamentary debate on the Greek economy as soon as possible. French Chamber ratifies Greece's WEU entry ------------------------------------------ Paris, 21/6/1994 (ANA/Olympia Tsipira): Despite a negative climate created in the External Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly a few days ago, the Chamber ratified yesterday a protocol for Greece's accession to the Western European Union (WEU). The issue was debated at the opening of yesterday's session, after examination of a motion by the External Affairs Committee to postpone voting until after a European Court ruling on Greek retortion measures against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). European Affairs Minister Alain Lamassoure supported the need for Greece's accession to the EU, the postponement motion was rejected and the Protocol ratified. The decision raised to six the number of countries which have voted in favour Greece's accession. The other five are: Britain, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Germany. Only the Dutch Parliament's ratification is still pending. Defence Minister begins high-level Washington talks --------------------------------------------------- Washington, 21/6/1994 (ANA/D.Dimas): Defence Minister Gerassimos Arsenis, who arrived here yesterday, was due to meet with US counterpart William Perry and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General John Shalikashvili, after talks with President Clinton's special adviser George Stephanopoulos. Today, Mr Arsenis will take part in a conference on European Security, jointly organised by the Western European Union, the Atlantic Council and the State Department. The Council will discuss issues relating to Europe and the relations between Europe and the United States in the post-cold war period. Tomorrow morning, Mr Arsenis will brief State Department, Pentagon, and National Security Council officials on the situation in the Balkans and other issues of direct or indirect interest to Greece. Defence Secretary William Perry is due in Athens next month. Samaras ------- Athens, 21/6/1994 (ANA): Commenting on Mr. Arsenis' visit, Political Spring (Pol. An) party leader Antonis Samaras said Sunday the US has recently made "unfortunate interventions" both on the issue of the Aegean and that of ethnic Greeks in southern Albania. In a statement before leaving for Lefkada, Mr. Samaras said Mr. Arsenis should emphasise that Turkey is "assuming the role of peace-keeper which is something unthinkable for the Western Community." This, he said, "comes at a time when Ankara bears responsibility for Cyprus, the Kurds and lack of human rights in Turkey itself." Replying to a question on the government's convergence programme with the European Union, Mr. Samaras said the measures would prove disastrous, adding a new economic policy was necessary to disengage from an unacceptable deficit mania syndrome and government's mistaken exchange policy. Mossad EU summit security assignment report denied -------------------------------------------------- Athens, 21/6/1994 (ANA): The Ministry of Public Order on Saturday denied press reports alleging that Israeli secret agents had been hired to protect European leaders during the European Union Summit in Corfu this week. The press reports alleging that "Mossad (Israeli secret service) agents would be used during the EU Summit are totally imaginary and unfounded," a Public Ministry statement said. "No Israeli or other foreigner has any connection with the security system for the Summit," the statement added. "It is self-evident that this task belongs exclusively to the Greek Police, which has the capability, the experience and the means to accomplish this mission," it concluded. The press reports were prompted by the announcement, Friday, by Public Order Minister Stelios Papathemelis that Greece was considering the purchase of high technology equipment for the Greek police from Israel and the signing of a bilateral agreement on the exchange of important information on organised crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and other matters. Pangalos: Aim to make Corfu summit a landmark -------------------------------------------- Vienna, 21/6/1994 (ANA/D.Dimitrakoudis): Alternate Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos said Saturday the government is doing all in its power to ensure that the Corfu summit should prove a landmark in the European Union's history, adding he believes the Greek EU Presidency in itself was also a landmark in that not only did it enlarge the EU but also set new horizons in many sectors. In a statement in Vienna after completing talks with Austrian leaders, Mr. Pangalos referred to his tour of EU capitals in light of the Corfu summit, saying that it was a considerable experience creating a clear picture of views to be set out at the summit. In his tour, Mr. Pangalos had talks with almost all EU member-state Prime Ministers (including the four candidate member-states of Austria, Sweden, Finland and Norway), all his counterparts, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament and two Presidents. In this context, Mr. Pangalos was due to hold talks with the Italian government yesterday. Mr. Pangalos expressed great satisfaction over the particularly warm climate he found in meetings on Friday and Saturday with Austrian President Thomas Klestil, Chancellor Franz Vranitzky and Foreign Minister Alois Mock. Mr. Pangalos told ANA that in the course of his contacts he had ascertained what a "Mediterranean" and "Balkan" country Austria is in the sense of warmth in human relations, adding that it is closer to Greece than many imagine. With Austria's accession to the EU, he said, Greece acquires a "neighbour" with whom there is no direct neighbourliness, no common border but numerous common points of reference. Mr. Pangalos said in essence Austria was already an EU member and that only a formal procedure remained for it to assume posts allocated to it as of 1.1.1995. He said that at the Corfu summit the Austrian delegation will be treated in the same manner as those of member-states and will participate in all discussions on an equal basis. In his view, member-state national Parliaments will have no problem in ratifying the accession agreement since all governments have committed themselves to do so by the end of this year. Austrian President Thomas Klestil Saturday presented Mr. Pangalos with the Austrian Republic's supreme honorary award in recognition of his great contribution toward concluding the process of Austria's accession to the EU. The ceremony was held at the old Hofburg Palace in the presence of EU ambassadors and heads of other diplomatic missions. Delors forwards PM Summit reports --------------------------------- Brussels, 21/6/1994 (ANA/G.Daratos-F.Stangos-V.Demiris): European Commission President Jacques Delors wrote Premier Andreas Papandreou on June 16 on the two-day European Union Corfu summit opening June 24. The letter is accompanied by two reports which Mr. Delors terms "notes" referring to "the present situation in the European Union" and the "auxiliary, clear, alleviating character and simplification of Community legislation." Mr. Delors requested the Greek EU Presidency to transmit the reports to the remaining EU member-states. He forwarded the President of the European Council reports carrying "issues traditionally of interest to heads of state and governments", as the Corfu summit "will devote a major part of its work to examining implementation of orientations decided last December on the 'White Paper' (on development, competitiveness and employment) on the European economy." Perissos raiders may belong to minor terrorist group ---------------------------------------------------- Athens, 21/6/1994 (ANA): Police are examining the possibility that the three culprits of Sunday's incident, in which a policeman standing guard outside Communist Party (KKE) HQ in the Perissos district of Athens was overpowered and disarmed, may be members of a small terrorist group. A number of clues, including the fact that the stolen motorcycles used and later found abandoned bore authentic licence plates, as well as the fact that they wasted valuable time in beating up the policeman after disarming him, have led police to discount the possibility that they were related to the two large terrorist organisations, November 17 or Revolutionary Popular Struggle. A Communist Party statement issued Sunday considers the incident a follow-up of an assassination attempt in Thessaloniki, June 3, against three KKE Euro-election candidates. The statement noted the PASOK government bears tremendous responsibility for deliberately overlooking the significance of the Thessaloniki incident, and should take effective measures to isolate politically nationalist, chauvinist and anti-Communist circles. Broad conference on Media in the 21st century --------------------------------------------- Athens, 21/6/1994 (ANA): Over 300 Greek and foreign journalists and prominent figures of public life took part in a three-day Panhellenic Journalists' Conference in Samothraki titled "Media in the 21st century", which ended yesterday. The Conference was inaugurated by Macedonia-Thrace Minister Constantine Triarides and began with a presentation by ANA General Director Andreas Christodoulides of "The future of European Audio-visual media in the year 2000". The conclusions of the conference included: - Concern over developments especially in Greek media generally, in relation to cultural, political and institutional orientations of the state, and various serious consequences of the 'industrialised mass messages' of today. - Emphasis on the need to articulate a new scientific language on the media that will document any future options of the state, and redefine their role. - Most media, particularly large newspapers and radio-TV stations, are profit making organisations. - A code of ethics in the media is necessary, but is more a matter of conscience on the part of the journalist. -The relation between media and society ought to be examined not only from an aspect of messages sent by the former, but also from the side of the public which receives them. - The structure, organisation and function of the media is affected by the structure, organisation and function of the society in which they operate, and vice-versa. - 'Freeing' electronic media from government control, which has not 'freed' them from the quest for high audio visual ratings, leading to downgrading of messages to the mass, with all resulting negative implications on the isolated listener or viewer. - A future conference should examine important issues such as "The media and the Child", "Media and national issues", etc. Greece still Europe's leading cement exporter --------------------------------------------- Athens, 21/6/1994 (ANA): Greece remained European Union's No 1 cement exporter in 1993, with sales of 6,851,000 tonnes, compared to 6,606,000 tonnes in 1992, thus recording a 14.1% increase in volume. Benelux countries (Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg) were in second place, with 4,020,000 tonnes, and Spain in third, with 3,736,000. In terms of total production, Greece ranked sixth after Italy, Germany, Spain, France and Britain.