From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Tue, 15 Nov 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, November 15, 1994 ---------------------------------------------- * Greece certain Aegean exercise to run without incident * Niriis '94 * Arsenis, Papoulias point to 'destabilisation danger' after US pulls out of Adriatic * Dutch have no political obstacles to Greek WEU accession * Greece welcomes Iraqi move to recognise Kuwaiti borders * Vartholomeos meets with Belgian king, Delors * Papoulias begins Minsk, Kiev visits * Greece, Bulgaria co-operate on fire-fighting efforts * Venizelos on reshuffle: no official announcement * Euro TV, cinema forum in Crete chance for more co-operation between Europe, Mediterranean * Gov't to combat racism, xenophobia with innovative school programme * Commission misses Essen deadline on Inter-European network project financing * Reasons for the delay * Air traffic controllers decide rolling work stoppages * Economic ministers meet on inflation, public projects * Shipping exchange inflow up over 1993 figures * Academic says Greek economic picture not as bleak as some think Greece certain Aegean exercise to run without incident ------------------------------------------------------ Noordwijk, The Netherlands 15/11/1994 (ANA/V. Demiris, F. Stangos): Greece yesterday expressed certainty that Greek and Turkish air and naval exercises taking place at the same time in the Aegean would end without any "hot incidents". The statements, by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, were made as warships and aircraft from Greece, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Spain clustered the southeast Aegean in preparation for military manoeuvres this week which will overlap Turkish military exercise Seawolf 2-94, currently taking place in the northern Aegean. The statements come a day before the international convention giving Greece the right to extend its territorial waters from six to 12 miles comes into force, which Turkey has repeatedly said would be a cause for war if effected in the Aegean. Greece has maintained that the extension of territorial waters is its right, but that "nothing will change" tomorrow. Following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mumtaz Soysal on the sidelines of a Western European Union meeting here, Mr. Papoulias told the press that he was certain the air and naval exercises in the Aegean would conclude without any conflagration. Mr. Papoulias reiterated Greece's firm position to make use of its sovereign right and extend its territorial waters to 12 miles in the Aegean at a time it deems fit. "There is no commitment by Greece not to extend its territorial waters," Mr. Papoulias said, adding that "the extension of Greece's territorial waters as provided by the Montego Bay Convention on the Law of the Sea is Greece's sovereign right, the application of which lies at the discretion of the Greek government." In Athens, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that the international convention on the Law of the Sea was pending ratification in the Greek parliament. "The determination of the extent of territorial waters in the context of international law is the sovereign right of every country. The exercise of that right is at the discretion of the government in place," Mr. Venizelos said. Mr. Venizelos also said that Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou was expected to reply to US President Bill Clinton's recent letter on security problems in the region and Greek-Turkish relations. Athens and Ankara have indulged in a war of words over sea rights issues in recent months. Commenting on the content of his meeting with Mr. Soysal, Mr. Papoulias said that "an unpleasant and heavy atmosphere in Greek-Turkish relations" had been noted by the two men, adding that "both foreign ministers should contribute to the creation of a different climate." "I think that Mr. Soysal is sincere in his efforts," Mr. Papoulias said. He added that "some other people in Ankara must lower aggressive tones." Mr. Papoulias said the two men agreed to continue rapprochement efforts between the two sides on issues of mutual interests such as health, tourism and the environment. Meetings on a ministry level have also been agreed between the two sides and a delegation from Ankara is expected to arrive in Greece soon. Earlier, Mr. Soysal said "the climate between the two countries has been and remains good," adding that his statements that an extension by Greece of its sea waters to 12 miles in the Aegean would be a cause for war "were not meant to poison (Turkey's) good relations with Greece." Meanwhile, in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller appeared to be making efforts to defuse the tension in statements to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. "We are not aggressive in the Aegean and we will not create a non-desirable situation," Ms Ciller was quoted as saying. "But," she said, "we will not allow certain things (to happen)." Referring to the territorial waters situation, the Turkish prime minister said "Turkey has made its position clear internationally." "We do not take advantage of the issue, neither we are aggressive or provocative," she said. Niriis '94 ----------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Warships and aircraft from Greece, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Spain clustered the southeast Aegean yesterday in preparation for military manoeuvres this week. Defence ministry sources said the fleet of ships were docked at ports in Rhodes and Iraklion, Crete, and would set sail tomorrow morning to begin the five-day exercise, code-named Niriis 94. The manoeuvres, taking place mostly between the islands of Crete, Santorini, Milos and Tilos, will overlap with Turkish exercises that began yesterday in the north Aegean. The exercise, code-named Seawolf 2-94, will involve sea and air units and continue until November 23. A US destroyer, the USS Cape St. George, sent in by Washington, will be cruising in the northern Aegean, north of the island of Psarra, close to the Turkish exercise. According to a Pentagon statement, USS Cape St. George has been sent into international waters in the Aegean, between the two manoeuvres, "to demonstrate US interests in the region." The US destroyer Peterson and submarine Springfield are taking part in Niriis-94 exercise. In Athens, Mr. Venizelos said that there was "no specific mission" for the USS Cape St. George in the Aegean. Meanwhile, the National Defence Ministry and its National Operations Centre are keeping a close watch on the situation in the Aegean. Speaking to reporters in Noordwijk yesterday, Turkish Defence Minister Mehmet Gioulhan said "there is a certain distance between the two naval forces, of Greece and Turkey in the Aegean." Mr. Gioulhan expressed hope that there would be no incidents, but said that "if something happens we will answer." Arsenis, Papoulias point to 'destabilisation danger' after US pulls out of Adriatic ----------------------------------------------------------------- Noordwijk, The Netherlands 15/11/1994 (ANA/F. Stangos, V. Demiris): Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis and Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday stressed the US decision to withdraw its fleet from the Adriatic brought with it the danger of a general destabilisation in the broader Balkan region at yesterday's meeting of Western European Union (WEU) foreign and defence ministers. Mr. Arsenis expressed the Greek government's strong anxieties at the consequences the American stand might have on both a military and political level. On the military level, he said, the American decision to withdraw its naval forces enforcing the arms embargo on the former Yugoslavia "puts UNPROFOR's peacekeeping forces in danger". On the political level, Mr. Arsenis stressed the threat of "destabilisation and the crisis spreading in the broader region, stemming from the fact that the US decision weakens the alliance which has been formed around the peace plan" of the UN contact group. The Greek defence minister said afterwards that Turkey was the only country which supported the American stand. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe also confirmed that "most countries distanced themselves from American President Bill Clinton's decision, except Turkey". On the discussion which took place on the evolution of the WEU into an instrument of a "common European defence policy", and given the American decision on Bosnia, there was a general climate orienting the WEU towards the framework of the European Union. Mr. Arsenis stressed the need to make the WEU "the defence arm" of the European Union, and reiterated the proposal to synchronise the rotating presidencies of the two European organisations. The proposal was seconded by the French and Spanish ministers. Mr. Arsenis also was able to confirm the good relations between Greece and Bulgaria, during his meeting with Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Noev. Meanwhile, Mr. Arsenis arrived in Brussels to have his first meeting today with new NATO Secretary-General Willy Claes and confer on issues relating to the outstanding Larissa Headquarters issue. Dutch have no political obstacles to Greek WEU accession -------------------------------------------------------- Noordwijk, The Netherlands 15/11/1994 (ANA/F. Stangos, V. Demiris): Dutch Defence Minister Joris Forhofe said yesterday there were no political obstacles to the Dutch Parliament ratifying Greece's accession act to the WEU. He was speaking at the end of the Western European Union's (WEU) winter ministerial session in Noordwijk. Replying to a question by the Athens News Agency (ANA) whether the Dutch Parliament's delay regarding Greece's formal accession to the WEU constituted an institutional problem at a time when the Netherlands held the WEU presidency, Mr. Forhofe said "the se two issues are not linked." Greece welcomes Iraqi move to recognise Kuwaiti borders ------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Greece yesterday welcomed as "positive" Iraq's decision to recognise Kuwait and respect its UN-defined borders. "The Greek government is particularly satisfied with Iraq's decision to recognise the integrity and borders of Kuwait, which is a very positive development that contributes to stability and peace in the region," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said at a press briefing. A statement signed by President Saddam Hussein as chairman of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council laid to rest Iraq's long-standing claim to Kuwait as its 19th province. By accepting the border drawn by a UN Commission, it also met one of the cease-fire terms Baghdad accepted after its forces, which conquered the emirate in a lightning invasion in August 1990, were driven out by a US-led alliance in February 1991. The RCC statement was released shortly after the National Assembly passed a similar resolution. Vartholomeos meets with Belgian king, Delors -------------------------------------------- Brussels, 15/11/1994 (ANA/A. Kourkoulas): Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos yesterday had a half-hour meeting with King Albert II of Belgium. The Patriarch afterwards met with outgoing European Commission president Jacques Delors, with whom he held a broad exchange of views on the contribution of the Orthodox Church to the formation of contemporary and future Europe. Reliable sources said that the problems of the Orthodox Church in Albania and the setting up of a special office of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which will co-ordinate relations with the European Commission, were also discussed. Also present during the meeting was Greek Commissioner Ioannis Paleokrassas. Later, the Patriarch left for Luxembourg, where he will meet with new European Commission president Jacques Santer and Grand Duke Jean. Papoulias begins Minsk, Kiev visits ----------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias will leave the Hague today for visits to Belarus and Ukraine. Mr. Papoulias is expected to return to Athens Thursday. Greece, Bulgaria co-operate on fire-fighting efforts --------------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Greece and Bulgaria yesterday began a paper exercise on how best to co-ordinate fire-fighting efforts on their common border. The exercise will involve military officials from both countries. Venizelos on reshuffle: no official announcement ------------------------------------------------ Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday there has been no official announcement of a reshuffle, explaining that in Sunday's interview to the newspaper 'To Vima', Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou was referring to a replacement for Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis, who is to take new European Commissioner Christos Papoutsis' seat at the European Parliament. Mr. Venizelos, nevertheless, said he could not exclude the possibility that there will be certain individual changes. He added that the important thing was that there would be no change in policy. Referring to New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert's statements about the need for early elections in the spring, when the election of a new president of the republic by parliament falls due, he said Mr. Evert's stand is outside the spirit of the Constitution. Euro TV, cinema forum in Crete chance for more co-operation between Europe, Mediterranean ----------------------------------------------------------------- Liege, Belgium 15/11/1994 (ANA): The 7th European TV and Cinema Forum will be held in Elounda, Crete, after a unanimous decision by the 350 delegates at the 6th Forum in Liege. "Carrying out the next conference in Crete will provide the members of the Forum with the opportunity of acquainting themselves even better with the entire Mediterranean basin with the aim of developing co-operation between European and Mediterranean countries," Hellenic Radio and TV (ERT) President Evangelos Yiannakopoulos said in putting forward the proposal. The forum is expected to held in early November 1995. Gov't to combat racism, xenophobia with innovative school programme ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): The government yesterday announced its intention to introduce programmes to combat racism and xenophobia in the country's state schools. Announcing the move, Education and Religious Affairs Minister George Papandreou said pilot programmes would initially be introduced "in the schools in areas with immigrant and Moslem minority populations". Those pilot programmes would serve as models to extend the courses to all schools throughout the country. "Greece is threatened by racism (and) we must intensify our efforts against that threat," Mr. Papandreou told the first meeting of the recently-established National Committee against Racism and Xenophobia, which will co-ordinate the programme. He noted that Greeks had, in many periods in the country's history, "suffered from racism, genocide and pogroms" and that he believed "it is Greece that should symbolise the fight in Europe against racism ... which is the only prospect for democracy and peace in the world". Commission misses Essen deadline on Inter-European network project financing ----------------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 15/11/1994 (ANA/C. Verros): The European Commission will not be able to present the plan and the financing structure of the 11 major Inter-European Networks priority projects -- which include the Egnatia highway spanning the length of northern Greece and the Patra-Thessaloniki- Bulgarian border road axis -- at the Essen summit on December 9. At the November 7 ECOFIN meeting, where the issue of financing was discussed, it became apparent that the European Commission was not in a position to present specific proposals on the structure of financing, as there were problems in ascertaining the " Community dimension" of many projects. Commission president Jacques Delors said he was present at a "quite unfortunate" discussion of the ECOFIN Council on Inter-European networks, and criticised the "dogma-tism" exhibited by many economic and finance ministers, who insist on greater private sector participation in financing and do not want an appreciable participation of the public sector, either at national or Community level. Reasons for the delay --------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): The European Commission and the Christophersen Group, comprising the personal representatives of the prime ministers of the 12 member states, which deals with the Inter-European Networks, believe there are various reasons leading to the delays of the priority projects. As a report points out, the projects "are often placed in a narrow context", which ought to be amplified by new ideas facilitating their economic efficiency. Another reason, says the report, are the "different diverging priorities among interested member states", while "problems in administrative or technical procedure" surface in many cases. Another issue is the lack of a "single legal framework" that would allow their development and completion under a single decision-making centre. Air traffic controllers decide rolling work stoppages ----------------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): In a marathon meeting yesterday, air traffic controllers agreed to a series of four-hour strikes to support pay and work claims. The first four-hour work stoppage will take place from 12 midday to 4 PM on November 20, the second from 11 am to 3 PM on November 21 and two more on November 22, from 6 am to 10 am and 4 PM to 8 PM. The meeting also decided to reconsider the participation of its members in processes aimed at modernising the air traffic control system. Meanwhile, the Federation of Civil Aviation Associations (OSPA) yesterday called for an immediate and substantive dialogue before the passing of a bill ratifying the European Union's agreement with the government on the restructuring of Olympic Airways, Greece's national carrier. According to reports, the bill on Olympic is expected to be tabled at the end of the week. Economic ministers meet on inflation, public projects ---------------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Inflation, projects included in this year's public investment programme and basic directives for 1995 were the focus for economic ministers at a meeting at the National Economy Ministry yesterday. National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said afterwards a decrease in inflation is the government's primary target, adding that inflation would be running at an annualised rate of 11 per cent at the end of the year. The meeting also decided that the Commerce Ministry would undertake to intensify checks in the trafficking of fruit and vegetables and enact legislation on competition to examine cases of profiteering. Referring to the public corporation programme for 1995, Mr. Papantoniou said it will focus primarily on promoting programmes on restructuring Greek industry through strengthening its competitiveness, supporting employment by providing funds to combat unemployment and strengthening Greece's business role in the Balkan region. Premier, Papadopoulos meet on budget ------------------------------------ Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou held one-hour talks with Finance Minister Alekos Papadopoulos at the Maximos Mansion yesterday, focusing exclusively on the 1995 budget. Shipping exchange inflow up over 1993 figures --------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Shipping exchange inflows between January and July totalled 1.02 billion dollars compared with 1.1 billion during the same seven month period last year, according to Merchant Marine Ministry figures released yesterday. The ministry said shipping exchange earnings for the month of July amounted to 174 million dollars, marking a 1.9 per cent drop against the corresponding figure in 1993. Academic says Greek economic picture not as bleak as some think ---------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 15/11/1994 (ANA): Panteion University professor and president of the Greek Economic Sciences Society Stavros Theofanidis told a press conference yesterday that Greeks and Europeans should realise that the Greek economy had a lot going for it, despite adverse publicity. "Despite the myth being cultivated continuously concerning the existence of a host of problems, the Greek economy has a plethora of positive and dynamic elements," Mr. Theofanidis said, adding this must be realised both by Greek citizens and the country 's European partners. He said he had sent a letter to European Commissioner Henning Christophersen, accusing him of trying to advise Greece on how to solve its economic problems at a time when the European Union itself or its member-states are greatly responsible for these problems. Germany's refusal to pay off wartime loans, he said, which have accumulated to 40 billion dollars at present, was a case in point. If the amount had been paid at some time it would have radically alleviated Greece's fiscal problems. Mr. Theofanidis said the Economic Sciences Society has launched a campaign to disseminate a "positive ideology" for the Greek economy, including the organisation of an international conference in London in 1995. He also outlined the society's proposals for overcoming the crisis in the public sector, which include appointing ministers agreeable to all at the three economic ministries of National Economy, Finance and Industry and Commerce and at the Education Ministry, instituting the post of a permanent Under-Secretary at all ministries, preparing a mutually acceptable tax law by a committee of technocrats and creating work groups at each ministry to re-examine all public expenditures from the very start.