From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Sat, 19 Nov 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, November 19, 1994 ---------------------------------------------- * Gov't to shoulder 242 billion drachma debt in OA rescue bill * Papoulias hopes for 'different climate, change in tone' in relations with Ankara * Papoulias: CSCE report on ethnic Greek minority 'balanced' * Nimetz may visit FYROM this month * Greece blocks FYROM admission to CSCE * OTE float will go ahead, Papantoniou says * Bank of Greece reduces interest on bills of exchange * EU telecoms ministers set dates for deregulation Gov't to shoulder 242 billion drachma debt in OA rescue bill ------------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 19/11/94 (ANA): The government will write off bad debts of 242 billion drachmas in its draft rescue bill for Olympic Airways, Greece's chronically ailing national carrier. The debts involve state loans and outstanding payments for services from the Civil Aviation Authority. The draft, due to be submitted to parliament's legislative committee yesterday and expected to be voted on this month, also calls on the company's 9,900 employees to accept wage freezes, early retirement and benefit cuts. The bill outlines a four-year survival plan which was approved by the European Commission in July and allows the state to assume Olympic's debts but puts a stop to state funding. It also guarantees company loans to buy new planes. According to the rescue plan, the state will undertake to pay OA's debts to credit institutions and also cover the 54 billion drachma share capital increase in three instalments between January 1995 and January 1997. "This is the last money which will be given to OA which in future must stand on its own feet," Transport Minister Thanassis Tsouras said. The bill calls for a two-year wage freeze at 1993 levels for Olympic's employees and enforces early retirement of 1,500 staff -- 927 this year. Overtime pay will be reviewed and management will be streamlined into no more than four tiers instead of the current system with 14 different management titles. Staff perks -- Olympic employees get free tickets for family members, medical treatment abroad and other privileges -- will be cut and staff leave will be limited. Olympic, in the red for 12 years, has been attacked as a bastion of political corruption. It has had 26 boards of directors since 1974, many with little knowledge of the airline industry. Olympic's operating costs must be cut by 15 per cent in 1994 and 30 per cent in 1995. Airline unions have said they accepted the part of the bill calling for wage freezes and early retirements but were against benefit cuts. Papoulias hopes for 'different climate, change in tone' in relations with Ankara ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/11/94 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said yesterday that he hoped Greek-Turkish relations would stabilise when the separate air and naval exercises of both countries in the Aegean concluded. "The tone has dropped in comparison with a fortnight ago," Mr. Papoulias said, adding "the situation in Greek-Turkish relations is a problem which will continue to exist". Speaking to reporters after a 50-minute meeting with President Constantine Karamanlis, Mr. Papoulias said that relations between the two countries were being "poisoned" by "the new policy" of Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and the Turkish government on the Cyprus problem. Mr. Papoulias briefed the president on the recent Western European Union ministerial meeting at Noordwijk, his visits to Belarus, Ukraine and Belgrade, the latest developments in Greek-Turkish relations, the Bosnian crisis and the situation in the Balkans in general. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr. Papoulias said that Greece had proposed the convening of an urgent WEU meeting of the ministerial-level Contact Group to find a solution to the Bosnian crisis. During talks in Belgrade yesterday, Serb President Slobodan Milosevic told Mr. Papoulias that it was possible to overcome the crisis and for the European Union peace process to proceed. Papoulias: CSCE report on ethnic Greek minority 'balanced' --------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/11/94 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday described a report on the situation of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania by CSCE High Commissioner for ethnic minorities Max van der Stoel as "balanced". Mr. Papoulias said that Mr. van der Stoel had drawn up "a balanced report as usual", adding that what was of concern to Greece was the protection of the human rights of the Greek minority in Albania, "one of the main elements of Greek-Albanian relations". Expressing optimism that the crisis in Greek-Albanian relations will be overcome, Mr. Papoulias said that a dialogue between Athens and Tirana must begin and an end be put to the suffering of the five members of the ethnic Greek political organisation Omonia, convicted of espionage and illegal possession of weapons in August. Asked how he could describe as "balanced" a report which makes no mention of the trial of the five nor of the violation of the human rights of the Greek minority, Mr. Papoulias replied: "When Mr. van der Stoel comes to Athens he speaks of the repression of the Greek minority. I shall meet with the CSCE high commissioner at the CSCE conference in Budapest on December 5-6 and we shall discuss these issues." According to press reports, Mr. van der Stoel's report to the CSCE claims that there is no discrimination between Albanian citizens and that no member of the ethnic Greek minority was prevented from coming into contact with him. In addition, the report makes no mention of the efforts by the Albanian regime to remove Archbishop Anastasios, head of the Albanian Orthodox Church, nor of the trial of the five Omonia members and the conditions under which they were detained. Commenting on the report, Political Spring party spokesman Akis Gerontopoulos expressed surprise at the fact that Mr. van der Stoel "failed to see that the regime of (Albanian President Sali) Berisha is oppressing the Greeks of Northern Epirus (southern Albania) and is violating the treaties on respect for human rights". Mr. Gerontopoulos called on the government to draw evidence from all international organisations' reports on the issue in order to rebut Mr. van der Stoel's arguments and inform international public opinion on real conditions prevailing in Albania. Nimetz may visit FYROM this month ----------------------------------- United Nations, 19/11/1994 (ANA/M. Georgiadou): Diplomatic sources said yesterday US State Department representative on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia issue Matthew Nimetz might visit the state this month. The sources believe the eve of the swearing-in of the new government might be the most suitable time to once again bring to the attention of FYROM President Kiro Gligorov that the US is particularly interested in the success of UN-sponsored negotiations, which are expected to resume in New York in early December. It is certain, the sources said, that the US decision not to send an ambassador to FYROM for as long as Cyrus Vance's talks with the two sides continue will not change. Regarding the name "Republic of New Macedonia", cited by the Greek press in recent days as the most probable alternative to the temporary name of FYROM, the sources pointed out that Mr. Vance's separate talks have not yet reached the stage of negotiating the name. The name "Republic of New Macedonia", they added, is one of many possible names mentioned in the past and it may have been raised, together with other names, at the meeting between UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Mr. Vance and Mr. Gligorov in Geneva and during Mr. Boutros-Ghali's briefing of the Security Council. The sources said it is still too early to discuss a possible conclusion to negotiations on the question of the name. Greece blocks FYROM admission to CSCE ------------------------------------- Budapest, 19/11/1994 (Reuter/ANA): Greece yesterday exercised its veto to prevent the admission of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) as a full member of the 53-nation European security organisation, officials said. Athens used the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe's (CSCE) principles that all decisions must be adopted by consensus to block FYROM's bid for membership, and limit its role to that of an observer to the group. "We were unfortunately not able to agree to its participation as a full member of the CSCE," Greece's ambassador to the group, Dimitris Nezeritis, said after a meeting of the CSCE's Committee of Senior Officials (CSO). The CSCE, grouping the US and Canada with European states, is the West's largest forum on security issues, but it has no real power or military force at its command. "Insofar as our northern neighbour is concerned, we have grave doubts about their wish to co-operate as a factor of stability in our troubled region," Mr. Nezeritis told reporters. OTE float will go ahead, Papantoniou says ----------------------------------------- Athens, 19/11/94 (ANA): National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou reiterated yesterday that the partial float of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) will go ahead in 1995. Mr. Papantoniou was replying in parliament to a written question by main opposition New Democracy leader Miltiades Evert and three ND deputies. Mr. Evert accused the government of "incompetence and of deliberately lying to the Greek people". Bank of Greece reduces interest on bills of exchange ---------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/11/94 (ANA): The Bank of Greece announced yesterday that interest rates for discounting bills of exchange will be reduced by one percentage point to 20.5 per cent per annum as of November 21. The interest rate for central bank financing of credit institutions against government bonds will also be reduced by one percentage point to 20.55 per cent per annum. The reduction in interest rates is part of a wider effort by the Bank of Greece for a more rational structuring of interest rates. It is expected to widen the margin of options and possibilities of the central bank intervening in the money market. It is noteworthy that the interest rates of the inter-bank market have been moving at lower levels than the above interest rates in recent months. EU telecoms ministers set dates for deregulation ------------------------------------------------ Brussels, 19/11/1994 (ANA/P. Pantelis, V. Demiris): The European Union Telecommunications Ministers' Council yesterday decided that European telecommunications will be deregulated by January 1998 with a transitional period extending to 2003 for Greece and the other Cohesion Fund countries of Spain, Portugal and Ireland. For Luxembourg -- due to its limited network -- there will be a two-year transitional period. The Council also unanimously decided to approve the digital Inter-European telematic networks, with significant Greek participation. The transitional period until 2003 also applies for telecommunication services, as decided in the previous session of the Council. It is estimated that services of traditional telephony represent 80 per cent of the sector's turnover. Services for mobile telephony have already been deregulated, but the infrastructures will be deregulated in 1998, and in the Cohesion countries in 2003.