From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Fri, 16 Dec 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin --------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottaba, Kavadas E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) * Nimetz urges a quick end to Athens-Skopje dispute * European Parliament gets tough on Turkey, says customs union talks should stop * Venizelos * US senator meets Papoulias: US should maintain efforts to solve Balkans problems * Evert briefs German, French diplomats on talks with Milosevic * Varvitsiotis says Greek promise of troop support for UN Bosnia withdrawal 'inconsistent' * Parliament approves EU entry of Sweden, Austria, Finland * Commission, Gov't take a crash course in improving Greek telecoms * Parliamentary c'tee approves GATT agreement * Papantoniou: 1994 turning point for Greek economy * Shipping exchange down 8.8 per cent this year * Farm ministers wrap up meeting in Brussels Nimetz urges a quick end to Athens-Skopje dispute ------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): The dispute between Skopje and Athens must be resolved quickly in the interests of stability in the wider region, the US envoy on the Former Yugoslav Republic of the Macedonia issue Matthew Nimetz said yesterday. "The issue that has arisen between Greece and Skopje is one that my government considers serious; one that affects the well-being of the region," Mr. Nimetz said. "If too much time passes, it can lead to a deterioration of the situation." Mr. Nimetz flew into Athens Wednesday and met with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday. Mr. Nimetz said he would not be putting forward new proposals but would urge Athens and Skopje to agree on confidence-building measures as a way of overcoming the present impasse. He will meet today with FYROM President Kiro Gligorov in Skopje. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said Greece was "not particularly optimistic" about developments on the FYROM issue. "Developments will come from Mr. Nimetz's meeting with Mr. Gligorov in Skopje and not (his meetings) in Athens as the entire issue depends on Mr. Gligorov's stance," Mr. Venizelos said. Mr. Nimetz warned of further instability in the Balkans if Greece and the FYROM failed to quickly resolve their dispute. "There is nothing new in the situation except that time has passed. Time does play a role in these situations. The results of the measures taken by Greece, the results in the situation in Bosnia and neighbouring regions do have an affect on people's thinking," Mr. Nimetz said. Mr. Nimetz was hand-picked by President Bill Clinton last year to assist in efforts by the United Nations to resolve the dispute between the two neighbouring Balkan states. Greece accuses the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia of harbouring territorial claims against its northern Greek province of Macedonia and imposed trade sanctions against the neighbouring state in February in a bid to pressure it to change its name, flag and constitution. Mr. Nimetz said he would meet with President Gligorov in Skopje today to sound out his "up to date views" on the issue but noted he had no "specific proposal" to convey. Earlier, the US envoy had talks with main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert. Mr. Nimetz said he had told Mr. Evert of the US interest in finding a solution to the FYROM issue, adding that the aim of his visit to Athens and Skopje was to be briefed personally in view of the new round of talks to begin under UN international mediator Cyrus Vance. Mr. Nimetz said that the US did not view the FYROM issue as a bilateral problem between Skopje and Athens but an issue concerning the situation in the region and US interests. He stressed that a solution must be found and relations between Greece and FYROM restored. Mr. Evert stressed that Greece should assume the role of "referee" in the Balkans. "We must stop being footballers and start being referees," he said. Mr. Nimetz will stop over in Athens on his return to the United States this weekend. European Parliament gets tough on Turkey, says customs union talks should stop ------------------------------------------------------------ Strasbourg, 16/12/1994 (ANA-P. Stangos): The European Parliament yesterday said negotiations between Turkey and the European Union on the customs union should stop and the Association Council scheduled for December 19 be postponed. In a resolution on Turkey, passed with an overwhelming majority, the assembly decided to continue a "freeze" on the Joint EU-Turkey Parliamentary Committee's work until Ankara "complies." The resolution was jointly tabled and voted on by all European Parliament political groups and made a general criticism of the Turkish government's policies in light of the sentencing of eight Kurdish deputies to jail terms of up to 15 years. The common denominator in addresses by Eurodeputies was that the conviction of the eight deputies was the last straw and a strong message had to be sent now. The sole discordant voice came from the Berlusconi "Forza Europa" group which tabled an amendment, which was resoundingly rejected, calling for the continuation of negotiations for customs union between the EU and Turkey "since (Turkey's) isolation would only result in democratic development being obstructed in this country." Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek insisted on the policy applied by the German EU Presidency and the European Commission that discontinuing customs union negotiations would worsen relations between Europe and Turkey, while customs union would provide Europe with greater opportunities to influence Ankara. "Talking about a customs union is more likely to increase our chances of exerting influence (on Turkey) than rejecting the thing out of hand," he said. The European Parliament's resolution "condemns the fact that the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of the victims of this political trial was due to their views", "denounces the trial in its entirety" and the banning of the eight deputies' DEP party. "These actions constitute a continuous violation of principles of representative democracy and freedom of expression in this country and of individual rights," it said. The European Parliament consequently called for the verdict to be quashed, the deputies released and rehabilitated and the revocation of the ban on their party. The resolution anticipates sanctions such as "a continuation of a freeze on the Joint EU-Turkey Parliamentary Committee's work until this country takes the European Parliament's claims into consideration." It also calls for an application to the Council "on an immediate end to negotiations concerning the creation of customs union between Turkey and the EU" and consequently "a postponement of the Council meeting set for December 19" and notes that customs union between the EU and Turkey must "pass through" the European Parliament. "The Council of Europe must call on Turkey to embark on a dialogue to find a democratic solution to the legal expectations of its 15 million citizens of Kurdish origin, contributing in this way to the elimination of a cause of tension and war threatening peace and stability both in countries in the region and in Europe," it said. The European Parliament also called on the governments of EU member-states to stop deportations of Kurdish political refugees. Venizelos --------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): The EU-Turkey Association Council will convene but will not deal with the issue of the customs union, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday. Greece maintained its veto of the EU-Turkish customs union at the recent EU summit in Essen, insisting that the EU set a date for a start to negotiations for Cyprus' accession. Mr. Venizelos denied that the US had protested the Greek veto. "The issue was simply raised during a meeting between the Greek Ambassador in Washington Lucas Tsilas and a State Department official responsible for Greek-US relations," Mr. Venizelos said. "Americans, like most EU countries, believe that the strengthening of ties between Turkey and the EU and the West in general, reduces the possibility of (Islamic) fundamentalism developing in Turkey," Mr. Venizelos added. "Greece's positions are known and clear," the spokesman said, "and everyone knows under what conditions they may change." Meanwhile, Foreign Under-Secretary for European Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis told Parliament yesterday that Greece maintained its veto of the customs union mainly on the grounds of lack of progress in the Cyprus problem and Turkey's failure to improve its poor human rights record. "Our goal is (to have) a Europe which will also respect and serve our national interests," he said. US senator meets Papoulias: US should maintain efforts to solve Balkans problems --------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): Visiting US Senator Paul Sarbanes told reporters here yesterday that the United States should keep up efforts to help solve problems in the Balkans and the wider region. Mr. Sarbanes, a Democratic Party senator of Greek origin, was speaking after a meeting with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias on bilateral issues. Mr. Papoulias said Mr. Sarbanes "now has a good taste of Greece's national issues and the government's positions." Mr. Sarbanes arrived in Athens yesterday from Cyprus where he held talks with President Glafcos Clerides on the Cyprus problem and Cyprus' bid for accession to the European Union. He told reporters here that his meetings with the political leadership in Athens and Nicosia were held in view of the new term of the American Congress, commencing January 4. "The United States," Mr. Sarbanes said, "has a special interest in the Balkans and the wider region and should keep up efforts to solve pending problems." Mr. Sarbanes was also received by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou last night. Evert briefs German, French diplomats on talks with Milosevic ------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert yesterday briefed the German ambassador and French charge d'affaires in Athens on recent talks he had in Belgrade with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Mr. Evert said that his aim was to convey Mr. Milosevic's positions on the Bosnian crisis to the diplomatic representatives of the current and next holders of the rotating EU presidency, "in view of the fact that the possibilities for a peaceful solution are now apparent." The ND leader, who met Tuesday with Croatia's ambassador in Athens, underlined that "the level of differences between the warring sides has dropped considerably," adding that the Serbs were ready to accept the percentage of territory being offered to them as well as a loose confederation. "What remains open as an issue," Mr. Evert said, "is the qualitative distribution of territory." Varvitsiotis says Greek promise of troop support for UN Bosnia withdrawal 'inconsistent' --------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday told main opposition New Democracy party Vice-President Ioannis Varvitsiotis that the Greek government was willing to send troops to Bosnia in the unlikely event of a withdrawal of UN peacekeepers. The two men were meeting at Mr. Varvitsiotis' request. Mr. Varvitsiotis said the government's position was inconsistent with the criticism levelled by the PASOK party against the then-New Democracy government's decision to dispatch a frigate during the Gulf War. He said he had reminded the foreign minister that when he was defence minister himself, an agreement had been reached with NATO that no Balkan country would send troops to Bosnia. This had not been observed by the PASOK government, which had countenanced the participation of Turkish peacekeepers. New Democracy, said the ND Vice-President, has not formed an opinion on the dispatch of Greek troops and will examine the issue if and when it arises. Mr. Papoulias is meeting Coalition of the Left and Progress leader Nikos Constantopoulos today, in view of the latter's forthcoming visit to Skopje. Parliament approves EU entry of Sweden, Austria, Finland -------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): The Greek parliament yesterday approved the enlargement of the European Union next year when Sweden, Austria and Finland join the group. The Parliament gave Greece's approval for the three nations to become EU members by voice vote. Foreign Under-Secretary for European Affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis told Parliament that, during the Greek EU Presidency in the first half of 1994 the government had worked hard to prepare the way for the enlargement, saying Greece would benefit from these "fresh contributors" to the Community budget, and subsequent increase in the volume of trade with the new member-states. He said the government favoured an "enlarged democratic and operational Union" open to Cyprus and Malta as well as to the countries of central and eastern Europe. He rejected, however, the idea of a multi-speed Europe. The Under-Secretary said a committee of experts has been established at the Foreign Ministry with the purpose of preparing Greece's positions in view of the 1996 intergovernmental conference to review the Maastricht treaty. The committee will submit its report for discussion before the competent parliamentary committee by the end of the year. Austria, Sweden and Finland will raise the number of EU member-states to 15 when they enter on January 1, following their positive replies to national referendums earlier this year. Norway was also expected to join the bloc but Norwegians returned a negative response in a recent referendum. Commission, Gov't take a crash course in improving Greek telecoms ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): A crash programme for the development of telecommunications is due to be completed by the end of the year, Transport and Communications Under-Secretary Dimitris Alabanos told a telecommunications conference yesterday. He said the pilot programme was "one of a kind" and being executed by the Greek government in collaboration with the European Commission. The crash programme is based on a study by Coopers and Lybrand on the condition of Greece's telecommunications. The study concluded that the low quality of the network, the Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation's (OTE) low output and a long waiting list for telephone lines were the main problems in Greek telecommunications. The one-day conference was attended by European Union representatives, Greek shipowners, the OTE management and others. OTE board of directors president Stergios Bambanassis told the conference that the new programme created "a new age in telecommunications" and aimed at improving the quality and popularity of telecommunications services and stimulating the modernisation and restructuring of the entire telecommunications sector. He said the project, which was budgeted at 80 billion drachmas, would result in immediate benefits for 1.1 million OTE clients, while 139 contracts had been signed with suppliers and companies that have undertaken the various aspects of the programme and a total of 720 kilometres of fibre optics had been installed. The network for Attica, which Mr. Bambanassis described as "the most advanced European digital network", provided 200,000 digital links and 700,000 phone lines, while the error factor was below 0.02 per cent (two in 10,000 cells). The result, he added, was a decline in breakdowns in the old-technology telecom centres. Mr. Bambanassis also said the creation of pilot programmes for the upgrading and expansion of the urban networks had reduced breakdowns by 70 per cent for the 80,000 clients covered by that project. In addition, the high-quality "telecommunications haven" digital centre installed on the island of Rhodes, budgeted at 20 billion drachmas, provided 70,000 digital telephone lines and extensive infrastructure for the communication of data as well as advanced services for the tourism industry. Mr. Bambanassis said pilot projects were also being developed in Larissa and Thessaloniki. The Thessaloniki centre, he added, was due for completion by the end of 1995. The OTE president noted that telecommunications rates would need to be re-assessed so that OTE's revenues would cover its expenses as well as the new investments the organisation needed. He said no decision for an increase in rates had been taken to date, but was provided for in the new law governing OTE. Mr. Bambanassis further announced that a call for tenders would be issued soon for the procurement of 1.15 million digital lines. He estimated that 1.3 million out of Greece's approximately five million telephone lines were of the new digital technology. Parliamentary c'tee approves GATT agreement ------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): A select parliamentary committee yesterday voted in principle in favour of the GATT agreement. All opposition members voted against. National Economy Under-Secretary Yiannis Anthopoulos called on all parties to endorse the treaty, stressing that Greece had to choose between a free market with all the problems and difficulties it entailed, or face isolation. The agreement had to be approved because it was a one-way track. Mr. Anthopoulos noted shipping did not come under the new provisions, adding those talks would continue for another two years. It was agreed that, after Christmas, the Federation of Greek Manufacturers (SEB), the Panhellenic Confederation of Greek Co-operatives (PASEGES), the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), the Chamber of Shipping and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Greece would be asked to state their views. PASOK ruling party rapporteur Dinos Vrettos said that although the GATT agreement caused problems for the textile industry and agriculture, it offered prospects for exports to less developed countries. New Democracy rapporteur Christos Koskinas said he was in favour of the institution, but charged the government had failed to take advantage of the opportunities which it offered. Political Spring's Andreas Lentakis said his party would not ratify the treaty, complaining the procedure followed for debating it was precipitate. KKE delegate Orestis Kolozof reiterated GATT's provisions were harmful to the textile industry and agriculture. Papantoniou: 1994 turning point for Greek economy ------------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said yesterday 1994 was a landmark year for the Greek economy although it was ill-omened at first. In an address at the Hilton Hotel on "Greece's position in the world economic system", Mr. Papantoniou outlined economic indicators, adding that the course set for the economy in 1994 would be continued in 1995. Mr. Papantoniou predicted that inflation would decrease to seven per cent at the end of next year and interest rates would drop accordingly. He said the public sector deficit would be limited to 10.7 per cent of GDP from 12.5 per cent this year, while GDP was expected to increase between 1.5-2 per cent. "Development rates of four to five per cent, low inflation, a decrease in unemployment, a strengthening of the social state's structures and an improvement in living standards is a feasible vision for Greece in the year 2000," he said. Shipping exchange down 8.8 per cent this year --------------------------------------------- Athens, 16/12/1994 (ANA): Inflows of shipping exchange to Greece between January and August this year totalled 1192.7 million dollars, compared with 1307.3 million dollars in the same period of 1993, marking a drop of 8.8 per cent. In August this year, inflows of shipping exchange amounted to 166 million dollars, compared with 177.1 million dollars in the same month of 1993, marking a drop of 6.3 per cent. Farm ministers wrap up meeting in Brussels ------------------------------------------ Brussels, 16/12/1994 (ANA-P.Pantelis): The European Union Farm Ministers Council adopted yesterday a series of measures for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which are of special interest to Greek farmers. Greek Agriculture Minister Giorgos Moraitis said the measures included a number of Greek proposals in the following domains: Firstly, concerning the new system of green parities coming into effect on February 1, 1995, abolishing one of the EU's most costly policies, switch-over, the Council adopted a Greek proposal to maintain the activation of monetary adjustment at the level of 2 units, instead of the 4.5 proposed by the Commission. This in effect means that the rates of green parity adjustment will take place in parallel with changes in foreign exchange parities, with no resulting loss of income to farmers due to monetary causes, and no losses to the national budget. Secondly, regarding the application of the GATT accord in the agricultural sector, the arrangements adopted include the use of a single import price for wheat and rice, according to variety or quality category, securing Community preference for high quality produce, and the maintenance of the traditional method of allocation of import licences for meat products and livestock, favouring Greek small and medium size enterprises. Thirdly, Greek proposals concerning the application of a convenient and effective system for the determination of fresh farm produce import prices were accepted in their totality, thus securing Community preference for Greek produce facing intense competition from third countries. Fourth, imports of goats-meat and lamb will not be increased in periods 'sensitive' for Greek production, with further protection offered through higher import quotas for frozen meat during these periods. Fifth, it was decided to extend and facilitate the utilisation of areas under the farm rest system for environmental purposes. There will also be a review of this system in arable land, with a view to exempting plots of up to 12.5 acres in plains, and up to 25 acres in mountainous and 'problem' regions.