From: "Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa" Subject: A.N.A. Bulletin 24/1/95 Athens News Agency Bulletin --------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottaba, Kavadas E-Mail Address: grnews@globalx.net) * Germany recognises linking of Turkish customs union with date for Cyprus entry talks, French to stick to agreed formula * Athens condemns Netanya bomb attack but urges efforts for peace to continue * Evert meets with Chinese ambassador * Mitsotakis set to meet Milosevic, Kohl on Thursday * Venizelos confers with European socialists on common stance at inter- governmental conference * Greek EU c'tee says equality among members a priority for discussion at intergovernmental conference * Papandreou: better days ahead for Greek workers * Industrial production up, but Greece still trails Europe * Parliament ratifies GATT agreement * Special Court adjourns hearing Mitsotakis phone-tapping case * Papadopoulos adamant: no tax on bond interest * No return of real estate tax * Employer, labour groups say bonds should be taxed * Tsouras, Katsifaras attend EU transport meeting * Greece's population declining and ageing, conference told Germany recognises linking of Turkish customs union with date for Cyprus entry talks, French to stick to agreed formula ----------------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 24/01/1995 (ANA - G. Daratos): German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said yesterday that he accepted the linking of the Turkish customs union with the European Union with setting a date for the start of entry talks for Cyprus' accession to the bloc, the first time that Germany has made such a statement. Greece vetoed a customs union agreement between the European Union and Turkey that would have opened the EU market to Turkish goods at a EU-Turkey Association Council meeting in December, despite intensive efforts by the then-German EU presidency to keep the two issues separate. Greece said the customs union could not go ahead without a simultaneous commitment by the bloc to set a date for talks for Cyprus' entry to the EU. Mr. Kinkel's comments came at a luncheon here for the bloc's 15 foreign ministers. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppi, speaking on behalf of the French EU presidency, said he would continue to move within the framework agreed on January 12 with Greek former Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis and Cyprus Foreign Minister Alecos Michaelides on the setting of a specific date for a start to negotiations with the parallel signing by the 15 member-states of Turkey's customs union with the EU. Cyprus' entry talks will take place in the first EU presidency following the intergovernmental conference in 1996. Mr. Juppi said that the question of the customs union was ripe for discussion and signing at the foreign ministers' meeting on March 6 and 7, despite continuing questions over the human rights situation in Turkey. Greece's representative at the meeting, Alternate Foreign Minister George Mangakis, expressed the government's satisfaction at Mr. Juppi's continuing efforts in the agreed direction, but said the preconditions, terms and the date for a start to negotiations for the accession of Cyprus and Malta to the EU should be fully clarified before Greece agreed to sign Turkey's customs union with the EU. Athens condemns Netanya bomb attack but urges efforts for peace to continue ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Greece yesterday strongly condemned the suicide bomb attack in central Israel which left 19 dead and 62 wounded, but urged a continuation of the Middle-East peace process. "The Greek government condemns in the strongest manner the criminal act in Netanya. It expresses its deep sympathy and condolences to the Israeli government and the families of the victims," a Foreign Ministry statement said. "Greece wishes and hopes that this act will not suspend the course towards peace and the finding of a just, comprehensive and viable solution to the Middle East problem which all the interested parties seek," the statement said. Evert meets with Chinese ambassador ----------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Main opposition New Democracy party leader Miltiades Evert met yesterday with China's ambassador to Athens Wu Jiagan, party sources said. They said the two officials discussed bilateral issues of mutual interest. Mitsotakis set to meet Milosevic, Kohl on Thursday -------------------------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Former New Democracy prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis will leave for a one-day visit to Belgrade and Bonn on Thursday. Mr. Mitsotakis will meet with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in Belgrade and then fly on to Bonn to meet with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on the same day. He will return to Athens on Friday. Venizelos confers with European socialists on common stance at inter- governmental conference ----------------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 24/01/1995 (ANA - P. Pantelis / M. Savva): Press and Media Minister Evangelos Venizelos attended a European Parliament Socialist Group meeting with representatives of member-state socialist parties, focusing on shaping a framework which socialists will support at the 1996 intergovernmental conference. Speaking to Greek journalists in Brussels, Mr. Venizelos said the Socialist Group's aim continued to be insistence on social cohesion, which constituted the basis of socialist ideology and dealt with monetarist theory. In addition, European citizenship, a state of justice, political freedoms and domestic and justice issues constituted socialist targets, he added. Replying to a questioner, Mr. Venizelos said the government's representative at the intergovernmental conference would be appointed by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias in co-operation with Alternate Foreign Minister George Mangakis. Greek EU c'tee says equality among members a priority for discussion at intergovernmental conference ----------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): The Greek European Union Committee (El.E.E) yesterday made public a proclamation relating to the aims of the 1996 intergovernmental conference. The four-page document was based on a draft elaborated by Professors J. Anastassopoulos and C. Stephanou and outlines the concepts of the intergovernmental conference. According to El.E.E, the conference should ensure that expansion eastwards should not have an adverse impact on the process of European unification. The keynote should be building a federal union based on an integrated institutional action plan, equality among member-states including solidarity, while rejecting options that might lead to multi-tier implementation or big-country directorates. The aim should be absorption of European Communities and the West European Union by the European Union, transfer of legislative competencies of the Council of Ministers to a Parliament of Nations, while upgrading the European Parliament to make it an equal partner in the legislative process. Other aims include transfer of the international representation of the European Union from the presidency of the Council of Ministers to the European Commission, introducing machinery for establishing a fiscal balance between rich and poor countries, an d contribution of military forces by member-countries for achieving the aims of the Union. Papandreou: better days ahead for Greek workers ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou yesterday forecast better days for Greece's working class and pledged to assist workers through the present "difficult and transitional period". "The working class is living through difficult days. The government is closely observing the inequalities that are developing in the working class and is trying to intervene to assist them," Mr. Papandreou said. Unemployment was an international phenomenon due to new technologies and the internationalisation of markets but one that could be fixed, he said. "We will give the working class as much as possible. (But) the solution is in the battle for development. It is a difficult transitional period but we hope to improve the standards of tomorrow," he said, noting that austerity also reigned in the rest of Europe. The premier was speaking at the opening of the newly-renovated building which will house the offices of the General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE). GSEE President Christos Protopappas called for the continuation of tax reforms, a more just distribution of national income, the modernisation of public administration and meritocracy and transparency in all public sectors. The ceremony was also attended by Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis, Labour Minister Ioannis Skoularikis, president of the Federation of Greek Industries Jason Stratos and many other ministers, parliamentarians and unionists. Industrial production up, but Greece still trails Europe ------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 24/01/1995 (ANA - F. Stangos): Industrial production in Greece increased 1.6 per cent in 1994 but was still trailing the European Union average of 5.2 per cent. According to the EU Eurostat statistical bulletin, Greek industry is showing signs of recovery after a bad year for all of Europe in 1993 (-3.2 per cent). Greek industrial production dropped 3 per cent in 1993. This yield places Greece 14th in the industrial production sector in the 15-nation EU, just ahead of Portugal which registered a slight 0.3 per cent increase. Ireland had top position in industrial production in 1994 with an increase of 11.2 per cent followed by Denmark with 10.8 per cent, Luxembourg 7.5 per cent, Spain 7 per cent, and Italy 6.1 per cent. Parliament ratifies GATT agreement ---------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Parliament ratified late last night the GATT agreement with deputies saying it was an agreement of great importance and would bring about considerable changes in international trade in the years to come. National Economy Under-Secretary Yiannis Anthopoulos told Parliament of the opportunities provided for the Greek export industry to improve its position and create new opportunities in international markets. Main opposition New Democracy party speaker Christos Koskinas said ND favoured the institution of multi-partite negotiations as part of the GATT agreement but refused to vote in favour of the PASOK government's ineffectiveness and incompetence which it displayed during negotiations. Representatives of the Political Spring party and the Communist Party of Greece said the agreement was harmful and would primarily lead to the shrinking of Greek agriculture and the textiles industry. They said the final settlement was even worse than the settlement foreseen by the draft agreement. Special Court adjourns hearing Mitsotakis phone-tapping case ------------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): A Parliament-appointed Special Court yesterday adjourned hearing telephone-tapping charges against former New Democracy prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis. The special tribunal, comprising 13 Supreme Court judges suspended the hearing a half-hour after it convened, following last week's Parliament ruling to discontinue criminal proceedings against Mr. Mitsotakis. Proceedings against Mr. Mitsotakis and two former conservative ministers on the AGET-Heracles scandal will also be dropped. Supreme Court President Vassilis Kokkinos, presiding over the special tribunal, read out the Parliamentary ruling of January 18 suspending the legal proceedings against Mr. Mitsotakis which the 300-member House had instigated last June. The two PASOK deputies acting as prosecutors motioned for the Special Court to suspend the proceedings, which it did after brief consultations among the judges. The third prosecuting deputy, from the Communist Party of Greece, was absent. Mr. Mitsotakis was referred to a Special Court by Parliament ruling last June on charges of morally instigating a scheme to have the phones of his political opponents tapped between 1988 and 1991 while he was prime minister. Parliament also ordered Mr. Mitsotakis to stand trial before a special court on charges of receiving more than 20 million dollars in kickbacks to expedite the sale of Greece's state-owned cement company AGET-Heracles to Italy's Calcestruzzi cement producers. Papadopoulos adamant: no tax on bond interest --------------------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Finance Minister Alexandros Papadopoulos stated categorically yesterday there was no question of taxing interest gained on state bonds, putting an end to recent speculation the government would make the move. "The issue is closed," Mr. Papadopoulos said after meeting Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. Mr. Papadopoulos said he briefed Mr. Papandreou on fiscal developments, the financing programme for the first quarter of the year, adding that everything was developing very well. On the question of a possible decrease in interest rates, Mr. Papadopoulos said the government followed a rational policy and there would be no change in January. Mr. Papadopoulos said developments in all economic indicators were positive, but pointed out that the present course should not be interrupted. He said a precondition for this was political calm, referring to the government's steadfast position that early elections should not be held. No return of real estate tax ---------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Mr. Papadopoulos also said yesterday there was no question of a real estate tax being reintroduced, but added that owners' tax statements would be checked to ascertain who possessed public land. Speaking to reporters after meeting President Constantine Karamanlis, he said that those with ownership and estate differences with the state were the only ones who should fear the separate statement real estate taxpayers would have to make this year. Mr. Papadopoulos briefed President Karamanlis on present developments in the economy and the state of the budget. Leaving the Presidential Mansion, he expressed optimism over economic developments on condition there was political calm in the country. "I hope political developments will successfully help this crucial year for the economy," he said. Employer, labour groups say bonds should be taxed ------------------------------------------------ Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): The heads of the country's two main employer and labour unions yesterday said interest earned on state bonds should be taxed. They made the statements before the commencement of an inter-state conference on the European Union's FORCE programme. Federation of Greek Industries (SEB) president Jason Stratos, questioned by journalists, spoke in favour of bond taxation, stating "there must be equal taxation treatment of every investment activity". General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) president Christos Protopappas told reporters the labour unions were in favour of "taxation of all types of income". He said the unions favoured the abolition of tax exemptions which, he said, were detrimental to tax equality. Mr. Protopappas clarified, however, that he was not referring to the tax exemptions for the salaried and pensioners. Labour Under-Secretary George Adamopoulos also told reporters that "all Greeks should be taxed on the basis of their real incomes," adding that the discussion on abolition of tax exemptions should begin "from zero". The interstate conference is organised by the National Labour Institute with the support of the European Commission to mark the completion of the FORCE programme and commencement of the LEONARDO DA VINCI programme, both of which are worker training and re-orientation programmes at national and EU level. The targets of the conference are to investigate the effects of the Community programme on career orientation in Greece and to use that experience for better incorporation in the Leonardo da Vinci programme. Tsouras, Katsifaras attend EU transport meeting ----------------------------------------------- Paris, 24/01/1995 (ANA- J. Zitouniati): Transport Minister Thanassis Tsouras and Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Katsifaras yesterday took part in the informal European Transport Ministers' Council, where discussions included issues of particular interest to Greece. The Council adopted a proposal by the Greek transport minister that rail transport network planning take into account future enlargement with the countries of central and eastern Europe, in such a way as to offer functional links with road and sea transport, which are of special interest to Greece. Concerning the major issue of the development of relations between the EU and third countries in the air transport sector, in a climate of healthy competition, the Council adopted a proposal supported by France, Spain, Portugal, the Scandinavian countries, and Greece, for the establishment of a framework of rules on the Commission's recommendation. Mr. Tsouras also referred to the problems faced in air transportation by outlying Greek areas (mainly islands) in winter months, and posed the matter of the lack of a specific and co-ordinated social transport policy in the EU, with repercussions both in the competitiveness of businesses and the quality of services. Mr. Katsifaras stressed the need for the application of rules on a common shipping policy, endorsed in 1986, before new ones are adopted. Greece has 50 per cent of EU tonnage, and the Greek minister came out in favour of setting up a European Shipping Register (EUROS) which will take into account the institutional operational framework of individual member countries. Greece's population declining and ageing, conference told ------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 24/01/1995 (ANA): Greece's population looks set to decline by a million in thirty years' time, if present birth-rates continue, a New Democracy party conference on the family was told Sunday. According to data presented at the conference on 'The Family in the modern world', in Thessaloniki, Greece's birth-rate has fallen to such low levels that, if present trends continue, its population will actually decline to about 9 million by the year 2025, from 10.3 million today. President of the Large Families Association Nikos Kapsomenakis said that the average number of children per family declined from 2.33 in 1975, to 2.1 (the minimum required for population renewal) in 1982, to 1.5 in 1991, and sank to 1.38 in 1993. By comparison, Turkey's rate in 1993 was 3.7, which puts its population forecast at about 100 million. Greece was also facing a problem of an increasingly ageing population. The proportion of young people in Greece fell from 28.6 percent in 1950 to 20.3 percent in 1990, compared to 51.2 percent in Turkey. In a few years' time, one in four Greeks will be over 65, while the ratio was 1:10 twenty years ago. Such trends have had obvious repercussions in school populations, with low levels dictating closures. Vice president of the Greek branch of the European Union of Journalists Nasia Michalopoulou said one in four inhabitants in the 15 European Union member states will be over 60 by the year 2010, at present rates. In Greece, the incidence of single-parent families remained at very low levels compared to other EU countries, despite more than doubling from 1.2 percent in 1960 to 2.6 in 1992. Denmark tops the list of single-parent families with 46 percent in 1990, followed by France with 33.2 percent, and Britain with 30.8 percent.