Subject: ATHENS NEWS AGENCY BULLETIN, March 4, 1995 Topic: ana ============================================== (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottawa, Canada E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) CONTENTS ======== [1] Greece lifts veto on EU-Turkey customs union national interests safe, Venizelos says [2] National, Commercial banks reduce lending interest rates [3] Christopher praises Athens restraint over Albanian arrests of ethnic Greek five [4] Rallis calls on Evert to let ND vote freely for president [5] Tsohatzopoulos heads PASOK group at Eurosocialist conference [6] Fix declared protected but partial demolition to go ahead [7] Expelled Greek reporter, interpreter arrive in Athens [8] Canadian firm leads the field in bids to buy Kassandra mine [9] Lorry strike ends [10] Foreign, economy ministries to work together on economic diplomacy =============================================================== [1] Greece lifts veto on EU-Turkey customs union national interests safe, Venizelos says ---------------------------------------------------------- Brussels, 04/03/95 (ANA - G. Daratos, F. Stangos): Greece said yesterday it had lifted its veto and agreed to sign a provisional deal agreed by senior European Union officials on a landmark customs union pact between the 15-member bloc and Turkey. "Greece is ready to accept the results of the meeting ... which safeguard Greek national interests," government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. A meeting of permanent representatives of the EU member-states (COREPER) in Brussels hammered out the deal yesterday, their third meeting in a week. The EU's French presidency has set a deadline of 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) for all member states to sign the deal. For the past month, Greece has been negotiating with the French presidency to improve four points of the customs deal which Athens considered "disadvantageous". Greece pushed for a firmer EU commitment on opening accession talks between Cyprus and the EU. According to yesterday's agreement, accession talks will start six months after the 1996 intergovernmental conference to revise the Maastricht treaty. Mr. Venizelos described the Brussels meeting as "successful" saying it produced a "clear-cut political commitment". The provisional deal changes the wording of an initial text to state that accession talks with Cyprus "will start" instead of "could start". There is also an agreement for closer political links with Cyprus in the run-up to the opening of the accession talks. The agreement was reached in a last ditch attempt by senior European Union officials to open the way for closer trade relations between the 15-member bloc and Turkey. "It is a great foreign policy success for Greece," Mr. Venizelos told reporters at an urgent news conference. He said Athens had also succeeded in bringing Cyprus participation in dialogue with the EU to the same level as that between the EU and central and eastern European states. On Greek demands for compensation for its textile industry, likely to be threatened by Turkish competition, one of the four points raised by Athens, Mr. Venizelos said the European Commission would conduct a survey to see what aid may be necessary once the customs union goes into effect. Some countries, including Greece, wanted to leave open the possibility of new sources of funds outside those already available in the EU's budget. Others, led by Germany, insisted that any money must come from existing sources. Mr. Venizelos said the Greek side blocked attempts by EU member states to "upgrade" political dialogue between the 15-member bloc and Turkey during the Brussels meeting. The proposed customs union pact will open trade in a wide range of goods and services, unblock nearly one billion European currency units of aid for the country and bring it one step closer to full membership of the EU. Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias said that the Brussels decision was "a huge success, especially for the Cyprus issue." He expressed reservations, however, as to whether it would contribute to the improvement of Greek-Turkish relations. "We'll just have to wait and see," Mr. Papoulias told the press. Greece's Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs George Alexander Mangakis later said he was satisfied with the agreement. "The decision satisfies the demands of both the Greek and Cypriot sides," Mr. Mangakis said. He said the agreement in effect recognised the Cyprus government as the "sole representative and negotiator" of the divided island in EU membership talks. Although no specific funds for Greece's textile industry were committed, Mr. Mangakis said Greece was pleased with a provision in the agreement that the issue would be examined in the coming year. The meeting gave a concrete political commitment that the Commission would submit within the year a report on the problems the Greek textile industry would face and make a statement which would take into account these problems and those faced as a whole by the EU textile sector. Mr. Mangakis said the provisional deal included recommendations that Ankara maintain good relations with its neighbouring states and improve its human rights record. The EU also considered a request by Turkey to raise the level of its political dialogue with the bloc, but this was rejected unanimously after Greece's objections, he said. Turkey is under fire from its Western allies for human rights abuses especially in its Southeast where its troops are fighting a 10-year-old war against Kurdish separatists. Mr. Mangakis praised the French presidency for its "great efforts" to resolve problems on the pact. In Nicosia, Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and the Cyprus government expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the Brussels meeting. Government spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides described the decision as "a particularly pleasant development" and expressed the government's gratitude to the Greek government's "huge efforts" towards the achievement of this agreement. The agreement comes three days before an EU-Turkey Association Council meeting where the deal will be signed. It then has to be ratified by the European Parliament. However, even if the customs union deal is agreed and signed between the EU and Turkey on Monday, it will still face strong opposition from the European Parliament which is adamant that Turkey improve its human rights record before being allowed closer ties with the 15-nation trade club. The European Parliament has the power to block such agreements. Opposition reactions In Athens, the main opposition New Democracy party and Political Spring both said they were satisfied with the setting of a date for a start to negotiations between the European Union and Cyprus but were lukewarm on other aspects of the issue. ND spokesman Vassilis Manginas said the Brussels agreement "did not allow for jubilation because it does not correspond to the government's written demands", adding the government was unable to overturn "the unfavourable results of its erroneous policies. Apart from the issue of specifying the time Cyprus' accession negotiations would start, which Mr. Manginas said had been achieved during a recent meeting between ND leader Miltiades Evert and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, ND believed that the problem posed by the textiles industry, a vital issue for the national economy, had not been tackled. On the question of Cyprus, however, Mr. Manginas said the process for EU accession could contribute to a just solution to the national issue. Political Spring leader Antonis Samaras said he was partially satisfied, particularly on Cyprus. However, he said developments on the other issues were unfavourable. Replying to a questioner, Mr. Samaras said he did not link developments in Brussels to the election of a President of the Republic. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) radically disagreed with the agreement, saying that in lifting the veto, the Greek government had abandoned declared positions on the Cyprus issue. An announcement said the problem did not lie with setting dates for a start to dialogue but with the invasion and occupation by Turkey of part of an independent and sovereign UN member-state. The KKE said the development meant the government was aligning itself with the EU which considered Cyprus a de facto divided nation. It also accused the government of keeping the people in the dark about the textiles industry which would shrink continuously due to the GATT agreement. The Coalition of the Left and Progress expressed reservations and said it believed that, with the Brussels agreement, the government had made a turn in its foreign policy. [2] National, Commercial banks reduce lending interest rates ------------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): Two major Greek banks yesterday announced reduced lending interest rates, following a trend started on Monday. The National Bank of Greece said that as of April 1 its base lending rates would decrease by 3.25 percentage points. The basic rate for fixed assets will drop from 23.25 per cent to 20 per cent and rates for working capital from 24.25 per cent to 21 per cent. At the same time, the National Bank will establish a fixed assets loan for a period of over five years with a fixed 17 per cent interest rate. The interest rate for housing loans will be reduced by 4.50 percentage points, from 24 per cent to 19.5 per cent. The set margin rates for working capital loans will be increased by one per cent as of April 1. Preferential customers of the bank will be able to benefit from low-rate loans, calculated on the basis of the interbank market rates (presently 17.75 per cent for three-month loans) plus an agreed interest rate margin. The Commercial Bank also announced its base lending rate would fall to 21 per cent, down from the present 24.5 per cent, with a margin of 2.5 percentage points according to the client, effective April 1. The interest rate for medium and long-term loans will be reduced from 22.5 per cent to 22 per cent with a margin of 2.25 percentage points and the special interest rate for new investments will be reduced from 21 per cent to a fixed five-year rate of 17 per cent. The bank said its rate for consumer loans would be reduced from 26 per cent to 25 per cent and that rates for housing loans would go down to 19 per cent from the current 21 per cent. The Commercial Bank is also to introduce a new lending instrument with a rate based on the derivatives treasury bills market or the interbank market, with a margin of one percentage point for preferential customers. The new instrument -- of three-, six- and 12-month duration -- will be for amounts of over 300 million drachmas. The Commercial Bank reduced its interest rate on its credit card from 33 per cent to 31 per cent on Wednesday. The reduction in rates from both banks came after Alpha Credit announced an average 2.5 per cent reduction, a move National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said Tuesday was "positive" and worthy of following. [3] Christopher praises Athens restraint over Albanian arrests of ethnic Greek five ------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): US Secretary of State Warren Christopher has said that Greece's restraint during the crisis in relations with Albania last year over the arrest of five members of the ethnic Greek minority had helped in securing their release. Mr. Christopher's comments were made in a letter to Greek Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, published in the Athens daily Kathimerini yesterday. Praising Athens for its restraint in avoiding further aggravating the tension with Tirana, Mr. Christopher said the subsequent release of the five ethnic Greeks "creates the opportunity for Greece and Albania to restore normal relations, which have been disrupted". "The restraint displayed by your government during this period helped create an atmosphere that allowed the Albanian judicial system to release the four..." "It is important that advantage should be taken of this opportunity," Mr. Christopher said. Athens had asked Albania to release the five ethnic Greeks arrested in April last year after a gunman killed two Albanian soldiers in a conscript camp near the border. Their arrest and their conviction in August rekindled a simmering feud between Athens and Tirana over the ethnic Greek minority in southern Albania, estimated by Athens at 400,000, with Greece vetoing a 35 million Ecu (42 million dollars) loan to Albania, which was lifted in November as a "goodwill gesture". Albanian President Sali Berisha released one of the five on Christmas Eve and the remaining four, on appeal to Albania's Supreme Court, had their sentences suspended. Mr. Christopher said stability in the southern Balkans was a high priority for the US and said he believed that Greece and Albania shared this goal. "You have expressed interest in confronting certain key issues concerning the two countries: the delineation of the borders, the invitation to Albania to take part in (upcoming Greek military) exercises in the framework of (Nato's) Partnership for Peace and improvement in direct military co-operation, as well as the settlement of the status of illegal Albanian workers in Greece and the encouragement of Greek trade and investments in Albania," he said in the letter. Mr. Christopher called on the Athens government to "advance these thoughts", saying that the US "attributes high priority to stability in the southern Balkans". Mr. Papoulias is set to visit Tirana in mid-March. [4] Rallis calls on Evert to let ND vote freely for president ------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): Former prime minister and New Democracy leader George Rallis yesterday urged ND's leader Miltiades Evert not to enforce party discipline in parliament's third and final ballot for the election of a new president of the republic next week. Speaking to MEGA television, Mr. Rallis said an increased majority for the certain winner, Kostis Stephanopoulos, would enhance his stature, both domestically and internationally. A majority of 180 votes is required in the third round for Mr. Stephanopoulos to be elected president, otherwise a general election has to be held. Mr. Stephanopoulos has secured the 181 votes of the ruling PASOK and Political Spring parties combined in the first two rounds. Meanwhile, in apparent reference to Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras' call on the government Thursday to stick to its conditions on a provisional plan allowing for closer trade relations between the European Union and Turkey, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday that the government did not "feel itself to be a hostage" to Mr. Samaras, and "has never linked foreign policy issues to domestic political developments". He said he believed that Mr. Stephanopoulos would muster the support of other forces in the third and final ballot, beyond those which have already done so. He did not elaborate. Referring to a statement by PASOK deputy for the Evros district -- which borders Turkey -- Christos Kipouros, apparently tying his following party line on the third ballot to the government's stand on the issue of Turkey's customs union with the EU, Mr. Venizelos spoke of a misinterpretation of Mr. Kipouros' statement, and let it be implied that he was aware of his intentions. [5] Tsohatzopoulos heads PASOK group at Eurosocialist conference ---------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Central Committee Secretary-General of the ruling Panhellenic Socialist Movement, will arrive in Spain tomorrow at the head of a party delegation to attend the Second European Socialist Party Conference. The conference, in Barcelona, will run March 6 through 8 and will focus on Europe and the Mediterranean (democracy, economy, development and co-operation), the 1996 intergovernmental conference and European prospects for environmental protection. [6] Fix declared protected but partial demolition to go ahead ------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): The Central Council of Modern Monuments yesterday declared the old Fix beer factory on Syngrou avenue a protected building. The decision comes after architects opposed a plan by Town Planning Minister Costas Laliotis to sell the building to the Attiko Metro company, which planned to demolish part of the building to facilitate work on the underground railway system. The decision, however, does not affect plans to demolish a section of the building to make way for the Athens Metro, which will be restored by the Culture Ministry. [7] Expelled Greek reporter, interpreter arrive in Athens --------------------------------------------------------- Istanbul, 04/03/95 (ANA/Reuters): A Greek reporter and interpreter detained by Turkish security forces on a raid on Kurdish organisations in Southeast Turkey earlier in the week yesterday arrived in Athens, after their expulsion by Turkish authorities. Turkish police put Ioannis Kokkinidis, of the Adesmeftos Typos newspaper, and his interpreter Mihalis Yirmi on a scheduled Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Athens earlier yesterday, an embassy spokesman was quoted by Reuters as saying. The pair were flown to Istanbul from the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir on Thursday and held overnight but the embassy had not been allowed to speak to them, he said. Mr. Kokkinidis and Mr. Yirmi were among 16 people detained on Monday in a police raid on the offices of a human rights group in Diyarbakir, the biggest city in the mainly Kurdish region which is the stage for a decade-long separatist insurgency. [8] Canadian firm leads the field in bids to buy Kassandra mine --------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): he Canadian firm TVX Gold Inc. has been provisionally declared the top bidder in international tendering for the sale of the Kassandra mine in Olympiada, Halkidiki. Alternate Industry Minister Christos Rokofyllos announced that the decision paved the way for the largest foreign investment in Greece over the last few decades, with significant benefits for both the local and national economy. Under the terms of the initial agreement, TVX has offered 11 billion drachmas for the purchase of the Kassandra mine and committed itself to investing an additional 204 million drachmas for realisation of the gold mine investment and guaranteeing 550 jobs. [9] Lorry strike ends --------------------- Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): Transport lorry owners yesterday agreed to end a strike which threatened to seriously disrupt the supply of basic goods and fuel across the country. The strike was called off after the owners met with Finance Minister Alexandros Papadopoulos. The drivers had claimed that new 'objective taxation criteria' or tax thresholds, discriminated against them and were pressing for taxation on the basis of tonnage. Their strike caused serious disruption to fuel supplies in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. The lorry owners agreed to keep books for the purpose of income taxation and value added tax returns, being exempted for undocumented expenses of no more than 550,000 drachmas per annum. International transportation truck owners will also receive exemptions on 5 per cent of their expenses. [10] Foreign, economy ministries to work together on economic diplomacy ------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 04/03/95 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias yesterday said the Foreign Ministry had established a new service aimed at developing economic diplomacy, which will have continuous contact and co-operation with the National Economy Ministry. Mr. Papoulias made the announcement after a meeting between the foreign and national economy ministries, the Commercial Bank and Greek businessmen. He said the meeting signalled the beginning of efforts by the Foreign Ministry to expand its missions and activities and the promotion and service of the general and specific economic interests of the country. Mr. Papoulias stressed the importance of Greece's geographical position, underlining that it could play the role of a European centre for the surrounding regions.