The committees to be set up by the foreign ministries of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to prepare reports on the development of bilateral commercial relations will begin their sessions "as soon as possible", Foreign Ministry spokesman Costas Bikas said yesterday.
According to the recently-signed interim accord for the normalization of relations between Athens and Skopje, the findings of the foreign ministry committees must be ready within 30 days.
Mr. Bikas said that preparations were already underway at the foreign ministry for the formation of the Greek committee.
In the first phase, the committees will meet to determine the time schedule and venue for their contacts.
Mr. Bikas was unable to say whether the meetings would be held alternatively in each country or on neutral ground.
Liaison offices would also be set up in the two countries at the earliest, Mr. Bikas said, in accordance with the agreement.
The Greek office will be headed by a diplomat whose rank will depend on the scope of his duties "at least in this interim period".
Replying to questions, Mr. Bikas said that no fixed duration for negotiations on the name issue had been agreed, either officially or unofficially, adding, however, that the government would enter negotiations with the aim of resolving the matter as so on as possible.
He said that Greece would participate in the negotiations on the name issue "with its known positions" and that it was unknown whether a mediator would attend the talks. Mr. Bikas clarified however that the negotiations would be held under UN auspices.
In New York, an ANA dispatch reported the UN Security Council had welcomed the interim accord.
"The Security Council welcomes the signing of the interim accord between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and looks forward to the establishment of a new relationship between the parties based on international law and peaceful, friendly relations. The Council believes the accord will promote the strengthening of stability in the region.
"The Security Council commends both parties, the Secretary-General's special representative Cyrus Vance, and the United State envoy Matthew Nimetz, for their efforts in bringing about this important achievement. The Council encourages them to continue t heir efforts to resolve the remaining differences between the parties and urges the parties to implement fully the interim agreement, pursuant to Security Council resolutions," a statement from the president of the Security Council, permanent Italian representative Francesco Paolo Fulci, said.
Continuing his strong opposition to the signing of the interim accord between Greece and Skopje, main opposition New Democracy honorary president and former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis urged the government to submit the accord for ratification by Parliament.
"It is unacceptable for Greece to be bound to a decisive agreement only through the signature of (Foreign Minister Karolos) Papoulias," Mr. Mitsotakis said.
ND Vice-President Ioannis Varvitsiotis also criticized the government for signing the interim accord saying that "it constitutes a historic defeat" and that (FYROM President Kiro) Gligorov "has no reason (any more) to enter negotiations over the name."
Mr. Varvitsiotis added that the latest developments in the issue essentially paved the way for Skopje's accession to international bodies, gave it access to EU funding and initiated diplomatic relations with the United States.
"If the government has any sensitivities at all it will bring the accord to Parliament for ratification," he added.
ND spokesman Vassilis Manginas also criticized the government, saying that "the agreement which Mr. Papoulias has signed does not safeguard our national interests."
Mr. Manginas said the agreement was insulting for Greece, since it expressed articles which "insult our national dignity."
He reiterated ND's position for an agreement based on the "large package" and the decision of the Political Leaders' Council, chaired by former president Constantine Karamanlis.
Political Spring party leader Antonis Samaras said Greece "gave everything to Skopje, and (therefore Skopje) will have no reason to concede on the name issue."
Political Spring spokesman Notis Martakis criticized the government yesterday for being "provocatively silent" in an effort "to divert public opinion," adding that seven years after the interim accord, Skopje President Kiro Gligorov would have achieved the state's diplomatic recognition under the name 'Macedonia' with Greece's consent.
Seven years after the signing of the accord, both parties have the right to protest the agreement in a written statement.
Coalition of the Left and Progress president Nikos Constantopoulos said the New York accord was in danger of perpetuating the term 'Macedonia', as FYROM's official and only name.
He said the government should take the initiative to conduct direct talks with Skopje to chart bilateral political and economic cooperation and, at the same time, pursue a composite name for the neighboring republic.
A Reuters dispatch from Thessaloniki said that Greek exporters were "crossing their fingers" that the accord will signal a return to lost markets.
"Northern Greek exporters, who account for 90 per cent of firms in the sector and 53 per cent of current export revenue, lost a key market when Athens slapped the embargo on the former Yugoslav republic last year," the dispatch said.
Exports to FYROM were rising and worth 127 million ECU before sanctions in February 1994.
"We'll see what happens in 30 days. If the embargo goes, then we may be able to get back most of our business in three to six months," Reuters quoted director Iordanis Adamidis of the Northern Greek Exporters Association as saying.
Panhellenic Exporters Association President Christina Sakellaridis said "return to normal conditions with FYROM might create broader prospects which both FYROM and Greece may exploit."
Describing the accord as "positive," she said that in the next two to three years trade transactions between the two states could reach the amount of 250 million dollars, "something, which will facilitate the development of economic relations".
In Rome, Italy welcomed the accord, saying the two neighbors had taken a "decisive step towards resolving their differences."
In Sofia, Bulgarian government spokesman Nikola Baltov told national radio his country saw the agreement "as a major step towards normalization of relations between the two countries and towards regional stabilization."
In Brussels, European Commissioner for external relations Hans van den Broek congratulated yesterday the governments of Athens and Skopje, as well as the UN mediator Cyrus Vance, on the signing of the interim agreement.
"(The accord) constitutes an important element for the improvement of relations between the two countries and the safeguarding of stability in the broader region," Mr. van den Broek's spokesman said.
In another development yesterday, an ANA dispatch from Skopje quoted the daily "Nova Makedonia" as saying that "there will be no negotiation over the name issue."
According to the newspaper, the Greek delegation failed in its persistent efforts to include the following three points in the agreement: that Skopje abandon claims on estates and properties of those who fled Greece after the Second World War; that a written statement be included saying that "the Vergina star is a Greek symbol"; and that the nameplate identifying the Skopje liaison office in Athens read "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," rather than "Republic of Macedonia."
The newspaper said the Greek delegation's efforts to include the above points in the accord stumbled on the Skopje delegation's firm position that these be omitted.
In Washington, the Washington Times said the interim accord was due to Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's "successful negotiation."
According to the paper, Mr. Papandreou intervened against efforts by Greek nationalists to sabotage the agreement.
President Kostis Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou had 15 minutes of talks yesterday on current developments, particularly the Greek-FYROM interim agreement signed in New York on Monday.
The meeting took place shortly after the swearing-in of the new government following Thursday's reshuffle.
Asked whether he was pleased with the composition of the new government, Mr. Papandreou replied "yes, everything will go well".
Speaking at the ceremony to hand over the press ministry, newly-appointed Press and Media Minister Telemahos Hytiris said he would do his best to inform the public.
Outgoing press minister Evangelos Venizelos, who has been appointed transport minister, expressed certainty that the new leadership of the press ministry would be successful in meeting its mission.
He also expressed certainty that the additional budget to the ministry would be handled in the most effective way and with full transparency.
New Industry Minister Anastasios Peponis said he was assuming the post in full knowledge "of the great hardships in the industry sector."
Outgoing minister Costas Simitis, who resigned on Monday, said: "My resignation was a protest and a cry of agony for a better PASOK."
Outgoing alternate industry minister Christos Rokofyllos said that he and Mr. Simitis had considered as an alternative to the sale or closure of the Skaramangas shipyards, the granting of 51 per cent of shares to the management of the Hellenic Trade and Development Bank (ETBA) and 49 per cent to the employees.
New Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos struck a note of urgency concerning the implementation of the government's programme in the sector.
"We are starting a new effort of big innovations and changes. We have the obligation to PASOK, the Greek people, the government and the prime minister, to realize this work very quickly. 1996 is the time limit within which we have to move and implement these changes... today not tomorrow," he said upon receiving the ministry from outgoing interior minister Costas Skandalidis.
"The country's course towards development, which is now facing positive prospects, demands a rationalization of the state apparatus," he added.
The government said last night that the "only viable" solution to save the state-owned Skaramangas Shipyards from closure was to sell 49 per cent of shares to the yard's 3,000 workers and the controlling stake be held by the Hellenic Industrial Development Bank (ETBA).
After a week of consultations with bankers and ministers, National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said he would be proposing that 49 per cent of the largest shipbuilding and repair yards in the Mediterranean be bought by a company formed by the 3, 025-strong union, Triena, when he meets European commissioner Karel Van Miert in Brussels on Monday.
The management of the yards, he said, would be handed over to the private sector, following international tendering.
The agreement includes a restructuring programme anticipating a gradual reduction in staff.
According to reports, the agreement refers to an initial lay-off of 600, and gives the management the option of laying off a further 400 after a year of its management. The immediate investment programme deemed necessary, budgeted at 4.4 billion drachmas, will be met with 1.2 billion drachmas from ETBA, one billion from the workers, and a subsidy of 2.2 billion.
The plan has been approved by interministerial committee handling the issue and by the workers' union, Triena.
The government's final solution was shaped following a two-hour inter-ministerial meeting at the office of Minister of State Antonis Livanis in Parliament. It was attended by eight ministers, two undersecretaries and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's two advisers.
Asked to comment on the exact dimensions of staff reductions, new Labor and Social Security Minister Stephanos Tzoumakas dodged questions and said the two parties involved, ETBA and 'Triena', would agree on this by today, with the consent of the Genera l Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE), and then there would be a specific announcement.
The cost of the 49 per cent share will amount to eight billion drachmas and will be paid in about 12 years through deductions from salaries.
The announcement followed a series of week-long contacts between the government and banks.
General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) president Christos Protopapas told reporters afterwards that the workers faced three choices: closure; conversion of the yards to a naval base, involving the loss of at least 1,500 jobs and rejected by the Defense Ministry; or the solution finally opted for.
He said an emergency meeting of the GSEE Executive Committee will discuss the solution today.
Earlier, National Bank Governor George Mirkos said that there had been a number of offers for the shipyards and that if there had been more time "many possible solutions would have been found".
"The government has isolated one of these offers and is examining it," Mr. Mirkos said, adding that the advisory role of the banks had ended.
The European Commission has granted a one-week extension to the deadline for the privatization of the shipyards which ends on Monday.
Should the solution fail to fall in line with Community legislation, the Commission will automatically implement a July 26 decision that the shipyards, the biggest in the Mediterranean, must return 44 billion drachmas of state subsidies and interest of approximately 38 billion drachmas.
If Greece does not comply with the measures, the Commission will refer it to the European Court.
Meanwhile, Alternate Foreign Minister until Thursday's reshuffle George Mangakis has sent a letter to European competition commissioner Karel Van Miert protesting statements he made to the press on the privatization of Skaramangas yards.
Mr. Mangakis, who was replaced in the reshuffle by George Romeos, sent the letter Thursday.
The letter expresses the government's displeasure over Mr. Van Miert's "unfortunate" statements, underlining that his comments made efforts to find the best possible solution for the shipyards even more difficult.
Mr. Mangakis also criticized Mr. Van Miert for the "ironic" and '"sarcastic" nature of his statements at a time when the issue of the yards' privatization "has entered a difficult and delicate phase, during which the jobs of several thousand workers is in the balance".
Mr. Van Miert told a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday that the Commission would no longer tolerate Greece's "foot-dragging" on the sell-or-close option for Skaramangas.
He said Athens had assured the Commission since March 1993 that it would privatize Skaramangas but that solutions presented appeared to "vanish".
In statements later yesterday Mr. Van Miert's spokesman said that the commissioner "does not feel that he talked in a sarcastic way about Greece."
"I don't believe that the way the commissioner spoke exposes Greece," he said, adding that Mr. Van Miert had just presented the facts.
"The Greek government has not kept its promises, and this is something that exposes Greece," he added.
Meanwhile, Greek Eurodeputy Alekos Alavanos criticized the government of indifference and inertia leading to Greece's non-exemption from the new regulations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which come into effect on January 1,1996 and concern the operation of the shipbuilding and ship-repair industry.
According to the new regulations, the EU and OECD member-states are no longer allowed to seek regional aid for their shipyards.
Belgium, Portugal, and Spain have been exempted from the new regulations.
"Yet Greece," Mr. Alavanos said, "despite hard conditions in its shipyards and despite the fact that the 7th directorate acknowledged the existence of special conditions in our country, and thus allowed state control of the shipyards, is today excluded from the exemptions and finds itself in a worse situation than Belgium, Portugal and Spain."
The government yesterday announ-ced stiff prison sentences and heavy fines for violators of legislation on toxic and hazardous waste management.
Environment Minister Costas Laliotis said violators would face five to fifteen years in jail, fines ranging from 10 million to one billion drachmas and deprivation of civil rights.
By joint ministerial decision, he said, "an integrated, severe and contemporary institutional framework is being formulated on the management of hazardous waste", bringing Greek legislation into line with EU directives 91/689 and 94/31 and activating the relevant regulations of Law 1650/86 on environmental protection.
Greece produces an estimated 500,000 tons of toxic waste annually, of which 120,000 tons are recycled and the rest end up in dumping sites.
According to the decision:
The environmental conditions for the temporary storage, re-utilization, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste require the approval of the ministers of the interior and the environment;
The environmental conditions for the collection, transport and re-loading of hazardous waste require the approval of the prefect;
Permits for the management of hazardous waste (collection, transport, re-loading, storage, temporary storage, re-utilization, treatment, disposal, restoration and subsequent ministration) will be issued by the prefect, after a review by the appropriate prefectural services of the relevant data and studies on the said activity. The permit is issued within eight months of the submission of the required supporting documents.
The period may be extended for another four months following a documented recommendation by the prefect;
A positive report resulting from examination by the relevant review boards is required before the commencement of operation of a hazardous waste treatment or disposal plant or site; and
The Environment Ministry has the right to obstruct cross-border transport of hazardous waste when such are in violation of the management principles.
In addition, the management of hazardous waste is effected at the responsibility and expense of the principal or license, who must have the required insurance to cover damages to third parties, and who also must maintain records and is required to provide information to the prefect.
Also, a committee of representatives of the authoritative ministries will be set up to draft a framework of technical specifications for the management of hazardous waste and provide recommendations to the environment minister on approval of the national planning for hazardous-toxic waste management and related activities.
The New Democracy party yesterday presented its programme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on the occasion of leader Miltiades Evert's visit to the Thessaloniki International Fair.
The measures proposed include the abolition of the so-called objective taxation criteria system, the application of taxation provisions for at least four years, incentives for mergers and programmes for cooperation between businesses, loan subsidies, programmes for personnel training, promotion of innovations, as well as the prohibition of several types of commercial activities conducted in open spaces.
It was stressed that SMEs provide seven out of 10 new jobs in the private sector in the European Union and that in Greece, more especially, few firms fall outside the Community's definition of SMEs. There are 60 businesses per 1,000 people in Greece, the highest number in the Union.
The main opposition New Democracy party's national conference will be held in the second week of November, according to ANA reports, as anticipated by a decision signed by party leader Miltiades Evert.
According to reliable sources, the decision foresees that the party's Parliamentary Group will convene on the last Tuesday of every month, while in October the meeting will be held on the third of the month when Parliament's plenary session opens.
The Central Committee, the party's supreme agency, will convene on the last Wednesday of every third month, while the Executive Committee will be convened on the last Wednesday of every month.
Deputy Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Pavel Bratinka arrives here Sunday for two-day talks with the Greek government, a Foreign Ministry announcement yesterday said.
It said Mr. Bratinka would hold talks with his Greek counterpart George Romeos on bilateral issues. The Czech official will also meet with Defense Minister Gerassimos Arsenis.
The Hellenic Post Offices (ELTA) have issued a series of stamps entitled "1,900 years since St. John the Divine's Apocalypse" to contribute to celebrations.
Transport and Communications Undersecretary Christos Kokkinovassilis will present the new series at a special ceremony organized by ELTA.
The ceremony will be attended by Church authorities, cabinet members, the Transport and Communications Ministry officials, the director of the prime minister's political office Dimitra Papandreou, local authority representatives from the municipalities of Athens and Patmos and other officials.
The series is composed of three stamps valued at 80, 110 and 300 drachmas.
- Customs authorities have uncovered a large network of fuel smuggling, as well as illegal and bogus supply of fuel to yachts.
According to findings submitted to the Piraeus public prosecutor, large quantities of fuel delivered to yachts in January were in fact used for internal consumption by those not entitled to duty exemptions, resulting in a state loss of approximately 360 million drachmas.
Indictments have already been issued against nine fuel trade companies as well as three customs officials who were the competent authorities in charge of the marinas Zeas and Floisvou in January.
- The works of El Greco and other great Venetian painters of the 16th century will go on display at the National Gallery on Monday.
The exhibition, which will run for three months, is showcasing 15 famous and lesser-known El Grecos, loaned to the Gallery from museums and collections around the world.
Titled "El Greco in Italy and Italian Art", the exhibition is being held under the aegis of the President of the Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos.