Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 01-08-01

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] PM discusses arms programs with defense minister

[02] Environment ministry reports damage, measures for Skyros

[03] Stability Pact coordinator stresses need for new cross border checkpoints on Greek-Bulgarian border

[04] Interior minister reports on immigrant registration process

[05] Main opposition blasts gov't over foreign investment

[06] ND leader meets party's Public admin, public order committee

[07] Ecumenical Patriarch to visit Nisyros between August 4 � 6

[08] Papantoniou says gov't backing new economy

[09] Greek telecom launches mobile network in Bulgaria

[10] Stocks rise in wake of slump

[11] Thessaloniki to host Balkan Voices Festival

[12] Turkish press applauds '7th International Youth Meeting Ardas 2001'

[13] Culture minister responds to Archaeological Society on Marathon issue

[14] National Council meets

[01] PM discusses arms programs with defense minister

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

Emerging from the meeting, Tsohatzopoulos said the congress would deliver "a new policy for the course and prospects of the country" that would satisfy the demands and hopes of public opinion and young people.

He also said there would be a shift to-ward greater defense capacity after the holidays that involved important decisions and that the government's Foreign Affairs and Defense Council (KYSEA) would be meeting again after 15 months to discuss armament procurements.

Commenting on this shift, Tsohatzopoulos pointed out that defense and security police were a "dominant issue at this time" given the various crisis flash points in the geopolitical region surrounding Greece.

PM meets ministers to discuss economic speech in September: Preparing for his annual economic speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair in September, Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Tuesday met Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and Labor Minister Tassos Giannitsis to discuss combining the imperatives of social and economic policy.

Leaving the prime minister's office, the two ministers said the meeting had examined economic, developmental and business issues in conjunction with unemployment and social solidarity.

"Social and economic policy are interrelated, one feeds the other," Yiannitsis added.

PM meets Yiannopoulos: Prime Minister Costas Simitis had a 45-minute meeting on Tues-day with veteran PASOK stalwart and former minister Evangelos Yiannopoulos.

After the meeting, Yiannopoulos expressed absolute support for Simitis and the government's work, which he said should be clearly explained and made more accessible.

[02] Environment ministry reports damage, measures for Skyros

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

Skyros was jolted last Thursday by a tremor measured variously at 5.7 on the Richter scale by the Athens Observatory and 6.1 by the seismic center in Thessaloniki.

Five of the buildings surveyed were condemned, all of them stables, and 76 judged in need of repair, 20 of them being residences.

The ministry measures include:

a) Rent subsidies of 80,000-120,000 drachmas per month for those whose houses have been condemned or judged in need of repair.

b) Housing loans and grants for repairing or rebuilding residences or business premises damaged during the earthquake, one third of which is free aid from the state and two thirds are in the form of an interest-free bank loan.

Beneficiaries are entitled to 130,000 drachmas per square meter for rebuilding, with a maximum limit of 120 square meters, and 65,000 drachmas per square meter for repairs.

Infrastructure repairs; The Island is still temporarily being supplied with water brought over from the mainland by boat. If supplies from the Anavalousa spring, the island's main source of water, do not return to pre-earthquake levels in the next few days, the environment ministry will proceed to dig new artesian wells nearby.

Regarding the fallen rocks from a landslide triggered by the earthquake, ministry teams said the cliff face involved was still highly dangerous and that a new landslide could occur at any moment while the island was being shaken by aftershocks.

They ruled out any work at the foot of the landslide but said that work on measures to protect houses in the danger zone, such as setting up rows of metal barriers to act as 'rock traps', would begin in 10 days.

The ministry has assigned the job to the Geobrook, a firm that undertakes similar work along the Athens-Corinth highway.

[03] Stability Pact coordinator stresses need for new cross border checkpoints on Greek-Bulgarian border

SOFIA, 01/08/2001 (ANA - B. Borisov)

Over the past two days, Hombach had contacts with Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, Prime Minister Simeon and government ministers.

Referring to the course of relevant projects, Hombach said the bridge on the Danube River, located between the Bulgarian town of Vidin and the Romanian town of Kalafat, is proceeding at a regular rate, adding that coordinated action is required to link the two countries' road and rail network with the bridge.

Hombach said the new government is an "interesting mixture of continuation and a new beginning." He further said that combatting corruption would be a priority in cooperation between the Stability Pact and the Bulgarian authorities.

Commenting on consequences for the Stability Pact's development plans as a result of the crisis in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Hombach expressed the hope that negotiations between political forces will end with success soon to enable the country to concentrate on its development again.

Hombach is the first senior political official to visit Bulgaria after the Simeon government came to power.

[04] Interior minister reports on immigrant registration process

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

She also announced that those without any of the documents accepted under the process would be allowed to make their application before the closing date and supply the necessary documents by September 7.

Those making the application will receive a temporary residence permit of six months in which to find employment and insurance coverage and must within this time supply a copy of their police record to receive a regular work and residence permit.

The new law also introduces stiffer penalties for employers that hire illegal immigrants, Papandreou warned, while the ministry would be working with local authorities to stamp out the problem of illegal immigration.

She added that the ministry was planning measures to facilitate the integration of migrants in Greek society, such as setting up a study center for immigration and collaborating with other ministries for the education of migrants' children, bilateral agreements for seasonal employment and other steps.

[05] Main opposition blasts gov't over foreign investment

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

"Greece in 1994 - 1999 failed lagged among cohesion countries in attracting direct foreign investments," ND finance and economy spokesman George Alogoskoufis said in a statement.

Alogoskoufis was commenting on a report by the Bank of Greece released on Monday that recommended additional measures to strengthen the economy's competitiveness in order to boost direct foreign investment.

The central bank backed an acceleration of major infrastructure projects and structural changes in the economy.

"Annual direct foreign investment barely came to 0.76 percent of gross domestic product, on average, when Portugal showed 1.57 percent, Spain 1.0 percent, and Ireland - cited as an economic miracle - scored 8.9 percent of GDP," Alogoskoufis said.

[06] ND leader meets party's Public admin, public order committee

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

He urged committee members to prepare for this and make sure that ND showed itself ready to be a government through its political tack.

Karamanlis noted that the party was "doing very well" and that the positive climate could not be reversed.

He warned, however, that the government might try to raise dividing lines through its attacks and accusations against ND and try to reverse the negative climate against itself by confusing language and a communications barrage in the latter part of August.

[07] Ecumenical Patriarch to visit Nisyros between August 4 � 6

ISTANBUL, 01/08/2001 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas)

According to an announcement by the Phanar on Tuesday, the Ecumenical Patriarch will chair a Hierarchy meeting of the Ecumenical Throne in the Dodecannese, as well as of the "Cultural Conference of Nisyros."

He will be proclaimed an honorary citizen of Nisyros and honorary president of the Nisyros Studies Society and he will also inaugurate the island's museum.

In addition, the Ecumenical Patriarch will visit the island of Yiali to bless its citizens and working people.

[08] Papantoniou says gov't backing new economy

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

So far, the government has released 50 billion drachmas of the total from the public investment program, Papantoniou told reporters.

The minister was speaking after a meeting with the Association of Information Technology and Communications Companies.

[09] Greek telecom launches mobile network in Bulgaria

SOFIA, 01/08/2001 (ANA / B. Borisov)

The network run by Globul, the local subsidiary, currently covers 20 percent of the population under the terms of a license issued by the Bulgarian government.

The country's main cities are due to receive the service in September, raising the total to 40 percent of the population.

OTE is a heavily traded stock on the Athens Stock Exchange.

[10] Stocks rise in wake of slump

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

The general share index gained 1.99 percent to end at 2,727.21 points. Turnover was 123.2 million euros.

The market has been trying to consolidate after breaking through key resistance at 2,640 points last week.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 1.89 percent higher; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalization paper 1.36 percent up; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities gained 2.56 percent.

Advancers led decliners at 270 to 63 with 44 issues remaining unchanged.

The most heavily traded stocks were Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Vovos International and Commercial Bank of Greece.

Bond prices mixed in heavy trade; Bond prices in the domestic secondary market on Tuesday finished mixed in heavy, volatile trade.

The Greek benchmark 10-year bond showed a yield of 5.37 percent, and the yield spread over German bunds was 48 basis points.

Turnover through the central bank's electronic system totalled 1.2 billion euros.

Sell orders accounted for around half of turnover.

Equity futures end higher; Equity futures traded on the Athens Derivatives Exchange ended higher on Tuesday after showing a discount early in the session, tracking a rise in the main market.

Traded were 8,792 contracts on turnover of 59.2 million euros, traders said.

[11] Thessaloniki to host Balkan Voices Festival

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

The festival is being organized by the non-profit company Balkan Dreams and is expected to feature famous artists from Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey, Romania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Scheduled to perform are Romania's Doina Constantin, as well as the Altin Shehu Group, which is comprised of Bulgarian and Greek performers.

In addition, Valya Balkanska from Bulgaria, Turkish artist Muammer Ketencoglu, Greece's Agathon Iakovidis and Greek pop artist Glykeria are also expected to give unforgettable performances.

[12] Turkish press applauds '7th International Youth Meeting Ardas 2001'

ISTANBUL, 01/08/2001 (ANA/Alkis Kourkoulas)

The event, which was concluded on Monday, was held at Kastanies near the border area of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria.

With headlines such as "The Ardas River flowed more grace-fully," and "The youths of Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria proved that they can be together without prejudices," the media in the neighboring country featured the events, which it noted have sent out a message of peace through music since 1995.

This year's event, as noted by the Turkish press, also included the participation of youths from Poland, Germany, Russia, Spain, Romania and Armenia.

[13] Culture minister responds to Archaeological Society on Marathon issue

Athens, 01/08/2001 (ANA)

Venizelos was replying to the Archaeological Society on account of its letter publicized several days ago, which notes the possibility of antiquities being concealed by culture ministry archaeologists during work at the Olympic Rowing Center, in Marathon.

Venizelos also stresses in his letter that "authoritativeness and tradition are also accompanied by the need for scientific and communicative self-restraint."

Large-scale scientific research has been taking place at Marathon since last May, aimed at detecting and revealing all ancient remnants in the region of the Rowing Center, the letter said.

"If factors change, the culture ministry will not hesitate to prohibit the continuation of work to build the Rowing Center," Venizelos said.

[14] National Council meets

NICOSIA, 01/08/2001 (CNA/ANA)

"As already announced, the Council will not make any announcements about the items on its agenda or about the decisions it takes or it does not take," the minister said.

Replying to questions, he said the "Council decided to monitor developments and convene whenever necessary but no date has been fixed for a new meeting."

Replying to questions about press reports relating to a letter President Glafcos Clerides is said to have received from the US, Kasoulides said "I am not authorized to comment on any letter or anything concerning the president's moves to ensure that the peace talks continue, if they do, from the point we have left off last year."

UN-led proximity talks aimed at finding a comprehensive settlement in Cyprus were interrupted last year when Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash withdrew from them, saying they were a waste of time.

Denktash is due to meet UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in what is widely believed to be a signal for the resumption of the talks.

Denktash in a statement has said he is not going to make any concessions at talks on his so-called sovereignty and on the implementation of the freedoms of movement, settlement and the right to property, nor will he accept any change in the rights of Turkey as a guarantor power of Cyprus' independence.

Invited to comment on Denktash's remarks, the foreign minister said "it should come as no surprise to anyone that Mr. Denktash is making such statements."

"The comments reflect his long standing positions, which nobody would expect to shift, at least before he sits at the negotiating table," he added.

All eight parliamentary parties were represented at Tuesday's Council meeting, which was also attended by the foreign minister, Attorney General Alecos Markides and Undersecretary to the President Pantelis Kouros.

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