Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 02-12-21

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Simitis outlines Greek EU presidency priorities to Europarl't president Cox

[02] Pat Cox: Cyprus will join EU, regardless of Annan plan

[03] Gov't: Annan letter does not seek to link EU accession with Cyprus solution

[04] Cyprus President sends message of thanks to Greek Parliament President

[05] Greek FM meets with US ambassador, discuss Cyprus & Iraq

[06] Deputy DM says Cyprus outpost of Hellenism

[07] Main opposition leader meets president of EPP Euro-deputies

[08] Gov't, ND, cross swords over public sector corruption

[09] Public order minister terms breaking up of 'N17' group 'a historic success'

[10] President's message to overseas Greeks for the holidays

[11] Archbishop Christodoulos congratulates new EU members

[12] Gov't delegation begins tour of national highway facilities

[13] Avramopoulos meets Erdogan in Istanbul

[14] Border checkpoint inaugurated on Greek-Albanian border

[15] GSEE seeks pay rises matching inflation, limbers up for protest action

[16] EU Commission warns Greece to lift ban on electronic games

[17] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in lackluster trade

[18] Deputy DM watches display by special health support unit

[19] Greece's first participation at Istanbul Book Fair crowned with success

[20] President Clerides to reply to UN Secretary General by Monday

[21] Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots urge Turkey and Denktash to change attitude on Cyprus

[22] US: Cyprus agreement can be achieved by February 28

[01] PM Simitis outlines Greek EU presidency priorities to Europarl't president Cox

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

The priorities set out by Simitis were enlargement, followed by economic growth and stability, control of immigration and combatting illegal immigration, preparing the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) on the new structure of Europe, the EU's common defense and security policy and common foreign policy, and commitments on the environment based on the results of the Johannesburg conference.

Simitis said that the enlargement processes needed to be completed and the Accession Acts of the 10 new EU members needed to be drafted during the Greek EU presidency.

On common foreign policy, Simitis placed emphasis on the Balkans where, he said, ethnicism, poverty and underdevelopment continued to prevail.

On the issue of Iraq, he stressed that the EU should have a single voice rather than differing approaches, but described the entire issue as a ''difficult matter''.

The Greek premier said that Europe needed to ''come closer to the citizen, to overcome the phenomena of insecurity, to give hope that we are building a new world in new conditions of peace and development''.

Simitis also touched on the matter of cooperation with the Europarliament, an issue also brought up by Cox, who also said, inter alia, that Turkey had failed to play the constructive role played by Cyprus president Glafcos Clerides with respect to UN secretary general Kofi Annan's plan.

[02] Pat Cox: Cyprus will join EU, regardless of Annan plan

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

Cox blamed the Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot side for the failure to arrive at a solution and said the Cyprus Republic would sign the accession treaty independently of developments in negotiations based on the plan submitted by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

He clarified that Cyprus would have a single state representation at EU organs and that its northern part would have to be reinforced to conform to the body of EU laws and practices.

With respect to Turkey, Cox said there would be no special criteria for its admission to the EU and that it would be bound by the same rules as all other candidate-states. He underlined the need for more transparency and democratization in Turkish structures.

With respect to the priorities of the Greek EU presidency, Cox stressed development in southeast Europe, increasing competitiveness and dealing with illegal immigration.

[03] Gov't: Annan letter does not seek to link EU accession with Cyprus solution

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

In the letter sent to the four main players involved in the Cyprus issue on Thursday, Annan had called for negotiations to continue right up to February 28, 2003, so that Cyprus could join the EU whole and reunited if an agreement were reached.

The reference merely intended to underline the possibility of finding a solution before Cyprus signed the accession treaty on February 28, Protopapas stressed. Cyprus had already been admitted to the EU without terms and conditions and this had been confirmed in statements on Thursday by European Com-missioner for enlargement Guenter Verheugen, he added.

The entire international community was now watching developments in the Annan process closely, including the response of the Greek-Cypriot side, Protopapas said.

''There can and must be a solution, and this is also in the interests of the Turkish-Cypriot side,'' he noted.

Within Turkey, also, there was widespread awareness that a solution was in Turkey's true interests as well, the spokesman claimed.

''If the Turkish side refuses to negotiate it will end up isolated and if it does not agree to a solution of the Cyprus problem, it will have to shoulder a huge cost. The international community believes its must change its intransigent stance and begin negotiations,'' Protopapas stressed.

With respect to Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash and the statements he made on Thursday, Protopapas said that Denktash remained firmly entrenched in his previous intransigent stance and was once again attempting to undermine the process for a solution.

This stance was directly opposed to the interests of the Turkish-Cypriot community, which would be best served if the Turkish side agreed to negotiate, he added.

[04] Cyprus President sends message of thanks to Greek Parliament President

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

In his message to Kaklamanis, on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year, Clerides conveyed the warmest wishes of the Cypriot people and government for health and happiness.

President Clerides expressed the thanks of the Cypriot government and people to Kaklamanis, the Greek Parliament and the Greek people ''for your help and support in our struggle for a viable settlement of the Cyprus problem.

The Cypriot president thanked the Greek parliament in particular for ''the invaluable help it offered'' in Cyprus' accession to the European Union becoming a reality.

Concluding, Clerides expressed his best wishes ''for the stable progress and prosperity of the Greek people and for your personal health and happiness.''

[05] Greek FM meets with US ambassador, discuss Cyprus & Iraq

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

Following the meeting, commenting on developments in the Cyprus issue, the U.S. ambassador said ''the final score is what matters and not the goals during the game,'' drawing a parallel with soccer.

When asked to comment on Turkish Cypriot community leader Rauf Denktash's stance, Miller also said that policies should not be personalized, rather one should focus on the aim, which is the achieving of an agreement on the Cyprus issue based on the Annan plan.

[06] Deputy DM says Cyprus outpost of Hellenism

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

Apostolidis was speaking to reporters after the swearing in ceremony of 308 SEAP academy graduates in Irakleio on the island of Crete, of whom 235 are Greek Cypriots.

Apostolidis said culture is a weapon, which has taught every-where that democracy, freedom, dignity and independence constitute longstanding values, which light up the course of humanity.

The event was attended by a delegation of Cyprus' House of Representatives, accompanied by the National Guard chief of the Republic of Cyprus Lieutenant General Athanassios Nikolodimos.

[07] Main opposition leader meets president of EPP Euro-deputies

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

According to a party announcement, they discussed the priorities of the Greek EU presidency, the conclusions of the EU summit in Copenhagen, EU enlargement and institutional developments within the Community, the Cyprus issue and EU-Turkey relations.

The meeting was also attending by other EPP and ND party officials.

[08] Gov't, ND, cross swords over public sector corruption

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

Following a meeting on the issue at the party headquarters, Karamanlis not only accused the government of not making any effort to wipe out corruption and special interests, but also of facilitating such phenomena, for example with legislation advanced by the government on public works.

Karamanlis spoke of ''protection' of civil servants belonging to the ''party (PASOK) nomenclature', who he said were being promoted even to senior positions in the hierarchy.

Karamanlis said that New Democracy would not tolerate such phenomena and would stamp them out ''with all legal means and the support'' of the Greek people.

He added that Supreme Court prosecutor Evangelos Kroustalakis had voiced a ''cry of agony'' which confirmed all that New Democracy was saying on corruption in the public sector.

Reacting to Karamanlis' accusations later, government spokes-man Christos Protopapas said that Karamanlis had obviously not read Kroustalakis' statements on the matter carefully.

''But the point is that he (Karamanlis) is confronting a serious problem with the creation of impressions''.

There were two roads to choose on this issue, Protopapas said: ''either you fight to stamp out corruption, or you use it to create impressions and for petty party political purposes''. The government, he added, had opted for the first option, and was determined to stamp out corruption.

Kroustalakis made further statements on the issue after a meeting with Interior Minister Costas Skandalidis on Thursday, saying that he had ascertained an equal commitment to stamping out graft on the government's side.

''Our views coincided entirely and I think we are on the same wavelength...I believe it is more than just words. We are trying to make something that all Greeks want a reality. We have no illusions that we can change society from one minute to the next but we will try to set up a dam to contain this corruption,'' he told reporters.

Skandalidis said his visit to the Supreme Court prosecutor was mainly symbolic in nature - underlining the government's respect for independent justice, which would have shoulder the main burden in combatting these phenomena, and the need for flawless cooperation between government and the justice system.

He said they had also had an in-depth discussion on new legislation that required civil servants' to submit means and assets statements and innovations that would relieve the justice system from a large part of the paperwork that in the past prevented speedy rulings.

On Wednesday, Kroustalakis had called a meeting of Supreme Court prosecutors to discuss public-sector graft and strategies against it. The meeting had concluded that the problem had taken on alarming proportions and would get worse unless it was tackled and called for a series of legislative and other measures to assist the courts in administering justice.

Earlier this month, Skandalidis asked Kroustalakis to initiate court proceedings in six high-profile graft cases involving state services and also asked for the appointment of a special prosecutor to handle public-sector corruption trials.

[09] Public order minister terms breaking up of 'N17' group 'a historic success'

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

He noted that for years terrorism was a serious restraining factor for the strengthening of the country's prestige and created problems with serious social and political ramifications.

He said the ramifications included the force of the talk of conspiracy, the police's complete loss of credibility in the eyes of the public and the adoption of political scenarios which involved a section of the political world with the action of the terrorists.

The minister added that during this period, the police had lost their self-confidence in the possibility of confronting terrorism, and particular, its ''flagship'', the ''N17''.

He stressed that within this framework, the government adopted a strategy which was based firstly on the ideological and political juxtaposition with the terrorist organizations, secondly the re-examination of all the existing material with scientific work and documentation, thirdly on an international level with countries which had experience in the combatting of terrorism and fourthly, the voting of a new legal framework assisting police without harming the rights of the Greek citizens.

The public order minister stressed that ''terrorism in Greece has not ended,'' adding that ''it will be naive for us to believe that it will not preoccupy us again in the future.''

Concluding, Chrysohoidis underlined that in light of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, the government's utmost priority is security and the message the government wishes to give is that ''this country deserves to be safe.''

[10] President's message to overseas Greeks for the holidays

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

He highlighted the upcoming Greek presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2003, during which Cyprus would also join the Community and the Olympics to be held in Athens the following year, and called for continued efforts to preserve the Greek language, promote contemporary Greece and teach Greek history to the younger generations.

[11] Archbishop Christodoulos congratulates new EU members

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

Christodoulos noted in his letter that with the accession of these countries to the EU their churches would contribute to the effort for respect for the Christian roots of European peoples.

The Archbishop also offered the aid of the Church of Greece for the new European course of those countries.

[12] Gov't delegation begins tour of national highway facilities

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

The minister said that the systems along the route were all operating smoothly, despite the snow and sleet that began on Friday morning, except for a bottle-neck at Malakasa where the highway was down to just two lanes.

The minister also claimed that drainage tunnels and other infrastructure built in Malakasa had successfully prevented further landslides at that section of the highway. The total cost of the works had cost 19.1 million euros, nearly three million more than the originally estimates.

Tsaklidis said the additional expense was due to unforeseeable geological and geotechnical problems discovered after the tunnels were opened, which required additional supports to brace the bedrock.

The above works were necessary in order to rebuild the highway as originally planned before the landslide. The rebuilding was due to be completed in July 2002 but was suspended after complications in the payment of the contractor for the additional works carried out.

Payment of 3.5 million euros under a Supplementary Works Contract was refused on the grounds that there had been no pre-contractual assessment by the Auditing Council as required by law. This included the cost of laying tarmac on some 1,200 meters of the highway, which would be completed once the contractor had been paid for the work already carried out, Tsaklidis said.

The minister then outlined measures taken since last year's heavy snowfall to coordinate the road-clearing system, such as the creation of six snow-plough centers at Patras, Tripoli, Kapandriti, Lamia, Larissa and Thessaloniki and 12 sub-stations to support these along the route.

He also outlined additional coordinating measures and procedures based on the experiences of the previous year, all of which were contained in a Emergency Operations Guide sent out by the General Secretariat for Civil Protection to all the agencies involved.

[13] Avramopoulos meets Erdogan in Istanbul

ISTANBUL 21/12/2002 (ANA - A. Kourkoulas)

''In this world, which is changing, I hope that the peoples of the two countries (Greece and Turkey) would come closer,'' Avramopoulos noted, adding that ''Turkey on the other side of the Aegean has a good friend wishing understanding and cooperation''.

On his part, Erdogan said that ''in the eight years of Avramopoulos' tenure, I had with him exchanges of opinions with honest feelings. This friendship continued and will continue''.

[14] Border checkpoint inaugurated on Greek-Albanian border

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

The budget for the project on Greek territory amounted to two billion drachmas. The lion's share of financing came from the INTEREG program and national resources, while on the Albanian side from the EU's Far program.

Loverdos stressed the importance of the Mertzani checkpoint's operation, while

ministry sources said on Friday.

The pact followed talks between the Association of Food Industries and Deputy Development Minister Christos Theodorou, the sources said.

They added that the companies had also agreed to try to refrain from a second round of hikes in 2003.

[15] GSEE seeks pay rises matching inflation, limbers up for protest action

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

The union group called for pay rises under collective labor agreements that made up for real income losses through inflation, an increase in social productivity and 'corrective' pay rises that would harmonies wages with the EU average.

[16] EU Commission warns Greece to lift ban on electronic games

BRUSSELS 21/12/2002 (ANA - M. Spinthourakis)

According to a press release issued by Greek Eurodeputy H. Folias, European Commissioner Fritz Bolkestein said the ban was contrary to the free movement of goods within the EU.

Greece enacted a relevant law in 2002 in an effort to curb the use of computers and other games for gambling

[17] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in lackluster trade

Athens, 21/12/2002 (ANA)

The general share index shed 0.49 percent to end at 1,791.7 points. Turnover was 107.0 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 0.52 percent down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalization paper 0.83 percent lower; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities finished 0.75 percent down.

Of stocks traded, declines led advances at 230 to 70 with 53 issues remaining unchanged.

The Athens general share index finished 1.57 percent down on the week.

The most heavily traded stocks in value were Hellenic Telecommunications Organization, Football Pools Organization, Marfin Communications, Informatics, and Public Power Corporation.

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