Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 06-08-22

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

CONTENTS

[01] Middle East tour by Bakoyannis signals Athens' interest in region, ministry says

[02] PASOK party spokesman comments on FM's Middle East tour

[03] Government underlines intent to continue reforms

[04] PASOK spokesman responds to government statements on economic reform

[05] Interior minister briefs PM on preparations for local elections, heatwave measures

[06] NGO to send humanitarian aid to Lebanon

[07] Government on Commission's progress report on Turkey

[08] Gov't on equal TV coverage of municipal candidates

[09] Gov't on press report referring to Deputy FM

[10] Patriarch of Alexandria arrives at Ecumenical Patriarchate

[11] PM not planning New York trip for Greece's UNSC presidency

[12] PM to begin rounds of meetings with ruling party MPs

[13] Greek gov't to subsidize borrowing interest rates for SMEs

[14] S&P raises rating on Emporiki Bank

[15] Electricity consumption hits record-high on Monday

[16] Power failures in parts of Attica prefecture

[17] Greek cooperative banks' results significantly up in 1st half

[18] Competition Commission to fine Port Organization of Piraeus with 4.5 mln euros

[19] Kathimerini gets new director

[20] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks flat

[21] Tripoli forest fire nearly under control, fire department reports

[22] Three major wildfires reported on the island of Zakynthos

[23] Forest fire raging in Halkidiki

[24] 9th int'l international festival of youth orchestras in N. Greece

[25] Algerian detainee found hanged in police lock-up

[26] Cyprus President to attend ASEM 6 Summit

[01] Middle East tour by Bakoyannis signals Athens' interest in region, ministry says

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

She is also scheduled to have talks with the political leadership of Lebanon, Israel and Jordan and with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Asked why the foreign minister's tour did not include a stop in Damascus, the spokesman said that the time "was not considered ripe" for a visit to Syria, while pointing out that Bakoyannis had spoken with Syria's minister for information in Athens just 10 days earlier.

On Tuesday before her departure, the foreign minister will meet Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in the morning and attend a meeting of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) at midday.

According to Koumoutsakos, Bakoyannis will seek to contribute to diplomatic efforts for the full implementation of UNSCR 1701 during her meetings with Middle East government officials and will also press for full respect of the truce, in order to allow the distribution of humanitarian aid.

Other goals of the trip include the support and reinforcement of the Lebanese government; understanding Israel's security concerns; attempting to establish a permanent and stable solution for the Palestinian problem; and promoting efforts for peace that are as broad and comprehensive as possible, moving away from the logic of exclusion and allowing the contribution of all sides wanting to help.

Responding to questions about the international peacekeeping force planned for Lebanon, Koumoutsakos said the details of its structure and other rules of engagement had not been finalized but noted that Athens was considering participation in order to promote lasting peace.

He clarified that Athens' was not contemplating the deployment of land forces, however, but possibly a Greek Navy frigate, a specialized unit of underwater commandos and a limited number of officers to help in the running of the force.

[02] PASOK party spokesman comments on FM's Middle East tour

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

"I wonder how at a time that Greece is assuming the presidency of the Security Council, at a time when such a visit is taking place in the region, when one must have the best possible image, how Syria is excluded, which is a country that is a serious factor in the region, having a role in developments until now, as well as in the future," Athanasakis said.

The PASOK spokesman reminded that party leader George Papandreou has stressed that a regional conference with the participation of all officials and countries in the region, including Syria and Iran, is necessary for a solution to problems in the Middle East and for permanent peace.

[03] Government underlines intent to continue reforms

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

He stressed that the government had from the first opted for a different developmental model, one that broke with the past and emphasized reforms designed to boost enterprise, competitiveness, foreign exports and investment abroad, in the belief that only an economy with these features could guarantee a better future for all Greeks.

At the same time, the government had also emphasized mild economic adjustment to reduce the huge deficits of the past and restrict public-sector wastefulness, Roussopoulos said. These efforts had yielded tangible results that had been acknowledged by international organizations and had proved the pessimists wrong, he added.

"Instead of a recession we have had growth. In the two first trimesters of 2006 we had growth rates of 4.1 percent. Instead of an increase in unemployment we have had a reduction, from 11.3 percent in the first trimester of 2004 to 9.7 percent in the first trimester of 2006. Public debt and the public deficit have been significantly reduced, from 6.9 percent of GDP in 2004 to 4.5 percent of GDP in 2005, while the latest figures show that we are now within EU limits. Demand is increasing, while the retail trade index rose in the first five months of 2005 by 4.8 percent in relation to 2004 and by 7 percent during the same period this year," Roussopoulos reported.

He also pointed to the strong incentives provided under the government's new developmental package, under which 1,403 investment schemes worth a total of €2.2 billion and directly creating 7,166 new jobs had received approval in the 16 months since it went into effect.

Roussopoulos refused to say, however, whether the prime minister intended to announce an easing of fiscal austerity measures in view of these positive results in September, noting only that the government had made clear pre election pledges that it intended to honor by the end of its term.

Regarding high prices, meanwhile, the spokesman admitted that there were problems and that the government had taken a series of actions to combat price gouging and unjustified price hikes.

In response to questions regarding reforms in education, meanwhile, Roussopoulos underlined that these had neither stopped nor been postponed, and that the education ministry had unveiled its draft bill for public dialogue.

[04] PASOK spokesman responds to government statements on economic reform

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Athanasakis said that citizens are not experiencing the "fictitious reality presented by the government spokesman, but reality as it is shaped by the policies of the ND government that favor the few and harm the many and that are taking the country back."

[05] Interior minister briefs PM on preparations for local elections, heatwave measures

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Pavlopoulos said that all the necessary measures had been taken for the eventuality of problems arising from the high temperatures -- which are expected to hit 42 C in several parts of the country, including Athens, on Monday.

He noted that, according to the National Meteorological Service (EMY), Monday would most likely be the last day of the heatwave while high temperatures were also anticipated for just a few hours on Tuesday. He said that the current temperatures were not unusual for this time of the year, adding that every time such weather conditions occurred it provided an opportunity for examination of the Civil Protection system and its operation.

Regarding preparations for the municipal and prefecture elections, Pavlopoulos said that all preparations were underway so that the citizens could exercise their right of vote without facing problems.

Questioned on public order minister Vyron Polydoras' recent proposal for dialogue on demonstrations in the centre of Athens, aimed at limiting inconvenience to the public while at the same time safeguarding the Constitutional right of assembly, Pavlopoulos said the proposal was correct and democratic, as it invited all the sides concerned to dialogue. He added that anyone who refused the dialogue would only be engaging in evasion, since all sides would be able to put forward their views, even if they disagreed, in the context of the dialogue.

To another question on information that main opposition PASOK, when it was in government, and on the basis of a letter by then prime minister Costas Simitis, was contemplating taking the same measures as those proposed by Polydoras, Pavlopoulos said that every time PASOK finds itself in the opposition, it forgets all that it has done when in government, where as New Democracy does whatever it does publicly and through dialogue.

[06] NGO to send humanitarian aid to Lebanon

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

She said the aid, collected over the past month, would be transported to the port of Piraeus later on Monday, from where it would reach Lebanon by ship in about five days.

Parthenopoulou said this would be the third dispatch of humanitarian aid by the non-governmental organization, while two more dispatches were being planned.

The Greek chapter of the organization has already sent 80 tons of humanitarian aid to Lebanon in two dispatches by C-130 military helicopter and navy boat.

According to Parthenopoulou, this dispatch from Thessalonica is destined for Mazdal Jun, a southern Lebanese town of 35,000 inhabitants where 3,000 refugees have fled, while of the two additional dispatches a second container to depart from Athens will be destined for Nabatiyeh. The organization is to decide soon on the region to which the third container will be sent following an examination of the conditions prevailing.

Parthenopoulou said that Greece is represented in Lebanon only by the Medecins du Monde, adding that a delegation of the foreign ministry and the Church of Greece's NGO 'Solidarity' (Allilegii) were now due to depart for Lebanon.

She said that southern Lebanon was the area that had the most need but, despite that, aid never reached that section, adding that this was the area in which the organization was concentrating its attention.

[07] Government on Commission's progress report on Turkey

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

He was responding to questions regarding a report by the Cypriot newspaper "Fileleftheros", according to which Athens sent a memorandum to the European Commission during the drafting of the Commission's progress report on Turkey that referred to Turkish airspace and other violations above the Aegean Sea.

[08] Gov't on equal TV coverage of municipal candidates

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

The briefing was the first by spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos in the post-summer holiday period.

[09] Gov't on press report referring to Deputy FM

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

In the first press briefing since a summer hiatus, spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos also emphasized that Valinakis himself has addressed a letter to the weekly "Proto Thema" that "sets the record straight".

The paper alleged that Valinakis was attempting to meet requests of citizens in an election district where will ostensibly run for an MP's spot in any coming general election.

[10] Patriarch of Alexandria arrives at Ecumenical Patriarchate

CAIRO, 22/8/2006 (ANA-MPA / N. Katsikas)

Efforts at boosting peace the strife-plagued Middle East are expected to dominate talks between the two Orthodox Patriarchs.

[11] PM not planning New York trip for Greece's UNSC presidency

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

[12] PM to begin rounds of meetings with ruling party MPs

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

[13] Greek gov't to subsidize borrowing interest rates for SMEs

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Presenting the program, Sioufas said the program would run by the end of 2008 and would include around 2,500-3,000 enterprises, while he stressed that more funds would be earmarked under a Fourth Community Support Framework program.

The program will cover enterprises with a workforce of up to 20 persons and self-employed with an annual turnover of 10 million euros. Under the program, the government will subsidize 50 percent of interest rates on loans and leasing contracts on the precondition that loans would be used for development-modernization investments.

The Greek minister said that only 20 percent of Greek SMEs sought borrowing from banks to cover their financial needs, a rate smaller compared with the EU average.

The Development ministry has set up a commission to monitor bank interest rates on corporate loans.

[14] S&P raises rating on Emporiki Bank

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

The outlook for newly privatized Emporiki is positive, the global ratings agency said in a statement.

The actions follow the completion of Crédit Agricole S.A.'s public offer for Emporiki, giving it 71.9% of shares.

"The current ratings on Emporiki balance the benefits--immediate and future--of membership within a financially stronger banking institution, an attractive position in the Greek market, and sound balance sheet liquidity with the bank's weak stand-alone financial profile," Standard & Poor credit analyst, Elena Iparraguirre, noted. "We do expect the bank's financials to improve, however."

An upgrade is possible in the medium term as Emporiki's transformation and integration into Credit Agricole progresses and the expected improvement in its financial profile materializes.

"We believe this process will be gradual, however," said Iparraguirre. "Restructuring Emporiki and changing its culture will take time and will represent a challenge for its new owner, as it will have to be accomplished amid a very competitive environment in Greece, led by well-placed and more advanced private peers."

Negative pressure on the ratings is very unlikely at this point, but could emerge if the French bank were to show a lack of strategic interest in Emporiki, the statement added.

[15] Electricity consumption hits record-high on Monday

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Speaking to reporters, Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas reiterated that the ministry has taken all necessary measures to ensure the supply of electricity energy around the country, while Nikos Stephanou, the ministry's secretary-general, stressed that the country's electricity grid could operate under heavier loads totaling 10,700 MW. Sioufas underlined that two major electricity power stations began operations recently, one in Thessalonica and another in Lavrio, Attica.

[16] Power failures in parts of Attica prefecture

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

The problems appeared in parts of the municipalities of Vyronas, Kareas, Glyfada, Ilioupoli, Peristeri, Markopoulo, Nea Smyrni, Faliro, Rouf, Nea Ionia, Politia, Ekali, Neo Iraklio, Aspropirgos, Pangrati, Psychico, Galatsi and Patisia.

Demand for electric power is expected on Tuesday to be close to Monday's levels, while the National Meteorological Service forecasts that temperatures will remain above 40 degrees centigrade.

[17] Greek cooperative banks' results significantly up in 1st half

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Nikos Myrtakis, president of the Association of Cooperative Banks of Greece, presenting the results said pre-tax profits rose 22 percent in the January-June period, loans were up 22 percent, deposits rose 33 pct, workforce increased by 15 percent the members rose by 11 percent over the six-month period.

[18] Competition Commission to fine Port Organization of Piraeus with 4.5 mln euros

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

The Commission said an agreement signed by the Port Organization of Piraeus and MSC breached competition rules in the country by offering MSC priority services under lower rates. A final decision is expected to be taken during a Competition Commission assembly scheduled for September 18.

[19] Kathimerini gets new director

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Heading the daily newspaper will be journalist and non-executive board member Antonis Karkayiannis, management said in a statement on Monday. The former director, journalist Konstantinos Angelopoulos, has resigned, the statement added.

[20] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks flat

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for high capitalization shares ended 0.48% down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium cap stocks 1.98% higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap shares finished 1.55% up. Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 176 to 84 with 54 remaining unchanged.

Foreign Exchange Rates:

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank:

U.S. dollar 1.302

[21] Tripoli forest fire nearly under control, fire department reports

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Fire-fighters said there was currently no front that was actively burning, only smoke, embers and frequent reignitions. Efforts to bring the fire under complete control were continuing, with firefighters and fire-fighting aircraft.

According to the fire department, it had been a major fire that had threatened homes, as well as destroying olive trees and other crops, but the full extent of the damage was still impossible to assess until it had been fully extinguished. With winds having died down compared with Sunday, the fire was expected to be fully under control within the day.

It will also be carefully guarded for several days afterward to prevent reignition.

The fire broke out at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday in a forest between the villages of Thana and Palladio, a few kilometers outside of Tripolis.

The fire quickly spread due to strong winds in the region.

Forty-five firefighters, two army land divisions, 20 fire engines, four firefighting aircraft and a helicopter were initially taking part in the effort to extinguish the blaze, and were later joined by firefighting units from nearby Vytina and Megalopolis.

[22] Three major wildfires reported on the island of Zakynthos

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

Fifty fire-fighters and 16 fire engines are battling the three fires, aided by 10 fire-fighting planes and one helicopter. Reinforcements have also been sent by the Achaia and Ileia prefecture fire departments.

[23] Forest fire raging in Halkidiki

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

At least 20 fire engines and 60 firemen battled the blaze initially, while reinforcements were being sent to help the effort. The Polychrono-Haniotis road was closed to traffic to facilitate fire engines rushing to the scene of the fire.

[24] 9th int'l international festival of youth orchestras in N. Greece

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

A total of 16 musical groups -- from Latvia, Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, Armenia, Bulgaria as well as Greece - will participate.

[25] Algerian detainee found hanged in police lock-up

ATHENS, 22/8/2006 (ANA)

The man had been arrested on August 12 for possession of narcotics but was later found to be illegally resident in Greece and was being held in order to be deported.

He had been sharing the cell with another prisoner who told police he had not realized what was going on. According to the dead man's cell mate, he had seen the Algerian upright at the cell door but had not realized he was hanged, thinking that he was just standing there. The death was discovered at 7:00 in the morning by police officers.

Police have attributed the death to suicide and have launched an inquiry to see if there is any responsibility on the part of the police force.

[26] Cyprus President to attend ASEM 6 Summit

NICOSIA, 22/8/2006 (CNA/ANA-MPA)

The Summit will bring together the leaders of 38 Asian and European countries and the European Commission and will address topical international issues such as support for the multilateral international system, threats to security including global health threats such as avian flu and questions related to energy security.

EU and Asian leaders will also talk about international efforts to curb climate change and ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the commitment to resume as soon as possible the WTO Doha Development talks suspended in July 2006, questions relating to globalization, competitiveness and structural changes in the global economy, intercultural dialogue as a means to promote mutual understanding.

The Helsinki Summit will mark a special milestone in Asia-Europe relations as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of the ASEM cooperation process.

President Papadopoulos will also be in New York in mid-September, to address the UN General Assembly.

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