Athens News Agency: Daily News Bulletin in English, 06-12-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] Sioufas receives visiting Montenegro foreign minister

[02] Bakoyannis meets Organization of the Islamic Conference GenSec

[03] Roussopoulos on Gul's planned visit to Greece

[04] Defense ministry gives briefing on national strategy for 2007-2013

[05] Minister says troublemakers who attack police officers or stations 'are playing with fire'

[06] Celebration for new EU official

[07] Greeks support common foreign policy for EU, Eurobarometer finds

[08] Support for same sex marriage low in Greece, EU poll shows

[09] Academic community plans strikes in January in reaction to Article 16

[10] Finmin meets central bank governor

[11] Jobless rate at 8.3%

[12] Basiakos says farmers' incomes, agricultural exports have increased under ND rule

[13] Eurostat puts Greece's trade deficit at 25.2 bln euros for Jan-Sep '06

[14] Gov't working to boost solar energy

[15] Ruling party MPs propose incorporating EKAS into minimum IKA pension

[16] Retail sector employment index rises 1.1%

[17] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop

[18] National Gallery exhibition explores French influence on Greek painters

[19] Greek language taught at Egypt's Armed Forces institute

[20] Two tankers collide in sea region of Thessaloniki; no injuries

[21] Archbishop Christodoulos visits military hospitals

[22] Immigrants march to Macedonia-Thrace Ministry

[23] Fundraising campaign for paraplegics shelter in Athens

[24] Drug abuse prevention conference in Thessaloniki

[25] Men's National Basketball team voted best of 2006

[26] Vanhanen: 'Turkey did not honour its commitments and that has consequences'

[27] Purchasing power standards in Cyprus rise

[01] Sioufas receives visiting Montenegro foreign minister

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

After the meeting, Sioufas said that the development ministry, the organizations supervised by the Greek government and Greek businesses would "make use of the opportunities arising in Montenegro in the best possible way", while assuring Rocen of Greece's steadfast support of the efforts of countries in the region to join the European Union.

Rocen underlined the good prospects for developing bilateral cooperation, with an emphasis on economic cooperation, through bilateral agreements and through regional initiatives within an EU framework.

"Until now we have seen the presence of Greek investors in Montenegro. We welcome them. We believe that the way will open for more Greek investors in Montenegro. I am particularly pleased to note that the financial and banking sectors show a desire to be present in Montenegro," he said.

The two ministers agreed to encourage more bilateral contacts on a state level and to create the right conditions for collaboration between businesses in the two countries, while Rocen invited Sioufas to visit his country and discuss specific initiatives.

Also present at the meeting were Greek Deputy Development Minister Anastasios Nerantzis and ministry general secretary Nikos Stefanou, while the Montenegrin delegation included the country's deputy foreign minister Ljubomir Misurovic.

[02] Bakoyannis meets Organization of the Islamic Conference GenSec

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

"We had a very sincere and constructive meeting during which we discussed the latest developments in the Palestinian issue," stated Ihsanoglu speaking to the Turkish mass media.

Ihsanoglu, who visited Athens to address a National Hellenic Research Foundation event on Sunday evening, added that his next stop will be Palestine where he will undertake an initiative aimed at improving relations between Hamas and Fatah.

[03] Roussopoulos on Gul's planned visit to Greece

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Responding to a question on whether Gul will visit Thrace (northeast Greece) Roussopoulos commented that Greece has absolutely nothing to fear, adding that foreign officials can visit the different regions in the country.

Press 'inflated' incident with Turkish F-16, government claims: Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos on Monday claimed that reports appearing in the newspaper "Ethnos" regarding an incident above the Aegean involving two Turkish F-16 fighter jets were "inflated".

Roussopoulos said the incident where two Turkish F-16s had violated Greek airspace occurred but that there had been no harassment of a Greek aircraft or interception. According to the spokesman, the two Turkish jets had approached within three kilometers of a Greek C-130 transport plane before they were identified and intercepted by Greek Mirage figher jets.

He stressed that the Greek foreign ministry had carried out all the necessary actions over the incident.

Spokesman denies different approaches to OTE privatization within government: Government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos underlined on Monday that there were no different approaches to the planned further privatization of Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) between members of the government, stressing that the issue was considered "closed".

He also denied all knowledge of a statement attributed to the prime minister's advisor Yiannis Kefaloyannis, who allegedly said that any minister disagreeing with government policy should resign, stressing that there was no question of resignation for Environment Minister George Souflias or any other member of the Cabinet.

Asked about a statement by Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis referring to 'fifth column-type thinking' within the government, the spokesman said that he contacted the minister, who said that he had not made the statement in the sense attributed to it by sections of the media.

[04] Defense ministry gives briefing on national strategy for 2007-2013

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The meeting was chaired by National Defense Minister Evangelos Meimarakis and attended by Deputy National Defense Minister Vassilis Michaloliakos, Deputy Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization Minister Athanassios Nakos, Deputy Economy and Finance Minister Petros Doukas as well as Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) Admiral Panagiotis Hinofotis.

[05] Minister says troublemakers who attack police officers or stations 'are playing with fire'

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The minister warned that troublemakers who attack armed police officers or police stations with explosive devices "are playing with fire."

Polydoras said that the political parties should take a stance on such attacks and he particularly called on the Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology (Synaspismos) party to clarify its position on such phenomena, "protagonists of which are individuals who self-proclaim themselves anti-authority" elements and who "are opposed to the existing system of governance in our country."

The public order minister called on Synaspismos to give a straight answer whether it condoned the stoning last week of a police station in the Athens suburb of Papagos and the "various 'parties' by anti-authority anarchists."

[06] Celebration for new EU official

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

In the October vote, Dimitriadis gained 238 votes in favor, 2 against and 9 abstentions.

The 317-member committee, which was established under the Treaty of Rome in 1957, acts as an advisory body to the EU that represents employers and employees in the bloc's decision-making process.

Dimitriadis, first vice-president of the National Confederation of Greek Commerce, has been a member of the committee since 1999. In October 2004, he was elected vice-president responsible for budget issues.

[07] Greeks support common foreign policy for EU, Eurobarometer finds

BRUSSELS, 19/12/2006 (ANA-MPA)

The opinion poll was conducted between September 6 and October 10 in the 25 EU member-states, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia and the Turkish-Cypriot community on Cyprus.

It found that 80% of Slovenians and Greeks are in favor of a joint EU foreign policy, compared with an EU average of 68%. The lowest level of support was in the United Kingdom at 48% and Sweden with 51%.

Among candidate-countries, support for a common foreign policy was 39% among Turks and 48% among Turkish-Cypriots.

Support for continued EU enlargement is also strong in Greece at 71%, though higher in Poland (76%) and Slovenia (74%), compared with an EU average of 46%. The lowest support is recorded in Germany (30%) and Austria (31%). Further enlargement is supported by 50% of Turks and 53% of Turkish-Cypriots, compared with 66% for the Cyprus Republic.

With 74%, Greeks and Danes also rank third-highest for believing that their country benefited from joining the EU, after the Irish with 87% and Lithuanians with 77%, while the EU average on this question is 54%. The lowest percentages for this question were among the British (39%) and Hungarians (41%).

[08] Support for same sex marriage low in Greece, EU poll shows

BRUSSELS, 19/12/2006 (ANA-MPA)

Greeks ranked third-lowest in the EU on whether marriage between homosexual couples should be allowed, with only 15% in favor, after Latvians with 12% and Cypriots with 14%. The EU average for this question was 44% and the highest rates of approval were recorded in the Netherlands with 81% and Sweden with 71%.

Support for allowing homosexual couples to adopt children was even lower among Greeks at 11%, while only 10% of Cypriots, 8% of Latvians and 7% of Poles or Maltese were in favor. The EU average for adoption by homosexuals was 32%, with the highest rates of approval in the Netherlands with 69% and in Sweden with 51%.

Regarding the contribution made by immigrants to their country, 43% of Greeks believe that immigrants have made a positive contribution, compared with 40% for the average EU resident. In Sweden, 79% believe immigrants have contributed to Sweden, while only 12% of Slovakians believe that immigrants have contributed to their own country.

On the legalization of cannabis for personal use, 19% of Greeks are in favor against an EU average of 26%. Support is highest among the Dutch with 49% and in Spain (40%), while least in favor are the Finns (8%) and Swedes (9%).

[09] Academic community plans strikes in January in reaction to Article 16

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

In a press conference on Monday, the Panhellenic Federation of University Professors, with the participation of students, stressed the intention of the academic community to strike on January 10, the day Article 16 will be discussed in Parliament.

The federation's president, Lazaros Apekis, said that many initiatives will be taken by various agencies which converge on a common target:"The utmost sensitivity of society so as to avert the revision of Article 16 and for a more effective defense of public and free higher education."

Apekis noted:"the public good of education must be granted free of charge by the state for all citizens. It will not become a commodity which only those who can manage can buy."

Meanwhile, in view of the ensuing debate in Parliament on the 2007 budget, 33 student associations have decided in a symbolic move, to encircle Parliament at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The students are also planning, along with their teachers, to hold two rallies in Athens, on Wednesday and Thursday.

[10] Finmin meets central bank governor

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The meeting focused on budget issues and the regulations that will have to be implemented in the operation of the financial system, based on Community Regulations.

[11] Jobless rate at 8.3%

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

"It is many years since we have seen this figure," the minister told parliament on the second day of debate on the government's budget for 2007.

The jobless data is due for official release by the Greek National Statistics Service on Tuesday.

Alogoskoufis, architect of the budget, noted that unemployment had fallen three percentage points to 8.3% from 11.3% in March 2004 when the main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) lost national elections.

"No-one can be satisfied with this level of joblessness, as people are behind the figures. Government policy aims to provide more Greeks with jobs every day, aided by tax reform, the investment law, a law on joint private and public sector ventures, and privatization," he said.

"Unfortunately PASOK has said no to each of these initiatives," he added.

The house budget debate will end with a roll-call vote by midnight on Thursday.

[12] Basiakos says farmers' incomes, agricultural exports have increased under ND rule

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Basiakos said that PASOK leader George Papandreou spoke in 2005 of "a drop of up to 50 per cent," at the same time stating that PASOK "has been transformed into an of irresponsible danger-mongering" party.

Commenting on PASOK's charges that there has been a drop in the income of farmers, Basiakos referred to Statistics Service data, according to which, as he said, "in the last two years of PASOK governance, agricultural income showed a decrease of 11.2 per cent, while in the first two years of governance by the New Democracy (ND) party, it showed a 2.5 per cent increase." The minister noted that "the increase would have been greater if it was not for the increase in the price of fuel."

The minister expressed his satisfaction "over the increase of agricultural exports by 24 per cent in 2005 (compared to 2004) and by 29 per cent in the first eight months of 2006." He noted that under PASOK, "agricultural exports showed a stable downward trend."

Basiakos also observed that the increase in public investments in the agricultural sector "increased from 430 million euros in the 2002-3 period to 823 million euros in the 2004-5 period, while only in 2006, it is assessed that 479 million euros will be absorbed."

[13] Eurostat puts Greece's trade deficit at 25.2 bln euros for Jan-Sep '06

BRUSSELS, 19/12/2006 (ANA-MPA)

Specifically, the EU executive's statistical service said exports from the country totaled 12.3 billion euros, whereas imports reached 37.4 billion euros.

On a more optimistic note, exports increased by 22 percent over the same period in comparison with Jan-Sep 2005, while imports increased by 16 percent.

[14] Gov't working to boost solar energy

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

He was speaking after a meeting with the Union of Solar Energy Industries chaired by Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas.

The sector currently has more than 3,000 employees.

[15] Ruling party MPs propose incorporating EKAS into minimum IKA pension

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The proposal was put to the economy and labor ministers through a question tabled in Parliament, in which the MPs note that the EKAS system established by PASOK was complex, bureaucratic and created numerous distortions and income inequalities among those on low pensions.

They note that retaining the system, even though the government will fulfill a pledge to double EKAS to 230 euros a month from 2008, will still cause the same unfair income disparities.

[16] Retail sector employment index rises 1.1%

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

Eurobank acquires Bulgarian bank

Athens-quoted Eurobank EFG said on Monday that it had acquired control of DZI Bank after concluding the purchase of 74.26% of the Bulgarian credit institution's shares through the Sofia Stock Exchange.

The sale agreement was made on September 29, management said in a statement.

The Eurobank EFG group has submitted documentation to the Financial Supervision Commission of Bulgaria (FSC) to proceed with a tender offer for the remaining shares of DZI Bank, the statement said.

Eurobank EFG already has a presence in Bulgaria through a subsidiary, Bulgarian Post Bank, which has a distribution network of more than 150 branches.

Eurobank's objective is to merge the two banks in 2007 in order to create a leading banking institution, operating a network of 280 branches and commanding an aggregate market share of approximately 10% in the rapidly growing Bulgarian market, management reported.

Following the acquisition of DZI, Eurobank employs more than 3,000 people in Bulgaria, investing more than 300 million euros in the country since 1998.

[17] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop

ATHENS, 19/12/2006 (ANA/MPA)

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for high capitalization shares ended 0.21% down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium cap stocks 0.46% higher; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap shares finished 0.88% up.

Of stocks traded, advances led declines at 139 to 111 with 56 remaining unchanged.

Stock Futures: