Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-06-03
NEWS IN ENGLISH
Athens, Greece, 03/06/1997 (ANA)
MAIN HEADLINES
- Pangalos in Albania for talks with political leadership
- Government to see through current economic policy
- Mitsotakis says Greek-Turkish relations on the right road
- Kastanidis inaugurates fibre optic cable
- Kaklamanis to visit Finland
- Greek police ceizes 50 kilos of heroin
- Cleridis to visit Athens
- Athens ready to increase peacekeeping force for Albanian elections
- Mount Athos representatives object to Schengen accord
- V. Papandreou discusses gas and oil pipeline proposals
- Greek-Israeli economic ties improve
- Weather
- Foreign exchange
NEWS IN DETAIL
Pangalos in Albania for talks with political leadership
Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos arrived in Tirana today to have talks
with Albanian President Sali Berisha and Prime Minister Bashkim Fino on
efforts to normalise the situation in the neighbouring country ahead of the
June 29 general elections.
Pangalos, accompanied by foreign ministry officials, will also meet with
the leaders of Albanian opposition parties as well as the leadership of the
ethnic Greek minority party 'Omonia'.
He is expected to visit Greek troops stationed in Albania as part of the
multinational protection force later in the day.
Pangalos's talks with the Albanian leadership are also expected to focus on
any additional measures that Greece could offer through the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe for free and fair elections.
Bilateral relations following the elections are also expected to be
discussed.
Speaking after a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Luxembourg
yesterday, Pangalos said that Greece would be willing to provide observers
and possibly additional troops to ensure the elections were conducted
fairly.
Albania has just four weeks to prepare for elections that will decide
whether the country can put an end to the anarchy and violence that broke
out after the collapse of pyramid investment schemes and the loss of life
savings for thousands of Albanians.
An estimated one million weapons were plundered from armouries during the
March riots, in which several hundred people were killed, and grave
security concerns continue to plague the organisation of the elections.
An ANA despatch from Tirana said later that Pangalos did not make
statements after his talks with Berisha and Fino, but was expected to give
a press conference this evening.
According to press sources however, Fino and Albanian Foreign Minister
Arian Starova, who also had talks with Pangalos, expressed concern about
the recent flurry of bomb attacks in Albania.
Both reportedly asked Pangalos for Greece's help in reorganising the police
force and customs authorities.
Pangalos also had talks with Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano and was
expected to meet with the leaders of the other political parites.
Government to see through current economic policy
National Economy and Finance Minister Yiannos Papantoniou reiterated today
that there would be no changes in the government's current economic
policy.
Commenting meanwhile on the election result in France while speaking to
reporters, Papantoniou predicted that the victory of the French left would
lead to a certain flexibility in the interpretation of Maastricht criteria
on public deficits regarding participation in European Economic and
Monetary Union.
Referring to a bill submitted to parliament on Monday that reduces lump sum
retirement payments to civil servants, he made clear that their union had
agreed to the change in order to avert the danger of collapse of the
pension system.
Under the new pay scale for civil servants, lump sum retirement payments
would have risen by 80 percent.
Mitsotakis says Greek-Turkish relations on the right road
Relations between Greece and Turkey are on the right road but there is
still a long way to go, former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis said
today on his arrival in Turkey to receive a Greek-Turkish friendship
award.
"I would say that we have entered a somewhat better phase. But we are still
at the absolute beginning. We have a long way ahead us," Mitsotakis
said.
The honorary president of conservative opposition New Democracy was in
Turkey to receive the Abdi Ipekci peace and friendship prize, awarded
biannually to honour efforts for conciliation and cooperation between the
two countries.
It is named for the Turkish journalist who was murdered a few days after
returning from a trip to Greece.
"I hope that in the years to come the peaceful spirit of Abdi Ipekci will
lead the thoughts of both peoples and will open the way for a better era in
Greek-Turkish relations," Mitsotakis said.
Previous prize winners have included former Greek foreign minister Mihalis
Papaconstantinou and former Turkish foreign minister Hikmet Cetin.
Kastanidis inaugurates fibre optic cable
A new undersea fibre optic cable was inaugurated in Corfu on Tuesday by
Greek Transport and Communications Minister Haris Kastanidis, his Albanian
counterpart Photos Duca and the chairman of the Hellenic Telecommunications
Organisation (OTE), Dimitris Papoulias.
Kastanidis said the Adria 1 project was an example of international
cooperation in peaceful sectors such as telecommunications. The network
would provide new services at competitive prices to many users from the
Middle East to central Europe.
Kastanidis added that Greece was seeking new ventures with other Balkan
countries and stressed the need for the development of a similar network in
the Black Sea.
Adria 1 is jointly owned by the Albanian Telecommunications Organisation,
Croatia Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and OTE. Total investment in the project
was 15 million dollars.
Kaklamanis to visit Finland
Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis leaves tomorrow for Finland to
attend the regular meeting of house speakers of the European Union member-
states.
The meeting will be held in Helsinki from June 5-7.
According to the agenda, Kaklamanis will brief delegates in detail on the
results of the equivalent meeting of house speakers of Mediterranean
countries which was held in Athens on April 6-7 on the initiative of the
Greek Parliament.
He is also expected to express his views on other important issues on the
agenda, such as the role of national assemblies in European institutions
and the process of EU enlargement, with particular emphasis on Cyprus' bid
to join the Community.
Kaklamanis will also have the opportunity to meet with counterparts on the
sidelines of the meeting, to inform them about the course of Greece's
national issues.
Greek police seizes 50 kilos of heroin
Corfu police today dealt a major blow to international drug traffickers
when they arrested a German national and seized 50 kilos of heroin.
Acting on information received, the police arrested Henri Yassen Hoster, 34
(phonetic spelling) after he had driven on to the ferry-boat ''Mentia''
which operates the Igoumenitsa-Corfu-Brindisi service.
The police and customs officials asked Hoster to take his car off the ferry-
boat for a search which revealed the heroin packed in 50 one-kilo
slabs.
Half of the heroin was hidden in the car's specially made petrol tank and
half in the seat.
According to unconfirmed initial reports, Hoster had driven to Greece from
Istanbul via Bulgaria. At the time of his arrest he was heading for Italy
and his final destination is believed to have been Germany.
Cleridis to visit Athens
Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides will visit Athens for talks with Prime
Minister Costas Simitis before direct talks are held between the Greek- and
Turkish-Cypriot communities, an ANA despatch from Nicosia said today.
The despatch quoted government spokesman Manolis Christofidis as saying
that the meeting was necessitated within the framework of the preparations
of the Greek-Cypriot side.
Christofidis added that Cyprus' National Council would convene as soon as
Clerides had been invited to participate in the direct talks by UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan.
The spokesman said that the exact date for Clerides' visit to Greece had
not yet been set.
Athens ready to increase peacekeeping force for Albanian elections
Greece is willing to increase the number of Greek soldiers participating in
the multinational peacekeeping force in Albania, Foreign Minister Theodoros
Pangalos said in Luxembourg yesterday.
Speaking to the press following a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council,
also attended by Alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, Mr. Pangalos
said "there is a tendency to augment the international presence (in
Albania) in order to guarantee free and indisputable elections."
The Greek foreign minister, who is expected in Albania today for talks with
top government officials, said Greece would be willing, within its
abilities, to provide observers and possibly additional troops.
Referring to former Yugoslavia, Mr. Pangalos said that Greece supported the
Dayton peace agreements and assisted in efforts to create institutions that
were in accord with the agreement.
He pointed out that the 15 EU members were reserved in sending off military
forces and funds.
"It's characteristic that many countries have not even contributed yet to
the process of funding municipal elections in Bosnia," he said, adding that
Greece had already contributed US$500,000.
Mount Athos representatives object to Schengen accord
Representatives of the all-male monastic community of Mount Athos yesterday
reiterated their opposition to the content of the Schengen Agreement,
saying it paved the way for violation of individuals' privacy.
Representatives from 20 monasteries of Mount Athos yesterday held an
extraordinary meeting to express their views prior to Parliamentary debate
this month on ratification of the Schengen Agreement.
The agreement, named after the Luxembourg hamlet in which it was signed,
came into effect in March 1995. Already ratified by a number of European
Union member-states, the agreement foresees removal of border controls
between participating EU members' citizens, and closer cooperation on
police matters with the creation of vast computer databases.
In an announcement, the monks called on Greek deputies not to ratify the
agreement and to revoke a law already passed "on the protection of the
citizen against the computer processing of data of a personal nature" which,
they said, should be replaced "by a corresponding law which affords real,
rather than bogus protection."
If Athens attempted to implement the agreement, the monks stressed, the
state would find itself up against all of Mount Athos' monks "as conscientious
objectors."
According to the monks, the Schengen Agreement completes the legislative
framework for the creation of computer files concerning individual citizens
on a European-wide, "and perhaps later, a world level."
They claim that this could lead to violations of privacy and "the
monitoring of every free person... (thus) abolishing the presumption of a
citizen's innocence."
V. Papandreou discusses gas and oil pipeline proposals
The condition of the pipeline transporting natural gas from Russia to
Greece was one of the issues discussed by Development Minister Vasso
Papandreou and the president of Bulgaria's energy commitee Georgi Stoilov,
The Bulgarian News Agency disclosed yesterday.
The meeting was held on May 27 in Brussels, on the sidelines of a European
Union and associate members' meeting on energy.
The two officials also discussed the proposed Burgas-Alexandroupoli oil
pipeline as well as the issue of radioactive waste disposal, while Ms
Papandreou said Athens did not favour the idea that disposal areas be
located in southern Bulgaria.
Greek-Israeli economic ties improve
Israeli ambassador to Athens Ran Curiel yesterday said Greek-Israeli
commercial and economic relations have shown a rapid improvement over the
past years due to the goodwill existing on the part of both countries.
He spoke at an event organised by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (EBEA) in cooperation with the Israeli embassy's commercial
department.
Mr. Curiel said the geographical position of Greece and Israel provides
comparative advantages for the import of the two countries' products in the
wider Balkan and Mediterranean region.
Greece's exports to Israel amounted to US$126 million in 1995, according to
a bulletin issued by EBEA, increasing by 16 per cent compared to 1994.
Imports in the same year increased 47 per cent as against 1994 and totalled
US$128 million.
The main products Greece exports to Israel are building materials,
metallurgical products, foodstuffs, textiles, paper products, clothing,
electrical products, marble and sanitary equipment.
Greece's main imports from Israel are chemical fertilizers, pesticides,
plastics, air conditioning systems, optics and high technology products.
WEATHER
Local cloudiness, scattered rain and rainstorms are forecast for most parts
of Greece today, especially in the west and south. Winds variable, light to
moderate. Athens will be cloudy with possible rain in the afternoon and
temeratures will between 15-28C. Similar weather in Thessaloniki where
temperatures will be between 13-24C.
FOREIGN EXCHANGE
Monday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 272.334
Pound sterling 445.983 Cyprus pd 532.129
French franc 46.842 Swiss franc 191.039
German mark 158.298 Italian lira (100) 16.028
Yen (100) 233.983 Canadian dlr. 197.547
Australian dlr. 206.728 Irish Punt 410.509
Belgian franc 7.668 Finnish mark 52.536
Dutch guilder 140.661 Danish kr. 41.565
Swedish kr. 35.081 Norwegian kr. 38.232
Austrian sch. 22.479 Spanish peseta 1.873
Port. Escudo 1.563
(M.S.)
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