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Athens News Agency: News in English (PM), 97-11-03

Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

NEWS IN ENGLISH

Athens, Greece, 03/11/1997 (ANA)


MAIN HEADLINES

  • Summit of Southeast European countries begins
  • Greece wants good relations with Turkey
  • Greece presents blueprint for regional economic cooperation
  • Balkan leaders' contributions
  • Turkish planes infringe Athens FIR
  • Language sticking-point in FYROM-Bulgaria relations
  • Albanians to undergo vaccination programme
  • Greek First Division soccer results
  • Weather
  • Foreign exchange

NEWS IN DETAIL

Summit of Southeast European countries begins

Greece's Prime Minister Costas Simitis today called for a "new reality" and a "new page" in the Balkans to avoid a return to "old practices", which he warned would lead the region to "defeat".

Opening the first-ever Balkan summit, titled the informal Southeastern Europe Meeting, at Aghia Pelagia near the Cretan capital of Heraklion, Simitis said that international law, the international treaties and international bodies of justice "must be an inalienable element of every policy and comprise the only road to peace, prosperity and development in the region".

"We are at a crossroads, and persistence in old practices or a return to the past would lead all of us to defeat," he told the heads of state or government of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, FYROM, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

"Many see the Balkans as a region of bloody clashes and conflicts, resulting in their hesitating to embrace the area or keeping distances," Simitis told the two-day summit.

"We must change this situation. In our days, with the globalisation of the economy, economic frontiers have been abolished and groupings of states (such as the EU and the World Trade Organisation) are being formed. These historic changes demand adaptation and redetermination of policies for the coming century," Simitis said.

The Greek premier called for "seeking new perspectives on all the crucial issues".

He said solutions could not be sought "on the basis of the rivalries of the past decades, since the meanings that determine the prevailing mentality of the past -- such as areas of influence, vital space -- do not correspond with the future".

"We all have a past, but we must overcome it to a great degree in order to determine the future," he urged.

Simitis said peace and stability should not be "fragile", adding that the peoples needed to be "assured that there will be no new clashes in the future".

"The reality in Europe," he said, "creates new potential and should not increase the distance from our goals, as it is our duty to give the peoples of the Balkans a better prospect."

Simitis called for the consolidation of peace, respect of international law, economic cooperation and solidarity in the Balkans, and said "we all desire an answer to the problems that separate us, and Greece will work for a better tomorrow".

Greece wants good relations with Turkey

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos stressed today that Greece was greatly interested in establishing good relations with neighbouring Turkey, just a few hours before talks this evening between the prime ministers of the two countries.

Pangalos was speaking to reporters after the first session of the Balkan summit at Aghia Pelagia, near the Cretan capital of Heraklion.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis was scheduled to meet this evening with his Turkish counterpart Mesut Yilmaz on the sidelines of the summit.

Pangalos declined to make an forecast about the result of the talks between the two premiers, saying it was something was concerned only them.

He added that the Balkan leaders who requested bilateral talks with Simitis were able to choose the manner in which the meeting would be held, noting that both Yilmaz and Albanian Premier Fatos Nano had asked for one-on-one talks with the Greek premier.

Asked whether it would be possible for Greece and Turkey, in view of the summit, to postpone the military exercises currently being conducted by both countries, Pangalos replied that it was not possible to suspend exercises which had already begun.

"What is important is that the exercises be conducted without creating any problems," he stressed.

Replying to other questions, Pangalos noted that the recognition of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court at the Hague was not a Greek demand but a prerequisite for participation in the European Union.

He underlined that all European countries had acknowledged the jurisdiction of the International Court.

Asked to comment on statements yesterday by Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem concerning the peaceful settlement of disputes in the manner stipulated by article 33 of the UN Charter, Pangalos said Cem's position was completely compatible with the need to recognise the compulsory jurisdiction of the Hague court.

He also expressed satisfaction at the position expressed by his Turkish counterpart.

Concerning the reservation expressed by Greece with respect to the jurisdiction of the International Court, Pangalos said it pertained to matters of defence and national security, adding that similar reservations had been expressed by many countries, including the United States.

"If Turkey too accepts the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court, then it too will be able to express one or more reservations and the two countries (Greece and Turkey) will then be able to see which issues they can resolve at the Hague," Pangalos said.

At this point, Pangalos said that the issue of the delineation of the Aegean continental shelf could be examined by the International Court, expressing his conviction that "in reality, this is the only real problem between the two countries".

Greece presents blueprint for regional economic cooperation

Prime Minister Costas Simitis today proposed the institutionalisation of cooperation between the countries of southeast Europe along the lines of the European Union, at the morning session on the first day of the summit of Balkan leaders in Crete.

In addition to further summit meetings, Simitis proposed the convening of "Council of Ministers" to promote separate issues within their competence.

At the end of the session, Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos announced that the next meeting of Balkan foreign ministers would be held in Istanbul in June while the heads of state and government would meet for the second time in the Turkish city of Antalya in October next year.

During the session, discussion also focussed on the creation of a Centre for the Coordination of Economic Activities.

Pangalos said this issue had long been delayed "due to a lack of political impetus".

Pangalos said the coordination of the activities of non-governmental organisations was discussed "in a positive climate".

Clearly satisfied with the talks so far, Pangalos said inter-Balkan cooperation was already a fact.

Presenting the framework of the Greek proposal "for the building of a new reality in southeast Europe", Simitis said that Balkan ministers competent for commerce and investments should meet regularly, at least once a year, to examine the progress made on decisions taken.

"I should like also to propose that we set up in Athens a centre to bring legislation of the countries of the region into line with the rules of the European Union.

"Greece has particular experience in this area and could make a decisive contribution in this respect," Simitis said.

Turning to cross-border cooperation, Simitis proposed that economy and finance ministers of the region should meet at least once a year, and experts from the various countries once every six months, "to examine the financing possibilities available under various EU programmes".

Of decisive importance for the further development of economic cooperation in the region, Simitis continued, will be the implementation of various decisions taken by the Balkan governments in the sectors of transport, telecommunications and energy.

Here too, Simitis proposed meetings of competent ministers at least once a year and of experts every six months.

"I believe it is necessary to assign to the foreign ministers of our countries the monitoring of the results of these meetings and (for them) to discuss progress on these issues at their meetings," Simitis said.

Simitis said the globalisation of the economy did not eliminate the need for regional cooperation which, he stressed, was of particular importance "in the case of countries like ours which are relatively isolated geographically from the nucleus of the European Union".

He stressed that the development of economic cooperation in the region at all levels should be an absolute priority.

"The limited cooperation and economic relations which existed between our countries until recently must now be replaced with a network of initiatives and collaboration, bilateral and multilateral, for the promotion of investments, common infrastructures, technological cooperation, joint business ventures, and the optimum use and improvement of human resources," Simitis said.

Simitis urged efforts for the creation of "a more cohesive financial area of cooperation in our region, characterised by development and the convergence of our economies".

He said in order to upgrade "our position" in the international distribution of labour and increase the competitiveness of "our products", it was necessary to improve and expand "our productive bases" through new investments, particularly in areas of high added value and technology.

"Our countries will become attractive for new investments only if they succeed in becoming parts of a broader market, which will allow the proper exploitation of economies of scale," he said.

Therefore, he continued, it was in the common interest to take all the necessary measures to facilitate the free movement of goods, services and capital, in line with the provisions of the World Trade Organisation and EU rules.

Of strategic importance for the future of the region, Simitis said, was cooperation in the infrastructures sector.

"Today, most investments in the infrastructures sector are not effective when they are designed for one country alone," he said.

He said the systematic monitoring of the implementation of the various economic cooperation decisions taken by the countries of the region would require the operation of a more permanent coordinating body, "for example, an International Secretariat for the Conference of the countries of Southeast Europe," in order to secure the necessary continuity between the various meetings and serve as a point of reference for all the states.

"Greece would be willing to host such a secretariat," he said.

Balkan leaders' contributions

In the discussion following Simitis' presentation this morning, the other Balkan leaders concentrated on their countries' concern for their future relations with NATO and the European Union, practical measures to promote cooperation among Balkan states and support for the idea of frequent communication between leaders in the region.

According to informed sources, Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz congratulated the Greek government on promoting cooperation and friendship in the region in the form of the summit.

Mr. Yilmaz also reportedly said that nationalism and intolerance were threats that should be overcome. Cooperation, he added, was moving forward, while the accession of the region's countries was of strategic importance.

The Turkish prime minister also expressed approval of the creation of a free trade zone, proposing that a Regional Trade Centre be based in Turkey.

Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, expressing support for the Greek initiative, emphasised the need to convince the European Union to change its view with regard to the Balkans and to change its policy of selective treatment (of countries in the region).

Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano emphasised that efforts should be directed toward the adoption of rules of democracy, the protection of human rights and economic growth. Mr. Nano proposed the foundation of a Centre for Regional Cultural Communication, based in Albania.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov placed particular emphasis on the need to develop regional networks in the sectors of energy, communications and transport. He also expressed the hope that the Egnatia Highway would reach "as far as Varna".

Meanwhile, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia President Kiro Gligorov warned against any "hasty regional integration in the creation of new European regions which did not help the process of European integration", although he did not rule out the development of all forms of cooperation in the region.

With regard to the role of Greece as a member state of the European Union and of NATO, Gligorov stressed that Greece could help towards speeding up the process of accession to the European Union and the Atlantic Alliance of countries in the region. This process, however, "should not benefit one country at the expense of the whole region, nor should new centres of power be created."

At the same time, the FYROM president proposed the creation of a centre, based in Skopje, aimed at assisting in the transition from a planned economy to a market economy.

Turkish planes infringe Athens FIR

Turkish warplanes today infringed the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) as leaders from eight Balkan countries, including Turkey, were holding their first summit on the Greek island of Crete.

National Defence Ministry sources said eight pairs of Turkish jetfighters infringed the Athens FIR over the central Aegean Sea region, and in one instance the pair also violated Greek national airspace over the island of Samos.

The sources said that the Turkish fighters were intercepted by Greek warplanes in all instances.

Language sticking-point in FYROM-Bulgaria relations

The language problem is the main obstacle to improvement of relations between Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), according to diplomatic observers at the Balkan summit at the Cretan resort of Aghia Pelagia.

The observations came after a half-hour meeting Sunday night between FYROM president Kiro Gligorov and Bulgarian prime minister Ivan Kostov.

Gligorov raised the language issue during the sideline meeting with Kostov, who replied that overall cooperation "can proceed by leaving aside the language problem".

Kostov side-stepped a reminder by Gligorov that there were about 20 economic cooperation agreements between the two countries that were pending signature.

Sources close to the FYROM delegation believe that Kostov was not authorised to discuss the issue, and that it fell under the "exclusive authority" of Bulgarian president Petar Stoyanov.

Albanians to undergo vaccination programme

All Albanians working in Greece are to be innoculated, it was announced after talks today on a cooperation protocol between Health Minister Costas Geitonas and his Albanian counterpart Leonard Salis.

Geitonas said only those Albanians who had been innoculated would be given a work permit. The protocol also provides for the cooperation of the Centre for Infectious Diseases and the Organisation against Drug Addiction (OKANA) with regard to an exchange of information on drugs, AIDS and other diseases.

Greek hospitals will also be treating about 300 cases per year that cannot be dealt with in Albania.

Greek First Division soccer results:

Panahaiki-Veria 2-1 Apollon-Ethnikos 1-0 Xanthi-Ionikos 4-2 Paniliakos-AEK 2-4 Olympiakos-Kalamata 3-0 OFH-Panathinaikos 0-3 PAOK-Heracles 2-2 Standings-points: Ionikos, Panathinaikos 21 AEK 19 Olympiakos 18 Heracles, Xanthi 14

WEATHER

Some cloudiness with local rain is forecast around the southeastern parts of Greece today. Winds north to northeasterly. Local clouds with spells of sunshine and light northerly winds in Athens with temperatures ranging from 8-17C. Thessaloniki will also be partly cloudy with temperatures from 6- 15C.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Friday's closing rates - buying US dlr. 269.149 Pound sterling 450.170 Cyprus pd 528.042 French franc 46.529 Swiss franc 191.992 German mark 155.843 Italian lira (100) 15.885 Yen (100) 224.529 Canadian dlr. 191.178 Australian dlr. 188.986 Irish Punt 403.942 Belgian franc 7.558 Finnish mark 51.892 Dutch guilder 138.260 Danish kr. 40.999 Swedish kr. 35.807 Norwegian kr. 38.321 Austrian sch. 22.157 Spanish peseta 1.846 Port. Escudo 1.528

(M.P.)


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