Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-11-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] Finmin backs sale of non-sporting Olympics works after the games

[02] Greek Parliament ratifies protocol admitting new states into NATO

[03] Main opposition outlines election policy platform

[04] Greece, Bulgaria want to update technical study for oil pipeline

[05] Athens Olympics key opportunity for investment, growth

[06] Gov't slaps price ceiling on coffee in leisure venues

[07] FIFA officials satisfied with progress of work at Olympic tournament

[08] Titles 5

[09] Cultural Olympiad event to take place in Moscow

[10] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

[11] Weather Forecast: Light cloud on Friday

[12] ASE follows other European market higher on Thursday

[01] Finmin backs sale of non-sporting Olympics works after the games

National economy and finance minister Nikos Christodoulakis on Thursday called for full privatisation of the non-sport infrastructures constructed for the 2004 Athens Olympics after the Games.

Addressing a conference on ''The Greek Economy after the Olympic Games of 2004'', Christodoulakis explained that the cost of maintenance of many of the infrastructure projects would be immense and put a severe strain on State budget, and consequently the option of their full privatisation should be examined as a solution.

Christodoulakis was also categorical that the high growth rates would be continued after the 2004 Games.

[02] Greek Parliament ratifies protocol admitting new states into NATO

The Greek Parliament on Thursday passed a foreign ministry bill ratifying protocols for a NATO Treaty admitting new member-states Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia into the Alliance.

Present during the discussion and vote on the bill was visiting Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov.

MPs later voted on and passed a foreign ministry bill on ''The organisation of foreign ministry services for international financial relations and developmental cooperation and other articles''.

[03] Main opposition outlines election policy platform

Main opposition New Democracy will seek to modernise public administration, curb corruption, and tackle fiscal revitalisation through restraint in state spending and redesign of the public investments programme, the party's leader, Costas Karamanlis, said on Thursday.

''We would proceed with deregulation to attract new investment initiatives and the adoption of structural initiatives. We are preparing a radically different tax regime characterised by simplicity, stability, constancy, codification, lower tax brackets, powerful investment incentives, and electronic cross-checking to quash tax evasion,'' Karamanlis said.

''In our first six months in office, we would set in motion an integrated action plan against corruption,'' he told a conference on the Greek economy after the Athens 2004 Olympics arranged in Athens by the International Herald Tribune newspaper.

General elections are due in April 2004, with the Olympics following in August of the same year.

[04] Greece, Bulgaria want to update technical study for oil pipeline

Greece and Bularia agreed on Thursday that a plan to build a pipeline from Burgas to Alexandroupolis carrying Russian oil needed accelerating through an update to its technical study and consultations with companies involved in the construction consortium.

Following talks in Athens, Development Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos and Bulgarian Regional Development and Public Works Minister B. Tserovski told a news conference that progress in implementing the project would be discernible within two years.

[05] Athens Olympics key opportunity for investment, growth

EU Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou said on Thursday that the Athens 2004 Olympics presented a key opportunity for growth and investment.

''Firms have a responsibility to seize this chance, to be innovative, to invest and to create infrastructure and systems for a Greece that has the whole world as its horizon,'' Diamantopoulou told a conference on the Greek economy after the Olympics arranged by the International Herald Tribune.

Hosting the event would benefit areas including employment and tourism, as well as Greece's image abroad, she said.

''Accelerating the (Olympic) projects entails cost, but we can amortise the cost,'' the commissioner added.

[06] Gov't slaps price ceiling on coffee in leisure venues

The government has set a price ceiling of 1.5 euros per cup of Greek coffee and 2.5 euros on other coffees for customers of leisure venues who buy take-aways, opt for stand-up cafes, or purchase in self-service cafeterias.

The measure is contained in a development ministry circular released on Thursday.

[07] FIFA officials satisfied with progress of work at Olympic tournament stadiums

Officials of the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) visiting cities where soccer matches will take place in 2004 expressed their absolute satisfaction over the progress of work both at stadiums where Olympic tournament matches will be held and at facilities to be used as training grounds.

''We visited all the soccer stadiums under construction in Thessaloniki, Volos, Athens, Patra and Irakleio, as well as certain training facilities which we did not have the opportunity of seeing during our previous visit, such as of Kalamaria and of Thyella Patra. We are absolutely satisfied both with the progress of work and with the standard of training facilities,'' said FIFA Vice President and President of the Olympic Tournaments' Organising Committee Isha Hayatou.

FIFA's delegation will visit Greece again in March and Hayatou expressed hope that the organisers' commitments will have been materialised and all stadiums will be delivered within the existing timetables.

The officials visited Irakleio, on the island of Crete, on Thursday and inspected the stadium under construction there. In the evening they were due to visit Nea Smyrni stadium to watch the UEFA Cup second round tie between Panionios Athens and Barcelona of Spain.

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