Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-02-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] EPP ends Athens summit in presence of six European PMs

[02] George Papandreou outlines March 7 election platform for the economy

[03] Powell sends letter congratulating new Greek FM, refers to Cyprus issue

[04] PM briefed on Athens tram construction, says work progressing well

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

[07] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in pressure on lower cap paper

[01] EPP ends Athens summit in presence of six European PMs

Main opposition New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis hosted the European People's Party's (EPP) summit in Athens which came to an end on Thursday afternoon in the presence of six European centre-right prime ministers.

The summit focused primarily on the Brussels summit on March 25-26, mainly expected to examine the issue of employment, the European constitution and the issue of Cyprus.

Karamanlis bid farewell to his guests at the airport and expressed confidence that his party will win the March 7 elections.

He said the EPP's forces ''are a majority in Europe and will be so tomorrow as well'' and stressed that the climate was excellent during the summit.

Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and Portuguese Prime Minister Durao Baroso expressed support for Karamanlis in public statements in view of the elections, as well as Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar.

[02] George Papandreou outlines March 7 election platform for the economy

George Papandreou, head of the ruling party, on Thursday made five economic pledges that will be implemented if PASOK wins national elections on March 7.

Implemented would be an acceleration of real convergence, creation of an attractive investment environment, and establishment of a stable taxation system, Papandreou told representatives of business at a meeting hosted by the National Bank of Greece.

In addition, access to education and employment would be given to all members of the public, and wealth more fairly distributed among underprivileged youth and the country's regions.

''The government to emerge after the elections will move to build an equitable and simple taxation system. We will seek broad agreement among the bodies involved and the political parties in order to ensure a decade of calm in the taxation system,'' Papandreou promised.

A PASOK government would also initiate legislation to simplify procedures for foreign investors, reducing the number of applications to one.

[03] Powell sends letter congratulating new Greek FM, refers to Cyprus issue

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has sent a letter to Greece's new foreign minister, Tassos Yiannitsis, congratulating him on taking over his new duties at the ministry and, according to sources, urging him to work closely with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in efforts to achieve a solution to the Cyprus problem before the island republic formally becomes a member of the European Union on May 1.

He urges Yiannitsis to continue helping Annan to establish the degree of trust necessary for a true reconciliation between the two communities on Cyprus.

If this is achieved within the next two months, then all sides will have helped Cypriots on the way to a stable and prosperous future, Powell adds.

[04] PM briefed on Athens tram construction, says work progressing well

Prime Minister Costas Simitis on Thursday visited the site for the construction of the new Athens tram in Glyfada, where he was briefed on the progress of the project, accompanied by Transport Minister Christos Verelis and the management of the operating company Tram SA.

In statements after inspecting the site, Simitis said he was satisfied with the progress in preparing this crucial addition to Athens' public transport network, which is due to be ready in time for the Olympics in August.

Simitis then boarded a tram carrying out test runs on the line and travelled from Glyfada to the tram depot at Helliniko.

[05] Weather Forecast: Scattered cloud on Friday

Scattered cloud is forecast in all parts of the country, turning to showers in the Ionian and on the mainland; and to light snowfall on high ground in the north. Winds variable, moderate to strong. Temperatures in Athens 4C to 15C and in Thessaloniki from 0C to 10C.

[06] Foreign Exchange Rates: Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.282

Pound sterling 0.676

Danish kroner 7.511

Swedish kroner 9.253

Japanese yen 136.9

Swiss franc 1.588

Norwegian kroner 8.866

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.699

Australian dollar 1.621

[07] Athens Bourse Close: Stocks drop in pressure on lower cap paper

The Athens bourse finished lower on Thursday with low and medium capitalisation stocks the hardest hit, traders said.

The general share index shed 0.59 percent to end at 2,469.02 points. Turnover was 150.0 million euros.

The FTSE/ASE-20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks ended 0.49 per cent down; the FTSE/ASE-40 for medium capitalisation paper 1.45 per cent lower; and the FTSE/ASE-80 for small cap equities finished with losses of 0.68 percent.

Of stocks traded, declines led advances at 242 to 60 with 55 issues remaining unchanged.

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