Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-10-11

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM Karamanlis briefed by FinMin

[02] PASOK eyes leadership election

[03] Greek economy grew by 4.1% in Q2, Eurostat

[04] Athens: FYROM dispute a 'good neighbour' issue

[01] PM Karamanlis briefed by FinMin

Alogoskoufis noted that two important bills have been tabled, one concerning the fight against tax evasion and the other on implementation of the EU's Fourth Community Support Framework (CSF), with respect to the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) covering 2007-2013, in addition to the 2008 budget.

Caption: File photo of Greek Premier Costas Karamanlis. ANA-MPA

[02] PASOK eyes leadership election

Speaking during a press conference, the former minister and party secretary added that the whole procedure should assume a "clear political character, without creating dividing lines and leading to inter-party conflicts without any substance."

"What scares me more than defeat is a tendency to turn to the past," Skandalidis said, making an indirect reference to criticism aimed at former prime minister and ex-party president Costas Simitis' governments between 1996 and 2004.

Asked to name what sets him apart from the other two contenders, namely, current leader George Papandreou and Thessaloniki-area deputy Evangelos Venizelos, Skanadalidis said: "What I say, what I represent, what I commit myself to, what I have been steadfastly proposing in all my historical course ... I am absolutely committed to being elected PASOK's president," he said.

Referring to an eventual participation of grassroots PASOK supporters, apart from registered party members, in the election procedure, Skandalidis tabled a handful of questions to his rivals concerning citizens' future status in relation to party structures.

"I consider no one as my opponent," he emphasised, while responding to a question over what his decision would be in case of a second election round, saying that "the policy of the second round will depend on the policy formulated during the party's national conference on November 2-4, and the result of the first round."

Skandalidis appeared certain that there would be a second round, predicting at the same time that he will be present in the second round.

[03] Greek economy grew by 4.1% in Q2, Eurostat

The EU executive's statistics agency, in a report, said Greece's Gross Domestic Product fell by 0.9 percent in the April-June period from the January-March period.

Economic growth in the Eurozone was 2.5 pct in the second quarter, while in the EU-27 GDP grew by 2.8 percent. Latvia (11.0 pct) and Estonia (7.7 pct) recorded the highest GDP percentage growth rates, while Denmark (0.6 pct) and France (1.3 pct) posted the lowest growth rates in the second quarter of 2007. GDP growth was 0.3 percent in the Eurozone in the second quarter from the first quarter and 0.5 percent in the EU-27 over the same period.

The US economy grew by 1.9 percent in the second quarter of the year, while in Japan GDP grew by 1.7 pct.

Caption: A file photo dated Dec. 4, 2006 shows an aerial view of the port of Piraeus' commercial zone. ANA-MPA / G. CHRISTAKIS

[04] Athens: FYROM dispute a 'good neighbour' issue

Ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos also cited Greece's continued participation in the mediation process underway at the United Nations under special envoy Matthew Nimetz, and stressed that Greece's support for FYROM's Euro-Atlantic ambitions would be based on its stance over the name dispute.

"[Skopje's] intransigency and the outstanding issue of the name, combined with the policy of the recent period, pertain to an issue of good neighbour relations. We consider that this behaviour does not address the need for good neighbour relations and, on this basis, we have stressed our policy with clarity. We want a mutually acceptable solution to this issue. Greece's decision about FYROM's accession to NATO will be taken on the basis of an overall evaluation," Koumoutsakos said.

Clarifying the Greek position, the spokesman said that Athens dealt with the issue of the name and all other regional issues in terms of the future:

"The Greek strategy for the region looks forward. We supported and support the European prospects of all our neighbouring states because we believe that this leads to a future of stability, peace and growth. But, at the same time, in order to build the future on firm foundations there must first be a settlement of outstanding issues that create negative repercussions for the region. One of the issues of particular interest to Greece is that of [FYROM's] name, which has been combined for some time on the part of Skopje - beyond its intransigency during the negotiating process in itself - with a policy of historically inaccurate references and actions with an irredentist mentality."

Summarizing the Greek position, Koumoutsakos underlined that accession to alliances and organisations based on solidarity and a community of values could not be based on outstanding problems that directly pertained to respect and adherence of good neighbour ethics.

Regarding the negotiations for the name problem mediated by Nimetz and whether the Greek government still had confidence in the envoy, Koumoutsakos noted that Nimetz "continues to act in the framework of the existing mandate that he has and, of course, Greece participates in this effort in a way that is active and constructive."

Commenting on Nimetz's recent statement that urged the governments and main opposition parties in Athens and Skopje to have a sense of what was in their nation's interest and the framework in which the region's problems might be solved, Koumoutsakos replied that, in his view, all those handling foreign policy issues in the Greek political system "displayed the required sense of responsibility".

The spokesman was also questioned about recent statements by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Rosemary DiCarlo - who had said that the name issue should not be an obstacle to FYROM's NATO accession course - and asked if Athens viewed these as constructive.

In his reply, Koumoutsakos said that the statement repeated established U.S. positions and stressed that it should not be viewed out of context.

"We retain Mrs DiCarlo's clear encouragement for substantive negotiations and a constructive stance in order to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the name," he told reporters, adding that this was also Greece's goal and that outlined in the decisions of the UN Security Council and the Interim Agreement signed by Greece and FYROM.

"Regarding what constitutes a condition for a country's accession to a military alliance, such as NATO, we believe that no one can disagree that, among others, an active respect for good neighbour relations is fundamental, especially for a country seeking to join an alliance in which a bordering country is one of the oldest members. In addition, no one can dispute that each member-state of European and Euro-Atlantic institutions has and wholly retains all the rights arising from its participation in them. In any case, Skopje's candidacy for both NATO and the EU will be judged by Greece globally," the spokesman added.

Greece objects to the use of the name 'Macedonia' by FYROM on the grounds that it conceals future irredentist ambitions against the northern Greek province of the same name, which shares a border with FYROM and has access to the northern Aegean Sea.

Greek public opinion, by overwhelming margins, also objects to what is viewed as historically misleading attempts by FYROM authorities to establish a connection to ancient Macedon and Alexander the Great, through moves like momentarily adopting the Vergina Sun as the country's national symbol or the renaming of Skopje airport after Alexander.

Most Greeks and classical scholars the world over consider Alexander, who was born in an area of geographical Macedonia that is well within the borders modern-day Greece, to be an inextricable part of Hellenic history and legacy.

"Interim Accord still in force," Koumoutsakos stresses

In reply to other questions regarding the Interim Accord signed by Greece and FYROM in 1995, the foreign ministry spokesman underlined that Athens considered that this was still in force.

"We are in the framework of the Interim Accord, which continues to apply. We are not in a framework of terminating the accord," Koumoutsakos stressed, adding that international agreements were considered to remain in force until they were terminated.

"The framework in which we are acting is that the Interim Accord has a specific goal and was contracted for the purpose of helping in the resolution of the issue in a way that could be accepted by both sides," he said.

At the same time, he stressed that Athens has repeatedly indicated that the accord could not be applied selectively.

The Interim Accord of 1995 ended a Greek economic embargo against the tiny landlocked republic, initiated bilateral relations and stipulated that Greece would not prevent FYROM from applying to join international organisations. In return, the Skopje government agreed to remove the Vergina Sun from its flag and to reword articles of its Constitution that Greece considered irredentist, while both sides agreed to participate in UN-mediated negotiations to find a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue. Since then, bilateral relations - sans the 'name issue' - have blossomed, with trade ties amongst the most robust in SE Europe.

Caption: File photo of foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos. ANA-MPA

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