From: tzarros@ccs.carleton.ca (Theodore Zarros) Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Mon, 19 Dec 1994 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens News Agency Bulletin, December 19, 1994 ---------------------------------------------- (Apo to Ellnviko Grafeio Tupou kai Plnroforiwv, Ottaba, Kavadas E-Mail Address: grnewsca@sympatico.ca) * Parliament begins '95 budget debate * Serb president in Greece as Bosnia peace activity reaches climax * US, Albania to hold joint exercises, Greece sets attendance conditions * Venizelos: Greece to reconsider customs stance, if date set for Cyprus EU talks * Constantopoulos off to Skopje, as Gov't blames Gligorov intransigence * Athens shrugs off Skopje threat to bar Greek pressmen * Papoulias to confer with Russian Deputy PM * Russia, Greece to sign natural gas supply agreement * Premier flatly denies reshuffle press reports * Kanellopoulos funeral at Athens First Cemetery * Greek elected president of European Marketing Confederation * Kouris: NATO policies call for careful handling Parliament begins '95 budget debate ------------------------------------ Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Finance Minister Alexandros Papadopoulos has told Parliament yesterday the government would not impose any new taxes. Speaking at a plenary five-day debate on the 1995 state budget which began Saturday evening, he said state revenue would increase through broadening the taxation popular spectrum, while combating tax and custom evasion. He noted state revenue would in crease by 18,6% in 1995 as against 17,5% in 1994. Mr. Papadopoulos said the 1995 budget was compatible with the EU Convergence Plan. Health Minister Dimitris Kremastinos said the budget included increased expenditure for Health estimated at 1,5 trillion drachmas, as against 187 billion drachmas in 1994. Main Opposition New Democracy parliamentary spokesman George Souflias said the budget would not be implemented. The budget, Mr. Souflias noted, should be coupled with specific policy measures, such as privatisation. He criticised the government for maintaining an over-inflated public sector, adding that Administration should adopt a stabilisation policy and reduce deficits. He predicted no increase in state revenue of one billion drachmas since, he said, there was no collection machinery. The House is scheduled to take a vote midnight Wednesday. Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and Opposition leaders are scheduled to address Parliament Wednesday. Serb president in Greece as Bosnia peace activity reaches climax ---------------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic will meet with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou in Athens today, the Foreign Ministry announced. "(Mr. Milosevic) will have a working visit in Athens on December 19. He will also confer with Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias," the statement added. It gave no further details. Greek and Serb delegations will also meet on the sidelines of Mr. Milosevic's visit. Mr. Milosevic will also give a press conference. Preparations for the Serb President's visit have been underway for the past two months. His visit, the first to Greece since the October 1993 elections, is taking place at a time of intense diplomatic activity aimed at restoring peace in former Yugoslavia. US, Albania to hold joint exercises, Greece sets attendance conditions ------------------------------------------------------------ Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Greece has been invited to participate as observer at common US-Albanian military exercises, sources said yesterday. National Defence Under-Secretary Nikos Kouris said Athens had not been officially invited yet. Mr. Kouris noted Greece could not attend as observer to the exercises, scheduled for the near future, unless Albania released five ethnic Greek members of Political Organisation, Omonia, and agreed that the post of military attachi to the Greek Embassy in Tirana be filled. Greek-Albanian relations plunged to an all-time low after a Tirana Court convicted and jailed five ethnic Greeks on charges of espionage. Mr. Kouris was replying to a press question regarding the possibility of promoting Greek-Albanian defence relations. Commenting on Greek-Albanian relations, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said "the crisis in relations between the two countries, seems to be finally over and (relations) normalised." Mr. Venizelos added the government now awaited a gesture by Albanian President Sali Berisha regarding the imprisoned ethnic Greeks. Venizelos: Greece to reconsider customs stance, if date set for Cyprus EU talks -------------------------------------------------------------- New York, 19/12/1994 (ANA-M.Georgiadou) Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos yesterday told a Greek community radio that Greece would reconsider its stance on an EU-Turkey customs union agreement if a date were set to start talks on Cyprus EU accession, Greece's financial interests in the Community were not harmed, and the Community issued a statement of vigilance regarding protection of human rights in Turkey. "These terms are known in the European Union, but have yet to be satisfied," Mr. Venizelos said, adding that "Had they been satisfied we would be talking on a different basis." Meanwhile, in Ankara, Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Ciller yesterday pledged not to bow to European Union pressure on human rights and the Cyprus problem, in exchange for favoured access to EU markets. "We have no concessions to make, only lessons to give," Ms. Ciller said on the eve of a meeting to formalise a troubled customs union between Turkey and the EU, Reuters quoted Anatolian news agency as reporting. On Friday, Athens singled out the German EU presidency among its European Union partners for exerting pressure on it to advance the customs union between Turkey and the European Union and the convening of the Association Council. Foreign Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis lashed out on the German presidency for not showing "the necessary sensitivity at a time when public opinion in Europe is alarmed, including the European Parliament as reflected in its latest resolution." A European Parliament resolution passed overwhelmingly last Thursday criticised Ankara for sentencing eight Kurdish deputies to jail terms of up to 15 years. The European Parliament said negotiations between Turkey and the European Union on customs union should stop and the Association Council scheduled for today postponed. Mr. Kranidiotis stressed Greece made no distinction between customs union and activation of the fourth financial protocol of EU aid to Turkey which Athens has consistently blocked, linking its stance with progress towards a settlement of the Cyprus problem. Meanwhile, Reuters quoted EU officials last week as saying that the Association Council meeting today was not expected to result in any concrete progress on the pact. "If the (Turks) come, they will go away empty-handed having heard about human rights," Reuters quoted an EU diplomat as saying. The EU and Turkey have been negotiating an agreement that would bring Turkey closer to EU than any country outside Norway and Iceland, which are linked through the free trade European Economic Area. It calls for Turkey to remove external tariffs on EU goods, set its third-country tariffs at the same rate as the EU does and accepts preferential agreements with other countries that the EU has negotiated. In exchange, Turkey would get access to the huge EU market in most sectors other than agriculture and services. But the deal has most recently been complicated by the Kurdish jailings, condemned throughout Europe. Constantopoulos off to Skopje, as Gov't blames Gligorov intransigence ------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Coalition of the Left and Progress (Synaspismos) leader Nikos Constantopoulos yesterday left for Skopje, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for a round of talks with political leaders there. Speaking to the press before his departure from Thessaloniki, Mr. Constantopoulos said his visit focused on emphasising the need for "communication and dialogue" between the two countries. Mr. Constantopoulos said he did not intend to discuss a settlement of the Greek-Skopje dispute during this visit. Asked to comment on the possibility of a triple denomination for the neighbouring country, Mr. Constantopoulos said he would make his position public on his return to Greece, adding a settlement of the name dispute should be acceptable to both countries. The issue of a triple denomination lies at the negotiations table between Athens and Skopje, US Ambassador to Athens Thomas Niles said Saturday. He made the statement at a reception to honour visiting US Senator Paul Sarbanes. Mr. Sarbanes said that in order to solve the dispute, Skopje President Kiro Gligorov should make concessions. Greece imposed trade sanctions, as retortion measures against Skopje in February, to force the neighbouring republic change its name, remove ancient Greek symbols from its flag, and amend its constitution's preamble expressing irredentist designs against Greece's northern province of Macedonia. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos Saturday told reporters Mr. Constantopoulos carried no message from Athens to Skopje, visiting FYROM as leader of a political party. Mr. Venizelos added Mr. Constantopoulos kept the government posted on his visits. Mr. Constantopoulos recently visited Tirana and Sofia. The spokesman said the government remained steadfast in its positions on the issue, conveyed through diplomatic channels. Speaking yesterday on radio, Mr. Venizelos said it was no mere coincidence international diplomatic activity now focused on Mr. Gligorov, who maintained his unyielding stand. Mr. Venizelos said "we have not lost our cool approach to Skopje or our long-term perspective." Meanwhile in Skopje, Co-chairmen of the Conference on the Yugoslav Crisis, David Owen and Thorvald Stoltenberg, described their meeting with Skopje President Kiro Gligorov as "interesting and important". Lord Owen and Mr. Stoltenberg were addressing a joint press conference, yesterday, in Skopje, from which all foreign journalists had been barred. The International Skopje mediators said their meeting with Mr. Gligorov centred on ways to solve the dispute with Greece. Asked to comment on Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic's proposal for a Serbia-Skopje-Greece Confederation, Lord Owen said: "I've never heard of such a thing. I have spent many hours discussing with Mr. Milosevic in reference to closer economic relations between countries of former Yugoslavia, but I've never heard of a confederation proposal," he added. Mr. Milosevic is due in Athens today for talks with Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias. The visit takes place amid intense diplomatic activity aimed at restoring peace in former Yugoslavia. Athens shrugs off Skopje threat to bar Greek pressmen ----------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has threatened to close its borders to Greek journalists in retaliation for what it claims refusal by Greek authorities to grant entry visas to FYROM reporters. Informed sources said the FYROM Information Ministry had sent a letter of protest to the Greek Press and Mass Media Ministry claiming FYROM journalists wishing to cover yesterday's meeting of trade union officials from the two countries had been denied entry visas. In the letter, the FYROM Information Ministry threatened to prohibit Greek journalists wishing to visit or already in the neighbouring country from either entering or leaving. The Press and Mass Media Ministry neither intended nor was able to reply to the letter which had been written on paper bearing the heading "Republic of Macedonia", the sources added. Greece does not recognise the use of the name 'Macedonia' by Skopje... Moreover, the sources said, there had been no rejection of a FYROM request for entry visas, since no such request had even been submitted to Greek authorities. In the past, Greece has granted the necessary entry visas to FYROM journalists wishing to cover events in the country, such as the EU summit in Corfu. Greek trade union sources said the FYROM trade union confederation had requested the General Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), organiser of today's meeting, to invite journalists from FYROM. GSEE replied established practice was to extend invitations only to delegations wishing to attend a specific meeting, not journalists covering the event. The sources said that after the GSEE reply, FYROM journalists submitted no application to the Greek authorities, the Press and Mass Media Ministry, or the Greek Press Office in Belgrade. At all events, the sources added, the Press and Mass Media Ministry considered the Skopjan threat against Greek journalists as totally groundless. Papoulias to confer with Russian Deputy PM ------------------------------------------ Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias will have a meeting today with visiting Russian Vice Premier and Minister for International Commercial and Economic Relations Oleg Davidof, to discuss preparations for Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou's upcoming visit t o Russia, and political and economic co-operation between the two countries. Russia, Greece to sign natural gas supply agreement --------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): A Russian delegation headed by Vice Premier and Minister for International Commercial and Economic Relations Oleg Davidof was due in Athens Sunday, to sign a protocol for the supply of natural gas to Greece. The protocol amends an earlier agreement signed 1993 by Russian leader Boris Yeltsin and then Premier Constantine Mitsotakis, as an annex to the original accord signed in October 1987. The pipeline is nearly completed, and gas is scheduled to begin flowing within one year. The project will cost 1.5 billion ECU. Industry, Energy, Technology and Commerce Minister Costas Simitis said that the protocol would be signed today, before being submitted to Parliament for ratification. The use of natural gas, a comparatively less expensive fuel than others in current use, is expected to considerably raise the competitive capacity of the Greek industry. The Greek Industries Federation (SEB) has prepared a study on "The preparation of industry for the use of natural gas in Greece," funded by the European Commission and the Athens Municipal Natural Gas Enterprise. Other benefits expected to accrue include positive effects on the environment, development of new industrial products, and a continuous flow of Greek exports to the Russian market, to pay for the largest part of imported natural gas (offsets agreement.) Premier flatly denies reshuffle press reports --------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou yesterday denied press reports that a "broad" government reshuffle was expected any day to fill two empty cabinet posts. Asked whether or not there would be a broad Cabinet reshuffle the Premier said "I do not think so, not at all". The Premier was referring to the posts of the Minister to the Prime Minister's office held by Mr. Anastasios Peponis who resigned last week and Foreign Affairs Under-Secretary Yiannos Kranidiotis, who will take his seat in the Europarliament as of January 1995 replacing PASOK's Christos Papoutsis. Mr. Papoutsis was recently appointed Greece's Commissioner with the EU. Kanellopoulos funeral at Athens First Cemetery ---------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): Veteran politician, author and journalist Athanasios Kanellopoulos, a main opposition New Democracy party MP and former deputy premier was buried on Saturday at the Athens First Cemetery. The funeral was attended by President of Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis, Opposition leader and New Democracy party president Miltiades Evert, Honorary ND President Constantine Mitsotakis, party leaders, MP's of all parties, intellectuals and a large gathering. The political leadership described Mr. Kanellopoulos' demise as a "great loss". Mr. Kanellopoulos served as government spokesman. As a former Cabinet member, he was deputy premier and headed various ministries including - commerce, agriculture, and justice. He was also a distinguished author of books on economics, politics, sociology and philosophy. Greek elected president of European Marketing Confederation ----------------------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): President of the Greek Marketing Institute Constantine Lambrinopoulos was elected President of the European Marketing Confederation at a General Assembly meeting of EMC in Athens, Saturday. He is the first Greek to be elected president of the Confederation. Kouris: NATO policies call for careful handling ----------------------------------------------- Athens, 19/12/1994 (ANA): A Symposium on Security and Co-operation, organised by the Greek Union for the Atlantic and European Co-operation Saturday called on non-governmental organisations to take a more active role towards achieving security and co-operation between peoples and countries on the international scene. The conclusion was reached in the wake of the collapse of communist states which had brought the Cold War era to an end, but triggered off regional dangers and nationalistic trends. Non-governmental organisations, being more flexible and not distracted by party politics, appeared to be the most suitable bodies to address such developments. National Defence Under-Secretary Nikolaos Kouris told the Symposium NATO had abandoned its threatening image of the Cold War era and was now redrafting its strategies based on new realities. He cautioned, however, NATO enlargement policies, designed to avert complications on European Security issues, called for careful handling. "(If not) NATO would run the risk of splitting " Mr. Kouris said. Referring to the Greek-Turkish dispute, Mr. Kouris said NATO "has not proved able to bridge the (yawning) differences between its two members. Mr. Kouris added that by maintaining a policy of equal distances, NATO encouraged the party that pursued an expansionist policy and threatened to use violence against another NATO member state if the latter made use of its sovereign rights. He was referring to Greece's right to expand its territorial waters to 12 miles into the Aegean. Turkey threatened Greece with war if it exercised that right.