In Brief
Greece calls for EU action over Argentinean peach tariffs BRUSSELS – Agriculture Minister Giorgos Drys yesterday called for the European Union’s urgent attention to Argentina’s slapping of tariffs totaling 125 percent on the value of Greek exports of peach preserve. Speaking at the farm ministers’ council, he said the measure effectively made Greek exports of the product prohibitively expensive and that things were made even worse by Argentina’s recent devaluation. He called for the EU to seek the arbitration of the World Trade Organization on the issue and find a compromise solution in the framework of proposals already submitted to Argentina. EU Parliament panel backs Papademos as ECB VP BRUSSELS – Greek central bank governor Lucas Papademos yesterday won the backing of a European Parliament committee charged with vetting him for the job of European Central Bank (ECB) Vice President. The EU Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee recommended by a show of hands that Papademos succeed Christian Noyer, who steps down at the end of May. It will send its recommendation to a plenary session of the European Parliament for a further vote on May 14. The Parliament’s recommendation, along with the endorsement which the ECB gave Papademos last week, will be sent for final confirmation to EU leaders. (Reuters) Heracles Cement Heracles General Cement Co yesterday announced the resignation, effective immediately, of Jeremy Watts from the post of managing director and his replacement by Jean-Charles Blatz who also retains his post as chairman of the board. Farmers’ incomes Greek farmers’ incomes rose 1.5 percent in 2001 in relation to 2000, according to Eurostat data released in Brussels yesterday. On average, farmers’ incomes rose 3.3 percent in the 15-member EU and 3 percent in the 12-member eurozone. e-commerce OTE Telecom e-commerce subsidiary cosmoONE is registering high growth rates in its horizontal b2b marketsite, a statement said yesterday. The value of goods traded reached 67.5 million euros in the first quarter of 2002, after a total of 54.8 million for all of 2001. Orders mainly concerned computers, office items and mobile telephony. Piraeus Port Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Anomeritis said state-run Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) will go public by the end of the year, the second state port to be listed on the Athens bourse after Thessaloniki’s last year. Issue advisers are Bank of America, Eurobank and Agricultural Bank. MJ Maillis Packaging material group MJ Maillis will pay 5.7 times the last three years’ average pretax profits of Wulftec International, the Canadian manufacturer of stretch wrapping machines, in order to acquire the company.
