Accent on getting along

Date: 15/03/01

Those most famous of enemies, the Turks and Greeks, can get on famously - especially when they're a long way from home in Brussels. The World Bank's recent cooperation with the European Policy Centre think-tank is a case in point.

Last week's Bulgarian accession conference with Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Kissiov at the Dorint Hotel was set up by a Greek, World Bank counsellor Andreas Galanakis, and the EPC's efficient Turkish executive Amanda Akçakoca.

“We get along quite well outside of the region,” jokes Galanakis. “The Turks and Greeks have a lot in common when it comes down to it.”

Of course, there is a twist. After spending most of his life in the US, Galanakis has an accent that owes more to Capitol Hill than the Acropolis. And there's not a hint of Istanbul in Akçakoca's speech - it's as Geordie as Newcastle Brown beer. “I went to university there and picked up the accent,” she explains. Don't ask what the Bulgarians make of it.