Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-06-18

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM says social security bill 'new era for social security'

[02] Deputy defense minister watches ''Sarisa 2002'' military maneuvers

[03] 50,000 illegal immigrants arrested in Evros prefecture over the last

[04] Greek deputy defense minister receives Swedish counterpart in Athens

[05] Deputy minister briefs British officials on preparations for 2004

[06] EPO, Turkish counterpart to submit on Wednesday candidacy for Euro 2008

[07] Greek stocks end 0.23 percent lower

[01] PM says social security bill 'new era for social security'

Prime Minister Costas Simitis said on Tuesday the social security bill constitutes a ''new era for social security'', adding that it handles the challenge of restructuring the social security system with political and social responsibility.

Addressing a Parliamentary plenum during a debate on the bill, Simitis said ''every step forward is a conquest and a victory. However, pitfalls and traps will always be lurking. For this reason vigilance is necessary.''

He said a strong society and a powerful Greece are a continuous risk, while progress requires a struggle.

Simitis said conditions have been created and the effort is continuing for the major wagers of the era to be won and which are those of convergence, growth, employment, major projects, the Olympic Games, the new modern social state and a more powerful Greece.

Referring to criticism from the main opposition New Democracy party on the bill, he said ND's accusations were not substantiated, they were characterised by hypocrisy, irresponsibility and populism.

''Either ND has no positions or it cannot rule,'' Simitis said and added that ND's unspeakable positions are a decrease in pensions, an increase in age limits for pensioning and the complete privatisation of social security.

[02] Deputy defense minister watches ''Sarisa 2002'' military maneuvers

Deputy Defense Minister Loukas Apostolidis on Tuesday watched the final phase of the military maneuvers codenamed ''Sarisa 2002'' that took place on the Vrasna beach of northeastern Greece and near the Askos-Profitis firing range.

This year's northeastern Greek military exercise was the first to feature the changes in structure taking place in the Greek Armed Forces.

At the end of the exercise, Apostolidis expressed his satisfaction over the success of the exercise and noted that the decrease in the tour-of-duty of conscripted servicemen did not hinder the ability of the Greek Armed Forces' operational capability.

[03] 50,000 illegal immigrants arrested in Evros prefecture over the last two years

Some 50,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested in the Greek-Turkish border region of the Evros prefecture over the past two years by border patrol guards, while detention facilities in the region of Thrace, northeastern Greece, have been strained as about 1,000 illegal immigrants are being detained at present.

Most of the illegal immigrants arrested over the past two years were from Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Africa.

[04] Greek deputy defense minister receives Swedish counterpart in Athens

Deputy Defense Minister Loukas Apostolidis on Tuesday received his Swedish counterpart Yvonne Gustafsson, and held private talks, which were then followed by talks of the two countries' delegations.

The talks focused on defense industry issues and European Union issues in light of Greece's undertaking of the European Union presidency in January 2003.

The two deputy ministers signed a cooperation agreement for the training of personnel in the Greek Armed Forces' facilities in Kilkis, northern Greece.

[05] Deputy minister briefs British officials on preparations for 2004 Olympic Games

LONDON (ANA - L. Tsirigotakis) - Deputy Mass Media and Press Minister Telemahos Hytiris is currently in London to brief officials on the progress made to date in preparation for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

Hytiris, who is responsible for Communications on the Athens Olympic Games, will meet on Wednesday with Minister of State for Sport Richard Caborn.

On Tuesday, he met with Conservative Party Shadow Minister of State for Sport John Greenway and also attended a working lunch with journalists.

He was due to address an event at the House of Commons on Tuesday night regarding the preparations for the Games.

[06] EPO, Turkish counterpart to submit on Wednesday candidacy for Euro 2008 soccer

The Greek Football Federations (EPO) and its Turkish counterpart will submit on Wednesday afternoon their joint bid to host the Euro 2008 soccer championships, to UEFA in Switzerland.

The candidacy file is composed of two volumes containing all pertinent information on infrastructures and security concerns, as well as hosting and other organizational matters.

Another six pairs of European states were biding for the honor to host the championships.

[07] Greek stocks end 0.23 percent lower

Greek stocks drifted lower on Tuesday with investors remaining on the sidelines awaiting fresh economic and corporate news in the Athens Stock Exchange.

The general index fell 0.23 percent to end at 2,214.94 points, with turnover a low 78.6 million euros.

The Retail, Insurance and IT Solution sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses (1.67 percent, 1.53 percent and 1.35 percent, respectively), while the Cement, Investment and Holding sectors scored the biggest percentage gains (1.45 percent, 0.37 percent and 0.37 percent, respectively).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks eased 0.20 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index fell 0.22 percent and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index ended 0.73 percent lower.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 200 to 99 with another 59 issues unchanged.

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