Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-03-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] EU defense ministers' summit in Athens focuses on ''Euroforce'', Iraq

[02] EU-NATO security agreement signed in Athens

[03] Europe forging ahead despite other events, Greek EU presidency says

[04] Symposium on joint EU and US strategy against terrorism

[05] Health ministry presents plan for 2004 Olympics biochem protection

[06] Titles 4

[07] Foreign Exchange Rates - Monday

[08] Weather Forecast: Cloud, showers on Saturday

[09] Greek stocks end week 1.74 pct down

[01] EU defense ministers' summit in Athens focuses on ''Euroforce'', Iraq

Defence Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, speaking at the end of the first day of an informal European Union defence ministers' meeting on Friday, said the ''night will be long and possibly hides significant events'' in referring to developments on the problem of Iraq.

Papantoniou said the crucial aspect of events lies in whether the window of diplomacy is still open, whether it can open further or, unfortunately, it has closed.

He said a very tough diplomatic struggle is currently taking place and nobody can predict the outcome of consultations, adding that the weekend will be crucial from the point of view of developments.

The defence minister said he could not confirm whether the telephone call to EU High Commissioner Javier Solana, who left the hall to speak, was related to reports that chemical weapons had been found in Iraq.

Papantoniou, after clarifying that a relevant request has not been made, categorically ruled out the possibility of Patriot missile batteries being sent to Turkey to strengthen it due to a possible war in Iraq.

The issue of Iraq will be examined during the second day of the meeting on Saturday.

On the question of the operational readiness of the European rapid reaction force, the defence ministers praised the efforts of the Greek EU presidency to achieve this objective.

Moreover, work groups involved in covering deficits in weaponry systems of the European rapid reaction force will submit their reports in May to enable European governments to go ahead with political commitments at the Brussels special ministers' conference for the procurement of necessary systems.

[02] EU-NATO security agreement signed in Athens

The European Union and NATO signed a security agreement here on Friday which the alliances general secretary called a ?significant step in developing relations between the two organisations.?

The agreement opens the way for military missions by the Union within the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy, and in areas where the NATO alliance is not active as a whole.

NATO Secretary General Lord George Robertson and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou the current president of the EU Council of Ministers signed the agreement for the respective blocs.

The latter expressed his satisfaction that the agreement was signed during the current Greek EU presidency, while Lord Robertson praised the Greek presidency for its efforts.

?This security agreement confirms our volition to assume responsibilities in more and more areas, starting with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM),? Papandreou stressed.

[03] Europe forging ahead despite other events, Greek EU presidency says

Europe was forging ahead despite the other events, Greece's foreign minister and current chairman of the EU Council of Ministers, George Papandreou, said Friday, adding that the EU needed greater acceleration now and that was the message the Greek EU presidency wished to put forward at next week's Summit in Brussels.

The EU summit on March 20-21 in Brussels was the focus of a meeting chaired Friday by Prime Minister Costas Simitis attended by Simitis, Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Yannitsis, National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis,Labour Minister Dimitris Reppas and Press and Media Minister Christos Protopapas.

The message the Greek EU presidency wishes to put forward is that now Europe needs greater acceleration, Papandreou told reporters after the meeting.

He said the Greek EU presidency had done very good work in the achievement of specific goals, adding that next week's Summit could be a successful one and noting that ''Europe is progressing despite the other events''.

On the prospective war in Iraq, Papandreou said that nothing could be ruled out as long as diplomatic efforts were contiuing, including a diplomatic, peaceful solution to the problem being found even at the last minute.

[04] Symposium on joint EU and US strategy against terrorism

A symposium entitled ''Europe and the new United States national security strategy: jointly tackling terrorism'' is being organised by the Greek Parliament in cooperation with the Western European Union (WEU) in the framework of the Greek EU presidency on March 17-18 at the Divani Apollon Palace hotel in Kavouri.

Among the participants will be Greek Parliament Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis, the head of the WEU Assembly J.D. Blaauw, Greek Foreign Minister and head of the EU foreign ministers' council George Papandreou, Greek Defence Minister Yiannos Papantoniou, former Greek foreign ministers Theodoros Pangalos and Karolos Papoulias, former Turkish foreign minister Ismail Cem, Greek Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller and more than 140 MPs, political analysts and experts from Europe and the United States.

[05] Health ministry presents plan for 2004 Olympics biochem protection

Health Minister Costas Stefanis on Friday chaired a meeting of the National Council for the Prevention of Biological and Toxic Hazards, which focused on the council's role in setting up systems of protection that were as effective and wide-reaching as possible for the 2004 Olympics.

After a briefing, the council discussed the actions planned by the ministry and its bodies and its Operations Plan for securing the Olympics against radioactive, biological and chemical threats was presented.

''The ministry will take all action within its sphere in order to make the required and expected contribution to hosting the Olympic Games in Athens,'' Stefanis said.

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