Athens News Agency: News in English, 04-03-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] Weather Forecast: Sunny spells, showers on Friday

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates: Thursday

[03] Greece wants Cyprus solution to comply with EU law

[01] Weather Forecast: Sunny spells, showers on Friday

Sunny spells and scattered cloud are forecast in all parts of the country, with showers in the north and west. Winds south-southwesterly, moderate to very strong. Temperatures in Athens 9C to 20C and in Thessaloniki from 8C to 16C.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates: Thursday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 1.229

Pound sterling 0.670

Danish kroner 7.507

Swedish kroner 9.315

Japanese yen 130.8

Swiss franc 1.565

Norwegian kroner 8.496

Cyprus pound 0.590

Canadian dollar 1.643

Australian dollar 1.646

[03] Greece wants Cyprus solution to comply with EU law

BRUSSELS (ANA/M.Spinthourakis) -A solution to the Cyprus problem should not stray from European Union law, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said on Thursday.

The prime minister told a news conference at the start of a summit meeting of the bloc that neither ''major'' nor ''lasting'' deviations should be allowed.

At the same time, Karamanlis said that inflexible positions in the current phase of work towards a solution for the Cyprus problem would hinder the endeavour.

The prime minister also expressed the hope that a possible meeting in Switzerland with his Turkish counterpart would have a favourable outcome.

He said that Greece and Cyprus should form a united front, and Athens would aid Nicosia in all areas.

In addition, the prime minister announced that at Greece's request, the Cyprus problem had been included on the agenda for Friday's EU summit meeting.

Turning to other areas for discussion at the session, Karamanlis underlined the importance of combatting terrorism coupled with a respect for human rights.

He also said there was a need for swift adoption of an EU constitution, preferably before Europarliament elections in June, with Greece backing the concept of one commissioner per country with voting rights.

Finally, the prime minister stressed the importance of implementing strucutural measures so that the EU could attain high growth rates, respect for the environment, a rise in employment, macro-economic stability and better working conditions for the European public.

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