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Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-03-31Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>CONTENTS
[01] PM at EPP congress: Making Europe 'the most dynamic world economy' the goalPrime Minister Costas Karamanlis was in Rome on Thursday to take part in the 17th congress of the European People's Party (EPP) at the head of a high-ranking Greek delegation that included Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, National Defence Minister Evangelos Meimarakis and Minister of State Theodoros Roussopoulos.Addressing the congress, the Greek prime minister referred to the challenges which the EU is facing, noting that it is at a crucial juncture. "Europe must come closer to its citizens. The crisis which we are facing today is not an insitutional crisis. It is a crisis of trust. We must restore the trust of the citizens to the European effort and to effectively deal with their concerns," he said, adding that "the challenge we are facing is not to build a strong union of states but a strong union of citizens." The prime minister said the deepening of the EU is delaying compared to the enlargement and noted that "the proper balance must be found between assistance, solidarity and individuality, with a rational distribution of competencies." Regarding the challenges of globalisation, Karamanlis underlined that they require a targetted answer, as "the common aim is for us to make Europe the most dynamic and competitive economy in the world." Caption: Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis addresses delegates at the 17th EPP congress in Rome on Thursday, March 30, 2006. ANA-MPA photo / G. Antoniou. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. [02] Minister predicts better tourism season in '06Greek Tourism Development Minister Fani Palli-Petralia on Friday reiterated her determination to end chronic problems facing the sector, while predicting a very positive season for Greek tourism, better than last year.Addressing a National Tourism Council's meeting, Palli-Petralia said "although there is no magic recipe to solve problems," she pledged to work hard towards this aim and urged for the support of the tourism industry. The Greek minister said tourism was not a field of political confrontation. "Businesspeople in the tourism sector must feel security for the future," she stressed. She also acknowledged that existing problems were acting as "brakes" to growth and pledged to combat red-tape. Drafting and implementing a "long-term tourism policy with a single strategy" was the main priority of the ministry and it was aimed to ensure increased demand for the country's tourism product and to support the quality of the country's tourism product. She announced that a joint venture by MRB, PRC and a Spanish company was selected for drafting a marketing and advertising strategy for Greek tourism and stressed the need to focus on countries and population groups. The minister also announced that the ministry would soon table a draft bill on spa tourism, agro-tourism, sports tourism, a presidential decree on car race tracks and the start of an effort to coding tourism legislation. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. [03] Papoulias on official visit to Egypt Sun.President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias departs for Egypt on Sunday for an official visit to the country, beginning his itinerary with attendance at the dedication of a new Orthodox Church in Alexandria.On Monday, Papoulias will be received by Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. Papoulias schedule includes contacts with representatives of the ethnic Greek community in Egypt. The church dedication will be officiated by Ecumenical Patriarchate Vartholomeos and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa Theodoros ANA-MPA photo. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. [04] Interior minister on equality of sexesInterior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Friday stressed the government's emphasis on policies and actions to promote equality between men and women, saying these were a "fundamental value", while addressing a seminar on "Policies for Equality of women and men on a national, European and international level".Pavlopoulos noted that discrimination against women continued to exist in terms of employment, levels of pay, access to positions of higher responsibility and public life. "Entrenching the equality of women and men, especially in anything concerning participation in the social, economic and political life of the country is a basic priority for the government that is reflected in the four-year programme 'National policy priorities and directions fo action for the equality of the sexes (2004-2008)'," Pavlopoulos said. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. [05] Sweden returns ancient coins to GreeceA collection of 48 ancient coins discovered by the Swedish Archaeological Institute during a dig carried out in Greece in 1922, which had been considered lost by the Greek State, were returned to the Greek culture ministry by Sweden on Friday. The coins were brought back by the Greek Ambassador to Sweden Evangelos Karokis.They were received by Culture Minister George Voulgarakis, who stressed the Greek state's great interest in the return of antiquities and stressed that coordinated efforts "can bring wonderful results". The coins date from the 1st to the 4th century B.C. and were taken with the permission of the Greek State in 1922 for preservation. During the '70s they were the focus of an archaeological study carried out by Sweden's Royal Numismatic Museum that was published in 1980. The Greek ambassador noted that Sweden had never disputed the ownership of the coins, protecting and preserving them in two university laboratories in Lunb and Uppsala. ANA-MPA Copyright © 2004-2005 All rights reserved. Athens News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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