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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 99-12-22
From: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <ert.ntua.gr/>
CONTENTS
[01] THE DEBATE ON THE NEW STATE BUDGET ENDED YESTERDAY
[02] ALEKA PAPARIGHA CALLED THE BUDGET ANTI-POPULAR
[03] A SPECIAL EVENT IN MEMORY OF DIMITRIS TSETINES IN PARLIAMENT
[04] REPPAS' REPLY ON BULENT ECEVIT'S ALLEGATIONS
[05] RICHARD HOLBROOKE'S STATEMENTS ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE
[06] A CONTRACT WAS SIGNED FOR THE BUILDING OF NEW GUNBOATS
[07] A CANANDIAN DELEGATION WILL VISIT GREECE ON FEBRUARY
[08] COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO UNIVERSITIES
[01] THE DEBATE ON THE NEW STATE BUDGET ENDED YESTERDAY
The debate on the new state budget ended in Parliament last night with
a roll call vote at midnight. The budget was passed with 160 votes in
favour and 130 votes against. The independent deputy Vassilis
Kontoyannopoulos merely stated he was present. The New Democracy
deputies voted in favour of defense expenses, while the Democratic
Social Movement for the first time voted against them. In yesterday's
session in Parliament, the New Democracy party leader Kostas Karamanlis
referred to the issue of the election of a president of the republic
and stated that he would vote Konstantinos Stefanopoulos for president
of the republic, also urging for early elections to be held
simultaneously. In reply to Mr. Karamanlis' statement, prime minister
Costas Simitis stressed that the constitution was not connecting the
issue of the election of a president of the republic with the four year
term of the government, which has also the right to decide whether
early elections should be held. The New Democracy party honourary
president Konstantinos Mitsotakis disagreed with Mr. Karamanlis,
clarifying however that the party's decision on the issue was binding.
[02] ALEKA PAPARIGHA CALLED THE BUDGET ANTI-POPULAR
The secretary general of the Greek Communist Party Aleka Paparigha
called the budget anti-popular, while the leader of the Coalition of
the Left Wing and Progress Nikos Konstantopoulos stated that the
government and the New Democracy party leadership were handling the
issue of the election of a president on the basis of petty-partisan
criteria. The leader of the Democratic Social Movement party Dimitris
Tsovolas said the two major parties were playing with the institutions,
sacrificing them for their petty-partisan partisan interests. After the
state budget for the year 2000 was passed, prime minister Simitis said
that the election of a president of the republic would be held, as it
had been announced in early February, but he did not wish to commit
himself on the date parliamentary elections would take place.
[03] A SPECIAL EVENT IN MEMORY OF DIMITRIS TSETINES IN PARLIAMENT
A special event in memory of the ruling PASOK party deputy Dimitris
Tsetines - who died while addressing Parliament -was held in House
yesterday.
[04] REPPAS' REPLY ON BULENT ECEVIT'S ALLEGATIONS
In response to the Turkish prime minister Bulent Ecevit's allegations
that there are more than one problems in the Aegean, the government
spokesman Dimitris Reppas said that the only dispute Greece recognised
in its relations with Turkey was the delineation of the continental
shelf. Addressing the parliament yesterday, during the debate on the
new state budget national defence minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos said
that Greece's relations with Turkey would continue being antagonistic
even after the Helsinki agreement, because the existing problems have
not been resolved.
[05] RICHARD HOLBROOKE'S STATEMENTS ON THE CYPRUS ISSUE
In a related development, the American ambassador at the UN Richard
Holbrooke - who had also served as a US envoy for Cyprus - has
described as encouraging the fact that the Cypriot president Glafkos
Cleridis and the Turkish-Cypriot representative Rauf Denktash have
agreed to hold in Geneva a new round of proximity talks on the Cyprus
issue.
[06] A CONTRACT WAS SIGNED FOR THE BUILDING OF NEW GUNBOATS
The national defence ministry and the Skaramanga shipyards have signed
a contract for the building of four gunboats for the Greek navy.
National defence minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos has described the 62
billion drachmas project as yet another step which will assist in the
survival and development of the shipyards where two thousand people are
working.
[07] A CANANDIAN DELEGATION WILL VISIT GREECE ON FEBRUARY
Quebec's industry and trade minister has planned a trip of Canadian
businessmen to Athens and Thessaloniki on February 2000, to look into
opportunities for investments in Greece in view of the 2004 Olympic
Games and the reconstruction of the Balkans, where Greece has a leading
role. Recently, businessmen in Canada have shown increased interest in
investments in Greece as it is considered a country with a decisive
role in the reconstruction of the Balkans while Athens infrastructure
for the Olympic Games has also attracted their interest. Canada's
trade and industry ministry is also preparing to send a large
delegation of businessmen to Greece next spring.
[08] COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN TWO UNIVERSITIES
In Australia, an important cooperation agreement has been signed
between the Victoria University of Technology in Melbourne and the
university of Theassalia. The agreement provides among other things for
the cooperation of the two universities in the fields of research,
development and training as well as an exchange of academic staff and
students.
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