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MPA NEWS IN ENGLISH (28/03/1996)From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>Macedonian Press Agency News in English DirectoryMACEDONIAN NEWS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISHThursday, March 28 1996TITLES[01] GREEK PREMIER IN TURIN FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL CONFERENCE[02] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN FORMALLY INFORMED ON THE SOLANA INITIATIVE[03] THESSALONIKI WILL BE THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF GREECE BASED ON A DRAFT LAW APPROVED BY A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE[04] HILLARY CLINTON ARRIVES IN ATHENS TONIGHT[05] 25 CONTAINERS OF OX-TONGUE FOUND IN THESSALONIKI, ORIGIN UNKNOWN[06] THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH BANNED THE SALE OF COSMETICS MADE FROM BEEF BY-PRODUCTS[07] THE US FIRST LADY VISITED THE FANAR THIS AFTERNOON[08] GERMAN NEWSPAPER SIDES WITH GREECE ON IMIA[09] THE CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER MET WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL[10] THE US OPTIMISTIC THAT 1996 WILL BE THE CYPRUS YEAR[11] BOSNIA NEEDS MONEY FOR RECONSTRUCTION[12] SANCTIONS ONLY AGAINST SERBS[13] GROWING TENSIONS BETWEEN CROATS AND MUSLIMS IN SARAJEVO[14] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE REPORTNEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREEK PREMIER IN TURIN FOR INTERGOVERNMENTAL CONFERENCEPrime Minister Kostas Simitis departed today for Turin, in order to attend tomorrow's Intergovernmental Conference, along with the other european leaders where they will review the Maastricht Treaty.Greece will aim to secure from its EU allies specific commitments on adopting a common foreign and security policy. Greece's basic aims are: First: The enactment of a clause on mutual assistance and the recognition of borders. Second: The recognition of member-states' external borders as EU borders. Third: The maintenance of the principle of unanimity on issues that are related to vital national issues of the member- states. Specifically, PASOK eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis, who formally represents Greece at the weekly intergovernmental conferences, stated that "when the area of the common foreign policy is communalized and the basic principles are not secured, Greece cannot asks for the principle of unanimity to be abolished. Greece insists on the principle of unanimity." As Mr. Simitis has repeatedly stated, Greece has no objections to the abolishment of the unanimity principle in other areas so that EU's bureaucratic procedures can move at a faster pace. Fourth: the undertaking of radical measures to combat unemployment. Mr. Kranidiotis categorically stated that "Greece is calling on the European Union to display its solidarity." [02] THE GREEK GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN FORMALLY INFORMED ON THE SOLANA INITIATIVEGreek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated today that the greek government has not been officially informed on any such initiative, referring to the initiative undertaken by NATO Secretary-General Xavie Solana for the normalizing of the greek- turkish relations which has been announced by US Secretary of State Warren Christopher.Mr.Reppas said that the normalizing of relations with Ankara is within the government's intentions, while referring to the US "warning" on the security in the Athens International Airport he pointed out that the airport has high security standards. [03] THESSALONIKI WILL BE THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL OF GREECE BASED ON A DRAFT LAW APPROVED BY A PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEEThessaloniki is the economic capital of Greece, according to a draft law that was approved by the Parliamentary Economic Affairs Committee.Based on the draft law, the shifting of the country's economic activity to its northern part, due to the developments in the Balkans and in the wider Black Sea region makes Thessaloniki's transformation into Greece's economic capital necessary for a better and more productive development effort. The draft law includes the establishment of a Domestic and Foreign Investments Center, an Inter-Balkan Commerce and Economic Chamber and also the creation of an Institution that will coordinate the governmental policy in relation with the Balkans and the Black Sea countries. The proposal after being approved by the Parliamentary Committee, will now be discussed in Parliament where is expected to be voted through. [04] HILLARY CLINTON ARRIVES IN ATHENS TONIGHTUnited States First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Athens tonight for a two-day visit to Greece.Mrs. Clinton, who is accompanied by her 16-year-old daughter Chelsea, will meet various women's groups in Athens and on Saturday will participate in the ceremonial lighting of the Olympic flame that will burn at the July Atlanta Summer Games. The First Lady's visit to Greece is followng her stopover in Turkey where, today, she met the Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos at the Phanar. [05] 25 CONTAINERS OF OX-TONGUE FOUND IN THESSALONIKI, ORIGIN UNKNOWNTwenty-five containers with ox-tongue meat of questionable origin were discovered in this afternoon in Thessaloniki by the Food Control Center's veterinarians who were performing inspection checks in search of meat imported from Britain.It has not been determined if the meat found is imported from England. [06] THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH BANNED THE SALE OF COSMETICS MADE FROM BEEF BY-PRODUCTSThe greek Minister of Health issued an urgent order for the banning of the sale of cosmetics in Greece which were made from beef by-products. The decision was made as a result of the "mad cow" disease in Britain.According to a statement issued by the National Drug Organization, it is clarified that the banning is temporary and will be in effect until the issue is regulated centrally by a European Union special committee. This Special Committee is expected to meet in the next few days and until a formal decision is being made it is suggested that cosmetics made from beef by-products should not be used by consumers. [07] THE US FIRST LADY VISITED THE FANAR THIS AFTERNOONUS First Lady Hillary Clinton met this afternoon with Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos in Constantinople.Ms.Clinton personally requested to visit the Ecumenical Patriarch and the center of Orthodoxy at the Fanar in Contantinople, within the framework of her visit to south-eastern Europe. Yesterday, ms.Clinton visited ancient Ephesos and Ankara where she met with turkish President Suleiman Demirel and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz. Ms.Clinton is expected to arrive in Athens late this evening. [08] GERMAN NEWSPAPER SIDES WITH GREECE ON IMIA"The legal status quo in the Aegean Sea is clear: the islands claimed by Turkey, such as the Imia islets, undoubtedly belong to Greece. After all, no serious politician in Great Britain would think of doubting the German island Helgland."This was stated by the german paper "Koelner stadt-Anzeiger" in an article titled "Ankara's dispute with Athens constitutes a challenge for the EU - Greece has law on its side - Turkey is afraid of the International Tribunal." The newspaper states that Athens acted quite prudently by suggesting that Ankara resort to The Hague. Due to Greece's strong legal positions, Greece can quite easily suggest such a thing, the article stated. The article adds that the situation is quite different for Turkey. "Turkey cannot gain absolutely anything at The Hague and that is why it does not want to resort to the Court, but instead insists on bilateral negotiations." [09] THE CYPRIOT FOREIGN MINISTER MET WITH THE PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAELCypriot Foreign Minister Alekos Michailidis briefed israeli Prime Minister Simon Peres on the current phase of the Cyprus problem.Mr.Michailidis, who made a one-day visit to Israel, also exchanged views with mr.Peres on the Middle East issue and the peace process. Earlier, mr.Michailidis had met with his israeli counterpart with whom he discussed the Cyprus problem, the course of the Middle East peace process and ways for the further development and upgrading of cooperation between Cyprus and Israel. The cypriot Foreign Minister laid a wreath at the cemetery where the assassinated Prime Minister Rabin is burried and later he visited a Jerusalem hospital where people injured in the latest bomb attacks are being treated. Mr.Michailidis returned to Cyprus last evening. [10] THE US OPTIMISTIC THAT 1996 WILL BE THE CYPRUS YEARThe United States continue to hope that 1996 will be the year that will be marked with progress on the Cyprus issue, stated the United States State Department spokesman Nicholas Burns to the Cypriot Press Agency today.Mr. Burns stated that if the United States can help in promoting a solution they will do so. [11] BOSNIA NEEDS MONEY FOR RECONSTRUCTIONUN special envoy in former Yugoslavia Carl Bildt stated that the recovery of the economic and political institutions in Bosnia has barely started. He stressed that in order to promote the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia, the international community must provide aid for the economic restoration. What we now need the most is money, said Bildt.Both "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" warn that the civil war might erupt again after the withdrawal of the peace troops by the end of this year if there is no progress in stabilization of the peace. [12] SANCTIONS ONLY AGAINST SERBSNATO Secretary General Xavier Solana, in a letter to the UN Security Council, expressed his satisfaction with the implementation of the peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the cooperation of the sides. But, in the accompaying report on the IFOR operations there are two details which cast shadows upon the general impression.An imperative of the peace agreement - the finally release of all prisoners- has not been fulfilled and up to now the government in Sarajevo delayed the complete withdrawal of the foreign forces from Bosnia. The Dayton peace agreement, however, is foreseeing sanctions only against Serbs in case of any failure to comply with the provisions, while for the Muslims and Croats in the same circumstances no sanctions whatsoever are foreseen. [13] GROWING TENSIONS BETWEEN CROATS AND MUSLIMS IN SARAJEVODay after day the tension in relations between Croats and Muslims in Sarajevo is growing. The City Board of the Croat Democratic Community decided the withdrawal of all the Croat representatives from the joint commisions for Sarajevo's integration into the Muslim-Croat Federation.The decision to establish an uni-national canton of Sarajevo is seriously endangering Croats' rights in this city, claim the representatives of the Croat Democratic Community. If this decision is not deleted, Croat people in Sarajevo will establish parallel authority, stressed the Croat Democratic Community party. Muslim and Croat media reports indicate that relationships between federal partners are deteriorating not only in Sarajevo but also in other cities, for instance in Bugojno, where this year three times in a row they failed to form joint administrative bodies. [14] FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATE REPORTCURRENCY FIXING BUY SELL ECU 302.7000 301.7920 303.6080 U.S. Dollar 241.6900 240.9650 242.4150 Deutsche Mark 163.0300 162.5410 163.5190 UK Sterling 367.6000 366.4970 368.7030 French Franc 47.7530 47.6100 47.8960 Swedish Crown 36.2170 36.1080 36.3260 Danish Kroner 42.2280 42.1010 42.3500 Norwegian Crown 37.4900 37.3780 37.6020 Italian Lira 15.3160 15.2700 15.3620 Swiss Franc 201.8360 201.2300 202.4420 Spanish Peseta 1.9386 1.9328 1.9444 Finnish Mark 52.0000 51.8440 52.1560 Yen 226.8700 226.1890 227.5510 |
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