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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-09-07Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.Last Update: 19:58 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] BALKANS[C] EUROPENEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] SIMITIS: ANY INTERVENTION BY TURKEY TO CHANGE THE STATUS IN CYPRUS WILL BE A CAUSE OF WARWeb Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 7 September (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stated that any intervention by Turkey to change the status in Cyprus will be a cause of war for Greece, while he pointed out that the Greek government backs the installation of the S-300 missile systems because Cyprus has the right to defend itself.At the same time, the Prime Minister underlined that the Greek government supports the proposals made by Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides for the demilitarization of Cyprus and stated that peace will not be achieved by promoting armaments and aggressiveness. Meanwhile, it was announced that within the efforts for the promotion of the Greek policy in the Balkans, the Prime Minister will visit Albania before the Summit Meeting in Crete and later he will visit other Balkan capitals as well, without ruling out a visit to Skopje. Mr.Simitis said that the Interim Accord is being implemented with FYROM and efforts are being made for the development of economic, cultural and political relations. He also said that FYROM must comply with the Interim Accord and regarding the issue of the name, he added that Greece wants a solution that will satisfy both sides. Commenting on the criticism made by FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov that targeted Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos, the Prime Minister said that those things happen and that the road to understanding is not easy. He also gave his backing to Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos after the latter's statements on the issue of Skopje by saying that the government minister has not expressed "extreme" positions. In the press conference he gave in Thessaloniki today, the Prime Minister also speculated that Turkey's policy toward Greece will not be affected by the fact that Athens will be the host of the 2004 Olympic Games. He also said that no new taxes will be imposed to cover the cost of the Games, while the Olympiad will not be an obstacle to Greece's effort to participate in the European Economic and Monetary Union. Mr.Simitis also stressed that no new general taxes will be imposed within the framework of the 1998 budget but he called for spending cuts in order to secure the necessary funds. To the question if he is satisfied with the government's work and the cooperation among the government ministers, the Prime Minister said that the government is functioning and produces work. [02] SIMITIS ANNOUNCED TOUGH INCOME POLICY FOR 1998Web Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 7 September (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis announced, in the formal dinner that was given in his honor by the management of Thessaloniki International Trade Fair last night, that the tough income policy will continue in 1998.Mr.Simitis called for a "social agreement" for two more years in order to continue the EU convergence course and achieve the country's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union. He also outlined the four basic axes on which the government's economic policy will be based and characterized 1998 as a "difficult year". [03] MR.REPPAS PRAISED THE WORK OF MPAWeb Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 7 September (MPA)Minister of Press and government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that he is completely satisfied with the work of Macedonian Press Agency.Mr.Reppas stated that MPA with its activities promotes Greece's fair and just positions all over the world. [04] BIG CELEBRATION IN ATHENS FOR THE 2004 OLYMPIC GAMESWeb Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Athens 7 September (MPA)Big celebration will take place in Athens tonight on the occasion of the return from Lausanne of the Greek Committee that worked hard in order to persuade the IOC members that Athens can host the 2004 Olympic Games.Prime Minister Simitis will attend the festivities and among the singers, who will participate in the event, will be Giorgos Dalaras and Haris Alexiou. [B] BALKANS[05] MR.CLERIDES COMMENTED ON THE MILITARY EXERCISE "NIKIFOROS '97"Web Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Nicosia 7 September (MPA)Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides denied the information according to which, US Ambassador to Nicosia Kenneth Brill notified him that aircraft from Greece should not participate in this year's National Guard military exercise "Nikiforos '97".According to the Cypriot radio, President Clerides has stated that he did not have a meeting not even a telephone conversation with the US Ambassador recently. [06] A COUNCIL OF EUROPE REPRESENTATIVE WILL VISIT TIRANA ON SEPT.11- 12Web Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Strasbourg 7 September (MPA)Council of Europe representative Conservative deputy Renee van der Lynden from Holland will visit Tirana on September 11-12 in order to draw up a report on the situation in Albania and its participation in the institutions of the European organization.The report will include an analysis of today's situation in the country and the future prospects for Albania and it will be presented by mr.van der Lynden to the plenary session of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly that will be held on September 24. [07] STOYANOV AND CONSTANTINESCU DISCUSSED THE HOLDING OF TWO SEPARATE MEETINGS OF BALKAN PRESIDENTSWeb Posted: 19:58 GMT+2Sofia 7 September (MPA)Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov, who took part in the two-day international conference on security and stability in Europe that was held in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, stressed that the accession into NATO is a firm priority for the Bulgarian foreign policy. Within the framework of his visit to Lithuania, mr.Stoyanov had bilateral meetings with the leaders of states who participated in the conference.In the meeting between mr.Stoyanov and President of Romania, Emil Constantinescu was discussed their joint initiative for the holding of two trilateral meetings of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey that will take place in Romania and of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania that will be held in Bulgaria. The two sides stated that the holding of two separate meetings was necessary as the interests of Greece and Turkey do not always coincide. In those two meetings will be discussed ways for inter-state cooperation against organized crime and drug-trafficking. [C] EUROPE[08] THE EU DECIDED THE FINANCING OF PROJECTS LINKING NORTHERN GREECE WITH THE BALKAN COUNTRIESWeb Posted: 19:02 GMT+2Strasbourg 7 September (MPA)The European Commission recently materialized the EU decisions for the co- financing of studies and projects aimed at linking northern Greece with border regions of Balkan countries in the sectors of transportation, environment and energy networks.Those decisions concern among others parts of the Egnatia road network and the inter-European natural gas or electricity networks that will facilitate the cooperation with Bulgaria, Albania and former Yugoslavia. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |