Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-03-17
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, March 17, 1999
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PM: THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE JUDGED THE YEAR 2000
[02] JUSTICE MINISTER EVANGELOS YIANNOPOULOS HOSPITALIZED
[03] GERMAN CHANCELLOR G. SCHROEDER IN ATHENS TODAY
[04] LATVIAN PRESIDENT ULMANIS IN GREECE ON OFFICIAL VISIT
[05] TIPPER GORE, STRESSES VIRTUES OF VOLUNTEERISM IN THESSALONIKI
[06] PEACEFUL ANTI-NATO RALLY HELD IN THESSALONIKI, NO EPISODES
[07] ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY NETWORKS WITH VARNA MEDICAL SCHOOL
[08] SIMITIS-SCHRODER AGREEMENT ON THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PRESIDENT
[09] JAPAN'S PRINCE AND HIS WIFE WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI
[10] REPPAS ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN FAMAGUSTA
[11] SIMITIS-SCHRODER MEETING
[12] PASOK'S PARTY CONGRESS OPENS TOMORROW
[13] SNOWFALL IN NORTH-WESTERN GREECE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] GREECE'S MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER MEETS WITH US SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE
[15] SANTER'S REPLACEMENT TO BE ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEK
[16] TALKS CONTINUE FOR THIRD DAY IN PARIS OVER KOSOVO
[17] SWEDEN JOINS GERMANY, BRITAIN, WARNS OF TRAVEL TO TURKEY
[18] GREEK-AMERICAN EXECUTED IN ILLINOIS FOR 1982 MURDER
[19] FYROM PRESIDENT GLIGOROV RECEIVES GREEK LIAISON OFFICE HEAD
[20] IOC CONVENES IN LAUSANNE TODAY OVER BRIBERY SCANDALS
[21] "THE FETA CHEESE BATTLE" HAS BEEN LOST FOR GREECE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK PM: THE GOVERNMENT WILL BE JUDGED THE YEAR 2000
Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis stressed that the
government will be judged during the national elections of the
year 2000 and noted that any who attempts to set forth an issue of
national elections during the period of the European Parliament
elections will have to face the Greek people.
"The European elections are a political measure for European
policy," Mr. Simitis told an Athens daily and added that "they are
not national elections where the government is judged."
When asked to comment on the view expressed by Defense
Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, who had said that should the ruling
PASOK party suffer a vast loss during the European elections,
then a matter of leadership could arise, Mr. Simitis (who is also
PASOK's president) responded: "It leaves me indifferent.
"It is clear that the president of PASOK is elected for a
three-year term. It is also very clear that the Greek people gave
me a specific order in 1996, which I must fulfill."
[02] JUSTICE MINISTER EVANGELOS YIANNOPOULOS HOSPITALIZED
Justice Minister Evangelos Yiannopoulos was admitted to the
Athens Medical Center yesterday evening where he is under medical
observation.
According to the clinic's medical announcement, the patient
is showing symptoms of incomplete intestinal obstruction. Mr.
Yiannopoulos is undergoing pharmaceutical therapy in order to
avoid surgery, although his physicians are leaving this
possibility open.
[03] GERMAN CHANCELLOR G. SCHROEDER IN ATHENS TODAY
The President of the European Union and German
Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder will be in Athens today where he will be received by
Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.
Mr. Schroeder's visit to Greece is part of his
series of contacts held in light of
the EU Summit Conference. The two leaders are expected to discuss
the latest developments in light of the Commission's resignation,
as well as the upcoming Berlin Summit.
[04] LATVIAN PRESIDENT ULMANIS IN GREECE ON OFFICIAL VISIT
Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis has embarked on a three-day
official visit to Athens, at the invitation of the President of
the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos with whom he will meet
today.
Mr. Ulmanis will also be received by Prime Minister Kostas
Simitis, Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis and opposition
party leaders.
During his stay, the Latvian President will address an
event organized in his honor by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and
Industry and will travel to Thessaloniki on Friday. He will depart
for the all-male monastic community of Mt. Athos by helicopter on
the same day.
Later on Friday, he will meet with Thessaloniki Mayor
Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, while Macedonia-Thrace Minister Yiannis
Magriotis will host a dinner in his honor later in the evening.
[05] TIPPER GORE, STRESSES VIRTUES OF VOLUNTEERISM IN THESSALONIKI
Tipper Gore, the wife of US Vice-President Al Gore, delivered
a speech at the American College in Thessaloniki (Anatolia),
focusing on the "Peace Corps" - the body of volunteers set up by
John F. Kennedy in the early '60s and still
active today around the world.
The event, organized by Anatolia's Alumni Association, was
attended by several ministers and the US ambassador to Greece
Nicholas Burns
Ms. Gore will visit Athens today where she will deliver an
address
at the American College in Athens, while later in the day she will
be received by the President of the Republic Kostis
Stephanopoulos.
Ms. Gore, a known advocate of volunteerism, is the Clinton
Administration's mental health adviser.
[06] PEACEFUL ANTI-NATO RALLY HELD IN THESSALONIKI, NO EPISODES
A rally protesting the passage of NATO's FYROM-bound
peacekeeping forces through Thessaloniki was held in Thessaloniki
last night, although no episodes occurred.
The participants gathered in downtown Thessaloniki and
marched towards the United States Consulate, chanting anti-
American slogans.
[07] ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY NETWORKS WITH VARNA MEDICAL SCHOOL
Aristotle University's Medical School has created a network
of academic cooperation with Varna's Medical School in Bulgaria,
through the support of the National Economy Ministry's program of
Greek development and cooperation .
The network will allow for the exchange of updated know-how
and an overall expanded sense of cooperation in the sector of
health, especially through technological means.
[08] SIMITIS-SCHRODER AGREEMENT ON THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSION
PRESIDENT
Prime minister Kostas Simitis discussed with German
chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who made a short visit to Athens, the
developments within the European Union after the resignation of
the European Commission as well as, issues concerning the EU
summit meeting in Berlin.
Mr. Simitis stated that the discussion he had with Mr.
Schroder concerned the crisis in the European Union and the Agenda
2000. On the issue of the European Commission, the Greek prime
minister underlined the need for a quick solution and the
establishment of a Commission able to make decisions, give
directions and determine the course of the European Union.
Mr. Schroder agreed that there is a need to find a solution
immediately to the issue that has been created as a result of the
crisis in the European Commission and stated that he holds
discussions with the prime ministers of all the European Union
member-states on who will be the new Commission president. The
German chancellor revealed that he agreed with Mr. Simitis on the
individual he backs for the position but he refused to give
further details.
On the Agenda 2000, they discussed the resources that will be
allocated for development programs in the next 7 years. Mr.
Simitis pointed out that the negotiations on the farm products
have ended in a satisfactory way for Greece, while negotiations
continue concerning the structural funds.
The German chancellor congratulated Mr. Simitis on the course
of Greece's national economy and stated that he is amazed with its
fiscal discipline. Earlier today, Mr. Schroder had a meeting in
Rome with Italian prime minister Massimo D'Alema.
[09] JAPAN'S PRINCE AND HIS WIFE WILL VISIT THESSALONIKI
Japan's prince and his wife will be in Thessaloniki on Sunday
and Monday within the framework of their visit to Greece on the
occasion of the 100 years of friendship between Greece and Japan.
They will arrive on Sunday afternoon and they will attend a
formal dinner given in their honor by minister of Macedonia-Thrace
Yiannis Magriotis, while they will visit archeological sites,
before departing for Frankfurt on Monday afternoon.
[10] REPPAS ON THE DEVELOPMENTS IN FAMAGUSTA
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas was asked by
reporters to comment on the movements of the Turkish Cypriots in
Famagusta in the Turkish occupied northern Cyprus.
Mr. Reppas stated that the Cypriot government follows the
developments closely and there is cooperation with the UN to avert
settlement attempts.
[11] SIMITIS-SCHRODER MEETING
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis will meet in the
afternoon with German chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who will be on
a short visit to Athens.
The two leaders will discuss the surprise resignation of the
EU Commission as well as issues, such as the "Agenda 2000" that
will be examined in the Berlin EU summit meeting that will be held
on March 24-25.
Mr. Schroder in statements he made today ruled out the
likelihood for Mr. Jacques Santer to be appointed again to the
post of the European Commission president.
[12] PASOK'S PARTY CONGRESS OPENS TOMORROW
The 5th party congress of PASOK opens in the Olympic Stadium
facilities in Athens at noon tomorrow. The congress will be
attended by 5.802 delegates. Prime minister Kostas Simitis will
deliver his speech after the opening speech by central committee
secretary Kostas Skandalidis and the election of the presiding
committee. The delegates will speak on Thursday afternoon,
throughout Friday and on Saturday morning.
The party congress proceedings will be completed on Sunday
with the voting procedure to elect the members of the party
bodies. PASOK's executive bureau in its last meeting decided to
put forth a proposal to the party delegates based on which, the
central committee will have 180 regular members without
substitutes and the executive bureau will be made up of 11 members
plus a president and a secretary.
[13] SNOWFALL IN NORTH-WESTERN GREECE
Bad weather conditions with snowfall, heavy rain and bitter
cold hit northern Greece since the early morning hours today.
The bad weather is more intense in north-western Greece
especially in the mountainous regions of the prefectures of
Florina, Kozani, Kastoria and Grevena. The cars in the road
network of north-western Greece move only with non-skid chains.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[14] GREECE'S MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER MEETS WITH US SECRETARY OF
DEFENSE
The leader of Greece's main opposition party, New Democracy's
Kostas Karamanlis, met with the United States Secretary of Defense
William Cohen in Washington yesterday evening, with whom he
discussed matters ranging from the Kosovo crisis to Greek-Turkish
relations.
Mr. Karamanlis stated that Greece is a country which has a
stabilizing role in the region.
"We do not desire changes in borders. We want wider
cooperation both at bilateral and multilateral level," he said.
Referring to Greek-Turkish relations, Mr. Karamanlis stated
that Athens desires Turkey's European orientation, although Ankara
must first respect international law and abandon threats to use
force.
On his part, Mr. Cohen raised the issue of the "November 17"
terrorist group's activities and conveyed Washington's concern.
He said the elusive terrorist group has been active for many
years in Greece, with repercussions on inter-state relations.
[15] SANTER'S REPLACEMENT TO BE ANNOUNCED NEXT WEEK
The name of the person who will fill the void left after the
abrupt resignation of European Commission President Jacques
Santer, along with the full 20-member body of Commissioners, will
be announced next week during the Berlin Summit.
Meanwhile, Mr. Santer has rejected the findings of the report
drawn by the "wisemen" committee claiming that it gives a
distorted view of the European institutions. The investigation
found no evidence of any commissioner having personally engaged in
fraudulent activities per se, but said they failed to crack down
on wrongdoing committed by their subordinates.
At the same time, the en masse resignation of the
commissioners has ignited intense concern over the future of the
common currency, the euro.
[16] TALKS CONTINUE FOR THIRD DAY IN PARIS OVER KOSOVO
As the peacekeeping talks concerning Kosovo are continuing
for the third consecutive day in Paris, United States officials
have said that the Yugoslav authorities are preparing for armed
conflict with NATO.
A Pentagon official stated that Belgrade will continue to
fortify its troops at the country's borders with FYROM where NATO
forces are deployed, a move characterized by Western diplomats as
an open challenge.
[17] SWEDEN JOINS GERMANY, BRITAIN, WARNS OF TRAVEL TO TURKEY
Following the PKK's threats that tourist resorts are now
within their "field of war", Sweden has joined Germany and
Britain by warning its nationals about traveling to Turkey.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry has not issued a travel
advisory, although it advises tourists to avoid excursions to
southeast and eastern Turkey.
[18] GREEK-AMERICAN EXECUTED IN ILLINOIS FOR 1982 MURDER
A Greek-American man accused of taking part in the
kidnappings, rapes and mutilation murders of 18 women was executed
by lethal injection in Illinois State penitentiary today.
Andrew Kokoraleis, 35, was sentenced to death for one of the
killings - the 1982 murder of a 21-year-old woman.
His defense attorneys unsuccessfully argued that he was
coerced into confessing, while also arguing that new information
emerged casting doubt on the credibility of confessions by two co-
defendants who accused Kokoraleis.
The Archbishop of America Spyridon was one among other church
leaders who requested a stay of the execution.
[19] FYROM PRESIDENT GLIGOROV RECEIVES GREEK LIAISON OFFICE HEAD
There has been a significant degree of progress in the FYROM-
Greece relations, according to FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov,
who yesterday received the new had of the Greek Liaison Office in
Skopje George Kaklikis
During their talks, the Greek diplomat assured the President
of FYROM that Athens will support Skopje's target of joining the
European Union and NATO, while also expressed the hope that the
bilateral cooperation will expand to additional sectors.
[20] IOC CONVENES IN LAUSANNE TODAY OVER BRIBERY SCANDALS
The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board
is to hold a session in Lausanne today in order to conduct a vote
on the series of reforms and expulsions that are to result from
the recent revelations of bribery.
IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch is already facing a
confidence vote, although he has disavowed any personal
responsibility in the scandal and stresses that he wanted to
finish his term, which expires in the year 2001.
[21] "THE FETA CHEESE BATTLE" HAS BEEN LOST FOR GREECE
The battle of the feta cheese has been lost for Greece as the
European Court of Justice annulled the European community
provision that reserved the name feta exclusively for the Greek
white cheese ruling in favor of the appeals made by France,
Denmark and Germany which also produce cheeses of similar variety
with the Greek feta cheese.
The name feta had been registered in 1996 as protected name
of a product coming from a specific area and was reserved for the
white cheese produced in Greece. France, Germany and Denmark
appealed against the European Commission position that was in
favor of Greece with the argument that they produce similar
cheeses also named feta.
The court ruled that if a name of a product becomes widely
used and therefore, a common name, it can not be protected. This
decision opens the door for every EU member-state to put in the
European Union markets cheeses similar to the Greek feta cheese,
under the name feta.
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