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Tuesday, 23 April 2024
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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-06-20Macedonian 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: 23:27 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] BALKANS[C] EUROPE[D] WORLDNEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] BLACK SEA BANK TO BE OFFICIALLY INAUGURATED TOMORROWWeb Posted: 20:46 GMT+2Thessaloniki, 20/06/1999 (MPA) The official opening of the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB), which embarked on its operation at the beginning of the month, will be held tomorrow, June 21, inaugurated by the Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou in the presence of government officials from 11 member-states of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Pact (BSEC).Mr. Papantoniou, who is arriving in Thessaloniki tomorrow morning, will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will also feature addresses by the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Yiannis Magriotis, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Grigoris Niotis, Secretary-General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Mr. Baychev, the Governor of the Central Bank of the Ukraine Mr. Yushchenko, and the chariman of the BSTDB Ersoy Volkan. A number of events will be held throughout the morning, where bank officials will outline the financial institution's strategy and aims. The day will close with a formal gala, sponsored by the Ministry of Macedonia-Thrace, which will feature a concert by the Black Sea Orchestra. The BSEC aims at facilitating the transition of the member-states of the BSEC to the free market economy. Thus, funds from its budget will be channeled mainly into projects and programs which will be co-funded by similar organizations such as the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Members of the BSEC are Greece, Turkey, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldavia and Albania. A.F. [02] PM, MINISTER OF ECONOMY TO DISCUSS TAX BREAKSWeb Posted: 19:57 GMT+2Athens, 20/06/1999 (MPA) Prime Minister Costas Simitis and the Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou are to meet on Tuesday in order to discuss ways to bolster the lower incomes.According to reports, the Economy Minister and his staff are drawing a package of tax breaks amounting to 300 billion drachmas. Commenting on these reports, a main opposition deputy, New Democracy's George Alogoskoufis, said that they concern "irresponsible adjustments that create negative conditions for the (imminent accession to) Economic and Monetary Union. A.F. [03] DEPUTY FINANCE MINISTER DEPARTS FOR BRITAIN TOMORROWWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Athens, 20/06/1999 (MPA) Deputy Finance Minister George Drys will embark on a four-day visit to Britain tomorrow where he will hold talks with British government ministers concerning the country's tax system.According to reports, Mr. Drys wants to be informed on the operation of the British tax settlement system which enables taxpayers to calculate their taxes by themselves and pay the first installment simultaneously with the submission of tax statements. Mr. Drys will meet with UK's Treasury Undersecretary on tax issues Barbara Roche, Treasury Undersecretary Dawn Rimarolo also chairman of the EU's tax committee, Undersecretary for the public sector's reform P. Kilfoyle and other government officials. A.F. [04] GREEK MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER TRAVELS TO FRANCEWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Athens, 20/06/1999 (MPA) The President of Greece's main opposition party, New Democracy's Costas Karamanlis is to travel to France today where he will remain until June 23 for the European Democratic Union summit conference.On the sidelines of the conference, Mr. Karamanlis will meet with leaders of Christian-Democrat and Liberal parties, while he might also meet with French President Jacques Chirac. On Friday, Mr. Karamanlis was in Cyprus for the Pan-Cypriot Congress of the Democratic Rally, where he was received by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafcos Clerides in Nicosia. A.F. [05] CYPRIOT DEFENSE MINISTER CHRYSOSTOMIS ARRIVES IN ATHENSWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Athens, 20/06/1999 (MPA) Cyprus's Defense Minister Yiannakis Chrysostomis is to arrive in Athens this evening where he will hold talks with his Greek counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos.Mr. Chrysostomis, who returned from Paris yesterday after visiting the "Le Bourget" military exhibition, will be accompanied by the Permanent Secretary of the Defence Ministry, Petros Kareklas and National Guard Commander, Lieutenant General Demetrios Demou. A.F. [06] POSSIBILITY OF CABINET RESHUFFLE REMAINS OPENWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Athens, 20/06/1999 (MPA) Prime Minster Costas Simitis is reportedly considering the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle, in his effort to give a new boost to the government. His final decision is expected soon and prior his departure to Latin America.Mr. Simitis attended and spoke at today's memorial held at the Athens Metropolitan Church in honor of the three-year mark since the death of PASOK founder Andreas Papandreou. A.F. [B] BALKANS[07] DEADLINE FOR THE SERBS' WITHDRAWAL FROM KOSOVO IS TONIGHTWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Belgrade, 20/06/1999 (MPA) The deadline for the complete withdrawal of Serb troops from Kosovo is tonight and, according to NATO sources, the process is moving along as planned.The Alliance is now concerned over the Kosovo Liberation Army's (UCK) refusal to turn over their arms, while at the same time the rebel troops are developing throughout Kosovo which is now under their control. NATO officials are hoping that the UCK will comply with the peacekeeping agreement. A.F. [C] EUROPE[08] GERMANS PROPOSE RECONSTRUCTION MEETING IN BALKANSWeb Posted: 19:57 GMT+2Cologne, 20/06/1999 (MPA) Germany is to organize a summit on rebuilding the Balkans that will be held in a Balkans country, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder stated today, adding that the goal was "to signify a psychologically important moment in reconstruction."As the French news agency AFP reported, he did not say exactly when or where it would be held. The EU-led Stability Pact for reconstruction, adopted in Bonn June 10, places the EU and the World Bank as the two main bodies to organize funds and projects. Mr. Schroeder, president of the G8 summit, said that reconstruction aid will be denied to Yugoslavia as long as Slobodan Milosevic remains in power, but opened the door to humanitarian aid. "If people are starving, we have to help them," he said, albeit adding that "but "reconstruction aid requires democratization and that is not possible with Milosevic." The G8 leaders made clear in a final communique that Mr. Milosevic must carry out democratic reforms if his country is to benefit from international reconstruction aid. They said Yugoslavia must respect the Stability Pact agreed on June 10, in which European and other nations set out the ground rules for rebuilding the war-torn Balkans. A key requirement is that Balkans countries "commit themselves to continued democratic and economic reforms, as well as bilateral and regional cooperation amongst themselves to advance their integration, on an individual basis, into Euro-Atlantic structures." The countries concerned are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, FYROM and Yugoslavia. A.F. [09] G8 LEADERS RELEASE COMMUNIQUE RELATED TO CYPRUSWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Cologne, 20/06/1999 (MPA) The leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations and Russia called on the U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan today to bring both sides in Cyprus to the negotiating table in the autumn in order to resolve the island nation's division."The members of the G8 ... urge the UN Secretary-General in accordance with relevant UN security Council resolutions to invite the leaders of the two parties to negotiations in the fall of 1999," the G8 leaders said in a communique released after the Cologne-held summit. "They call upon the two leaders to give their full support to such a comprehensive negotiation, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General," the statement said. The G8 leaders also said that in accepting an invitation for talks from U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan, the two "parties/leaders" should commit themselves to four principles. The principles stated in the communique were to set no pre-conditions for talks, put all issues on the negotiating table, make a commitment in good faith to continue to negotiate until a settlement is reached, and give full consideration to relevant UN resolutions and treaties. "The Cyprus problem has gone unresolved for too long. Resolution of this problem would not only benefit all the people of Cyprus, but would also have a positive impact on peace and stability in the region," the G8 leaders said. "Both parties to the dispute have legitimate concerns that can and must be addressed. The members of the G8 are convinced that only comprehensive negotiations covering all relevant issues can do this," the statement added. Finally, it said that the G8 leaders undertook to give their full and sustained backing to the negotiating process and hoped that it would prove possible for its outcome to be reported to a summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to be held in November. A.F. [10] G8 CONSIDER A REVISED PLAN FOR SOLUTION OF CYPRUS ISSUEWeb Posted: 19:11 GMT+2Cologne, 20/06/1999 (MPA) The leaders of the world's seven most industrialized nations and Russia are considering a revised plan for the resolution of the Cyprus issue, during their meeting in Cologne, Germany.According to press reports the G8 nations are determined to call the leaders of the island's two communities to embark on condition-free negotiations, under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General. Ankara has expressed her opposition to the G8's involvement in the Cyprus issue. A.F. [D] WORLD[11] ARCHBISHOP SPYRIDON SENDS LETTER TO CLINTON OVER KOSOVOWeb Posted: 19:57 GMT+2New York, 20/06/1999 (MPA) The Archbishop of America Spyridon, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church, has expressed the Greek-Orthodox community's satisfaction over the end of hostilities in Yugoslavia, in a letter he forwarded to the President of the United States Bill Clinton.His Eminence asks the President to support the reconstruction of Yugoslavia and the efforts of the Serbian Orthodox Church to bring peace and security for all parties in the region. The Archbishop wrote that "the issue of a just and lasting peace in the region can only be resolved by insuring the rights of all parties. The protection of the Serbian minority in Kosovo, the guarantee of security and safety for the hundreds of monasteries and religious sites of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and a commitment to the reconstruction of the which should be ignored. One cannot interpret their silence during the relentless bombardment of their country as complicity or complacency. In fact, had the role of the Church not been dismissed in years past, perhaps the situation as it stands today would be much different. "It is for this reason that I authorized direct financial assistance from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese devastated infrastructure of Yugoslavia must be held in the same regard as the repatriation of the refugees," His Emincence wrote, stressing that the moral authority in Yugoslavia is the Serbian Orthodox Church. "Their recent call for the Milosevic government to step down is a manifestation of that authority of America to the Serbian Church, and why even now, the Archdiocese is supporting the efforts of IOCC (International Orthodox Christian Charities) with financial support for all parties in Yugoslavia now." A.F. 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 |
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