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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-12-18
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 18, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01 FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS INDIA, NEPAL, BANGLADESH
[02] HISTORY, ROLE OF EURO SHOWCASED IN THESSALONIKI
[03] EURO PRICES TO BE MANDATORY AS OF JANUARY 1
[04] GREECE LOOKS TO CHINA FOR ENERGY INVESTMENTS
[05] ECONOMY MINISTER UNVEILS 2000-04 STABILITY PACT
[06] BULGARIAN PM PLEASED WITH OTE'S WIN OF GSM BID
[07] GREEK FM PAVES WAY FOR PREMIER'S VISIT TO INDIA
[08] OVER 45 AND JOBLESS, WORST OF ALL COMBINATIONS
[09] GREEK UN OBSERVER DESCRIBES ABDUCTION TO MPA
[10] THE ALBANIANS TOP THE LIST WITH THE IMMIGRANTS WHO WANT TO
BECOME LEGAL
[11] LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[12] COMMENTS BY REPPAS ON THE NEW TURKISH PROVOCATION IN CYPRUS
[13] PAPANTONIOU PRESENTED THE ECONOMIC STABILITY PROGRAM
[14] FOUR OLYMPIC VILLAGES WILL BE CONSTRUCTED FOR THE JOURNALISTS
IN 2004
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] GREEK SOLDIERS IN LEPOSAVIC, KOSOVO
[16] MATAV HAS A LEAD OVER OTE IN THE BID FOR THE FYROM
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATION
[17] THE TZIAKOURMAS ABDUCTION TURNS INTO A POLITICAL ISSUE
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01 FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS INDIA, NEPAL, BANGLADESH
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou is presently on
an official visit to Nepal, the second stop of his three-day
official visit to South Asia which includes stops in India and
Bangladesh.
Presently in Kathmandu, Mr. Papandreou was received by the
King of Nepal Birendra and held talks with Nepalese Prime Minister
Koirala on bilateral ties between Greece and Nepal.
At present, economic and trade ties between the two countries
are almost non-existent, although Mr. Papandreou's visit to will
provide the opportunity to boost cooperation in all sectors.
In the capital of Calcutta yesterday, the Greek Foreign
Minister observed a church service at the Eastern Orthodox
Cathedral of the Savior, before visiting the Orthodox mission of
West Bengals orphanage along with the tomb of Catholic missionary
Mother Teresa. There are presently 4,000 Indian Orthodox living in
West Bengal, where Greek priests and Orthodox missionaries are
pioneering philanthropic activity. The Orthodox community has
built two orphanages which accommodate about 250 children, and
provide food and medical care to hundreds of indigenous families.
The foreign minister will also visit Bangladesh, being the
highest-ranking Greek official to travel to this nation since it
became independent in 1975.
[02] HISTORY, ROLE OF EURO SHOWCASED IN THESSALONIKI
An exhibition on the history and role of the euro currency in
Europe will be held in Thessaloniki in September 2001.
The event will be organized by the Thessaloniki International
Trade Fair under the auspices of the national economy ministry,
central bank and the European Union's executive Commission working
with the Athens Numismatics Museum.
[03] EURO PRICES TO BE MANDATORY AS OF JANUARY 1
Product and service prices in Greece will have be posted in
both euros and the national currency, drachma, as of January 1,
2001, when the country will enter the euro zone thus rendering
the euro a national currency.
According to the finance ministry, small companies with a
staff of less than ten will be exempted from this ruling, although
they, too, will begin marking prices in euros as of March 1, 2001.
[04] GREECE LOOKS TO CHINA FOR ENERGY INVESTMENTS
A delegation of Greek officials in to travel to China in
2001, in order to scope out opportunities for energy investment,
according the Ministry of Development.
Specifically, the delegation will examine the opportunities
for investments in renewable energy, i.e. wind power, geothermal
energy and solar power. A symposium will also be held on energy,
research and technology cooperation between the two countries.
The agreement was drawn during a meeting held recently in
Athens between Development Minister Nikos Christodoulakis and
China's minister of research and technology, Zhu Lilan.
[05] ECONOMY MINISTER UNVEILS 2000-04 STABILITY PACT
Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou
will today present Greece's five-year Stability Pact for the 2000-
2004 period, which forecasts an average growth rate of five
percent and a decline in the inflation rate to two percent after
2001
The pact, whose positive forecast reflects optimism over the
country's imminent entry into the eurozone on January 1, 2001,
also foresees a reduction in unemployment.
A central element of the pact are the resources expected from
the European Union-subsidized Community Support Framework III
investment program, estimated at more than 16 trillion drachmas,
which is seen as the raw material for high growth rates. The
program was approved recently and the government is hoping that
disbursements will commence soon through the Cohesion Fund.
[06] BULGARIAN PM PLEASED WITH OTE'S WIN OF GSM BID
Greece's state-owned Telecommunications Organization (OTE),
won a Bulgarian state tender for sale of the neighboring country's
second GSM- technology mobile phone license.
OTE emerged ahead yesterday with a bid of 135 million US
dollars, after three years of negotiations with the Bulgarian
government.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov welcomed the outcome of
the competitive bid tender in an interview to the BTV television
channel. Greece's Transport Minister Christos Verelis described
this move as very important for OTE.
Under the terms of the tender, OTE will set up and run the
GSM network.
Earlier this year, OTE's attempted purchase of Bulgaria's BTC
state telecom in a consortium with KPN of the Netherlands broke
down after major disagreements between the bidders and the
government, although Bulgaria intends to make another attempt to
privatize BTC.
[07] GREEK FM PAVES WAY FOR PREMIER'S VISIT TO INDIA
Greece's Foreign Minister George Papandreou is presently on
an official visit to the Himalayan kingdom, where he is reportedly
preparing the ground for Prime Minister Costas Simitis who will
visit India in February.
Presently in Nepal, Mr. Papandreou's three-day official
visit to South Asia includes stops in Calcutta, Dhaka, Bangladesh
and New Delhi.
Among the initiatives under Mr. Papandreou's consideration is
a potential collaboration for peace, to be formed by international
figures, similar to an older initiative that included his late
father and former Premier Andreas Papandreou, and the late
premiers of Sweden Olof Palme and India Rajiv Ghandi.
The Greek FM is to discuss this initiative during his
meetings in Dhaka and New Delhi.
According to Mr. Papandreou, Athens is to support India's
candidacy for accession as a permanent member of the UN Security
Council, stressing that Greece is an advocate of nuclear arms
reduction.
India, a country whose population exceeds the one-billion
mark, entered a trade agreement with the European Union in 1977.
[08] OVER 45 AND JOBLESS, WORST OF ALL COMBINATIONS
As if adding insult to injury, unemployed individuals between
the ages of 45 and 64 are most likely to find themselves socially
isolated as well, given the reluctance exhibited by potential
employers to hire older members of the workforce.
According to a recent study conducted in the Thessaloniki
Prefecture by Anatoliki S.A., 71.3 percent of the polled
employers are ill-disposed to hiring an older worker, while 52.6%
believe that these workers have a reduced production capacity and
40.4% characterize workers in these age groups as lacking
dynamism.
However, the study shows that 60% of potential employers
would not hesitate to hire an older worker, provided that he or
she was trained, with another 47.5% favoring state-subsidized
employment.
As for the unemployed themselves, 79.8 percent of those
polled believe that the main reason they remain jobless is their
age, while 42.6% believe that they are not fully trained.
[09] GREEK UN OBSERVER DESCRIBES ABDUCTION TO MPA
Greek infantry captain Efstathios Kokkinidis, who was one of
the two UN military observers kidnapped last week by abductors in
Georgia's remote Kodori gorge, maintained his calm throughout the
four-day ordeal and is now determined to forge ahead with his
assignment, defying the risks involved.
In an interview with the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr.
Kokkinidis described the kidnapping in full detail, starting with
the point where he and Polish lieutenant-colonel Zbigniew Blechacz
were seized by unidentified gunmen while they were on a UN
mission. Another team of observers is a nearby UN jeep managed to
escape the scene and notify authorities.
Blindfolded and forced to walk in the Abkhazia mountains for
seven hours during the night, the two observers were led to a
small, humidity-filled room where they were held for four days
and subsisted on bread and water.
The abduction came to an end after negotiations were
successfully held between the gunmen and Georgian authorities,
among them a presidential envoy.
Following their release, the two observers were transported
from the remote gorge by helicopter. It is not known if ransom was
paid to the abductors.
The 33-year-old Greek captain and the Polish Lt. Col. are to
be received by the President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze today.
[10] THE ALBANIANS TOP THE LIST WITH THE IMMIGRANTS WHO WANT TO
BECOME LEGAL
The Albanians top the list with the 371.641 immigrants from
120 countries, who have applied for legal residence in Greece,
followed by the Bulgarians, Romanians, Pakistanis, Ukrainians,
Poles, Georgians, Hindus, Egyptians, Filipinos and Moldavians.
According to data provided by the National Labor Institute,
most of the legal immigrants in north-western Greece and in Epirus
are Albanians, while the Georgians prefer Thessaloniki and Athens
is the choice of Pakistanis and Africans.
Of the 91% of the immigrants, who applied for legal residence
in Greece, 65% come from Albania, 6.8% from Bulgaria, 4.6% from
Romania, 2.9% from Pakistan, 2.6% from Ukraine, 2.3% from Poland,
2% from Georgia, 1.7% from India, 1.7% from Egypt, 1.4% from the
Philippines and 1.2% from Moldavia.
[11] LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Today's session in the Athens Stock Exchange was an
unpleasant surprise for investors as in spite of the predictions
by analysts that the index would rise again it finally had big
losses of 1.52%.
The general index dropped to 3.529,69 points, while the
volume of transactions was 94.06 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today 49 had gains, 295 recorded losses
and 21 remained unchanged.
[12] COMMENTS BY REPPAS ON THE NEW TURKISH PROVOCATION IN CYPRUS
Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas pointed to
statements made by Cypriot officials, with which the Greek
government agrees, when he was called to comment on the movements
of the Turkish occupation forces in the region of Pila in Cyprus
and underlined that the United Nations must show more
effectiveness.
Mr. Reppas stated that Greece is waiting for the UN reaction
and initiatives concerning the provocative actions by Turkey and
concluded by saying that the Greek government does not want
solutions to the Cyprus problem that will not be within the UN
framework.
[13] PAPANTONIOU PRESENTED THE ECONOMIC STABILITY PROGRAM
The work on the economy continues underlined Greek national
economy minister Yiannos Papantoniou, adding that there are
challenges which must be faced within the EMU framework.
The head of the government's economic staff presented the
first stability program for the next four-year period inside the
Euro-zone and responded to those who accused him of being overly
optimistic, underlining that the prediction for a decline in the
international oil price to US$ 26 a barrel has been confirmed. Mr.
Papantoniou reminded the convergence achievements and predicted a
growth rate for the next four-year period of 4.4% based to the
worst case scenario.
The 2000-2004 economic stability program incorporates high
development targets and optimistic predictions for the de-
escalation of inflation and public debt. The minister pointed out
that the average growth rate will be 5.3% by 2004. The stability
program was drawn-up on the basis that oil prices will drop under
US$ 25 a barrel and the exchange rate of the Euro to the US dollar
will be one to one.
[14] FOUR OLYMPIC VILLAGES WILL BE CONSTRUCTED FOR THE JOURNALISTS
IN 2004
The ministerial committee on the 2004 Olympic Games met today
under prime minister Kostas Simitis to make a review of the year
regarding the preparations for the Athens Olympiad. Mr. Simitis
characterized the review as positive but stressed that the intense
work must continue. He also underlined that 2001 is an important
year in the course toward 2004.
From her side, "Athens 2004" Organization president Yianna
Angelopoulou-Daskalakis briefed the members of the ministerial
committee on the visit of an International Olympic Committee, IOC,
delegation in Greece last November and on the "Athens 2004"
presentation before the IOC Executive Committee in Lauzanne last
week.
In the meeting today it was decided that the Olympic villages
that will host journalists in the 2004 Olympic Games will be four
and will be built near the Olympic Stadium, in Palini, the
national defense ministry camp site in Agios Andreas and in the
region of Pirgos Vasilisis in Menidi.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[15] GREEK SOLDIERS IN LEPOSAVIC, KOSOVO
Greek soldiers are deployed since yesterday at the KFOR peace-
keeping force check point at the exit of the city of Leposavic in
northern Kosovo.
According to the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug, the Belgian
troops of the peace-keeping force left the city after the bloody
incident of last Saturday because Belgian KFOR soldiers were
blamed for it and the Greek soldiers have been deployed in their
place.
Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Belgian KFOR troops stated
yesterday that only one of the two Serbs, who died in the
Leposavic incident two days ago, was killed from the bullets of a
Belgian soldier as the second Serb died from a heart attack.
[16] MATAV HAS A LEAD OVER OTE IN THE BID FOR THE FYROM
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ORGANIZATION
The evaluation of the bids placed by the Hungarian MATAV and
the Greek telecommunications organization, OTE, for the buyout of
51% of FYROM's telecommunications organization shows that MATAV
has a lead over OTE but the final result of the tender is not out
yet.
OTE offers 608.3 million Euro compared to MATAV's 618.2
million Euro. However, OTE also offers DM 733 million in cash
compared to DM 709 million offered by MATAV, which means that OTE
has an advantage as the committee responsible for privatization in
FYROM will assess the economic offers taking under serious
consideration the sum that will be paid in cash.
[17] THE TZIAKOURMAS ABDUCTION TURNS INTO A POLITICAL ISSUE
The abduction of Greek Cypriot Panikos Tziakourmas by the
Turkish occupation forces in northern Cyprus is possible to turn
into a political issue in case it is proved that the Greek Cypriot
was forcibly removed from his car while he was inside the British
bases, admitted today Britain's High Commissioner in Cyprus.
The British official stated after his meeting with Cypriot
president Glafkos Clerides that the Tziakourmas abduction creates
a legal and a humanitarian situation.
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