"Greece is a Mediterranean country, it holds an ideal position on the route to the Middle East, to the Arab and Muslim world", he stressed, and added that Greece is playing a fundamental role in the Balkan region and the EU, and he is thankful for the ef fort being made by Greece.

According to the seismology lab of Patra University, the earthquake depth was 16 km. No material damages have been reported so far.

During his stay in the Belgian capital, Mr. Simitis met with the President of the European Committee, Romano Prodi and European Commissioner on Agriculture, Franz Fissler.

The President of New Democracy will also visit Scotland and will meet with the President of the Conservative Party, and he will speak at Edinburgh University, on the course of Democracy in the Balkans. Mr. Karamanlis will return to Athens on February 6.

The KOSJERIC plant has a production capacity of 600.000 tons expected to be increased to 800.000 tons after the investments undertaken by TITAN are completed.

Global Finance was the TITAN Group adviser in the privatization process.

Mr. Beglitis stressed that whether Turkey wants a dialogue is an issue under exploration and it will be made clear depending on its stance in the Cyprus issue and its intentions toward the Greek-Turkish relations.

Government spokesman Christos Protopapas referred today to the issue of the Greek-Turkish dialogue and reiterated that bilateral dialogue with Ankara is legitimate within the framework of the efforts for the solution of problems in the areas of good neig hborly relations and cooperation, stressing that their settlement will facilitate both sides.

Regarding the territorial claims, Mr. Protopapas underlined that the only dispute recognized by Greece concerns the limits of the continental shelf. Referring to the recent statements of Turkish Army Chief Mr. Ozkiok, Mr. Protopapas stressed that the fra mework of the political solution in Cyprus is given. The UN regards today's situation as unacceptable and has demanded the withdrawal of the military forces, while the same demand has been made by the EU as well, said Mr. Protopapas. He also observed that

any expression of intransigence on behalf of Turkey leads the country to its complete isolation.

On the issue created in relation with certain statements that were made by Mr. Papandreou, allegedly concerning a rotating presidency in Cyprus, the government spokesman stressed that the Foreign Ministry has offered the necessary clarifications. He also

underlined that Greece's position is known and firm, pointing out that Athens backs the Clerides government choices.

The government spokesman stressed that the intention of the government is to find a solution for the airline that will facilitate its viability and will not put a burden on the Greek people. He characterized the statement made by the spokesman of the rig ht-wing main opposition party of New Democracy as unacceptable saying that it appears that New Democracy is happy every time there are difficulties.

Of the stocks trading today, 188 recorded gains and 117 had losses, while the value of 66 stocks remained unchanged.

Answering a question of "Nova Macedonia" newspaper, Mr. Simitis disagreed with the International Crises Team on the issue, and stated that "no third party has a say on the issue". He also added that Greece has made a lot of moves on the name issue and is

waiting for the other side to respond.

Mr. Simitis repeated that the text presented at the Laaken Summit Meeting on cooperation in European policy issues and the defense of EU members and NATO members that are not part of the Union, was not acceptable to Greece.

As the Prime Minister mentioned, that document was an attempt to repeat the status quo of NATO in the relations between the Alliance and the EU. "The EU, however, is something new, something different. The European policy for defense and security has its

own rules, and those rules must be abided by. We cannot move the problems at hand to the EU", he added.

He also stressed that Greece does not want a repetition in the EU of what has happened to part of Greece, the Aegean not being available military exercises.

Then, Mr. Magriotis had a private meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, and in statements made he underlined that the Ecumenical Patriarchy and Greeks living abroad are the bridge of friendship between the Greek and the Turkish people.

In statements to the Turkish media, he sided with Turkey's European prospects, stressing that if they followed that path without delays and hesitation, all the problems of Greeks living abroad will be solved.

After submitting a draft, EuroMP of the Coalition of the Left, Michalis Papayannakis and EuroMP of PASOK, Myrsini Zorba, sent a letter to the Chairman of the Cultural Committee of the European Parliament, Michel Rocar, asking him to examine the possibili ty of members of the Cultural Committee being sent to Istanbul as observers at the trial.

The EuroMP of PASOK also asked Mr.Rocar and the members of the Committee to "join their voices of protest, which can be heard all over the world", reminding Turkey's commitment to the European Union to move to the review of its laws on freedom of express ion by March 19, 2002.

It should be noted that Noam Chomsky and his Turkish publisher are the latest victims of Turkish censorship, while confiscation of books by many famous authors, among which is "Impressions from Kurdistan", by a journalist of the Washington post. In concl usion, Mrs. Zorba, in letters to Mr. Chomsky and Mr. Tas, expressed her personal support and informed them of the European Council's actions.

According to a statement that was issued by the Church of Albania, the St. Paraskevi Church in Dervitsani was vandalized last Monday, while ten days ago a similar incident took place in a monastery in Delvino. Also, unidentified individuals have broken i nto the St. Nikolaos church of Sarakinstas in Ghirokastra and stole priceless icons and parts of the church icon screen.

The above were stressed, among others, by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who visited the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium on the occasion of his visit to the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.

In his speech on The future of Europe: Economic and social cohesion in an enlarged European Union, Mr. Simitis referred to the new progressive vision for Europe. He said that this vision should be the promotion of the EU into a political union of a feder al character with a competitive economy that will guarantee employment, social solidarity and ecological balance.

Mr. Simitis said that a necessary precondition for the promotion of this new European vision is to review the values and goals of the European Union in a way that will serve the European society and the people. The Prime Minister also said that the econo mic union must be completed with the development of redistribution policies, the improved coordination of the macroeconomic policy and the solution of tax harmonization problems. The joint foreign policy and the policy of defense must be developed as well

for the protection of the EU member-states contributing to the consolidation of stability and peace at an international level.

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