submit a report to the UN Security Council on Friday, concerning on the arsenal. The possibility of an emergency Summit Meeting is being explored by Athens, while Moscow confirmed its dedication to finding a peaceful solution, which China is also in favo r of, which means that 3 of the 5 permanent members of the SC are in favor of a peaceful solution.

when it carried out its last action. The police are preparing for 5 more arrests.

According to statements of Greek Defense Minister Giannos Papantoniou, who participated in the Convention, on the one hand, the US accused France and Germany of not supporting the war against international terrorism, while the French and the Germans on t he other hand, supported that it is not yet time for military operations and stressed that the means for a peaceful resolving of the Iraq issue must be exhausted. "It is a public confrontation, which surprised us, because there was great tension in both s ides, and I would like to believe it will not be the last word in this international crisis", stated Mr. Papantoniou characteristically.

The Minister also stressed that the Greek Presidency tried to intervene in order to bridge the gap between the two sides and added that he, both at the Minister's luncheon as well as with his speech at the Convention, stressed the need for Europe to act in unison, so that it can affect developments, especially on issues of war and peace.

Mr. Papantoniou noted that the difference of opinions within Europe has weakened its position, and for that reason, the Greek Presidency has called the members of the EU, and mainly the members of the Security Council to cooperate with it, so that a comm on European position can be formed and it can decisively intervene on the Iraq issue.

According to the Minister, the next few days, in the framework of the UN SC discussions, will be a great test for Europe's consistency and decisiveness in undertaking its responsibilities on world peace and security.

Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou made this announcement immediately following his meeting with the Prime Minister at the Maximos Mansion.

The Greek presidency's goal is for an informal meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers to be held early next week, in preparation of the Summit Meeting. The exact date of the informal meeting is still being discussed. Mr. Papandreou explained that th e decision for an emergency Summit Meeting was made so that the EU could see its next moves, after the report of the UN inspectors in Iraq.

Regarding a question on whether the Greek Presidency agrees with the French-German proposal to increase the number of inspectors, he answered that he had not spoken with the two countries' Foreign Ministers and observed: "There is no French-German propos al. There are discussions in the UN on increasing the number of inspectors, something we will also discuss at the Summit Meeting".

The Minister stated that he would have a telephone communication with the Heads of the inspectors. He expressed his appreciation that Saddam is starting to understand the message sent by the UN, the EU and the Arab states, and he underlined: "It is the f irst light we see in the case. Of course we must wait for the inspectors' report".

Based on this evidence, he said that "there is an opportunity for peace, for a peaceful resolving of the crisis".

of people in order to testify, looking for new evidence for the eradication of the terrorist organization.

Meanwhile, police investigations into ELA are fully underway. According to information, the authorities have concentrated evidence on another member and his apprehension in next few days has not been ruled out.

Also, the police authorities have let information leak that they shortly intend to eradicate other terrorist organizations, such as "May 1st" and "Revolutionary Cores".

SVVE appreciated that the greatest problem businesses face today is mainly funding their activities, and recommends the application of complete strategies for the protection of small and medium businesses in both a global and local competitive environmen t, as well as the development of cooperation between individual structures of the public sector and productive bodies.

It views the progress and orientation of Business Competitiveness Program (EPAN), where there is intense interest in participation in the businesses of the Region (70% of EPAN's listed proposals concern the region) as more satisfying than Regional Busine ss Programs (PEP), on which it expresses concern and reservations.

Mr. Alexandris stressed that "the Association expressed clearly, in close cooperation with other productive bodies, its opposition to the choice of banks as the intermediary body for the 13 PEP of the 3rd Community Support Framework, and in extension the

degrading of the role regions are now called to play. The latest information which arose from the state choices listed above, point out the failure of the specific support structure, since the number of applications submitted to banks by businesses is ex tremely low", stressed the Vice President of SVVE.

He explained that this failure is due to the simultaneous and uncoordinated declaration of two similar programs from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development, as well as to the common ascertainment of the business world that the proposal e valuation system of the PEP, which acted as deterrents to less vigorous businesses. "As a result of the above, the specialized strategy for innovation and competitiveness of each region, was literally trampled".

He said that the Greek EU Presidency has undertaken initiatives systematically for the peaceful settlement of the crisis in Iraq and added that the message sent is that there is room for a peaceful settlement of the crisis. He stressed that the report by

UN chief inspectors Mr. Blix and Mr. Baradei should be submitted before a decision is made.

Mr. Papandreou stated that the Greek EU Presidency decided to undertake an initiative for an extraordinary European Council meeting and consultations are underway to decide on the date of the meeting. He said that the Greek EU Presidency proposal is for an EU Foreign Ministers Council meeting to take place in early next week followed by an informal EU Summit meeting.

Mr. Petsalnikos will meet with his French counterpart to promote the Greek EU Presidency priorities and initiatives on justice issues. Mr. Petsalnikos already had talks with his German counterpart.

On Wednesday, the Greek Justice Minister will attend the Euro-parliament plenary session in Strasbourg to brief the Euro-deputies on the 2002 Council proceedings conclusions on justice issues and respond to their questions.

On Thursday, he will visit Rome to brief the Italian Justice Minister on the priorities of the Greek EU Presidency on justice issues. On February 17, he will be in Stockholm for contacts with his Swedish counterpart and on February 25, he will visit Madr id to meet with the Spanish Justice Minister.

A decisive role in this development was played by the upward course of the single European currency that operated as a counterbalance for the high oil prices which are still in US dollars in the international markets. Also, the stabilization of the fresh

fruit and vegetable prices played a major role in the inflation drop recorded in January.

The Council of Ministers will meet with the European small-medium sized businesses presiding board in the presence of Prime Minister Kostas Simitis as the European Council President and European Commission President Romano Prodi.

In his interview with mpa.gr, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that on Wednesday he will hold a meeting with the representatives of the small-medium sized businesses in northern Greece to discuss issues concerning the EU priorities, while he also announced the

establishment of 15 policy effectiveness indexes for the small-medium sized businesses. The EU green bible on the small-medium sized businesses will be presented for the first time in the Thessaloniki forum after a debate that lasted for years.

Mr. Tsochatzopoulos also announced the signing of an agreement for the establishment of a Business Economy Institute which he regards as very important for productivity increase. He also stressed that there are conflicting demands by different categories

of small-medium sized businesses and expressed his firm position in support of incentives for innovation development.

Of the stocks trading today, 118 recorded gains and 176 had losses, while the value of 77 stocks remained unchanged.

Greece suggested that the meeting should take place in Brussels on Monday afternoon after the presentation of the UN weapons inspectors report on Iraq. Also, an EU Foreign Ministers informal meeting is suggested to be held in the morning of that day to p repare the European leaders meeting.

Referring to the subject of the meeting, Mr. Simitis pointed out that the situation should be assessed within the framework of the UN decisions and an earlier General Affairs Council decision reached during the Greek EU Presidency. However, he stressed t hat the peace efforts in the Middle East should also be discussed. Mr. Simitis stated that the Greek EU Presidency wants a common EU stance to be adopted on the issue of Iraq.

Mr. Simitis pointed out that he discussed with Mr. Couchepin taxation issues such as, the EU citizens' accounts in Swiss banks, the protection of bank confidentially and the implementation of the Schengen rules.

Mr. Couchepin referred to the friendship ties between Greece and Switzerland and expressed the hope that the EU-Switzerland negotiations on a number of issues will have a positive conclusion. He also thanked the Greek EU Presidency for its contribution t oward this direction.

Meanwhile, Mr. Simitis had a telephone communication this morning with his Belgian counterpart and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on the Franco-German proposal on the issue of Iraq. The Greek Prime Minister clarified that it is not certain that Fran ce and Germany will submit an alternative proposal because the evaluation of the UN weapons inspectors report on Iraq will take time.

In the meeting will participate 70 representatives of the three monotheistic religions, while a music concert will take place on May 31 and the revenues will be offered to the Ecumenical Patriarchate for the rescue of the monuments in Asia Minor and Ioni a.

In a statement issued by the Ecumenical Patriarchate it is pointed out that inter-religious dialogue is the main communication means among peoples with different policies, religious and social traditions. It is also underlined that cooperation, coexisten ce and the joint study of problems as well as the promotion of cooperation among Christians, Jews and Muslims are more necessary today than ever before.

Earlier, EU Commission spokesman Jonathan Faull had said it was important for Europe to have a single voice, adding that "If the specific meeting helps in finding that single voice, then it would be useful".