last long. Athens has placed the issue on the agenda of the EU Summit Meeting. A war can be avoided stated Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou. A 10-minute work-stoppage was carried out in protest of the war throughout Europe today.

According to Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Panos Beglitis, the agreement foresees and includes rules for handling confidential information and materials exchanged between the EU and NATO. "The agreement is the result of difficult negotiations between the

two organizations, since the institutional particularities, the character and the autonomy of each of them had to be taken into account during those negotiations", pointed out Mr. Beglitis, stressing that "we are fully satisfied with this positive develo pment, which is greatly due to the efforts of the two secretaries general, Mr. Solana and Mr. Robertson".

"The terrorist suspects held in the Corydallos Penitentiary are part of the 17N terrorist organization, but there are more who must be arrested. There were 4 arrests for ELA, will they stop there or will there be more? Justice must be done, we demand tha t light be shed, and anything that PASOK does not finish, New Democracy will", said Mr. Mitsotakis in statements to Antenna television.

He observed that ND is reserved concerning the issue of terrorism and that ND is not in a contest with the government. Commenting on the statements of US Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller, he noted that he said nothing the Prime Minister and the Ministe r of Public Order had not said before him. As far as the harsh criticism of PASOK's Central Committee Secretary, Costas Laliotis, towards Mr. Miller is concerned, he stressed that that was populist anti-American sentiment, and added that governments that do that sort of thing are not serious.

was not connected to that of the Greek Communist Party (KKE).

"Has there ever been a political crime in Greece?", asked Koufontinas, and continued: "It seems as though no political crimes have been committed in Greece over the past few decades. The courts have tried rustlers and spies with prewar laws.

We are being tried by a law voted for by 19 MPs. No political crimes were committed in Greece in the past few decades. I heard the prosecution speak with a wooden tongue. If there were television or radio coverage of the trial, how would they be able to convince (anyone) that 17N was not a political organization with political activity?

Twisting (of our statements) is part of the daily agenda, but there are times when it goes beyond all limits. The historian of the future - he said, in reference to a past statement of his - will judge the activity of the organization, whether its action s were political. In no way do I place my self beside Kolokotronis (Greek liberation hero), or the organization's activity next to that of the KKE. We cannot place the small with the large".

As far as the identity of the organization is concerned, Koufontinas said: "What is "November 17" in the end? Is it a gang of robbers, as the prosecutors tried to present it today, or is it an organization of popular fighters?"

"There were two main axes", added Dimitris Koufontinas, "that characterized the activity of N17. The first was anti-imperialistic and the second anti-capitalistic".

Addressing the court, Dimitris Koufontinas said that "fate has played one of its games here. You are called to apply this law, which, I am sure, deep down, you do not agree with".

He also referred to an opinion poll of 2001 that showed that 3.1% of the Greek people agreed with the organization's activity.

Meanwhile, his attorney, Ioanna Kourtovic, characterized the defendants part of the Left.

Regarding the juncture in time that bred 17N, Mrs. Kourtovic characterized it as a juncture of contesting and mistrusting the post political changeover system.

"I am ashamed to hear colleagues of mine speak of robbers, murderers and killers. Did we discover wasted lives today? Political history is full of wasted lives", stated Mrs. Kourtovic.

of the court urged that procedures be speeded up so that the trial can get on its way. The need for Ethics Principles to be observed by journalists and attorneys until the end of the trial, was asked for during a meeting of the Journalist's Federation an d Association with the Athens Bar Association,

After a meeting, the court ruled that the crimes committed in the case were not political. Mr. Margaritis stated that political crimes are those that are directed explicitly towards the state.

"Any other crime does not come under the concept of political crimes, even if it was committed due to the culprit's political beliefs", supported the President of the Court Michalis Margaritis.

In the objection in question, the defense attorneys had claimed that the crimes committed by 17N were political and as such should be tried by the Grand Jury.

As far as the retroactivity of the terrorism law is concerned, Mr. Margaritis supported that it is proper for there to be retroactivity as it is in the public's best interest.

Mr. Margaritis also made mention of the crime of murder, mentioning: "It is the cornice of crime. What was said by the prosecution concerning the value of human life must be accepted as correct." On the phenomenon of terrorism, the President of the court

supported that it is considered the greatest danger to modern society.

Regarding the developments in Iraq, the Greek Foreign Minister said that nothing is out of the question as long as diplomatic efforts are underway. "I would not exclude a diplomatic, peaceful solution being found at the last moment, of course with clear messages that must be sent to Saddam Hussein", he stated characteristically. At the same time he noted that unfortunately Saddam Hussein did not accept the initiative of the Arabs, which had been warmly supported by the Greek Presidency.

Regarding questions about the meeting of US President George Bush with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Mr. Papandreou responded that he has no specific information concerning the issue, while he announced that he wi ll have a telephone communication with US Secretary of State Collin Powel today or tomorrow. He did note, however, that the Greek Presidency visited Washington two weeks ago and that he himself, representing it, had a very useful institutional collaborati on between the EU and the US.

Also, the court rejected the application submitted by the defense attorneys questioning its jurisdiction. The court ruled that political crime is the crime that directly targets the system of government and its aim is to overturn the status quo.

According to the decision, which was read by the court's president, the law on organized crime does not contravene the Constitution, while the membership and establishment of a criminal group are lasting crimes.

Of the stocks trading today, 180 recorded gains and 113 had losses, while the value of 89 stocks remained unchanged.

Specifically, Mr. Protopapas said that the statements made by Mr. Loverdos were misinterpreted. He said that Mr. Loverdos stated in response to a question by a Turkish journalist: "I am not here for such issues and I do not want to make any comments. I c ame here exclusively to discuss with Turkish officials the Balkan reconstruction plan we are promoting."

However, even though this increase appears impressive in reality it is nominal and it is due to the fact that last year in January industrial production in Greece had recorded a decline of 6.7% as a result of the extreme bad weather. This year, the situa tion normalized considerably resulting to a big increase in industrial production.

Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou stated to reporters after the meeting that the Greek EU Presidency has done significant work in the sectors already mentioned and referred specifically to the work done by the Ministries of Finance, Labor and Developme nt.

He said that the EU Informal Summit Meeting can be successful and show that Europe moves ahead in spite of the other major events or the likely differences that may appear either in the issue of Iraq or in other issues.

"The Greek Presidency has been making enormous efforts in connection with the issue of Iraq, trying to find those compromises that will allow Europe to proceed united. It is crucially important that Europe moves forward on many important matters, even if

there are issues such as Iraq on which disagreement may arise. In addition, EU-US relations, as well as relations between the EU and the Arab and Moslem world are particularly crucial issues which are of major concern to the European Union.

After the Spring European Council and taking into consideration all developments, it is quite clear that the Greek EU Presidency will examine - in a constructive spirit and in the direction of a consensus - the expediency of the necessary actions with re gard to outstanding problems."

Mrs. Alliot-Marie said that her country supported the disarmament of Iraq from weapons of mass destruction and stressed that France rejects the second draft resolution proposed by Britain at the United Nations Security Council. The French Defense Minister said that France will exercise its veto power if the US government secures a majority vote at the UN Security Council. She also said that the second British proposal was automatically promoting the use of force which France had

rejected from the beginning, insisting that the work of the UN weapons' inspectors should continue.

Mrs. Alliot-Marie said that the inspectors' work was advancing very well, adding that they should be reinforced with personnel and more means. She also said that discussions were underway at a foreign ministers level between Britain and France to bring F rench and British positions closer. With regard to the EU position she noted that differences were not big compared to those inside the US. "We might be in disagreement with Britain and Spain regarding the method and the time for the war, but there are no differences in substance", she said .

On his part, Greek Defence Minister Yiannos Papantoniou said there was a "window" in diplomacy for a peaceful settlement on the issue. Çe also said Greece supported the disarmament of Iraq, the work of the inspectors, the UN decision-making procedure and

believed that war was the last resort. Regarding the preparedness of the European Rapid Reaction Force, the French Defence Minister praised the efforts of the Greek EU Presidency toward this direction and said that the European force would operate in collaboration with the corresponding NATO f orce and would be in a position to fulfill its mission in Bosnia in the beginning of 2004.

The EU Agriculture Ministers will be briefed on the talks held so far in the working groups of the Council and in the Special Committee on Agriculture concerning the revision of the Common Agricultural Policy.

They will also discuss the amendment of regulation concerning the development of rural areas.

In addition, the Council will study the negotiation details concerning the establishment of a new agricultural agreement in the World Trade Organization.

Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis speaking in the conference pointed out the need to strengthen cross-border cooperation among Greece, Albania and FYROM, underlining that the Prime Ministers of the three countries signed an agreement for t he protection of Prespes Lakes in February 2000.

FYROM's Local Administration Undersecretary Tanja Altanzieva pointed out her country's will to strengthen cross-border cooperation with neighboring states by abolishing legal obstacles.

The priority of the Stability Pact is the promotion of cross-border cooperation and the creation of "euroregions" in the Balkans, stated the organization's adviser.

rematch will be held next Thursday in Athens.

Developments in the Balkans will be the main topic of discussion at the meeting of the Council next Tuesday, and the issue will be raised by the President of the EU and Greek Prime Minister, Costas Simitis, at the Summit Meeting in Brussels.

"The murder of Serb Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic reminded Europe of the Balkans, in a tragic way", stressed Mr. Papandreou and added that Greece's insistence on that priority was justified in the worst possible way.

"We must not and cannot forget the Balkans, where the situation is still far from a safe stability", said Mr. Papandreou, noting that on the side of the Greek Presidency the Balkan crisis is already "very high on the agenda of all summit meetings".

Mr. Papandreou traveled to the Belgian capital in order to participate in the works of the Convention on the Future of the EU and discussed all important institutional issues with the Convention's President, Valerie Giscard Destaing.

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