MPA NEWS IN BRIEF (23/04/1996)

From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>

Macedonian Press Agency Brief News in English Directory

BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY

Thessaloniki, April 23 1996

NEWS IN BRIEF

TITLES

NEWS IN DETAIL

[01] TURKS ADMIT THAT FISHING BOAT TRANSPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Yesterday's incident off the coast of the Kastelorizo island in the Aegean Sea, where a turkish fishing boat dropped off eight Iranian illegal immigrants to the nearby Agios Stephanos islet and sped away, not obeying Greek Coast Guard orders, has been confirmed by the turkish authorities who stated that the boat had sailed from a turkish port without the proper permit and it, indeed, transported illegal immigrants.

[02] GREECE EXERCISES VETO ON EU MEDA FUNDING TO TURKEY

Greece exercised its veto powers over Turkey's funding by the European Union's MEDA funding regulation, which aims to allocate ECU 3.4 billion in aid to 12 non- Community Mediterranean countries including Turkey, during yesterday's meeting of the EU General Affairs Council.

Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, who participated in the Council's meeting, emphasized that Greece will withdraw its reservations if Turkey states that the greek-turkish differences will be resolved peacefully and if Ankara states that it will resort to the International Court of Justice at The Hague for the Imia islets issue.

[03] PRIME MINISTER ON FORMAL VISIT TO LONDON

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, currently on a formal visit to London, will meet today with British Prime Minister John Major.

According to reports, Mr. Simitis is expected to present to Mr. Major Greece's positions regarding national issues, mainly the greek-turkish differences.

This evening, the British Deputy Prime Minister Mike Heseltine will host a dinner in honor of Mr. Simitis at Lancaster House. Mr. Heseltine is the British government's co-ordinator for the promotion of british trade export and it is said that he will refer to the improvement of bilateral economic and trade relations between Greece and Britain.

Tomorrow morning, the Greek Premier will leave London for Dublin, Ireland, where he will hold talks with his Irish counterpart John Bruton during a working lunch.

Mr. Simitis is accompanied by the alternate Foreign Minister George Romeos.

[04] INVESTIGATION FINDINGS OF THE IMIA CRISIS FALLEN HELICOPTER TO BE RELEASED TODAY

The expert investigation findings of the helicopter that fell on the day the Imia crisis broke out in the Aegean Sea are expected to be released today.

According to reports, the findings rule out the possibility that the helicopter was downed by turkish forces and contribute the fall to the human factor in combination with adverse weather conditions.

Three greek navy officers were killed in the accident.

[05] CULTURE MINISTER OPENS EUROMEDITERRANEAN MEETING IN BOLOGNA

Minister of Culture Stavros Benos is currently in Bologna, Italy, representing Greece in the Euromediterranean Meeting on Cultural Heritage and will participate in the informal Culture Ministers Council, headed by Italy, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.

Participating in this meeting are the Culture Ministers of all the EU member-states, as well as the Culture Ministers of Mediterranean countries outside the Community.

Mr. Benos was the primary speaker in the first of the meeting's three parts, and spoke on the issue of "Identity and Maintenance of the Cultural Heritage within the Euromediterranean Framework."

[06] GREEK GENERAL CONFEDERATION OF LABOR PRESIDENT MET WITH GLIGOROV

A final solution to the FYROM name issue must be reached through a dialogue, imperatively, stated the President of the Greek General Confederation of Labor Christos Protopapas, who met yesterday with FYROM's President Kiro Gligorov.

Speaking to the Macedonian Press Agency, Mr. Protopapas stated that his meeting with Mr. Gligorov was held in a very friendly climate.

Mr. Protopapas headed a delegation of confederation officials on a formal visit to Skopje, where they held talks with FYROM labor unions and the Labor Minister Naser Zimberi, exchanging views on the issue of unemployment.

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/