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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 96-11-18Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, November 18, 1996TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] PREMIER PRESENTS DIRECTION OF GOVERNMENT'S ECONOMIC POLICIESAthens, November 18 (M.P.A.)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis presented the direction of the Greek government's economic policies for 1997 this afternoon, during the joint PASOK Parliamentary Group and Central Committee session.Mr. Simitis emphasized that the country's economy is at a critical stage, especially in regards to Greece's position within the international arena, and announced that, given this opportunity to moderrnize the country, the Government is determined to set development targets in order to secure valuable funds. Specifically, along the measures promoted are a clampdown on tax evasion, which undermines the state's economy, a restructure of revenue and expenses in such a way that it will promote development and combat expenditures, and a return to economic stability and social justice. The 1997 budget will be tabled in Parliament by the end of November. Meanwhile, PASOK eurodeputy Yiannos Kranidiotis yesterday referred to the Intergovernmental Conference and stated that a political decision must be drawn in regards to Greece's accession to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), in case the country does not meet the Maastricht Treaty's criteria. Mr. Kranidiotis also emphasized the need to enforce more flexible criteria that will allow for the accession of more countries to the EMU. [02] GREEK PREMIER TO EMBARK ON SERIES OF VISITS, BUSY ITINERARY AHEADAthens, November 18 (M.P.A.)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will travel to Rome on November 20-21 for a two-day visit where he will meet with Italian Premier Romano Prodi and the president of Italy's Democratic Left Party Massimo Di Alema.On December 2-3 Mr. Simitis will attend the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Summit Meeting in Lisbon, while on December 12 he will be on a working visit to The Hague. On December 13-14 the Greek Premier will be attending the European Union's Summit Meeting in Dublin. [03] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER: "WE'RE READY FOR ANY WARM INCIDENT"Nicosia, November 18 (M.P.A.)Athens is ready to decisively deal with any potential "warm incident" in the Aegean Sea or Cyprus, should Turkey "rock the boat", stated the Greek Minister of National Defense Akis Tsohatzopoulos in an interview to the cypriot daily "Fileleftheros".Mr. Tsohatzopoulos stated that "an inexorable geography, which favors Turkey in regards to Cyprus, is rapidly challenged by the joint defense doctrine between Greece and Cyprus." The Greek Minister explained that the joint defense pact allows Greece to react immediately and decisively to any potential aggressive act arising in the Aegean, Thrace or Cyprus. Mr. Tsohatzopoulos will be in Nicosia on Thursday where he will meet with Cypriot political leaders and the Chief of the Cypriot National Guard. [04] INTERNATIONAL THESSALONIKI FILM FESTIVAL AWARD CEREMONY HELD LAST NIGHTThessaloniki, November 18 (M.P.A.)With a "Gold Alexandros" award bestowed upon English director Adyan Prasad's "Brothers in Trouble" from the international competition and a best movie award given to each of the Greek directors Andreas Pantzis' "I Sfagi tou Kokora" and Nikos Grammatikos' "Apontes" from the national sector, Thessaloniki's International Film Festival closed last night in a star-studded ceremony.In the international competition, the "Silver Alexandros" award was given to Isabel Coixet's "Cosas que nunca te dije", while Tso-Chi Chang's "Chung Tsai" won the best direction award. The best scenario prize was jointly awarded to Lucas Belvaux for "Pour Rire!" and Alexander Payne for "Citizen Ruth." The best actor and best actress awards were granted to Jean- Pierre Leaud, lead actor of "Pour Rire!", and to Lili Taylor, lead actress of "Cosas que nunca te dije". [05] YUGOSLAVIA: OPPOSITION SURPRISE WINNER IN SECOND ROUND OF LOCAL ELECTIONSBelgrade, November 18 (M.P.A.)The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia's center-right coalition "Zayendno" (Together) managed to gain the edge over Serb President Slobodan Milosevic's Socialist Party (SPS) in a surpise victory during yesterday's municipal elections.One of "Zayendno"'s leaders Vouk Drascovic exuberantly stated that the opposition's victory in the local elections constitutes a foundation for the renewal of Serbia. An SPS spokesperson told the state-owned television station that the Socialist Party held strong in 122 out of a total of 186 municipalites, albeit failing to mention that SPS fell short in winning over the larger communities, such as Belgrade, the capital. [06] ROMANIA: CONSTANTINESCU WINS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONSBucharest, November 18 (M.P.A.)With the ambitious pledge that either he will achieve great improvements in Romania within the next 200 days or he'll resign, Emil Constantinescu, leader of main opposition Democratic Coalition of Romania (CDR), announced his victory in the presidential elections whose second round was held yesterday.Although official results have not been announced yet by the Romanian Central Returning Board, Constantinescu's victory was clear as he is reported to lead by seven-to-eight percentage points. Incumbent President Ion Iliescu, leader of the ruling Party of Democratic Socialist of Romania (PDSR), accepted his defeat and called on his rival to aim for the best of Romania. Iliescu's defeat marks the first time that the former communist regime's officials have lost their power in government. [07] FYROM HOLDS ITS FIRST MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS AFTER COUNTRY'S INDEPENDENCESkopje, November 18 (M.P.A.)The first municipal elections in FYROM after its declaration as an independent state were held yesterday with about one and a half million voters casting their ballot to elect the country's 124 mayors and about 2,000 members of city councils.Thirty-three political parties competed, along with nine party coalitions and 32 independent candidates. Appearing on a shared ballot were the nationalist party VMRO- DPMNE, the Democratic Party and MAAK while the governing coalition parties, Social-Democratic Union, and Socialist Party, appeared separately. 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/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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