Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-08-24

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] TRADE UNIONS EMBARK ON TALKS WITH STATE TODAY

[02] EDUCATION REFORMS TO BE FURTHER REFORMED

[03] UNIONS, STATE, POSTPONE CONTINUANCE OF TALKS

[04] GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS RELEASED, TRIAL IN NOVEMBER

[05] PILOT PROGRAM IN EFFECT, 1-DAY CRUISES WITH NO VISA

[06] CHIEF OF NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE HEADS UBB BOARD

[07] PRESPES 2000 FESTIVAL OPENS TOMORROW IN FLORINA

[08] IOC DELEGATION ARRIVES IN GREECE TODAY

[09] AHEPA RELEASES ITS CONGRESSIONAL REPORT CARD

[10] STRONG QUAKE RATTLES NW TURKEY, 22 INJURED

[11] ARCHBISHOP OF GREECE IN JERUSALEM TODAY

[01] TRADE UNIONS EMBARK ON TALKS WITH STATE TODAY

Trade union leaders are to embark on negotiations with Labor Minister Tasos Yiannitsis today, with whom they will discuss planned reforms to the labor market.

Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou will also attend the talks as the participants will also review the management of the Third Community Support Framework funds for employment.

Meanwhile, the president of the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE), Christos Polyzogopoulos warned yesterday that his union would walk out of the discussions if the government tried to "sneak in" reforms allowing the deregulation of mass lay-offs, more flexible working-hour arrangements (which unions claim will lead to abolishing the eight-hour day), and greater flexibility in part-time employment, temporary work, insurance etc.

A.F.

[02] EDUCATION REFORMS TO BE FURTHER REFORMED

Education Minister Petros Efthymiou is to present his proposals for reforms in the academic sector to the Cabinet today, with most of the changes expected to concern the examinations system.

If approved, the reforms, which will be funded by cash transferred from other projects and alterations in European Union programs, will apply to all secondary educational activities, from libraries and computer-assisted education to the selection and printing of textbooks.

Regarding the examinations system, Mr. Efthymiou has decided to cut the number of lessons on the second year senior high school syllabus to eight, and those for the third year senior high school exams to nine. Religious education will not be included in the exam syllabus.

A.F.

[03] UNIONS, STATE, POSTPONE CONTINUANCE OF TALKS

Negotiations between trade union leaders and the state were interrupted this afternoon, after the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) requested a thorough outline of the government position on the planned reforms to the labor market.

The state has agreed to abide by this request, while GSEE president Christos Polyzogopoulos stated that he expects to have the report by September 4. Another meeting is to be scheduled then.

A.F.

[04] GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS RELEASED, TRIAL IN NOVEMBER

Twelve Greenpeace activists who were arrested for blocking access to company trucks at a soya processing plant, have been released from jail and ordered to appear for a court hearing on November 13.

The activists, seven Greeks and five foreign nationals, had remained chained to the gates of the "Soya Hellas" plant on the island of Evoia, from Tuesday to Wednesday, in protest to the import of genetically engineered products.

Soya Hellas filed an official complaint against them for blocking its plant's gates.

A.F.

[05] PILOT PROGRAM IN EFFECT, 1-DAY CRUISES WITH NO VISA

Greece has recently begun allowing people from Turkey to visit its islands without first obtaining a visa and is looking for ways to establish this pilot program permanently, according to government spokesman Dimitris Reppas.

Community leaders and professional associations on the islands had called for the visa waiver in a bid to boost tourism. Mr. Reppas stated the government is looking for ways to prevent the new system from being abused, for example by illegal immigrants.

A.F.

[06] CHIEF OF NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE HEADS UBB BOARD

The governor of the National Bank of Greece Theodoros Karatzas has been appointed as president of the board of directors of United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), the neighboring country's third largest and first privatized banking institution.

Mr. Karatzas' appointment was decided during a UBB general assembly held in Sofia for the selection of the board's nine members.

The selection of UBB's board membership was conducted in cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), which holds a ten percent stake in UBB.

The National Bank of Greece, the country's largest commercial bank, has purchased an 89.9 percent stake of UBB for the sum of 207 million dollars. It also has branches in Albania and Romania.

The deputy governor of the National Bank of Greece Apostolos Tamvakakis was elected as the vice-president of the Board, which now also comprises the National Bank's regional director for the Balkans Christos Katsanis, as well as National Bank executives Nikolaos Koutsos and Alexandros Tourkolias.

A.F.

[07] PRESPES 2000 FESTIVAL OPENS TOMORROW IN FLORINA

The annual Prespes festival will open in Florina tomorrow, featuring the attendance of Balkan leaders and several Greek deputies and government officials.

Greece's Minister of the Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization Minister Vasso Papandreou will meet with FYROM's interior and public order minister and Albania's vice president and labor minister on August 26, while National Economy Deputy Minister Yiannis Zapheiropoulos will hold meetings with his FYROM and Albanian counterparts.

Macedonia and Thrace Minister George Paschalidis will officially open the events on the island of Agios Achileios on August 27, where Environment, City Planning and Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis recently inaugurated a pedestrian bridge connecting the Koula checkpoint to the island of Agios Achilleios.

Culture Minister and Deputy Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Giorgos Floridis, respectively, will hold separate meetings with their counterparts from Balkan states on August 27, while, later in the day, Mr. Pangalos will inaugurate the "Prespa Library" at Agios Germanos.

The Prespes festival will feature concerts by Socratis Malamas, Dimitris Mitropanos, Maria Farantouri, Elli Paspalia, Savina Giannatou, the Florina-born tenor Sotos Papoulkas and gypsy Ferush Mustamov, and a Bulgarian poetry night held on August 28.

Within the framework of the festival, a labor-housing lottery will be held on Friday, August 28, while the European Judo Championship is scheduled to take place on September 8 and 9 at Amynteo.

A.F.

[08] IOC DELEGATION ARRIVES IN GREECE TODAY

A delegation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headed by Vice-President Jacques Rogge will be arriving in Athens today in order to assess Greece's progress in preparations for the 2004 Olympics.

The IOC delegates will have successive meetings with the leadership of the "Athens 2004" Olympics Organising Committee, Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos and other members of government, and will inspect sites of Olympic projects.

Public Works Minister Costas Laliotis has announced that the five Games venues to be constructed under his ministry's supervision will be ready by May 2004. Specifically, Mr Laliotis stated earlier this week that the rowing center, the sailing center, the beach volley installations, the multi-purpose venue and the canoeing center will be constructed with a planned deadline of May 2004 and will cost 120 billion drachmas. Construction will begin in early 2002.

A.F.

[09] AHEPA RELEASES ITS CONGRESSIONAL REPORT CARD

The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) this week released its Congressional Report Card where the Democratic Party's vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman is rated as a strong supporter of Greek issues.

The report card is based on important legislative initiatives and positions taken by elected representatives during the 106th Congress only. Grades are based primarily on legislation initiated or co-sponsored, voting record, position letters signed (or not signed), floor action and/or participation in events important to Greek Americans and Greek foreign policy.

According to the report card, based on a survey which was conducted before Al Gore announced Mr. Lieberman as his running mate for the presidency, the senator has co-sponsored and introduced several pieces of legislation pertaining to Greek foreign policy issues.

Mr. Lieberman co-sponsored legislative bill S.Con.Res.9, which calls for a U.S. effort to end restrictions on the freedoms and human rights of the enclaved people in the occupied area of Cyprus, and which was introduced on February 11 last year by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and was co-sponsored by 35 senators.

The Democratic candidate, rated by AHEPA with a grade A in the top 10 list among the 100 U.S. senators, has also signed a letter written by the Senate Armed Services Committee to Secretary of Defense William Cohen, calling on Cohen to urge Turkish officials to resolve the Cyprus stalemate. The letter also asked the Pentagon to urge the Turkish military to bring about a "swift and equitable resolution" to the illegal occupation in Cyprus.

Other actions taken by the senator in support of Greek issues included co-sponsoring a piece of legislation expressing the sense of Congress that the Parthenon Marbles should be returned to Greece before the 2004 Olympics.

The Congressional Report Card, which rates senators on a grade scale of A+ to D, graded senators Spencer Abraham (R-MI), Charles Robb (D-VA), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) with A+, with Sen. Snowe having the strongest record of introducing legislation pertaining to Greek and Cypriot affairs.

A.F.

[10] STRONG QUAKE RATTLES NW TURKEY, 22 INJURED

Twenty-two persons were injured when an earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook northwest Turkey yesterday afternoon.

According to press reports, the injuries occurred as the panic-stricken locals ran to flee their buildings.

Yesterday's quake took place in the same region as last year's catastrophic one that claimed 17,000 lives.

A.F.

[11] ARCHBISHOP OF GREECE IN JERUSALEM TODAY

Archbishop of Athens and All of Greece Christodoulos is heading a church delegation in an official visit to Jerusalem today.

During his stay, Mr. Christodoulos will meet with the Patriarch of Jerusalem Diodoros, the President of Israel Moshe Katzav, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and with representatives of various Christian denominations.

A.F.

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