Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-09-10

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

CONTENTS

[01] JOSPIN IN ATHENS

[02] GREEK ARCHBISHOP CONDEMNS CLEANSING IN COSOVO

[03] KOSTAS KARAMANLIS IN BOSTON

[04] THE EU COOPERATION WITH THE BLACK SEA STATES

[05] PAPANDREOU ON AN INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN FYROM

[06] MINORITY MINISTRY IN ALBANIA

[07] THE FYROM NAME WAS RAISED TO VEDRINE AND THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE

[08] GREEK-TURKISH TALKS ON THE CONFIDENCE-BUILDING-MEASURES

[09] PRIME MINISTER JOSPEN'S CONTACTS IN ATHENS

[10] THE ASE PLUNGED TO -4.17%

[11] THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ON THE ENVIRONMENT

[12] VEDRINE'S STATEMENTS ON THE FYROM NAME ISSUE

[13] GREECE AND FRANCE SHARE THE SAME VIEWS

[01] JOSPIN IN ATHENS

The Prime Minister of France, Lionel Jospin, has been in Athens since yesterday, a guest of his Greek counterpart, Kostas Simitis. The two Prime Ministers will meet at 12 noon, and will make statements to the press right after. The subjects up for discussion are bilateral relationships, the course of the European Union and its broadening , as well as developments in the Balkans and especially in FYROM. Earlier (at 10), Mr. Jospin will meet with the President of the Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis.

[02] GREEK ARCHBISHOP CONDEMNS CLEANSING IN COSOVO

Meetings with the President of the Yugoslavian Federation, Voislav Kostounica and the Prime Minister of Serbia, Zoran Jijic, have been scheduled for this morning by Archbishop Christodoulos. The discussions between the Churches of Serbia-Greece also begin today.

Yesterday Mr. Christodoulos, during a meal which was held in his honor in Belgrade by Patriarch of Serbia, Paul, announced the donation 150 million drs to the Serbian Church and 100 million for the erection of the new Church of St. Savvas.

Even Mr. Christodoulos spoke of the national cleansing of the Serbs at the borders of Kossovo, under the eyes of the so called peace makers, supporting that a broader plan against stability and peace in the broader region is at work, while he supports Serbian positions even on the matter of the secession of Montenegro from the Federation.

[03] KOSTAS KARAMANLIS IN BOSTON

The President of New Democracy, Kostas Karamanlis, is in Boston, where he will speak today at the inauguration ceremony of the functioning of the Greek Studies and Southeastern Europe Studies "Konstantinos Karamanlis" of TUFTS University. The courses of the department, which will be directed by the distinguished Professor Thanos Veremis, began in January 2004 with 24 students, a quite satisfactory number for US University standards. A reminder, that the deceased Konstantinos Karamanlis had given his consent to the founding of this department, while the committee of eminent Athenians concentrated more than $1,5 million from the donations of Greek foundations, banks, companies and individuals.

[04] THE EU COOPERATION WITH THE BLACK SEA STATES

The Black Sea is likely to become "Dead Sea" if the problem of the crude oil transportation is not dealt with in the right way, while the consequences of such a development in the Black Sea Zone could reach the Aegean Sea as well. Therefore, the right handling of the situation is a direct challenge for the countries in the region.

The above were stated by Greek European Commissioner Ms. Anna Diamantopoulou in her opening speech in the one-day conference on "Black Sea Economic Cooperation - European Union" organized in Thessaloniki today by the Commerce and Development Black Sea Bank.

Ms. Diamantopoulou admitted that the European Commission for the time being has no orders from the European Council for an economic cooperation with the Black Sea. However, she stressed that the relations the EU develops with the Black Sea countries become closer both at a political and an economic level, while the prospects for the future are positive.

[05] PAPANDREOU ON AN INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN FYROM

Greece backs the creation of an international peacekeeping force, made up of countries outside NATO, such as Scandinavian, and with the participation of Russia, which will remain in FYROM until peace and security are restored in the region.

The proposal was brought for discussion by Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou in the meeting he had today with his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine, while this proposal was also raised in the informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers that was held in Belgium to discuss the developments in the Balkans.

The EU foreign ministers decided that the International Conference of Donor Countries for FYROM will be held on October 15.

However, both the Greek and French foreign ministers pointed out that there is a need for the NATO force to remain in FYROM after the 30 days initially agreed because this is necessary for the safety of the international observers, the return of the refugees to their homes and the restoration of stability in the region.

[06] MINORITY MINISTRY IN ALBANIA

Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou congratulated the new foreign minister of Albania Ms. Arta Dante for her post, both on the phone and with a telegram.

Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis said that the establishment of a minority ministry in Albania that was given to an ethnic Greek minority member is a very positive development. He said that prime minister Ilir Meta and the new Albanian government prove in practice that they have the political will to proceed with Albania's democratization. The foreign ministry spokesman stated that Albania will have Greece's support in this effort.

[07] THE FYROM NAME WAS RAISED TO VEDRINE AND THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE "15"

Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis confirmed that foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou raised the issue of the FYROM name both to his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine in Athens today and the informal meeting of the "15" in Belgium yesterday.

Mr. Beglitis stated that the foreign minister called on the EU to confirm its positive position concerning the negotiation procedure underway under the UN auspices and intervene to the interested parties to proceed with a mutually acceptable solution to the issue of the name.

Within this framework, he added that it was natural to call on EU foreign policy representative Javier Solana as well to watch the issue of the FYROM name closer, clarifying that Mr. Solana's involvement will not substitute the UN role.

[08] GREEK-TURKISH TALKS ON THE CONFIDENCE-BUILDING-MEASURES

The Greek-Turkish talks between the Greek and Turkish foreign ministries political directors Mr. Skopelitis and Mr. Abokan respectively, opened today and are expected to be completed tomorrow.

The two sides will evaluate the course of bilateral relations on the basis of the establishment of a framework of relations that has been formed after the ratification of mutual interest agreements by the two countries.

Mr. Skopelitis and Mr. Abokan will continue the talks on the political confidence-building-measures within the framework of their established biannual meetings.

The Greek foreign ministry estimates that the talks are progressing in a positive manner and there is a mutual will to proceed with the adoption of specific measures.

[09] PRIME MINISTER JOSPEN'S CONTACTS IN ATHENS

Coincidence of views on the course of the European Union economy and the need to extend NATO's presence in FYROM, was established in the meeting of prime minister Kostas Simitis with his French counterpart Lionel Jospen that was held in Athens today in a very good atmosphere.

On the issue of the NATO force in FYROM, both sides agreed that there is a need for the extension of its presence under the precondition that a relevant mandate will be given by the UN.

Mr. Jospen stated that his country supports FYROM's integrity and the need to avoid the repetition of violence and hostilities and wondered if the international force should remain in FYROM after the end of its mandate on October 28.

On the European economy, Mr. Simitis and Mr. Jospen pointed out that it faces problems but they appeared optimistic that they will be overcome. The Greek prime minister presented Greece's positions on the issue of the FYROM name, the latest developments in Cyprus and Cyprus' EU accession course, while Mr. Jospen from his side raised the issue of the sale of French armored tanks to Greece.

Earlier, the French prime minister had a meeting with president Kostis Stephanopoulos, who told him that he agrees with the positions on social solidarity, economic stability and the preservation of the cultural diversity he expressed in an Athens newspaper article yesterday.

Mr. Jospen also met with parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis and in statements they made they pointed out that they share the same democratic values and the same visions for the future of Europe. Mr. Kaklamanis thanked Mr. Jospen for his position concerning the continuing partition of Cyprus by the Turkish occupation forces and his view that Cyprus' EU course should not be affected by outside factors. From his side, Mr. Jospen pointed out that the UN principles must be respected. Mr. Kaklamanis honored Mr. Jospen with the gold medal of the Greek parliament.

At noon, the French prime minister had lunch with Mr. Simitis in the presence of foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou, national economy minister Yiannos Papantoniou, culture minister Evangelos Venizelos and French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine. Later this afternoon, Mr. Jospen will attend a reception in the French embassy before he returns to France.

[10] THE ASE PLUNGED TO -4.17%

Big losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -4.17% at 2.536,97 points, while the volume of transactions was very small at 130.5 million Euro or 44.4 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, only 9 recorded gains, while the overwhelming majority, 346, had losses, while the value of 21 stocks remained unchanged.

[11] THE 1ST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ON THE ENVIRONMENT

The 1st International Film Festival on "Cinema and the Environment" that opened on September 7 was completed in the Ionian island of Zakynthos yesterday.

In the festival, which is the first theme film festival in Greece and the only one of its kind in the Balkans, were presented 20 documentaries on the environment from different countries, all 2001-2002 productions.

[12] VEDRINE'S STATEMENTS ON THE FYROM NAME ISSUE

The settlement of the FYROM name issue would contribute to the success of the political procedure that is in progress in this country, stated French foreign minister Hubert Vedrine in an interview with the Skopje newspaper Dnevnik.

The newspaper, which referred to the informal EU General Affairs council that was completed yesterday in Brussels, pointed out that the EU wishes for a solution to the issue of the FYROM name, underlining that Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou requested the assistance of Javier Solana, head of the EU Joint Foreign Policy and Defense Policy, for the settlement of this pending issue.

The EU member-states called on Greece and FYROM to move ahead with the settlement of the issue as soon as possible, points out the newspaper, underlining that the Belgian foreign minister, who is presiding over the Council of ministers, stated in a press conference that the settlement of the name issue will contribute to the easing of the situation in FYROM.

[13] GREECE AND FRANCE SHARE THE SAME VIEWS

Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou met in Athens today with his visiting French counterpart Hubert Vedrine. In statements he made after the meeting, Mr. Papandreou pointed out that he discussed the issue of the FYROM name with Mr. Vedrine and presented to him the Greek position on the issue. They also discussed the Cyprus issue and its EU accession course.

The Greek foreign minister characterized his meeting with Mr. Vedrine as useful, adding that Greece and France have a close cooperation on many issues. He said that they share the same views on the Balkan issues, while on the situation in FYROM there is agreement that there is a need for the NATO multi-national force to stay in the country after the disarmament of the Albanian rebels. He said that this will contribute positively to the protection of the observers, the return of the refugees to their homes, the population census and other procedures.

In the meeting, the two foreign ministers also discussed the developments in the Middle East. For the record, Mr. Papandreou will be in Jerusalem at the end of the week to attend the enthroning of Patriarch Erineos and he will convey the European message for the promotion of the peace efforts in the Middle East.

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