Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-12-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] BALKAN CITY NETWORK

[02] KILLER WEATHER

[03] 2ND FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION MEETING OF BALKAN MAYORS

[04] GREECE WANTS THE COMMITMENTS ON THE EURO-ARMY TO BE RESPECTED

[05] EU LABOR MINISTERS COUNCIL MEETING

[06] PROTOPAPAS: NO GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

[07] SMALL LOSSES IN THE ASE

[08] THE MACEDONIA-THRACE JOURNALISTS ON THE WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE

[09] SIMITIS AND PUTIN WILL SIGN BILATERAL AGREEMENTS

[10] POWELL-PAPANDREOU TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

[11] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS VISITED THE JAILED BRITISH PLANE

[12] PAPADIMOS: THE PICTURE OF THE GREEK ECONOMY IS POSITIVE

[13] THE POLISH POETRY FESTIVAL AWARD WENT TO A GREEK

[01] BALKAN CITY NETWORK

30 Mayors of major Balkan cities are starting meetings in Thessaloniki, aiming at materializing an inter-Balkan inter-municipal cooperation by creating the Network of Major Balkan Cities. This is the 2nd Meeting of Friendship and Cooperation of Major Balkan Cities to take place in Thessaloniki, thanks to the initiative of Mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos.

The proposal to create a Network of Major Balkan Cities had been made last year by Mayor Papgeorgopoulos during the 1st International Meeting of Friendship and Cooperation of Major Balkan Cities. In the Meeting to begin today, the Mayors will move to the creation of structures to the Network which will include: The Mayor Council, which will be the highest body of the network. The presiding city, the Mayor of which will lead the Network. The Executive Secretariat and the General Direction, which will coordinate and materialize the actions and programs of the Network. And the thematic Committees, which will develop special actions in various sectors, such as sports, culture, the environment, architecture, heritage, etc.

[02] KILLER WEATHER

Two Afghan illegal immigrants were found dead on the Mytilini shore, Thermi. The illegal immigrants came to Greece from the Turkish coast with another 11 compatriots of theirs using 3 inflatable boats.

7 of the illegal immigrants were arrested yesterday morning in the Thermi beach area and the authorities were informed of the case.

Land and air searches continue for the locating of the other illegal immigrants, while there are extremely high wind speeds in the region.

This morning, ships did not cast off due to tempestual winds. None of the scheduled trips to the Aegean islands will be carried out, while the channel lines from Kavala to Thasos, Prinos and Keramoti, will remain closed.

On the other hand, the channel lines between Rio-Antirio, Kallini to Kefallonia, and Zachynthos and Igoumenitsa Corfu.

There are problems throughout Greece due to the bad weather, and specifically, the snow.

Dozens of mountain villages of Central and Southern Greece have been cut off due to the snow, while vehicles can only move if they are equipped with anti-skid chains.

Meanwhile, searches are in progress to locate the 17-year-old Dimitris Tsouras, who has been missing since Saturday in Dervenochoria, Attica.

[03] 2ND FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION MEETING OF BALKAN MAYORS

The proceedings of the 2nd Friendship and Cooperation Meeting of major Balkan city mayors opened in Thessaloniki today. The meeting is held at the initiative of Thessaloniki mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos with the participation of 30 Balkan mayors aimed at the materialization of the inter-Balkan, inter-municipal cooperation through the Major Balkan Cities Network.

In his opening speech, Mr. Papageorgopoulos pointed out that the international, inter-municipal cooperation opens creative horizons and creates prospects that bring significant benefits to local communities, while it promotes the role of the cities as regional centers that can undertake the materialization of development planning and promote decentralization.

Plovdiv's deputy mayor Nedialko Gentsev, who represents the Bulgarian city's mayor Ivan Tsomakov, sent the message that local authorities play a key role in international cooperation and stressed that the creation of a joint strategy of peaceful coexistence and development will improve relations among Balkan cities.

The metropolitan municipality of Ankara mayor representative, Melih Gioktsek, expressed his opposition to terrorist activities and wars and pointed out that the most dangerous development, even compared to a nuclear war, is the clash of civilizations and the fact that different civilizations are not familiar with each other. He said that the biggest part of the responsibility for this lays with the local administration officials as they are the ones who offer their services to the people on a daily basis. He concluded by saying that they should give a priority to the promotion of programs and methods that will secure justice, peace, friendship and cultural understanding.

[04] GREECE WANTS THE COMMITMENTS ON THE EURO-ARMY TO BE RESPECTED

Greece wants the commitments and decisions reached on the Euro-army be respected on the basis of the Nice Summit Meeting decision framework, underlined Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas responding to a question by a reporter on the occasion of the statements made by Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit after the meeting he had with US and British officials according to which, Ankara's demands concerning the Euro-army have been met.

Mr. Protopapas stated that the Greek government watches the developments closely and reminded that Prime Minister Simitis, in a contact he had with his Belgian counterpart, made it clear that the decisions on the issue should move within the framework of the Nice Summit Meeting decisions.

Mr. Protopapas said that there can be no exclusion of territorial zones and especially, if there are territorial zones that are of special national importance. He said that the issue was raised to the Belgian Prime Minister who backed the Nice decisions in statements he made recently.

[05] EU LABOR MINISTERS COUNCIL MEETING

Greek Labor Minister Dimitris Reppas attended the EU Labor and Social Affairs Ministers Council meeting in Brussels today.

The issues under discussion concern the proposal for the adoption of a regulation to coordinate the EU social security systems, the employment and social policy, the legislation protecting the wage earners from insolvent employers, and measures against poverty and social exclusion.

The EU Labor ministers will also discuss the quality and viability of pensions, the council's draft plan on the European Year for the Handicap 2003, the incorporation of sex equality issues in the EU policies, the promotion of a European framework on the social responsibility of businesses and the amendment of the council's directive on the protection of the workers from asbestos exposure.

[06] PROTOPAPAS: NO GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

The government does not intervene in the operation of the justice system, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas, responding to questions by journalists on the issue of the arrest of British nationals in the southern Greek city of Kalamata, accused of spying.

Mr. Protopapas added that everything is being assessed based on the evidence collected by police.

[07] SMALL LOSSES IN THE ASE

Small losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.53% at 2.679,68 points, while the volume of transactions was at 128.02 million Euro or 43.62 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, only 54 recorded gains and 290 had losses, while the value of 22 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] THE MACEDONIA-THRACE JOURNALISTS ON THE WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE

The Macedonia-Thrace Journalists' Association calls for the return to Greece of the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue and in a declaration it has issued it is stressed that this is not an issue of lesser importance compared to the issue of the return to Greece of the Parthenon Marbles and other Greek antiquities that are scattered in every corner of the world.

In the declaration it is mentioned that the role of the kidnapper is unbecoming for the noble French nation, while France's silence on the issue of the return of the Winged Victory of Samothrace statue is impressive.

It is also stressed that the return of the statue to its place of origin will be a victory of civilization.

[09] SIMITIS AND PUTIN WILL SIGN BILATERAL AGREEMENTS

Six bilateral agreements will be signed by Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who will be on a three-day visit to Athens on Thursday.

The agreements will be on fuel and energy, air transportation, the establishment of cultural centers as well as, the cooperation between the Justice Ministries of the two countries, police cooperation and shipping sector cooperation.

The two leaders will have consultations on a wide spectrum of issues. They will discuss the developments concerning the NATO-Russia and the EU-Russia cooperation as well as, the developments in the Balkan region and southeastern Mediterranean with an emphasis on the Cyprus problem, the Greek-Turkish relations, the situation in the Middle East. They will also discuss the developments in the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus and the international developments in relation with terrorism and Afghanistan.

[10] POWELL-PAPANDREOU TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION

International terrorism, and developments in Afghanistan and the Middle East were the main topics of discussion in the telephone communication between US Secretary of State Colin Powell and Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou.

Mr. Powell also briefed Mr. Papandreou on the outcome of the consultations he had with Turkish officials in his recent visit to Ankara.

[11] GREEK FOREIGN MINISTRY OFFICIALS VISITED THE JAILED BRITISH PLANE SPOTTERS

Greek Foreign Ministry officials visited the Koridalos and Nafplion Prisons where the British nationals, who are accused of espionage, are being held. Foreign Ministry Development and Cooperation Agency director Alexandros Rontos and the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannis Magriotis' diplomatic office director visited the British nationals at the orders of the Greek Foreign Minister.

They concluded that they are held in good conditions and expressed the wish that their case will have a speedy and positive conclusion.

The issue was discussed in a telephone communication Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou had with his British counterpart.

The Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman reiterated today that Mr. Papandreou's interest in the British nationals is independent of the steps taken by the Greek justice and that the Foreign Ministry is dealing with the case as far as bilateral relations are concerned.

[12] PAPADIMOS: THE PICTURE OF THE GREEK ECONOMY IS POSITIVE

The prospects for the real convergence of the Greek economy with the economies of the Euro-zone countries continue to be positive, according to the bimonthly report issued by the Bank of Greece. The report was presented today by the Bank of Greece governor Loukas Papadimos.

In a press conference on the occasion of the presentation of the report, Mr. Papadimos pointed out that the fundamental characteristics of the Greek economy are improving, creating the preconditions for the continuation of the true convergence process.

On inflation, Mr. Papadimos expressed the belief that it will be kept below 3% until December, while the annual average in 2001 will be slightly lower than 3.5%. In 2002, inflation is expected to be around 2.5%.

[13] THE POLISH POETRY FESTIVAL AWARD WENT TO A GREEK

Greek poet and translator of Greek and Polish poetry Nikos Hatzinikolaou received the main award of the 24th "International Poetic November" Poetry Festival that took place in the Polish city of Poznan with the participation of 70 poets from 14 countries.

The Polish newspaper Trybuna mentioned that Mr. Hatzinikoloaou was honored mainly for his translations of Homer's Iliad into the Polish language, while his book The Girl from the Delphi was published recently.

A honorary distinction was also received by Mr. Hatzinikolaou's son, Aris.

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