Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-11-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] POLITICAL AGREEMENT ON THE BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS OIL PIPELINE

[02] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: MINOR DROP IN TOURISM

[03] GREECE WILL HOST THE CHILDREN HOSTAGES HELD IN THE MOSCOW THEATER

[04] PROTOPAPAS ON LAST NIGHT'S INCIDENTS IN ISTANBUL

[05] THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES ON GREECE'S SIDE IN 2004

[06] THE GOAL OF THE GREEK EU PRESIDENCY IS MORE JOB POSITIONS

[07] THE BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER MET WITH THE GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT

[08] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[09] THE TURKISH UNDERSECRETARY OF TOURISM ON LAST NIGHT'S INCIDENTS IN

[10] MEETING OF THE PRIME MINISTERS OF GREECE AND BULGARIA

[11] TENSIONS AT FENERBAHCE-PAO MATCH

[01] POLITICAL AGREEMENT ON THE BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS OIL PIPELINE

The Prime Ministers of Greece and Bulgaria, Kostas Simitis and Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, in their meeting in Athens today reached a political agreement for the equal participation of Greece, Bulgaria and Russia in the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline.

Mr. Simitis reminded that there is an agreement within the framework of the Greek Plan for the Reconstruction of the Balkans according to which, Bulgaria will receive the sum of 54 million Euro.

Referring to the issue of the border crossings between Greece and Bulgaria, he said that there is a slow progress but an agreement was reached for the Dramas-Exohi-Gotse Deltsev border crossing to be ready by July 2004.

He reiterated Greece's support to the efforts made by Bulgaria for its accession into the EU and NATO and added that Greece and Bulgaria expressed the willingness to deal jointly with the problems in the Balkan region through cooperation and dialogue.

Also, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria expressed the political will of the Bulgarian side to proceed with the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project, while he clarified that the issue of the Kozlodui nuclear plant was not discussed in the meeting with Mr. Simitis.

[02] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: MINOR DROP IN TOURISM

His appreciation that tourist traffic in 2002 will suffer a decrease of only 0.1% to 0.5% in comparison to last year, was expressed by Minister of Development Akis Tsochatzopoulos, during his speech at the opening of the 18th PHILOXENIA 2002 tourism exhibition, at the I. Vellidis conference center in Thessaloniki.

Based on information so far, Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that the number of tourists to visit Greece this year, will reach the same levels as last year, that of 13 million visitors. This expected tourist result is significant, if one takes into account the international crisis in the tourism market.

Meanwhile, the belief that the 2008 EXPO, contended for by Thessaloniki, will contribute to the increase of the region's tourism as well as employment, was expressed by Minister of Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis, in his greeting speech at the 18th PHILOXENIA.

Mr. Paschalidis also pointed out that PHILOXENIA has been being organized successfully for the last 18 years, and that this factor underlines the importance of promoting tourism.

Finally he stressed that Northern Greece offers development potential in alternative forms of tourism, such as agricultural tourism, winter and therapeutic tourism, while he added that Thessaloniki is still the largest pole of convention and exhibition tourism in Greece.

[03] GREECE WILL HOST THE CHILDREN HOSTAGES HELD IN THE MOSCOW THEATER

The Greek government appears eager to host in Greece the children, who lived through the horrible nightmare in the Moscow theater held by Chechen terrorists, in an effort to help them overcome the shock of this traumatic experience.

Greek Tourist Organization President Mr. Ioannis Patellis announced in a one-day conference in Thessaloniki today that he was authorized by Minister of Development Mr. Akis Tsochatzopoulos to announce that Greece is willing to host the children during the next tourist season.

Russian Economic Development and Trade Minister Mr. Vladimir Strezialkowski attended the conference that was held within the framework of the 18th PHILOXENIA Exhibition and a moment of silence was observed in memory of the tens of victims of the terrorist attack in Moscow.

[04] PROTOPAPAS ON LAST NIGHT'S INCIDENTS IN ISTANBUL

Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas expressed the government's regret over last night's incidents between fans of the football teams of Athens PAO and Fenerbahce in Istanbul.

He stated that groups of football fans of both teams are responsible for improprieties adding, however, that the incidents recorded were isolated and the majority of the fans were not involved.

Mr. Protopapas characterized as very significant the joint presence of the Greek and Turkish dignitaries in the football game and stated that it was a symbolic joint presence underlining the will of the two peoples to follow a course of solidarity.

Responding to questions by reporters, he said that Culture Minister Mr. Evangelos Venizelos expressed optimism concerning Turkey's European course and underlined that Cyprus' EU accession course will benefit Turkey as well. Called to comment on the statements made by the Turkish Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Culture, he reiterated that Athens backs the European course of the neighboring country but disagrees with the views expressed by the two government ministers.

Finally, he stated that the Football Federations of Greece and Turkey have decided to organize jointly the Euro 2008 Football Cup and the two state governments see this prospect positively.

[05] THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES ON GREECE'S SIDE IN 2004

Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Cyprus will be on Greece's side for the best possible organizing of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The intention of the four countries to assist the Greek effort was confirmed again today by their responsible ministers and undersecretaries in the one-day conference on Tourism and Sports organized within the framework of the 18th PHILOXENIA Exhibition in Thessaloniki.

The assurance that Russia, which will take over the presidency of the International Tourist Organization on January 1, 2003, will use this position to help in the effort for successful Olympic Games in Athens was given by Russian deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mr. Vladimir Strezialkowski. He proposed to Greece to hold a special conference on the Olympic Games in 2003 giving the opportunity to itself and the neighboring countries to discuss and table proposals on all the issues that concern the organizing of the international sports event.

Turkish Undersecretary of Tourism Savas Kiuce expressed the belief that the Athens Olympic Games will be very important not only for Greece but for all the neighboring countries which must work together for their success.

Bulgaria's intention to contribute as much as it can to the success of the Athens Olympic Games, was expressed by Bulgarian Undersecretary of Finance Dimitar Hadjinikolov. He stated that the games will stabilize more the already close relations shared by the tourist organizations, the governments and the business community in the countries of the wider region.

Cyprus also supports Greece, according to Trade, Industry and Tourism Minister Mr. Nikos Rolandis. He reminded that tourism corresponds to 20% of Cyprus' GDP. It is estimated that the country receives a total of 2.700.000 tourists annually and the foreign exchange is estimated at US$2 billion.

[06] THE GOAL OF THE GREEK EU PRESIDENCY IS MORE JOB POSITIONS

The policy followed by the Greek EU Presidency should cover three fields, namely the strengthening of the European economy growth rate, the flexibility of the job market and the continuous vocational training. The above were stressed by Greek European Commissioner Mrs. Anna Diamantopoulou after the meeting she had with Greek Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis.

Mr. Christodoulakis pointed out that Greece takes over the EU Presidency at a time characterized by low growth rates and stressed that the main goal under such conditions should be the creation of more job positions, especially for the young.

[07] THE BULGARIAN PRIME MINISTER MET WITH THE GREEK PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT

Greek Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis characterized as useful and fruitful the working visit of Bulgarian Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha aimed at the promotion of the already good relations shared by the two countries.

In the meeting, they discussed issues of mutual interest like the promotion of the construction of border crossings and the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, while they agreed that the cooperation between the Greek and Bulgarian parliamentarians is excellent in the regional and international fora.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister thanked Greece for its support to the efforts for the accession of Bulgaria into the Euro-Atlantic structures.

[08] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today following the downward course of the major European stock markets. The general index dropped to -0.53% at 1.775,81 points, while the volume of transactions was at 72.2 million Euro.

Of the stocks trading today, 153 recorded gains and 136 had losses, while the value of 86 stocks remained unchanged.

[09] THE TURKISH UNDERSECRETARY OF TOURISM ON LAST NIGHT'S INCIDENTS IN ISTANBUL

The certainty that all those responsible for the incidents recorded in last night's football match between PAO and Fenerbahce in Istanbul will be punished, by FIFA as well, was expressed to MPA by Turkish Undersecretary of Tourism Savas Kiuce.

Earlier, in statements he made within the framework of the 18th PHILOXENIA Exhibition in Thessaloniki, the Turkish official had referred to the favorable prospects for cooperation between Greece and Turkey created on the occasion of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and the Euro 2008 Football Cup.

For the record, Foreign Ministers of Greece and Turkey, Giorgos Papandreou and Sukru Sina Gurel, watched the PAO-Fenerbahce game last night and were attacked by football fans throwing objects and plastic bottles at them while they were entering the stadium.

Before the incidents, the climate in the stadium was very bad because of the two banners held by Turkish football fans with provocative slogans on the conquest of Istanbul by Mohammed B'. The banners were removed after an intervention by UEFA officials.

[10] MEETING OF THE PRIME MINISTERS OF GREECE AND BULGARIA

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis and his Bulgarian counterpart Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha discussed issues concerning bilateral relations, the cooperation of the two countries on the issue of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline and the transfer of electricity from Bulgaria to Greece.

Speaking in a one-day conference in Athens on bilateral relations, Mr. Simitis pointed out that the Greek investments in Bulgaria will be promoted by common plans and projects like the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. He also confirmed that Greece works hard for Bulgaria's accession into the EU and NATO.

The Bulgarian Prime Minister stressed that a new dimension, independent from the past, should be given to bilateral relations.

Minister of Development Akis Tsochatzopoulos also addressed the conference and underlined the need to sign bilateral agreements aimed at promoting the construction of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline and the projects for the transfer of natural gas and electricity.

[11] TENSIONS AT FENERBAHCE-PAO MATCH

A serious incident took place shortly before the beginning of the Fenerbahce - Panathinaikos match, which was sadly incited by Greek fans. Specifically, shortly after signing the declaration for the Olympic Truce by the Presidents of the two countries' football federations, the officials, including Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou, Minister of Culture Evaggelos Venizelos, and their Turkish colleagues, entered the field and tried to walk around it in an effort to reinforce the image of Greek-Turkish friendship.

The crowd was cheering the officials until they reached the Panathinaikos fans' stands, where some fans threw seats and bottles at the officials. There had also been other incidents earlier, when Turkish fans had raised two provocative banners with Mohamed II, reading "Istanbul since 1453" and "Kill for you". The banners were removed after UEFA officials intervened.

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