Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 03-06-30

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

CONTENTS

[01] TWINNING OF THE CITIES OF VENICE AND THESSALONIKI

[02] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE CABINET MEETING

[03] BEGLITIS ON THE GREEK EU PRESIDENCY AND THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDDLE

[04] INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AMONG TEENAGERS

[05] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[06] SIMITIS: GREECE'S PRESTIGE HAS INCREASED WITH THE GREEK EU PRESIDENCY

[07] NEW TURKISH PROVOCATION OVER THE AEGEAN

[01] TWINNING OF THE CITIES OF VENICE AND THESSALONIKI

The first phase of the twinning of the cities of Thessaloniki in northern Greece and Venice in Italy will be completed in a special event to take place in Thessaloniki's City Hall on July 18.

The formal ceremony for the signing of the twinning protocol will take place within the framework of an International Conference on the cultural heritage of the European coastal cities to be held in Thessaloniki on July 16-19.

In the conference will participate about 46 representatives of the Municipalities of Thessaloniki and Venice, while an invitation will also be issued to 5 representatives of European local authorities, already twinned or interested in it, to facilitated the Twinned Cities Network.

[02] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE CABINET MEETING

The Greek cabinet in its meeting today under Prime Minister Kostas Simitis assessed the work of the Greek EU Presidency.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister referred separately to each Greek EU Presidency goal mentioning specifically the Cyprus issue, the European Constitution and the Common Agricultural Policy.

He also referred to the priorities set namely, the completion of the EU enlargement, the speeding up of the materialization of the Lisbon strategy, the completion of the Constitutional Convention proceedings, the handling of the migration phenomenon, the common actions for the promotion of specific priorities in the sector of the EU foreign relations, the crisis in Iraq, the Western Balkans, the peace process in the Middle East and the relations with the US and Russia.

Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas stated that the cabinet agreed that the Greek EU Presidency was very successful as it was acknowledged by all EU member states and the European Commission.

Mr. Simitis stated in the cabinet meeting that hard work was necessary to meet the goals set and the results were very satisfactory.

[03] BEGLITIS ON THE GREEK EU PRESIDENCY AND THE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis characterized the 6month term of the Greek EU Presidency as a period full of events and important achievements.

Mr. Beglitis pointed out speaking to reporters that the Greek EU Presidency contributed decisively to the progress and completion of important issues linked with the EU foreign policy and the EU future in general.

He referred to the meeting the EU Troika had in Athens today with the Chinese Foreign Minister and EU High Representative for CFSP Javier Solana, stressing that the Greek EU Presidency activities are being completed with this meeting and tomorrow's briefing of the European Parliament Plenary Session to be made by Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.

He pointed out that the issues to be examined in the meeting of the EU Ministerial Troika with China will be the EU-China relations, the developments in Myanmar, the human rights situation in China and the non proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. During a formal dinner will be discussed issues like organized crime and international terrorism, developments in the Middle East peace process and Iraq, North Korea, Afghanistan and the India-Pakistan relations.

Mr. Beglitis characterized the ceasefire in the Middle East as an important step toward the materialization of the Road Map under the precondition that the ceasefire will be observed by all sides.

On the Middle East issue, there is already cooperation with the Italian Presidency to secure the continuation of the EU policy in the region.

Mr. Beglitis also announced that a C-130 transport plane will depart for Baghdad on Wednesday to bring to Greece children from Iraq with immediate need for medical and hospital care.

[04] INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES AMONG TEENAGERS

One out of three teenagers consumes alcoholic beverages at least once a week, while a high percentage of the young generation drinks every other day.

According to the Metron Aalysis polling company, 17% of the teenagers consume alcoholic drinks three or more times a week, while 20% of the teenagers consumes more than 5 drinks every time they go out. Boys try alcohol for the first time at the age of 15 and girls a little after the age of 17.

Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine Director Yiannis Tountas stated in an interview for the Athens radio station Flash that the bad thing with Greece is that there is an increased alcohol consumption among the young generation and the Greeks are champions in hard liquor consumption.

[05] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.50% at 1.892,04 points, while the volume of transactions was at 124 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 87 recorded gains and 230 had losses, while the value of 40 stocks remained unchanged.

[06] SIMITIS: GREECE'S PRESTIGE HAS INCREASED WITH THE GREEK EU PRESIDENCY SUCCESS

Greece benefited politically from the success of its term in the EU Presidency. Its prestige among the rest 24 EU members and toward third countries has increased, stressed Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis in a statement he made in the Greek Parliament after the cabinet meeting during which an assessment of the Greek EU Presidency was made.

Mr. Simitis presented detailed information proving that the Greek EU Presidency met all the priorities it had set. He referred to the way the crisis in Iraq was handled, the completion of the Constitutional Convention proceedings for the European Constitution approved in the Thessaloniki EU Summit meeting, the initiatives for the new EU strategy on security issues, the signing of the EU enlargement treaty, Cyprus' EU accession, the policy on immigration and asylum, the peace initiatives on the Middle East, and the opening of a new era in the EU relations with Western Balkans.

[07] NEW TURKISH PROVOCATION OVER THE AEGEAN

The Turkish generals continue the provocation over the Aegean Sea.

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets harassed a commercial plane of the Greek airline company Veravia which provides express freight and mail services. The propeller cargo plane was carrying mail and had taken off from Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport. The plane had a two-member crew and its destination was Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.

The incident took place southeast of the southern Aegean island of Rhodes at noon today. The two Turkish fighter jets approached the Greek cargo plane at a distance of 5 nautical miles, while the safety limit is at 10 nautical miles.

The pilot of the Greek plane informed the control tower at Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport. The Greek Air Force and the Foreign Ministry were also informed about the incident.

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