Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-01-28

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

CONTENTS

[01] ROADS ARE BEING BLOCKED

[02] MEANINGFUL TALKS IN A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE

[03] THE RION-ANTIRION BRIDGE WILL REMAIN CLOSED INDEFINITELY

[04] MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPTION IN THE JUSTICE SECTOR

[05] ANOTHER STEP TOWARD THE MATERIALIZATION OF THE BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS

[06] LIAPIS IS PROUD OF THE GREEK BSEC PRESIDENCY

[07] GAINS IN THE ASE

[08] THE ISTANBUL-THESSALONIKI CORRIDOR WILL IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION AND ROAD

[09] HIGH POPULARITY RATE FOR THE PRIME MINISTER

[10] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.8 ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN GAVDOS

[01] ROADS ARE BEING BLOCKED

The cotton producers from Thessaly, central Greece, decided to block traffic at Tempi in the Thessaloniki-Athens national motorway using their tractors in essence cutting Greece into half until 10 am tomorrow, while their colleagues in Serres, northern Greece, will block the national motorway at Promachonas indefinitely interrupting traffic from and to Bulgaria.

Main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK Giorgos Papandreou will have meetings with farmers in Larisa tomorrow but will not visit the farmers' road blockades. Coalition deputy Mina Xirotiri visited the road blockades yesterday.

The farmers supporting the Communist Party will enter mobilizations on Monday.

[02] MEANINGFUL TALKS IN A FRIENDLY ATMOSPHERE

Greek Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis characterized as very friendly, very meaningful and very useful the talks he had in Thessaloniki today with his German counterpart Yoshka Fischer.

German Foreign Minister Yoshka Fischer confirmed the good climate between Greece and Germany characterizing bilateral relations as excellent. The two ministers discussed issues concerning the EU, Cyprus, Turkey's course, developments in the Balkans and specifically in Kosovo, the problems in the Middle East and the situation in Iran and Iraq.

On the fiscal affairs of the EU members, Mr. Fischer stated that an agreement on the issue is still far away. He said that because of the EU enlargement to include 10 new countries and the heavy burden it is involved, it is imperative to have strict discipline in the spending policy. However, he expressed the belief that there will be a compromise to satisfy both those who pay and those who benefit.

On Turkey's course after the EU Summit meeting in December, he said that everything possible will be done within the framework of the European Council for Turkey to have a constructive course in accordance with its European prospect.

He stressed that it is very important for Greece and Turkey to have good relations and within this framework there should be good developments in the Cyprus issue as well.

On Iran's nuclear weapons and how a repetition of what happened in Iraq could be avoided, Mr. Fischer stated that he is a realist and a lot depend on the stance adopted by Iran, adding that there is still enough room to reach a solution without creating a new Iraq.

[03] THE RION-ANTIRION BRIDGE WILL REMAIN CLOSED INDEFINITELY

The Rion-Antirion Bridge in the Peloponese, southern Greece, will remain closed indefinitely as a result of the fire that broke out yesterday on a steel cable. Car drivers are not allowed to use the bridge for the next few days as a precautionary measure while an investigation is underway to determine the causes of the accident.

However, according to the Athens daily TA NEA, the incident creates serous questions regarding security deficiencies on the Rion-Antirion Bridge. According to a statement issued by the company that built the bridge, the cable was hit by lightning. The statement includes certain reservations, pointing out that no one can tell with certainty what were the exact causes that led to the incident given the fact that the bridge meets all safety requirements for protection against lightning.

[04] MEASURES AGAINST CORRUPTION IN THE JUSTICE SECTOR

The government examines the likelihood to characterize the bribery of court judges as capital offence instead of a misdemeanour, according to information released after the meeting Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis had today with Justice Minister Anastasis Papaligouras.

Mr. Papaligouras briefed the Prime Minister on the priorities of the Ministry of Justice.

The specific measures decided aiming to combat corruption will be announced on Monday and their goal will be the reform of the justice sector.

The Justice Minister visited the Supreme Court today and upon his arrival Supreme Court President Giorgos Kapos suggested that the way the heads of the major Courthouses in the country are being appointed should change in essence suggesting the abolition of the courts' self-administration.

[05] ANOTHER STEP TOWARD THE MATERIALIZATION OF THE BURGAS-ALEXANDROUPOLIS OIL PIPELINE

The tripartite inter-governmental committee of Russia, Bulgaria and Greece met in Moscow on January 26 and 27 to promote the materialization of the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline, according to a statement issued by the Greek Ministry of Development.

In the talks, the three countries reiterated the will to proceed with the materialization of the project based on the Cooperation Memorandum initialed and the protocol signed in Athens on November 4-5, 2004.

Also, during the talks the three countries proposed the specific companies they have already formed, called the Initiative Group, which set the Russian company TNK-BP as their coordinator.

The next meeting of the Tripartite Inter-governmental Committee will take place in Moscow on March 9 and 10 to assess the course of the Initiative Group proceedings and complete the preparation for the signing of the Cooperation Memorandum of the three countries in Sofia by March 15.

[06] LIAPIS IS PROUD OF THE GREEK BSEC PRESIDENCY

Greek Minister of Transportation Michalis Liapis stated after the end of the proceedings of the BSEC Transportations Ministers' Council meeting in Thessaloniki that he is proud because the Greek BSEC Presidency held a difficult meeting successfully.

Referring to the joint statement concerning the connection of the Black Sea Transportations Network with Inter-European Transportations Network adopted by the eight ministers and three deputy ministers attending the meeting, Mr. Liapis stated that it was a unanimous decision that will contribute to the development of the wider Black Sea region.

The next BSEC Ministers of Transportation meeting will take place in Moscow on April 24-25.

[07] GAINS IN THE ASE

Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.43% at 2954.06 points, while the volume of transactions was increased compared to yesterday and reached 206,6 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 209 had gains and 98 had losses, while the value of 114 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] THE ISTANBUL-THESSALONIKI CORRIDOR WILL IMPROVE TRANSPORTATION AND ROAD SAFETY

The improvement of Turkey's infrastructure in the sector of transportation will contribute to the improvement of its trade relations with neighboring countries and the EU member states, pointed out Turkey's Minister of Transportation Binali Gildirim speaking to MPA on the sidelines of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization, BSEC, Transportation Ministers Council meeting in Thessaloniki.

He also stressed that the corridor linking Istanbul with Thessaloniki by car and train will be ready in a few years and will improve transportation and road safety.

Mr. Gildirim stated that harmonization with the EU of the transportation infrastructure and legislation concerning such infrastructure acquires greatest significance within the framework of the EU accession process Turkey has entered on December 17 and from this point of view he regarded as very positive the contribution of the BSEC Transportation Ministers' Council.

The Turkish Minister of Transportation also underlined that Turkey has intensive trade relations with all the neighboring countries and the most important part of trade transactions is transportation.

On the Greek-Turkish relations in the sector of transportation, Mr. Gildirim pointed out that a new European corridor is being created linking Istanbul with Thessaloniki. Within this framework and on Turkey's part, said Mr. Gildirim, the road Istanbul-Kinali, Kinali-Ipsala is being expanded and the project will be completed in 2006, adding that the same takes place on the Greek side as well. In a few years, the Istanbul-Thessaloniki road and rail corridor will be a reality, stated the Turkish Minister of Transportation.

He stated that yesterday he had a meeting with his Greek counterpart and discussed general issues concerning transportation between the two countries.

Commenting on the overall course of the Greek-Turkish relations, he said that bilateral relations are on a very good course and this is due to the efforts made by the Prime Ministers of the two countries during the past few years and also to the fact that changes have been recorded in relations within the framework of Turkey's EU accession course.

[09] HIGH POPULARITY RATE FOR THE PRIME MINISTER

The popularity rate for Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis is at 52% compared to main opposition Socialist Party leader Giorgos Papandreou who has 19%, according to an opinion poll conducted by the polling company VPR-C on behalf of the Athens radio station Sky.

Regarding the power of the mass media in Greece, 82% of those who responded to the questionnaire believe that they have more power than it is predicted by the Constitution and the laws, while on the farmers mobilizations 57% responded that the demands of the farmers are rather fair, 61% do not approve of the road blockades, while 16% believe that the farmers' demands are unfair.

Based on the opinion poll, the people regard unemployment, low wages and low pensions as major problems followed by the state of education, the crime rate and the health sector.

Also, 36% regard the ruling party of New Democracy as more fit to deal with the problems of everyday life compared to PASOK's 13% and 57% believe that the government is determined to combat corruption.

The opinion poll was conducted across the country through telephone interviews on January 20-21 on a sample of 1,000 people.

[10] EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4.8 ON THE RICHTER SCALE IN GAVDOS

Earthquake measuring 4.8 on the Richter scale was recorded at 2:18 am today and its epicenter was located 50 kilometers west of the island of Gavdos, south of the Aegean island of Crete.

The local residents were alarmed by the tremor and spent the night outside their homes while the earthquake was also felt in Crete.

Seismologists maintain that there is no course for concern characterizing the earthquake as weak. No damages were reported to police.

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