Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-06-13

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

CONTENTS

[01] THE GOVERNMENT RECEIVED A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

[02] NO MORE EARLY ELECTIONS SCENARIOS

[03] STRIKES AND WORK STOPPAGES

[04] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE CYPRUS PROBLEM

[05] HISTORIAN MARK MAZOWER IN THESSALONIKI

[06] BLAIR-KARAMANLIS MEETING ON JUNE 30

[07] EU: TURKEY WILL HAVE TO OBSERVE THE LAW OF THE SEA TREATY

[01] THE GOVERNMENT RECEIVED A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

The government of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis received a vote of confidence last night in Parliament and therefore, it is now free to move ahead with its reform program.

All ruling New Democracy party Parliament deputies voted in favor, while a negative vote came from the deputies of the main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK and the Coalition Party. The Communist Party deputies abstained from the vote.

In his last address to the Parliament members just before the vote, Mr. Karamanlis stressed that the goal is to be able to change the country, stressing that the people who show confidence to his government policy demand faster and more decisive moves.

Mr. Karamanlis stated that the government does not surrender to the problems nor gives up when it is faced with difficulties.

[02] NO MORE EARLY ELECTIONS SCENARIOS

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis put an end to the early elections scenarios by not responding to main opposition Socialist Party of PASOK President Giorgos Papandreou who had called on the government to hold early elections.

After Mr. Papandreou's speech in Parliament, Mr. Karamanlis closed the issue when he asked Mr. Papandreou what's the point of election calls when PASOK is certain that it will lose, clarifying that the government will not follow PASOK on the path of thoughtlessness. If you are in a hurry to lose the next elections we are not in a hurry to win them, concluded Mr. Karamanlis.

[03] STRIKES AND WORK STOPPAGES

A week of strikes begins today with the participation of the Greek General Confederation of Labor Unions and the public employees unions.

The bank employees union, OTOE, continues the mobilizations with 48-hour strikes, the labor unions and the public employees' unions have announced that they will hold a 3-hour work stoppage on Thursday, while the dock workers continue their mobilizations.

OTOE has warned that it will hold repeated 48-hour strikes if the government insists in submitting the draft bill that undermines the social security rights of bank employees, while the form of mobilizations of the workers unions and the public service companies, DEKO, will be decided in the following days.

[04] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE CYPRUS PROBLEM

The Greek government has stated since last year its opinion on the process that needs to get underway regarding the Cyprus issue. The Cyprus issue must be discussed all over again, stated government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos responding to a question by a reporter on the visit of the Turkish Prime Minister to the United States.

The government spokesman reiterated the Greek government's position for a fair and viable solution in Cyprus.

[05] HISTORIAN MARK MAZOWER IN THESSALONIKI

New York Columbia University professor of history Mark Mazower will be the main speaker in the Kokkalis Institute annual event to take place in Thessaloniki on June 15 in cooperation with Thessaloniki's American College.

His speech on The possibilities of a Past: Thessaloniki 1430-1950 will be given on the occasion of the presentation of his latest book under the title: Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950.

Mark Mazower is a professor of history, specializes in modern Greece, 20th century Europe, and international history. The Nazi New Order in Europe and its aftermath (social, cultural, psychological), Nation-states and minorities. He has a BA in classics and philosophy from Oxford (1981), an MA in International Affairs, from Johns Hopkins (1983) and a doctorate in modern history from Oxford (1988). His books include Inside Hitler's Greece: The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44 (Yale UP, 1993); Dark Continent: Europe's 20th Century (Knopf, 1998); The Balkans (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2000); After the War was Over: Reconstructing the Family, Nation and State in Greece, 1943-1960 (Princeton UP, 2000) and The Balkans: A Short History (Random House, 2002). His most recent book is Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews, 1430-1950 (HarperCollins, 2004). Current interests include comparative dimensions of the post-Ottoman experience in the Balkans and Middle East, war and population movements, and the history of international norms and institutions. He is the program director of the Center for International History at Columbia University.

[06] BLAIR-KARAMANLIS MEETING ON JUNE 30

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will meet with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London on June 30.

The meeting is held at Mr. Blair's initiative a day before Britain takes over the rotating EU Presidency.

The two Prime Ministers will discuss all EU issues, Turkey's European prospect, the British EU Presidency priorities and the prospects of cooperation between Greece and Britain.

[07] EU: TURKEY WILL HAVE TO OBSERVE THE LAW OF THE SEA TREATY

Turkey will have to observe the Law of the Sea Treaty during the accession negotiations, stressed the EU Council in response to a question by Greek Euro-deputy (Coalition Party) Dimitris Papadimoulis.

The UN Law of the Sea Treaty has been signed by the EU members and based on article 6 of the act concerning the accession terms for the new member states, the states in question are bound to adhere to the contracts and agreements reached by the old member states and therefore, the Community itself, is pointed out in the response.

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