Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-04-07

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Simitis outlines four major goals in post-EMU period

[02] Public works minister tours delayed Aktion tunnel project

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloud on Monday

[04] Danish PM: Cyprus solution not a precondition for EU entry

[05] IOC's Oswald: 'Now it's time for Athens to shine'

[06] Greece's Macedonia-Thrace minister meets FYROM president

[01] Simitis outlines four major goals in post-EMU period

Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis pointed to four major goals for the country in the post-EMU period, speaking during a ruling PASOK rally on the island of Cephallonia Saturday evening.

Simitis cited Greeces economic and social convergence with the rest of the European Union; supporting efforts to further build Europes democratic and social structures; promoting efforts at a just solution to the Cyprus problems along with a ?step-by-step? approach to improving Greek-Turkish relations, and finally, successfully hosting the 2004 Olympics in Athens at the four goals.

Moreover, he criticised the main opposition New Democracy party for what he called its ?nihilistic? tactics.

Specifically, in terms of convergence with the other EU member-states, Simitis said:

?Convergence is a political gamble, not a one-way street, for which positions and proposals, as well as specific commitments, towards a successful outcome are necessary. New Democracy, however, lacks all three,? Simitis charged.

The Greek prime minister continued his tour of the Ionian islands with the address in Cephallonias capital, Argostoli, and after arriving from another island, Zakynthos, earlier in the day.

[02] Public works minister tours delayed Aktion tunnel project

Public Works Minister Vasso Papandreou on Saturday toured an undersea tunnel that connects the city of Preveza with Aktion, northwestern Greece, part of an ambitious highway running north-to-south along the mainland's western coast.

The long-delayed project to bypass a narrow strait now awaits the completion of 100-meter stretch of roadway to become operational. Besides the bankruptcy of a consortium initially awarded the tunnel's construction, a series of court challenges -- including local government entities -- have also impeded progress.

''The undersea tunnel of Preveza-Aktion is a pioneering project, it is the first of its kind in Greece and it is technologically perfect. We are confronting, however, problems with access ways to the tunnel, which will be resolved as soon as possible,'' she said.

[03] Weather Forecast: Cloud on Monday

Scattered cloud on Monday throughout the country. Winds easterly light to moderate. On the northern mainland, temperatures will range from 5C to 15C; in the Ionian and on the rest of the mainland from 7C to 20C; and in the Aegean islands from 10C to 19C. Scattered cloud in Athens with temperatures between 10C and 19C. Same in Thessaloniki, with temperatures from 6C to 15C.

[04] Danish PM: Cyprus solution not a precondition for EU entry

ISTANBUL (ANA) - The European Union is exercising its

influence on all sides for a resolution of the Cyprus question,

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Turkey on Friday.

He also said a political settlement is not a precondition for

accession and pointed out that Cyprus does not have a right to

"automatic EU membership."

Rasmussen was speaking in Ankara during a joint press conference with Turkish premier Bulent Ecevit.

The Danish premier said his country, which assumes the six-month

rotating EU presidency in July, bases its stance on an EU

decision of December 1999 in Helsinki, which said a solution is

desirable but not a precondition for accession.

He added that when it is time for the EU to decide on enlargement, all relevant factors will be taken into consideration with regard to

the island republic's accession.

Cyprus, he said, does not have a right to "automatic membership".

Accession negotiations between Cyprus and the EU are set to conclude

later this year, and in December the EU is set to announce the

candidates it will invite to join.

[05] IOC's Oswald: 'Now it's time for Athens to shine'

With the phrase "now its time for Athens to shine", IOC vice-president Denis Oswald dashed recent speculation that preparations for the upcoming 2004 Olympics were running behind, before again warning that absolutely no delays are possible if the Athens Games are to succeed.

"I am very happy to report that the situation has improved tremendously since our last visit ... I am confident things will be delivered on time," Oswald, the International Olympic Committees ?point-man? in monitoring Greek organisers progress, told reporters during a wide-ranging press conference.

The Swiss IOC executive returned to the Greek capital for the Lausanne-based organisations eight inspection of Athens, flanked by smiling 2004 organising committee (ATHOC) executives at the end of the three-day inspection. In another pointed remark, Oswald personally praised Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis for his personal involvement in jump-starting progress.

Concerns over delays and obstacles at a handful of venue projects, transports and related traffic management, as well as accommodations had fuelled speculation over the past two months that the IOC would publicly express its criticism before a Greek audience, something that, however, was disproved on Friday. The latest IOC commission inspection came also two years to the day since former IOC head Juan Antonio Samaranch issues a stinging ?yellow card? to ATHOC, resulting in a wholesale leadership reshuffle in the subsequent months.

Both Oswald and high-profile ATHOC president Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki agreed that preparations have now moved from the planning stage to the implementation phase.

Additionally, while a ?rooms gap? to accommodate the extended ?Olympic Family? has apparently narrowed, the issue of where to host tens of thousands of expected spectators for the Games has moved into the forefront.

Oswald merely noted that organisers briefed the IOC over plans to upgrade lower-class hotels not participating in the 2004 hospitality programme for the greater Athens area. Other ideas include employing regional hotels in resorts outside Athens and even allowing private individuals to lease their homes and apartments during the Games.

Angelopoulos-Daskalaki mentioned the use of cruise ships at nearby ports and holiday packages combining accommodation, travel, transports and tickets for would-be Olympic aficionados.

?Were sincere in our commitment to organise a truly unique Olympic Games,? Angelopoulos-Daskalaki stressed.

In terms of the all-important security issue, Oswald noted that along with transports, it is a ?concern until the end of the Games ... even more so after Sept. 11.?

[06] Greece's Macedonia-Thrace minister meets FYROM president

SKOPJE (ANA) - "Relations between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) are at a very good point and are continually improving," Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Paschalidis said here on Friday after meeting FYROM President Boris Trajkovski.

Paschalidis concluded his two-day visit in FYROM with this meeting, stressing that the common goal is a peaceful future.

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