Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-12-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] Cyprus enters the European Union unconditionally

[02] Bakoyianni narrowly escapes assassination attempt

[03] Greek EU presidency to back employment, social cohesion

[04] Work needed to improve social cohesion in SE Europe

[05] U.S. 5th fleet commander gives commendation to Greek officer

[01] Cyprus enters the European Union unconditionally

COPENHAGEN (ANA - B. Mourtis) - The European Union Summit on Friday evening decided the accession of Cyprus to the EU along with another nine countries of the first wave to the Union's largest enlargement since its conception.

Prime Minister Costas Simitis made the announcement immediately after the conclusion of the second and final day of the Summit in the Danish capital.

Clearly satisfied with the decision arrived at following the two-day long negotiations, Simitis said that developments were better than anticipated, when he departed for Copenhagen.

He stressed that this was a ''historic day for Europe, as well as for Greece and Turkey. Europe overcame the divisions of the past and it is now unified''.

Foreign Minister George Papandreou, also present at the press conference, said that the dynamic now established creates the hope that the ''walls will come down in Cyprus''.

Greece, Simitis said, achieved two major targets, the clear-cut accession of the island republic to the Union, without terms and preconditions, ''as some people supported and spoke of during the previous months and secondly Greece achieved in maintaining the dynamic for the resolution of the Cyprus problem, which began as a result of the prospect of Cyprus' accession''.

The premier said that the text of the Summit's conclusion states that the implementation of the acquis communautaire will be suspended as far as the northern part of the island (under Turkish occupation) is concerned, as long as that remains outside the European Union, adding, however, that the text expresses the hope that until Feb. 28, 2003, an agreement for the resolution of the Cyprus issue will be achieved, in turn achieving the entry of a reunited Cyprus in the Union.

Simitis also noted that the Union was promoting measures for the economic support of the northern part of Cyprus.

Referring to a solution of the Cyprus issue, Simitis stressed that the revised plan of the United Nations for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem continues to be the basis for negotiations, adding that it is a realistic base and capable to contribute to the overturning of the divisive reality on the island now.

Simitis placed the responsibility for the non-resolution of the Cyprus problem on the Turkish Cypriot side, which he called on to change its stance and aid the efforts to achieve a solution, while he called on Turkey to realize that by contributing to the solution of the problem is strengthens its European course.

''The resolution of the Cyprus problem is a target for Greece, equal to that of the accession and secure enough for the survival of a reunited Cyprus,'' Simitis said, calling on all Greeks to move on united without miserable and partisan attitudes, toward the achievement of this target, as was done with success in Cyprus' entry to the EU.

[02] Bakoyianni narrowly escapes assassination attempt

A lone suspect fired a shotgun at a car carrying Athens Mayor-elect Dora Bakoyianni on Friday, narrowly missing the high-profile New Democracy deputy but striking her driver in the neck.

A man identified as the suspect was apprehended moments later by a police guard outside the nearby Spanish embassy, while the weapon was also recovered, authorities said.

The attack occurred practically outside Bakoyiannis political office in a fashionable central Athens district, only a few blocks from the main entrance to the Acropolis.

Authorities identified a suspect in custody as a 35-year-old former mental ward patient from the central Greek town of Livadia.

The driver, a police officer assigned to Bakoyiannis security detail, was transported to a nearby Athens hospital where he received out-patient treatment for mostly superficial wounds. Bakoyianni was herself taken to a nearby hospital as a precaution.

Initial reports stated that the gunman waited outside Bakoyiannis office and fired on the late-model Saab sedan she was riding in as it drove by, shattering its passengers side windows.

Bakoyianni, 49, is the eldest child of former premier Constantine Mitsotakis as well as the widow of journalist and politician Pavlos Bakoyiannis, who was assassinated by the notorious ''November 17'' terrorist group in 1989.

The suspect was identified as Giorgos Sandalis.

[03] Greek EU presidency to back employment, social cohesion

Labour and Social Security Minister Dimitris Reppas said on Friday that Greece's six-month presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2003 would back employment and quality of work along with social cohesion.

Reppas told parliament's European affairs committee that the government wanted the EU's constitution to contain provisions on social protection and worker rights.

In addition, the Greek presidency of the 15-nation bloc would seek to establish a three-member summit to promote social dialoge, Reppas added.

[04] Work needed to improve social cohesion in SE Europe

Macedonia-Thrace Minister George Paschalidis said on Friday that work lay ahead in order to improve social cohesion in southeastern Europe.

''Four years after the war in Kosovo, social cohesion has made a fair amount of progress, but much work is still needed for cohesion to acquire stability,'' Paschalidis said in the northern port city of Thessaloniki.

He was addressing a steering committee of an initiative to attain social cohesion in the region.

[05] U.S. 5th fleet commander gives commendation to Greek officer

U.S. 5th fleet commander Admiral John Kelly gave a commendation to Greek underwater operations officer Ilias Valasis during a ceremony held on the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln to reward him for his sense of duty and humanitarian spirit in saving an American sailor who was a member of the carrier's crew.

According to an announcement by the Navy General Staff, on the night of December 6, Ilias Valasis, who was off-duty, was on the helipad of the frigate Adrias which was anchored in the port of Mina Sulman in Bahrain.

Responding to calls of help by American sailors for their colleague who had fallen into the sea, the Greek officer dived into the sea and saved the American sailor from drowning.

Two days later, the commander of the 5th fleet rewarded Ilias Valasis for his self-denial in carrying out his duty.

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