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Saturday, 21 December 2024
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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-04-05Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.Last Update: 17:06 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] BALKANSNEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] PANGALOS ACCUSED GERMANY AND BRITAIN OF UNDERMINING CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION PROCESSWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Athens 5 April (MPA)Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos accused Germany and Britain of undermining the process for Cyprus' accession into the EU.Mr.Pangalos, in an interview to a German-speaking Swiss newspaper, characterized the stance of the governments in Bonn and London as unacceptable and against every meaning of political morality. Referring to the Greek-Turkish relations, mr.Pangalos stated that there will be prospects of cooperation between Athens and Ankara if Turkey realy turns toward Europe and contributes to the solution of the Cyprus problem. Regarding the issue of FYROM, he pointed out that the dispute over the name that will be used by this country is of secondary importance compared to the need to safeguard stability in the region. [02] THE EUROPEAN SECURITY IS INDIVISIBLE STATED THE SWEDISH UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRSWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 5 April (MPA)For a long perod of time the south-eastern part of Europe was very far away from the hearts and minds of the Europeans, who live in the northern and western part of the continent, stated Swedish Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Pier Sori in his speech delivered in the European Socialist Party Conference on the Balkans held in Thessaloniki.Mr.Sori stated that the European security is indivisible and one can not deal with it only for specific cases, while he stressed that the time has come for the Social-Democrats and the Socialists to examine the issues of south-eastern Europe very seriously. Referring to Albania, he stated that the international community was unprepared for the social unrest that followed the "pyramid" schemes scandal, while for Kosovo he said that it should be given more autonomy and called on the Serb opposition leaders to take a clear stance on the Kosovo issue. [03] THE ND PRESIDENT VISITS THESSALONIKIWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 5 April (MPA)"Thessaloniki is only one in the world. It is my hometown and my seat and therefore it is natural for me to come here often", stated New Democracy party leader Kostas Karamanlis upon his arrival in Thessaloniki today.Mr.Karamanlis is visiting Thessaloniki for the first time after his election to the party leadership. [04] THE EU IS ACCUSED OF DOUBLE STANDARDS POLICY ON THE ISSUE OF CYPRUSWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 5 April (MPA)Cypriot Socialist Party leader Vasos Lyssarides accused the European Union of following a policy of double standards on the issue of Cyprus, speaking in the European Socialist Party Conference on the Balkans held in Thessaloniki.Mr.Lyssarides reminded the responsibilities of the EU regarding the crisis in former Yugoslavia and stressed that it should not repeat the same policy in the Balkans today. [05] THE GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER BEGINS A SIX-DAY TOUR TOMORROWWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Athens 5 April (MPA)Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos begins tomorrow a series of visits to the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbajdzan. Mr.Pangalos is expected to sign important agreements of cooperation with the leaderships of those countries.The first stop of his six-day tour will be Prague where mr.Pangalos will meet with the Czech Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister and the President of the Czech Parliament. [B] BALKANS[06] FATOS NANO SUPPORTS THE GREEK POSITION FOR AN INTERNATIONAL FORCE IN ALBANIAWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 5 April (MPA)"We will not follow the logic of the behind-the-scenes political activity aimed at the destruction of rivals", stated in an interview to MPA Albanian Socialist Party leader Fatos Nano.Mr.Nano accused President Berisha of maintaining the tension in the Albanian public opinion and supported the Greek position for the deployment of mixed international force army units in his country that will be placed in every crisis spot. The Albanian Socialist Party leader underlined that a new period of cooperation opens for his party and the Greek Socialist party of PASOK, while he pointed out that the Socialists in his country, with their decision to participate in the Parliament's activities, made a step toward the smooth and democratic transition to the institutions of the new Albania. Web Posted: 17:03 GMT+2 _PIRINSKI: BULGARIA NEEDS EMERGENCY AIDThessaloniki 5 April (MPA)"Bulgaria needs emergency aid, it needs economic resources injections for the stabilization of income and the encouragement of consumption which has reached the lowest level", stated former Bulgarian Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski. Mr.Pirinski, who attends the European Socialist Party Conference in Thessaloniki, stressed that all political and social forces must unite in Bulgaria to get the country out of the crisis soon. On the domestic problems in Bulgaria, mr.Pirinski suggested national consensus for the overcoming of the crisis. According to mr.Pirinski, the United Democratic Forces will get the most votes in the April 19 general elections but it is uncertain if they will achieve absolute majority. Responding to the question on whether Bulgaria's membership in NATO will affect its relations with Russia, mr.Pirinski stated that decisions are being made based on national interests. On the Greek-Bulgarian relations, mr.Pirinski stated that they have developed considerably in the past two years. [07] 85% OF THE BULGARIAN PEOPLE ARE FACING POVERTYWeb Posted: 17:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki 5 April (MPA)Dramatic facts on the state of the Bulgarian economy were presented in an exclusive interview to MPA by the President of the Bulgarian Independent Unions Confederation mr.Kristo Petkov, on the sidelines of the European Socialist Party Conference in Thessaloniki. Mr.Petkov revealed that 85% of the Bulgarian people are close to the poverty line.According to the World Bank, the poor in Bulgaria make up 20-30% of the population, while the workers unions in the country estimate that the people in this condition correspond to about 50% of the population. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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