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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 97-10-15Macedonian 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: 20:18 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] BALKANS[C] EUROPE[D] WORLDNEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] GREEK P.M. KOSTAS SIMITIS IS CURRENTLY IN TIRANAWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Tirana, October 15 (MPA)Greek Premier Kostas Simitis is currently in Tirana, Albania, where he has been received by Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and will meet with President Reijep Meidani and leaders of the opposition parties.Following his 90-minute meeting with Mr. Nano, the Greek Premier stated that "we are now building a relation of cooperation, friendship and mutual development with Albania." Mr. Simitis and the Albanian Premier discussed issues concerning economic aid to the neighboring country as well as Greece and Albania's common efforts to combat crime. In his meeting with his Albanian counterpart, Mr. Simitis discussed the issue of illegal immigration. "We agreed that conditions can be established so that those people who left Albania and are working in Greece can some day return to their country which will move ahead and will prosper through mutual understanding," Mr. Simitis stated. Having thanked his Albanian counterpart for his hospitality, Mr. Simitis stressed that his visit to Albania marks the two countries' determination to move ahead towards a smooth course of relations. Moreover, the two premiers discussed the Balkan leaders meeting which is to take place at the island of Crete in the beginning of November. Mr. Simitis is to also meet with the Archbishop of Tirana, Anastasios. The Prime Minister is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, the Minister of Public Order George Romeos, the Minister of Press and Mass Media Dimitris Reppas as well as the deputy ministers of national economy and defense, Alexandros Baltas and Dimitris Apostolakis respectively, and the governor of Greece's National Bank Theodoros Karatzas. Mr. Romeos met this morning with his Albanian counterpart Neritan Ceka, while the Premier inaugurated the Greek National Bank's branch in Tirana and is to visit Tirana's hospital which was constructed through the aid of funding provided by the Greek government. Following Mr. Simitis's visit to Tirana, the two sides will proceed to issue a common statement and will sign an economic cooperation protocol which will refer to the amount of GRD20 million which Greece has vowed to grant to Albania within the framework of economic aid for the stabilization of Albania's economic and political sectors. According to the Albanian press reports, which have granted extensive coverage to the Greek leader's imminent visit, the primary target of Mr. Simitis' visit is to promote bilateral cooperation. A.F. [02] GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON COMMENTS ON TURKISH PROVOCATIONSWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)The Secretary-general of the press and Mass Media Ministry, acting as government spokesperson, Nikos Athanasakis, reiterated today Greece's firm position that it does not seek tension in the region, but rather wishes for calmness and stability in the Aegean.Mr. Athanasakis stressed that it is Ankara who challenges the status quo of the Aegean and worsens the situation. Moreover, Mr. Athanasakis stated that if there is a threat of war, then it does not stem from Greece, a country which does not have the slightest intention to provoke tension or conflict in the region. A.F. [03] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS DECLARED HONORARY CITIZEN OF VERIAWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Veria, October 15 (MPA)The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos, is currently on a visit to Veria, following a three-day stay at the Mount Athos monastic community.President Stephanopoulos, stressed the ecumenical nature of Orthodoxy, which is based on the fact that nationality is not a primary factor and all Orthodox Christians are under the roof of the Orthodox Church. Today, Mr. Stephanopoulos was declared an honorary citizen of the city of Veria. A.F. [04] PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM THREATENS TO WITHDRAW PRODUCTS FROM GREECEWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Thessaloniki, October 15 (MPA)Boehringer Ingelheim Hellas, the Greek subsidiary of the German [pharmaceutical company, announced today that it will withdraw a number of its products from the Greek market, following a decision drtawn by the Greek government to establish ceilings on retile prices.The company said it was withdrawing eight products, which account for 78-0 percent of the company's turnover. Various pharmaceutical companies have slammed a government decision to cut health care costs by GRD 80 billion ($287.2 million) through a reduction of profit margins in the industry. The government has announced price reductions averaging 109 percent on 4, 075 various drugs based on a pricing formula linking retail prices on imported and domestic drugs to the cheapest in western European countries. The brunt of the price increases will fall on drugs manufactured abroad in what industry officials say will lead to shortages. A.F. [05] CONFERENCE OF S.E. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEADERS BEGINS TOMORROWWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)A two-day Conference of Parliamentary President from southeastern European countries began in Athens today, following an initiative taken by the President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis.The parliamentary delegations are to focus their attention to the role of the parliament in developing ties among the region's peoples, as well as the need to establish a more substantial communication among them. The countries to be represented at the Conference are Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, FYROM, Romania, Turkey, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as observers from parliamentary assemblies from various international organizations such as the Western European Union. Mr. Kaklamanis opened the session, while the Prime Minister of Greece Kostas Simitis is to present a salutation on Thursday, to be followed by a speech given by Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos. A.F. [06] LEADER OF PARLIAMENT MEETS WITH FYROM, YUGOSLAVIA COUNTERPARTSWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)The president of the Hellenic parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis is to meet with his counterpart from Yugoslavia Milomir Minik this afternoon and the President of FYROM's Parliament Tito Petkovski this evening.These meetings will be held on the sidelines of the Conference of Parliamentary President from southeastern European countries, which began in Athens today. A.F. [B] BALKANS[07] GREECE'S DEFENSE MINISTER: CYPRIOT ISSUE CONCERNS ALL OF EUROPEWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Nicosia, October 15 (MPA)Greece's Minister of Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos, currently in Cyprus, stated last evening that the Cyprus issue is one that concerns all of Europe, and is not limited to a Greek-Turkish dispute.Mr. Tsochatzopoulos was received today by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides. Yesterday, the Defense Minister was in Paphos and he announced that the region's military airport is to operate by the beginning of 1998, as planned. A.F. [08] GREECE'S ALTERNATE F.M. MEETS WITH BULGARIAN PRESIDENT IN SOFIAWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Sofia, October 15 (MPA)Greece's alternate Foreign Minister George Papandreou, currently in Sofia, met with the Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov. Mgrs. Stoyanov and Papandreou discussed the imminent meeting to be held among the Presidents of Greece, Bulgaria and Romania, a Bulgarian initiative which Mr. Papandreou characterized as "positive" since it will contribute to the development of cooperation among the three countries, on matters of combating organized crime, illegal immigration and drug trafficking. The Greek official also met with Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Najezda Mihailova and the undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Antoinetta Primatarova, with whom he discussed issues concerning Bulgaria's European orientation.Mr. Papandreou stated that "relations between the European Union and Bulgaria, and more specifically Bulgaria's accession course to the EU, were the main topic of our talks." The Greek alternate Foreign Minister stressed Greece's support for Bulgaria's accession course, and confirmed the Greek position that favors a "common starting point" for the EU accession negotiations for central and eastern Europe's 11 countries. Following his stay at the Bulgarian capital, Mr. Papandreou is to conduct a tour through the Baltic states. A.F. [09] GREEK P.M. KOSTAS SIMITIS RECEIVED BY ALBANIAN COUNTERPART NANOWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Tirana, October 15 (MPA)Greece's Premier Kostas Simitis, currently in Tirana, Albania, met with the Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano and held talks which were characterized as "exceptionally successful."Mr. Simitis and the Albanian Premier discussed issues concerning economic aid to the neighboring country as well as Greece and Albania's common efforts to combat crime. In his meeting with his Albanian counterpart, Mr. Simitis discussed the issue of illegal immigration. Following his 90-minute meeting with Mr. Nano, the Greek Premier stated that "we are now building a relation of cooperation, friendship and mutual development with Albania." "We agreed that conditions can be established so that those people who left Albania and are working in Greece can some day return to their country which will move ahead and will prosper through mutual understanding," Mr. Simitis stated. Having thanked his Albanian counterpart for his hospitality, Mr. Simitis stressed that his visit to Albania marks the two countries' determination to move ahead towards a smooth course of relations. In turn, the Albanian Premier expressed his satisfaction over the meeting he had with the Greek Premier and stressed that everyone in his country is working towards the creation of a new Albania and stressed that "we will soon have results for both the Albanian and Greek peoples." Moreover, the two premiers discussed the Balkan leaders meeting which is to take place at the island of Crete in the beginning of November. Mr. Simitis also met with the Archbishop of Tirana, Anastasios. The Prime Minister is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Theodoros Pangalos, the Minister of Public Order George Romeos, the Minister of Press and Mass Media Dimitris Reppas as well as the deputy ministers of national economy and defense, Alexandros Baltas and Dimitris Apostolakis respectively, and the governor of Greece's National Bank Theodoros Karatzas. Mr. Romeos met this morning with his Albanian counterpart Neritan Ceka, with whom he signed an agreement for three new border stations, while the Premier inaugurated the Greek National Bank's branch in Tirana and visited Tirana's hospital which was constructed through the aid of funding provided by the Greek government. Following Mr. Simitis's visit to Tirana, the two sides will proceed to issue a common statement and will sign an economic cooperation protocol which will refer to the amount of GRD20 million which Greece has vowed to grant to Albania within the framework of economic aid for the stabilization of Albania's economic and political sectors. According to the Albanian press reports, which have granted extensive coverage to the Greek leader's imminent visit, the primary target of Mr. Simitis' visit is to promote bilateral cooperation. A.F. [10] GREECE AND ALBANIA TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION IN POLICE SECTORWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Tirana, October 15 MPA)The Greek and Albanian governments have agreed to expand their cooperation in police matters, especially in the sector of drug trafficking, following a meeting held today in Tirana between Greece's Minister of Public Order George Romeos and his Albanian counterpart Neritan Ceka,Greece is to supply the Albanian police force with specially-trained canines that will be used for drug trafficking investigations at the border stations. Concurrently, both sides are to fortify their collaboration, at an administrative level, throughout the borders, ranging from Corfu to Kastoria. Six Albanian police officers are to arrive in Athens within the following days where they will receive further training on narcotics-related issues. Also, the Albanian government is to grant the Greek police with a list of the most wanted criminals who have escaped Albanian p[prisons, along with their photographs and fingerprints, in an effort to aid the Greek police authorities in their investigations. A.F. [11] LEADER OF PARLIAMENT MEETS WITH YUGOSLAV, FYROM COUNTERPARTSWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)The president of the Hellenic parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis ,met today with his counterpart from Yugoslavia Milomir Minik and the president of FYROM's parliament Tito Petkovski on the sidelines of the Conference of Parliamentary President from southeastern European countries, which began in Athens today.Following the hour-long meeting with Mr. Minik, Mr. Kaklamanis stated that "it was confirmed that our ties are excellent," Adding that he will soon visit Belgrade following an invitation issued by Mr. Minik. Mr. Minik stated that "Greece's is a significant ally for Yugoslavia in the sector of foreign trade and economic ties, as well as in the field of transportation structures." Also, in his meeting with Mr. Petkovski, the two Parliament presidents discussed issues concerning the role of the two Houses in the promotion of friendship and cooperation between the two countries. According to Mr. Petkovski, the two leaders also discussed the name issue that is still pending between the two neighbors. A.F. [12] TURKEY PROCEEDS TO MORE VIOLATIONS OF ATHENS', NICOSIA'S FIRWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)Turkish fighter jets proceeded to further violations of Athens' and Nicosia's air space, during the course of the closing ceremony of Cyprus' "Nikiforos '97" military exercise.Four Greek fighter jets, participating in the exercise were harassed by Turkish ones during the course of the ceremony. Greece's Minster of national Defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos attended the ceremony and parade, along with the President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides and all of Cyprus's political leaders. "The Cypriot Greeks are to be proud for the power it has," President Clerides stated, while Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stressed that peace requires a strong defense. Earlier, the two officials met to discuss the course of the unified defense doctrine. A.F. [13] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER WILL TRAVEL TO FYROM AFTER BULGARIAWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Sofia, October 15 (MPA)Germany's Foreign Minster Klaus Kinkel met with his Bulgarian counterpart Najjedna Mihailova in Sofia today, with whom he discussed Bulgaria's potential for accession to the European Union;The Bulgarian Minster briefed Mr.Kinkel on her country's readiness to accede the euro-atlantic alliances and outlined the various measures that Sofia has taken towards this direction. Tomorrow Mr.Kinkel will travel to FYROM where he will meet with political and economic leaders in an effort to encourage bilateral economic cooperation. A.F. [C] EUROPE[14] EUROPEAN COMMISSION IS OPTIMISTIC OF GREECE'S ECONOMY COURSEWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)The European Commission has released a positive assessment of the course of Greece's economy and the country's potential participation in the Economic and Monetary Union.In its most recent report, the EC points out that Greece has presented the most significant improvement in comparison to the remaining EU member- states in regards to deficit reduction. Concurrently, the report stated that the public deficit is to amount to 4.2% of 1997 GNP, but is expected to fall to the 3% mark in 1998, which is the basic criterion for the participation of an EU member-state to the EMU. A.F. [15] CONFERENCE OF S.E. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEADERS BEGINS TODAYWeb Posted: 20:16 GMT+2Athens, October 15 (MPA)A two-day Conference of Parliamentary President from southeastern European countries began in Athens today, following an initiative taken by the President of the Hellenic Parliament Apostolos Kaklamanis.The parliamentary delegations focused their attention to the role of the parliament in developing ties among the region's peoples, as well as the need to establish a more substantial communication among them. Mr.Kalkamanis, who opened the session, stressed the importance of respecting the sovereignty of territorial integrity if the various countries, the inviolability of borders, the avoidance of using force, and the peaceful resolvement of differences. The countries represented at the Conference are Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, FYROM, Romania, Turkey, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as observers from parliamentary assemblies from various international organizations such as the Western European Union. The Prime Minister of Greece Kostas Simitis is to present a salutation tomorrow, to be followed by a speech given by Greece's Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos. A.F. [D] WORLD[16] U.S. MAINTAINS POLICY OF "EQUAL DISTANCES" FOR GREECE, TURKEYWeb Posted: 13:47 GMT+2Washington, October 15 (MPA)The United States are maintaining an "equal distance" policy when it comes to relations with Greece and Turkey, according to statements of the State Department's spokesperson James Rubin, who stated today that "the United States have repeatedly encouraged all sides of the Cypriot issue to avoid steps that complicate the efforts to promote dialogue and negotiation."Referring to the flight moratorium above the island, Mr. Rubin stated that the US are in favor of such moratorium and asked both Greece and Turkey to "decide and agree upon a complete, without an expiration date, agreement for moratorium of flights above Cyprus. A.F. [17] NANA MOUSKOURI ACCOMPANIES THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH TO THE U.S.Web Posted: 20:16 GMT+2New York, October 15 (MPA)The Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos, within the framework of his historic visit to the United States, will attend a recital given by the Greek euro- deputy and UNICEF ambassador Nana Mouskouri during his visit to New York.The concert will be held at Manhattan's Cathedral on Saturday, October 25, and will be attended by the Archbishop of America Spyridon and a score of United Nations officials. Following the event, the Ecumenical Patriarch will present a speech titled "Peace throughout the World." A.F. 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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