Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 98-12-12

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

Last Update: 23:27 GMT+2

SECTIONS

[A] GREECE

[B] EUROPE

NEWS HEADLINES

[A] GREECE

[B] EUROPE

NEWS IN DETAIL

[A] GREECE

[01] THE SMALLEST WORK OF PICASSO BELONGS TO AN ART COLLECTOR FROM THESSALONIKI

Web Posted: 14:59 GMT+2

It is part of a four-piece work called "La Temperature" and it depicts a small boat. Picasso made it in 1960 for the illustration of a small collection of poems that was published at the time in Paris in just 38 copies.

Thanos Evangelinos lives in London since 1975 and is one of the most known art collectors in the world.

[02] HALBROOKE WILL BE IN ATHENS ON MONDAY

Web Posted: 14:57 GMT+2

Mr. Halbrooke will be accompanied by US special envoy to Cyprus Thomas Miller. Mr. Halbrooke is currently in Istanbul to attend the conference of Greek, Turkish and Cypriot businessmen.

[B] EUROPE

[03] PANGALOS WILL VISIT SKOPJE ON DECEMBER 22

Web Posted: 14:57 GMT+2

Mr. Pangalos will make a one-day visit to Skopje and Mr. Reppas, responding to a question by MPA on whether there are more details available on the visit, stated that the FYROM side wanted the first bilateral meeting of the new government to be held with Greece and in spite of the fact that scheduling such a meeting was difficult due to Christmas a date was eventually found.

[04] CYPRUS IS CLOSER TO THE EU ACCESSION

Web Posted: 14:46 GMT+2

The Cypriot president will meet today with prime minister Kostas Simitis in an effort to adopt a common stance in the handling of the Greek interests within the framework of the European Union.

[05] SIMITIS: THERE WAS DISAGREEMENT OVER THE AGENDA 2000

Web Posted: 14:46 GMT+2

The prime minister stated that Greece has accepted the European Commission proposal on the Agenda 2000 which it regards as a very good basis for discussion. Mr. Simitis also called for actions to continue without obstacles and said that the Greek positions were backed by Spain and Portugal and in certain points by other countries as well. He also revealed that he had a tripartite meeting with the prime ministers of Spain and Portugal in order to adopt a common stance on the issue of EU funds.

The prime minister also stated that he had a meeting with French president Jacques Chirac to discuss issues concerning France's positions, the EU relations with Turkey and the finance protocol. Mr. Simitis characterized the meeting as "useful".

Mr. Simitis referred to the role of the Central European Bank and the state governments and said that until now the question was if authority lies strictly with the Central European Bank or the ministers of national economy and finance have also certain authority. Based on the decision that was reached, said Mr. Simitis, the political authority has a significant role over the monetary and that the state governments have a voice.

The prime minister said that the "15" also discussed the issue of employment and said that each country should follow its own policy in order to deal with its own specific problems, adding that in the case of Greece the problems are the long-term unemployed and women, while there is a big problem with the economic refugees. He said that one of the main characteristics of the Greek job market is the increased number of people from rural areas who move to the urban centers creating high unemployment rates.

The "15" also discussed options for the protection of external borders and ways to combat illegal immigration, organized crime and drug-trafficking.

Minister of national economy and finance Yiannos Papantoniou stated in the press conference that the prime minister agreed to the signing of an Employment Pact to complete the Stability and Development Pact. He also said that from now on there will be a continuous and essential dialogue between the ECOFIN Council and the European Central Bank.

The minister of national economy and finance stressed that Greece's economic growth rate is higher compared to other European countries, stressing that in the last three years Greece's growth rate is 3.5%, while in Italy, France and Germany the growth rate is 1% aiming at 1.5%-2%. This fact, said Mr. Papantoniou, secures true convergence. Finally, he stated that only in the area of unemployment Greece is behind the European average with 11% compared to 10% in most European countries.

Mr. Papantoniou in statements he had made earlier in the day he had stressed that prime minister Kostas Simitis had referred to the issue of Greece's participation in the European Economic and Monetary Union in yesterday's EU Summit morning meeting and pointed out that by the end of 1998 Greece will meet all the necessary criteria except that concerning inflation which by the end of 1999 will be at the right level and in January 1, 2001 Greece will be absolutely ready to join the EMU.

[06] THE EU SUMMIT MEETING WILL BE COMPLETED TODAY

Web Posted: 14:46 GMT+2

Finally, the decision on the matter was postponed until March when the extraordinary summit of the "15" will be held. According to information, the issue of the abolition of the duty-free shops was also in yesterday's agenda.

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/

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