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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 99-10-17Macedonian 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: 23:27 GMT+2SECTIONS
NEWS HEADLINES[A] GREECE[B] EUROPENEWS IN DETAIL[A] GREECE[01] BALKAN RECONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE HOSTED BY THESSALONIKIWeb Posted: 18:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki, 17/10/1999 (MPA) Thessaloniki will host a conference on Balkan reconstruction on November 2 and 3, which will be inaugurated by the special coordinator of the Stability Pact for SE Europe, Bondo Hombach and attended by prominent officials of several governments and organizations, with the president of the European Commission Romano Prodi also expected to be present .The conference will include discussion of inter-Balkan cooperation in business and banking, and of the financing of the planned reconstruction projects. National economy minister Yiannos Papantoniou will present Greece's Balkan reconstruction plan, to be followed by an exchange of views with his Balkan counterparts. The event is jointly organized by the Industries Association of Northern Greece (SVVE), the International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki and the Euromoney publications. The President of Montenegro Milo Juganovic has also been invited to attend as a speaker at the event, the only official from the former Yugoslavia. [02] GREEK FM EMBARKS ON EUROPEAN TOUR TO PROMOTE POSITIONSWeb Posted: 18:02 GMT+2Athens, 17/10/1999 (MPA) Foreign Minister George Papandreou will begin a tour of Europe tomorrow in order to promote Greek positions in light of the upcoming European Union Helsinki summit and to discuss Turkey's candidacy for EU membership and Cyprus.Mr. Papandreou is expected to state that Turkey has to adhere to democratic norms adopted by other member states before joining the union, and Cyprus' eventual candidacy will have to be assured. After returning from the informal European Council in Tampere, Finland, Mr. Papandreou will meet US President Bill Clinton's Cyprus envoy, Alfred Moses, and the US State Department's special coordinator for Cyprus, Tom Weston. The Foreign Minister will visit London tomorrow, October 18, where he will meet with his British counterpart Robin Cook and possibly British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He will travel to Madrid on October 19 where he will meet his Spanish counterpart Abel Matutes and probably Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. The next day, October 20, Mr. Papandreou will travel to Rome where he will meet with foreign minister Lamberto Dini, ministry spokesman Panagiotis Beglitis said. A.F. [03] THESSALONIKI TO HOST CONFERENCE ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCEWeb Posted: 18:02 GMT+2Thessaloniki, 17/10/1999 (MPA) Thessaloniki will host a conference on electronic commerce, business and digital economy on October 22-25, the first such event ever held in southeast Europe.The event, to be inaugurated by Development Minister Evangelos Venizelos, is organized by the Commercial Association of Thessaloniki with the European Commission's information society's general directorate. Delegates from the private and public sectors throughout southeastern Europe and field experts from European and US universities are expected to attend the conference. [04] ECONOMY MINISTER FORESEES UPWARD COURSE FOR ATHENS BOURSEWeb Posted: 18:02 GMT+2Athens, 17/10/1999 (MPA) Greece's Finance and National Economy Minister Yiannos Papantoniou has expressed his optimism that the Athens bourse will maintain its upward course for the following two year-period and will not be affected by the various "interjections".Mr. Papantoniou stressed that the government's economic policy is vindicated and dismissed the main opposition party New Democracy's criticism as mere "noise", without substance. [05] MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER DECLARES «WAR» ON CORRUPTIONWeb Posted: 18:02 GMT+2Athens, 17/10/1999 (MPA) The leader of Greece's main opposition party, New Democracy's Costas Karamanlis, has stated that he is determined to fight corruption within the system, warning that he will not concede. In an interview to the Athens press, Mr. Karamanlis said that as the country's main opposition party it has to take on the role of critic and watchdog of the current government's actions.Referring to the government's "video-lotto" project, which involves the installation of 51,000 slot machines to help meet the cost of the 2004 Olympic Games, Mr. Karamanlis stated that if the government is in need of funds for the 2004 Olympic Games, it should turn to the current national lotteries. [B] EUROPE[06] EU SAYS «YES» TO TURKEY'S CANDIDATURE, ALBEIT UNDER TERMSWeb Posted: 18:02 GMT+2Tampere, 17/10/1999 (MPA) Although European Union leaders have provisionally approved of Turkey's candidature as a member-state, the issue was shelved for the Helsinki Summit in December, given the country's poor human rights and democracy record.During the EU Tampere-held informal summit, Finland's Premier Paavo Lipponen, whose country presently holds the rotating EU presidency, said the issue will be revisited at the Helsinki Summit, while Greek Premier Costas Simitis stated that "Turkey's candidacy comes with responsibilities, " stressing that Turkey must abide by certain principles, like the respect of international treaties, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Tampere Summit reviewed matters concerning security, justice and illegal immigration, the formation of a new European Academy that will train police, while the EU leaders also discussed matters concerning the EU's expansion and the timeline for the accession negotiations with new countries. 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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