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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-11-08
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, November 8, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] BALKAN PARTNERSHIP IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW
[02] THESSALONIKI HOSTS GREEK-CANADIAN CONFERENCE
[03] PM IN THESSALONIKI FRIDAY FOR HEALTH CONFERENCE
[04] ONASSIS AWARD BESTOWED ON GISCARD D'ESTAING
[05] UNION WARNS OF STRIKE OVER LABOR REFORMS BILL
[06] CULTURE MINISTER OF LUXEMBOURG VISITS ATHENS
[07] MOTION FOR MARBLES' RETURN TABLED WITH C of E
[08] COMMERCIAL BANK OF GREECE INTERESTED IN BIOCHIM
[09] U.S. CITIZENS IN THESSALONIKI ARE DILIGENT VOTERS
[10] DIPEK EVENT:ECONOMIC TIES, PROSPECTS IN BALKANS
[11] PREMIER SIMITIS CONDUCTS WORKING VISIT TO ROME
[12] INFLATION IS A PROBLEM FOR THE GOVERNMENT
[13] PAPANDREOU: THE CONFIDENCE-BUILDING-MEASURES WILL BE
IMPLEMENTED BASED ON THE PAPOULIAS-YILMAZ MEMORANDUM
[14] THE LOSSES CONTINUE IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[15] ATHANASAKIS: THE GREEK GOVERNMENT IS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE
CONTINUATION OF ITS COOPERATION WITH THE US
[16] PAPADIMOS: THE INFLATION RISE IS COINCIDENTAL
[17] THE POPE IS LIKELY TO VISIT GREECE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[18] CLIFFHANGER ELECTIONS: GORE RETRACTS CONCESSION
[19] FIRST LADY CLINTON WINS SENATE SEAT IN NEW YORK
[20] DEAD MAN POSTHUMOUSLY ELECTED SENATOR IN U.S.
[21] CYPRUS PLACED AT TOP OF EU ENTRY CANDIDATES LIST
[22] SPECIAL SUMMIT OF THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
MINISTERS
[23] AN EXHIBITION ON THE PARTHENON WILL BE INAUGURATED IN
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT TOMORROW
[24] NANA MOUSKOURI CONCERT IN LONDON FOR THE RETURN OF THE
PARTHENON MARBLES TO GREECE
[25] THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ADOPTED A TEXT ON THE EU-TURKEY
PARTNERSHIP RELATION THAT SATISFIES THE GREEK POSITIONS
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] BALKAN PARTNERSHIP IN THESSALONIKI TOMORROW
In an event that aspires to result in numerous business
cooperation agreements, the Balkan Partnership 2000 will be held
in Thessaloniki on November 9-10 and will feature the
participation of over 300 firms from Greece, the European Union
and the Mediterranean region.
The event will be officially inaugurated by the Minister of
Macedonia-Thrace George Paschalides and will feature the
attendance of Greece's undersecretary of National Economy Yiannis
Zafiropoulos and FYROM's Minister of Finance Borko Andreev.
The event will be held at the city's exhibition-conference
center Helexpo and is organized by the Inter-Balkan & Black Sea
Business Centre (DIPEK) in co-operation with the Exporters'
Association of Northern Greece (SEVE) and the International Trade
Fair of Thessaloniki (TIF SA).
The Balkan Partnership will host 127 companies, representing
the sectors of construction, building materials, foods, drinks,
pharmaceuticals and hospital supplies.
Fifty of these companies will be Greek, 27 Bulgarian. 18
Romanian, 20 from FYROM and ten Albanian. An additional 200
companies will be featured from Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy,
Spain, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Cyprus, Israel, the Czech
Republic, Russia and Croatia.
The project is financed by the INTERREG Program of the
European Union, through the Greek Ministry of National economy. T
The objective of INTERREG Program is to promote the creation and
development of networks of co-operation across internal borders of
the European Union and to assist such internal border areas to
overcome development problems arising from their isolation. The
second aim is to provide interconnections with wider European
networks.
[02] THESSALONIKI HOSTS GREEK-CANADIAN CONFERENCE
A conference on the coexistence of different cultures, titled
"Multiculture: A developing dialogue. The Greek and Canadian
example", will begin in Thessaloniki today, under the auspices of
Greece' Culture Ministry.
The three-day conference will highlight the issue of
coexistence between different cultures in the two countries and
will be attended by Culture Minister Theodoros Pangalos,
Thessaloniki Deputy Mayor Nikos Makrantonakis and the Canadian
Ambassador to Greece David Hatton.
The event is organized by the Canadian embassy and the
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
[03] PM IN THESSALONIKI FRIDAY FOR HEALTH CONFERENCE
Prime Minister Costas Simitis is to arrive in Thessaloniki on
Friday November 10 in order to address the ruling PASOK party's
nationwide conference on Health and Welfare.
In addition to Mr. Simitis, the conference will feature
keynote addresses from Health Minister Alekos Papadopoulos and the
secretary of PASOK's Central Committee Costas Skandalides who will
outline the state's health and welfare policies. Other issues to
be discussed include the planned reforms of the National Health
System.
[04] ONASSIS AWARD BESTOWED ON GISCARD D'ESTAING
The international Alexander S. Onassis Foundation's awards
for 1999 were bestowed upon former French President Valery Giscard
d'Estaing, renowned Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis and professor
John W. Doran by the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis
Stephanopoulos in an Athens ceremony last night.
Mr. d'Estaing was granted the award for international
understanding and social contribution, Mr. Theodorakis for his
contribution to culture and Professor Doran, a soil scientist at
the US Agriculture Ministry's Agricultural Research Service, for
his contribution to the environment.
[05] UNION WARNS OF STRIKE OVER LABOR REFORMS BILL
The General Confederation of Workers of Greece (GSEE) the
country's largest trade union umbrella, has givent he state a 48-
hour ultimatum to accept its demands before it proceeds to a new
24-hour strike that will coincide with the opening of
Parliamentary discussion on labor reform.
GSEE's demands concern the reduction of working hours,
retirement after 35 years of work and withdrawal of a proposal to
deregulate lay-off rules in the country.
Labor Minister Tasos Yiannitsis has vowed that the government
will support an agreement on labor reform between social partners.
[06] CULTURE MINISTER OF LUXEMBOURG VISITS ATHENS
The Culture Minister of Luxembourg Erna Hennicot Schoepges
arrived in Athens this week, where she met with her Greek
counterpart Theodoros Pangalos and discussed cultural exchanges
between Greece and Luxembourg and cooperation in the audiovisual
media.
The two ministers also discussed a planned promotion of
Luxembourg-made films by Luxembourg's Embassy in Athens and a
photography exhibition, as well as a program titled "Traditional
Activities in Europe" that will be presented in Greece in March
and April 2001.
Mme. Hennicot Schoepges invited Mr. Pangalos to visit
Luxembourg and the Museum of Modern Art designed by the famous
architect I.M. Pei.
Following the talks, Mr. Pangalos stated that the meeting had
been constructive.
[07] MOTION FOR MARBLES' RETURN TABLED WITH C of E
Parliamentarians from five countries, representing four
different parties signed and tabled a motion to the Council of
Europe (CoE) calling for the return of the Parthenon Marbles to
Athens for display, according to a press release from the office
of British MP Eddie O'Hara.
The said proposal also noted that there are plans to display
the traveling exhibition sponsored by the Nana Mouskouri
Foundation in the Palais d' Europe in Strasbourg during the next
meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly in January 2001.
Mr. O'Hara and British deputy Tom Cox, both known supporters
for te return of the marbles and who are UK government delegates
to the CoE said that "the argument has shifted from concentration
on the question of ownership to the question of where they belong,
whoever owns them.
"The argument over ownership may take years to resolve. In
the meantime the marbles should be displayed in proximity to the
monument to which they belong, whoever owns them," the deputies
said in their press release.
[08] COMMERCIAL BANK OF GREECE INTERESTED IN BIOCHIM
Commercial Bank of Greece has expressed interest in
purchasing Bulgaria's Biochim Bank, the neighboring country's
fourth largest financial institution that is slated for
privatization.
According to press reports, other banks that have expressed
interest in Biochim Bank are Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, BNP
Paribas, Raiffeisen Zentralbank and Hebrosbank of Bulgaria.
An unsuccessful attempt to sell the bank was made in the
summer.
[09] U.S. CITIZENS IN THESSALONIKI ARE DILIGENT VOTERS
Approximately one thousand of American registered voters who
reside in Thessaloniki cast their vote in the U.S. presidential
elections by posting absentee ballots with the city's U.S.
consulate.
Having a deadline of November 3, these voters either mailed
or dropped off their ballot at their local DHL World Wide Express,
a service provided by the US embassy in Athens for free. DHL
couriered it to New York's JFK airport, where the ballots entered
the US postal system. Collection boxes were available at all DHL
service centers in Greece and at the American Citizens Services
section at the US embassy in Athens.
Reflecting the high abstention rates in the United States, a
mere 20 per cent of the 100,000 U.S. citizens residing in Greece
are believed to have voted in these elections.
Seventy percent of Greece's U.S. citizens, the majority of
whom are Greek-Americans, reside in Athens, with the remaining
dispersed throughout Thessaloniki, the Peloponnese, and the
islands of Rhodes, Kos, and Chios.
[10] DIPEK EVENT:ECONOMIC TIES, PROSPECTS IN BALKANS
"Economic Ties and Prospects in the Balkan Region" will be
the theme of a one-day presentation held tomorrow in Thessaloniki
by the Interbalkan and Black Sea Trade Development Center (DIPEK),
held within the framework of the Balkan Partnership 2000
conference.
Following the presentation, addresses will be given in
regards to investment opportunities in the Balkan region, with
speakers such as the representative of the Yugoslav Industry and
Commerce Chamber Jadranka Zenic Zeljkovic and the officer of the
World Bank's liaison bureau in Greece.
[11] PREMIER SIMITIS CONDUCTS WORKING VISIT TO ROME
Prime Minister Costas Simitis embarked today on a two-day
working visit to Rome, where he will hold talks with his Italian
counterpart Giuliano Amato.
Later this afternoon, Mr. Simitis will also meet with Rome
Mayor Francesco Rutelli, the center-left coalition's candidate
premier.
The Premier, who is accompanied by a delegation of government
officials, is expected to return to Athens tomorrow evening.
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