Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-12-06
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 6, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] GREEK NAVY CELEBRATES ITS PATRON SAINT NICHOLAS
[02] NATIONWIDE WORK STOPPAGE TOMORROW
[03] MINISTER: BOURSE TRANSACTION TAX TO BE SLASHED
[04] GREECE'S EU COMMISSIONER AT TROOKA MEETING
[05] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER AT NATO's WINTER SESSION
[06] EU LIFTS IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON FRENCH BEEF
[07] AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER TESTIFIES IN YAK-42 TRIAL
[08] THESSALONIKI-PLOVDIV CONFERENCE OPENS TONIGHT
[09] PM PLEDGES LOWER TAXES, REAL CONVERGENCE
[10] GREEK, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES HOLD TALKS
[11] DINNER WITH MARBLES LEAVES BITTER AFTERTASTE
[12] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: OLD ATTITUDES IN NATO MUST CHANGE
[13] NEW IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[14] COOPERATION MEMORANDUM OF GREEK AND UKRAINIAN SCIENTISTS
[15] HITIRIS: TURKEY'S MODERNIZATION PASSES THROUGH ITS RELATION
WITH THE EU
[16] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS IS IN NICE, FRANCE FOR THE EU SUMMIT
MEETING
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] CELEBRATIONS FOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREEK
COMMUNITIES FEDERATION IN HOLLAND
[18] TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PAPANDREOU AND KERIM
[19] THE GREEK NATIONAL DEFENSE GENERAL STAFF CHIEF IS SATISFIED
WITH HIS US CONTACTS
[20] STOYANOV: THE SOFIA-ATHENS RELATIONS ARE FRIENDLY AND OPEN
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] GREEK NAVY CELEBRATES ITS PATRON SAINT NICHOLAS
The Greek Navy is to observe the day of St. Nicholas today,
patron saint of the seamen - as well as the anniversary of the
victorious naval battles of the Balkan Wars.
The events will be celebrated by the General Navy Staff at a
special event in the Navy Cadets Academy in Piraeus.
The President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis
Stephanopoulos, Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, government
officials, the armed forces' leadership and representatives of
political parties and local authorities will be attending the
celebrations.
[02] NATIONWIDE WORK STOPPAGE TOMORROW
The country will come to a standstill tomorrow, as the
Confederation of Greek Workers (GSEE), Greece's largest union, has
declared a nationwide work stoppage in protest to labor reforms
planned by the state.
The Civil Servants Supreme Administrative Council (ADEDY) is
also participating in the action, which will commence at 11 a.m.
until the end of the shift. Both ADEDY and GSEE call on all
workers to give a strong presence at all the rallies organized on
that day.
GSEE is demanding the withdrawal of the state's bill on
employment and labor relations, which includes the regulation
concerning the retirement after 35 years of work.
[03] MINISTER: BOURSE TRANSACTION TAX TO BE SLASHED
The Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos
Papantoniou has announced that the tax on the stock exchange
transactions will be reduced by half, as of next year.
Addressing an economic conference of the Hellenic-American
Chamber in Athens yesterday, Mr. Papantoniou stated that the said
tax will be reduced from 0.6 percent to 0.3 percent, in an effort
to boost liquidity in the Athens Stock Exchange.
Furthermore, Mr. Papantoniou stated that the government was
planning 10 more privatizations slated for the first six months of
200k, namely the Piraeus Port Organization, Helexpo, and Olympic
Airways.
Referring to the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization,
the Minister said that the state's telecommunications organization
is undertaking significant administration restructuring steps,
while seeking a strategic partner to enhance further its position
in the European telecommunications market.
Moreover, Mr. Papantoniou said that the country's energy
market will be deregulated by February 17, 2001 and noted that the
private sector could produce up to 30 percent of the country's
energy production.
[04] GREECE'S EU COMMISSIONER AT TROOKA MEETING
Greece's European Union Commissioner for Employment and
Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou represented the European
Commission at a Troïka meeting chaired by French President Jacques
Chirac at the Elyse Palace in Paris yesterday.
The Troïka, which is a meeting of past, present and future
presidencies of the Council together with the Commission, met the
social partners at the highest level and discussed the new
European social agenda and social aspects of the upcoming IGC,
including the European charter of fundamental rights.
Referring to the upcoming EU Summit Conference in Nice, Ms.
Diamantopoulou said that "thanks to the agreement reached last
week in the Council on the European social agenda, we expect a
strong endorsement from Nice that good social policy means full
involvement of the social partners in formulating and implementing
social policy."
[05] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER AT NATO's WINTER SESSION
Addressing NATO' winter conference in Brussels yesterday,
Greek Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos denounced Ankara's
stance during the Alliance's Destined Glory military exercise held
in October, which turned into a debacle when Turkey undermined
Greece's sovereign rights, leading Athens to order the withdrawal
of its planes from the exercise.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos urged his NATO counterparts to reconsider
mentalities of the past.
The NATO Defense Ministers reviewed plans by the European
Union to develop a new European rapid reaction force.
While the NATO Secretary General George Robertson has
welcomed the EU initiative as something that will encourage
Europeans to bolster their military capabilities, some NATO
members are not exactly pleased. According to press reports,
Turkey feels excluded as it wants to participate fully in the EU's
decision-making process on security issues, a demand not expected
to be met by the EU.
[06] EU LIFTS IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON FRENCH BEEF
The European Union's Council of Agriculture Ministers has
agreed that member states should lift the import restrictions they
recently placed on French beef and cattle by January 1, 2001.
At least five EU member-states, among them Greece, imposed
full or partial bans on French beef and cattle after French
supermarkets disclosed in October that they had unknowingly sold
beef from a herd of cattle contaminated by Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE).
Still, consumer confidence in Greece is not expected to
recover any time soon, given the repeated reports that some meat
merchants engage in stamp tampering to change the meat's origin.
Even Undersecretary of Agriculture Fotis Hatzimichalis said
that the present stamping system in insufficient.
The EU's Scientific Steering Committee is to decide by
January 15 whether other cattle organs and by-products, such as
the spleen, thymus, spinal column and T-bone will be removed from
the food chain.
More than 80 people have died in Britain and two in France
from BSE's fatal human equivalent, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
[07] AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER TESTIFIES IN YAK-42 TRIAL
Even the use of a military radar would not have assisted the
ill-fated Yakovlev-42 airplane, carrying 73 passengers and crew,
which crashed in the mountains southwest of Thessaloniki in
December 1997, an air traffic controller testified in court
yesterday.
Adamandios Fragiadoulis, one of two air traffic controllers
who have been charged over the air tragedy, said that even if he
and his colleague had asked the air force for assistance, the
situation would have only become more complex. He attributed the
crash to "blatant violations of international landing
procedures."
When asked by the court as to why he and his colleague
Yiannis Yiannakopoulos were not alarmed when the plane's pilot
repeatedly requested that he be guided by radar, Mr. Fragiadoulis
responded that at some point he saw the plane fly above the air
traffic control tower, at an ascending altitude of 110 feet, and
he believed that the pilot was steering the aircraft to a waiting
area north of Thessaloniki.
The two defendants face charges of manslaughter and traffic
law violations. The hearing is scheduled to resume today.
[08] THESSALONIKI-PLOVDIV CONFERENCE OPENS TONIGHT
A conference titled "Thessaloniki and Plovdiv in Parallel
Roads -History, Art, Society, 18th-20th Centruries" is to be
formally inaugurated this evening by the Minister of Macedonia-
Thrace George Paschalides.
The conference, organized by the Cultural Society of Northern
Greece's Entrepreneurs, is to feature the attendance of 50
researchers from Greece and Bulgaria who will examine the two
cities' parallel roads and will discuss matters pertaining to
religion, communities, culture, education, economy, society,
architecture and art.
A concurrent art exhibition titled "The Balkan Urban
Phenomenon - Thessaloniki - Plovdiv similar cities" is to be held
in Thessaloniki between December 7-20.
[09] PM PLEDGES LOWER TAXES, REAL CONVERGENCE
Undaunted by the market's present pessimism, the Greek
government will remain steadfast to its economic agenda, Prime
Minister Costas Simitis stated yesterday during his address before
the 11th annual conference of the Hellenic-American Chamber of
Commerce where he presented the key points of his cabinet's
economic policy.
Referring to Greece's accession to the Economic and Monetary
Union (EMU), the Premier hailed the feat as the culmination of a
seven-year policy marked by perseverance and resolution.
"The Greek economy is facing the perspective of long-
term stability," the Premier said, adding "we are now in a new
economic and political reality which creates new needs and
demands.
"We are now before a great challenge to utilize all the
potentials which are opening. We are at the start of an optimistic
and hopeful course for our country, society and the citizens.
""Our aim now is to achieve real convergence, to secure
social cohesion and stability."
Outlining the state's strategy of bringing about real
convergence, Mr. Simitis stated that the government will aim for a
budget surplus equal to 2 percent of gross domestic product in
2004, while public debt is also projected to fall below 90 percent
of GDP during the next four years.
He further added that declining public debt will allow
resources to be re-allocated to other vital sectors such as
education, health and employment, thus giving all Greeks the
chance to enjoy the fruits of stability and growth.
Referring to the state's tax policy, the Premier stated that
there will be a change in tax policy, in line with campaign
promises of lower taxes.
"Taxation after 2002 will be simpler and fairer. It will also
lay the foundation for a competitive economy. Tackling the black
economy and continuing the crackdown on tax evaders will create
opportunities for further corporate and individual tax cuts," he
said.
Moreover, the Premier stressed the government's determination
to proceed with its privatization program, this with regard to
employees' rights.
Lastly, he referred to the 2004 Olympic Games, Third
Community Support Framework funds and structural reforms, which he
called "the linchpin of growth" in the coming years, while he
stated that the next challenge is reforming the national health
system.
[10] GREEK, EGYPTIAN FOREIGN MINISTRIES HOLD TALKS
The foreign ministries of Greece and Egypt are to conduct
talks in Cairo today, in an effort to examine opportunities for
bilateral cooperation in various sectors.
In an interview with the Cairo daily Al Ahram, the secretary
general of Greece's Foreign Ministry George Savaides referred
extensively to relations between the two countries and stressed
that Greece, as a European Union member, will exert every effort
to assist Egypt in achieving its targets in regards to the
European Partnership Accord.
Furthermore, the Greek diplomat expressed his regret over the
episodes in the Palestinian territory and confirmed the imperative
need to enforce the United Nations' resolutions for resolving the
Middle East and Cyprus crises.
Mr. Savaides also saluted the Egyptian entrepreneurs for
their contribution to Greece's economy.
He hailed relations between the two countries as "excellent",
stating that historic ties bind the two countries, both of which
contribute to peace and abide by international law.
[11] DINNER WITH MARBLES LEAVES BITTER AFTERTASTE
The British Museum's decision to host a gala dinner in the
hall housing the Parthenon Marbles has provoked the displeasure of
Greek Ambassador to the United Kingdom Alexandros Sandis -who has
refused an invitation to attend the event even though Queen
Elisabeth will be among the 600 guests.
In an unusual move, the Greek Ambassador has forwarded the
Museum's officials and Queen Elisabeth a reply explaining the
reasons he will not be attending the gala.
"We are upset and astonished that the British Museum has
decided to use the Duveen galleries for this event.
"We think it is really insensitive of the
Museum, coming straight after the revelations about the holding of
corporate dinners there and a buffet lunch during a conference on
the Parthenon sculptures last year.
"The Ambassador has decided not to attend either the opening
or the dinner, as it would be discourteous to the Queen to arrive
but leave before the dinner took place," said the Greek embassy's
spokesman.
[12] TSOCHATZOPOULOS: OLD ATTITUDES IN NATO MUST CHANGE
Greek minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos referred to
the unacceptable tactics adopted by Turkey in the recent military
exercise "Destined Glory" speaking in the NATO defense ministers
summit meeting.
Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated to his counterparts, in a
discussion on the defense review of the alliance, that the new
NATO must change the old attitudes.
[13] NEW IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Impressive gains of 5.74% were recorded in the Athens Stock
Exchange today. The general index was at 3.733,82 points, while
the volume of transactions was satisfactory at 126.04 billion
drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, the overwhelming majority
namely, 340 stocks recorded gains, while 17 had losses and 18
remained unchanged.
[14] COOPERATION MEMORANDUM OF GREEK AND UKRAINIAN SCIENTISTS
A memorandum for the further development of the cooperation
and education relations between Greek and Ukrainian scientists was
signed in the Greek Culture Foundation. The memorandum also
provides for the establishment of a cultural and education Greek-
Ukrainian forum.
The signing of the memorandum took place within the framework
of the visit held by Ukrainian academicians headed by Kiev's
National University History professor.
The presentation of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences
publication "Greeks in the Ukrainian land" was held during the
delegation's visit to Athens. This encyclopedic work is the result
of a cooperation between the History Studies National Institute
and Ukraine's Central State Archive.
It is the first encyclopedic publication on the 2.500 years
old history of the Greek diaspora in the country. The publication
is prefaced by the presidents of Greece and Ukraine.
[15] HITIRIS: TURKEY'S MODERNIZATION PASSES THROUGH ITS RELATION
WITH THE EU
Turkey's modernization and its economic development pass
through its relation with the European Union, stated Greek acting
government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris.
Mr. Hitiris made the statement responding to a question by a
reporter referring to the economic crisis in Turkey.
[16] PRIME MINISTER SIMITIS IS IN NICE, FRANCE FOR THE EU SUMMIT
MEETING
Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis is in Nice, France to
attend the EU Summit meeting that opens tomorrow in which a number
of reforms will be examined regarded as necessary for the
successful enlargement of the European Union.
France and Germany disagree on issues such as, the makeup of
the European Commission and the number of the European
Commissioners as well as issues concerning the votes of the member-
states.
France, which is currently holding the rotating EU
presidency, is ready to issue an appeal to the European
governments to bridge their differences before the opening of the
summit.
Meanwhile, the French police has adopted strict security
measures in Nice in view of the protest demonstrations prepared by
labor unions, environmental organizations, organizations for the
protection of human rights and others.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[17] CELEBRATIONS FOR THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GREEK
COMMUNITIES FEDERATION IN HOLLAND
An event on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Greek
Communities Federation in Holland will be held in Rotterdam on
December 16.
A book presentation with the participation of Greek dance and
music groups will be held within the framework of the event. The
presentation of the book "The Greeks in the Low Countries (1600-
2000)" will be held in the presence of Greeks abroad general
secretary Mr. Dollis, World Council of Hellenes Abroad, SAE,
president Mr. Athens, SAE vice-president Mr. Aslanidis, Greece's
ambassador to Holland Mr. Varouxakis and many personalities from
Greece, Holland, Belgium and Germany.
[18] TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PAPANDREOU AND KERIM
Newly appointed FYROM foreign minister Sergan Kerim had a
telephone communication with his Greek counterpart Giorgos
Papandreou.
According to Skopje's newspaper "Dnevnik", Mr. Kerim stated
that Mr. Papandreou confirmed Greece's support to FYROM's wish to
form association ties with the European Union and reiterated his
country's willingness to improve bilateral relations.
Based on the newspaper report, the two ministers agreed to
meet in the immediate future at a border region. The date and the
place of the meeting will be determined later.
[19] THE GREEK NATIONAL DEFENSE GENERAL STAFF CHIEF IS SATISFIED
WITH HIS US CONTACTS
Greek National Defense General Staff Chief general Manousos
Paragioudakis stated that he is satisfied with the contacts he had
in his five-day visit to the United States.
The Greek National Defense General Staff Chief had a series
of contacts and meetings with his counterpart general Henry
Shelton, the Atlantic Forces supreme commander (SECLANT), the Air
Combat Command leadership and the US Navy War School.
General Paragioudakis stated, according to the New York based
Greek-American newspaper "Ethnikos Kirix", that the goal of his
visit was to exchange views mainly on the command system used in
the US armed forces as Greece is in the middle of an effort for
dynamic changes in its armed forces.
[20] STOYANOV: THE SOFIA-ATHENS RELATIONS ARE FRIENDLY AND OPEN
Bulgarian president Petar Stoyanov stated that the relations
between Sofia and Athens are friendly and open in statements he
made upon his return to his country last night after his two-day
formal visit to Greece held at the invitation of his Greek
counterpart Kostis Stephanopoulos.
Mr. Stoyanov stated that Bulgaria does not forget that Greece
is the only one of its neighboring countries that is a member of
the European Union and NATO and this fact gives a strategic
importance to bilateral relations.
Regional development and public works minister Evgeni
Tsatsev, who accompanied the Bulgarian president in his visit to
Athens, stated that the construction of a bridge linking the
border stations of Kulata and Promachona at the Greek-Bulgarian
borders will be completed by the end of 2001. Also, a new border
crossing linking Gotse Delsev with Dramas is scheduled to be
opened in 2001, while Athens and Sofia have agreed to speed up the
construction works for the opening of other two border crossings
in Kirtzali-Komotini and in Ruzodem-Xanthi.
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