Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-12-11
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH
Thessaloniki, December 11, 2000
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
TITLES
[01] EU AGREES ON SORE POINTS AFTER MARATHON SUMMIT
[02] UNICEF HOLDS LOVE TELETHON FOR STREET CHILDREN
[03] GREEK UN OBSERVER ABDUCTED IN GEORGIA
[04] BURIED MAN EMERGES ALIVE SEVEN YEARS LATER
[05] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH FYROM LEADER
[06] TOMBS DATING BACK TO 6TH CENTURY BC DISCOVERED
[07] POLL FINDS MOST LIKELY SUCCESSORS TO PREMIER
[08] SECRET SERVICE EMPLOYEE CAUGHT WITH ARSENAL
[09] NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE REPRESENTATION OFFICE IN ISTANBUL
[10] BALKANET: BALKAN RADIO-TELEVISION COOPERATION CONFERENCE
[11] LOSSES OF 1.37% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
[12] THE PRICE INDEX REACHED A TWO-YEAR HIGH
[13] HITIRIS: POSITIVE RESULTS IN THE NICE SUMMIT MEETING
[14] SWEDEN'S MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE IS VISITING GREECE
[15] THE UN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOVES AIMED AT THE RELEASE OF
THE ABDUCTED GREEK ARMY CAPTAIN
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] UN SECURITY COUNCIL GETS UPDATE ON CYPRUS ISSUE
[17] PM ON SUMMIT'S OUTCOME: "VERY GOOD FOR GREECE"
[18] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE AND FYROM IN
THESSALONIKI
[19] THE POLISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE ON THE ABDUCTION OF THE UN
MILITARY OBSERVERS IN GEORGIA
[20] ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT TARGETING THE ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER
NEWS IN DETAIL
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] EU AGREES ON SORE POINTS AFTER MARATHON SUMMIT
Following a marathon session that lasted until the wee hours
of the morning, European Union leaders attending the Summit in
Nice finally reached an agreement concerning the EU's enlargement,
one that Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis characterized as
"very positive for Greece", even though it does lead to certain
inequalities for smaller member-states.
In the enlarged European Union of 27 member-states, Greece
will be represented by 22 European Parliament members and 12
votes.
The original revisions proposed by France, which presently
holds the EU's rotating presidency and will be succeeded by
Sweden, became a point of friction as they aimed at retaining the
status quo among the most populous member-states and reducing the
influence of smaller countries in key policy-setting councils.
With objections mounting, France came back with a revised
draft later in the Summit's final session - which lasted more than
18 hours- in order to try and overcome differences.
The revised version received a warmer reception, while
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel told reporters the leaders
had reached a deal that will allow in a dozen newcomers in the
years ahead - mostly from Eastern Europe.
"We are leading the European Union towards a federated form,
albeit with very small steps", Prime Minister Simitis stated,
adding that the strong in the EU remain strong.
"This is a big day for Europe," said Swedish Prime Minister
Goeran Persson."
The toughest issue to agree upon, and which stalled the
Summit's progress, was a reallocation of votes in decision-making
ministerial meetings.
Portugal -backed by Greece, Sweden, Austria, Finland and
Belgium- vetoed one proposal in protest of a wide gap between its
votes and those for neighboring Spain. The veto forced the French
President to revise the original draft.
Under the formula that was finally adopted, Germany, Britain,
France and Italy will have 29 votes each in the EU's policy-
setting council; Spain, 27 votes and the Netherlands, 13. Greece,
Belgium and Portugal will each have 12; Sweden and Austria, 10;
Denmark, Finland and Ireland, seven; Luxembourg, four.
Specifically, the "15" agreed upon more majority voting -
rather than unanimity - in decision-making and reshaping the EU's
executive arm.
[02] UNICEF HOLDS LOVE TELETHON FOR STREET CHILDREN
Greece's public television channel NET and UNICEF will hold a
love telethon for street children today, December 11, which is
officially designated as Street Children Day for this year.
According to UNICEF, hundreds of millions of children have to
live, work and survive on city streets around the world, becoming
easy prey to every kind of abuse and exploitation.
The live telethon will start at 6:30 p.m. and continue until
the early hours of the next morning, with a number of guest stars
and celebrities appearing.
Organizers have made great efforts to involve and sensitize
young people to the plight of street children, with dozens of
schools and citizens' groups contributing to the events, which
will be covered by NET and ET1 reporters in Greece and all over
the world.
Bank accounts for those wishing to contribute are:
National Bank of Greece: 169/480020-64
Commercial Bank of Greece: 031/80191081
CITIBANK: 5502346484
Agricultural Bank of Greece: 017-04004416-70
[03] GREEK UN OBSERVER ABDUCTED IN GEORGIA
A Greek infantry captain and a Polish colonel, both UN
observers, were abducted by unknown persons yesterday, while on a
mission 50 kilometers southeast of Sokhumi, Georgia.
The Greek man was identified as Efstathios Kokkinidis from
Thessaloniki.
The abductors have not yet contacted the Georgian
authorities.
[04] BURIED MAN EMERGES ALIVE SEVEN YEARS LATER
A man buried seven years ago and mourned daily by his family
with graveside vigils was discovered alive and well yesterday
morning, according to the Alpha television channel.
Twenty-six-year-old Paschalis Katsigris resided in an Athens
suburb until he vanished seven years ago which led his parents to
report his disappearance to the police. A few months later, the
Athens Port Authority notified the parents in northern Greece that
they had discovered the body of a man who matched their son's
description.
Although the bereaved parents buried the body, they requested
an exhumation one month later where they were assured by an Athens
coroner that the body was indeed as their son's.
However, a homeless man who identified himself as Paschalis
Katsigris, was taken to a police station in Athens on Sunday for
failing to have an identity card on him. After giving his full
name, police checked his file and discovered that he was "dead"
since 1993. They contacted his parents in Alexandroupolis who said
their son was dead. When they discovered the mistake, they came
immediately to Athens to be reunited once again with him.
[05] GREEK DEFENSE MINISTER MEETS WITH FYROM LEADER
Greece's Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos is to meet
with the President of FYROM Boris Traijkovski today in Skopje, as
well as with the country's Premier Ljubco Georgievski and new
Foreign Minister Srdzan Kerim.
A memorandum of understanding and a military cooperation
agreement was signed yesterday between Mr. Tsochatzopoulos and
his counterpart from FYROM Ljuben Paunoski. The two ministers
discussed the situation in the Balkan region, focusing on southern
Serbia, where Mr. Tsochatzopoulos stated that both sides want to
collaborate in order to contribute to the region's stability and
the democratic development of Yugoslavia.
Furthermore, the Greek Defense Minister expressed his
optimism over the future developments in the Balkan region and
stressed that democracy will begin to be fully formed for all of
the region's peoples. He also underlined Greece's "special role
and responsibility" as the region's only country that is a member
of the European Union and NATO.
In turn, Mr. Paunovski opined that tension in Southern Serbia
will not escalate but added that, in case it does, then his
country would cooperate with Yugoslavia's armed forces, given his
country's proximity to Southern Serbia.
The Defense Minister is accompanied by a delegation of
representatives from the Hellenic Arms Industry who will hold
talks with the dean of FYROM's military academy and will visit the
metal industry of Skopje.
[06] TOMBS DATING BACK TO 6TH CENTURY BC DISCOVERED
Twenty-five tombs containing amphorae and other earthenware
with the remains of adults and children, most of which date back
to the 6th century BC, were discovered in northern Greece during
archaeological excavations.
The discovery was made by archaeologists during works at an
acequia in Avdera, near Xanthi; three of the tombs, one shaped as
a pit and the other two box-like, date back to the 3rd century BC
and their walls are painted in red, white and blue plaster.
[07] POLL FINDS MOST LIKELY SUCCESSORS TO PREMIER
Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos and Athens Mayor
Dimitris Avramopoulos are deemed as the most likely successors of
incumbent Premier Costas Simitis, according to a recently-
conducted nationwide poll.
Published in the Athens daily "To Vima", the "Kapa Research"
poll finds that 55.7% of the respondents believe the ruling PASOK
party should change leader, in the event it loses the elections -
whenever they may be held. By the same token, 59.1% of those
polled believe that the main opposition of New Democracy should
change its leader if it fails to win in the elections.
The Defense Minister is topping the list as Mr. Simitis' most
suitable successor, followed -in respective order- by Foreign
Minister George Papandreou, Culture Evangelos Venizelos, Interior
and Public Administration Vasso Papandreou, Environment, Urban
Planning and Public Works Costas Laliotis and former culture
minister Theodoros Pangalos.
As for the most suitable successor to New Democracy's
presidency post, presently held by Costas Karamanlis, the
respondents' first choice is the mayor of Athens, followed by N.D.
deputy (and shadow foreign minister) Dora Bacoyanni, deputy George
Souflias, deputy Prokopis Pavlopoulos, former N.D. spokesperson
Aris Spiliotopoulos and deputy George Voulgarakis.
In spite of future tendencies, 47.4% of those polled want to
see PASOK remain united, and under the direction of Mr. Simitis,
until the elections, while 55.4 percent want the same for New
Democracy, under the leadership of Mr. Karamanlis.
[08] SECRET SERVICE EMPLOYEE CAUGHT WITH ARSENAL
Greek police have arrested a secret service employee who
kept an arsenal of illegal firearms in his car which, he claimed,
he was planning to transport to a military unit in the region.
George Vasiliou, a non-operational employee of the National
Intelligence Service (EYP), was caught with a machine gun and two
sub-machine guns of Russian make, a German pistol, a shotgun,
ammunition and an infra-red camera.
He was stopped in an ambush by Kastoria narcotics officers,
who were acting on information that a large arms delivery was due
from Albania.
[09] NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE REPRESENTATION OFFICE IN ISTANBUL
The National Bank of Greece representation office is expected
to open in Istanbul, Turkey in January and according to statements
made to MPA by its international affairs director Mr. Nikos
Koutsos, the necessary permit by the Turkish authorities has been
issued.
Regarding the establishment of a venture capital by the
National Bank of Greece in cooperation with the Turkish Garanti
Bank and the international money and credit organization JP
Morgan, Mr. Koutsos stated that the National Bank of Greece will
participate in the initial capital with US$ 45 million through one
of its subsidiaries.
He also stated that the goal is the further expansion of the
bank in the Balkans and Europe in general, adding that the policy
that will be followed will be clearly expansionist in order to
become competitive based on the European standards.
[10] BALKANET: BALKAN RADIO-TELEVISION COOPERATION CONFERENCE
Issues of Balkan cooperation in the sector of the mass media
will be discussed in the Balkan state radio-television
organizations conference BalkanNet, organized by Greek state
television station ET3 to take place in Thessaloniki on December
16-17.
The conference will also be attended by representatives of
Balkan state news agencies and among the issues that will be
discussed will be the Inter-Balkan cooperation in sectors of news
reporting, sports event, technical facilities and co-productions.
[11] LOSSES OF 1.37% IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE
Losses of 1.37% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange
today and the general index was at 3.685,31 points, while the
volume of transactions was small at 94.26 billion drachmas.
Of the stocks trading today, 90 recorded gains, 225 had
losses and 23 remained unchanged.
[12] THE PRICE INDEX REACHED A TWO-YEAR HIGH
The price index in November reached its highest point for the
past two years, at 4.2%, compared to 4% in October, mainly due to
the rise in the US dollar value and the oil price hikes in the
international markets.
However, the latest news from these two fronts are
encouraging as both the US dollar and the oil prices are on a
downward course in international markets.
[13] HITIRIS: POSITIVE RESULTS IN THE NICE SUMMIT MEETING
Greek acting government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris stated
that the results of the Nice Summit meeting are positive for
Greece.
The undersecretary of press stated that it is positive that
after marathon consultations on the distribution of power in the
new Europe the double majority was approved, which was suggested
by Greece, while a decision was reached according to which, each
country will have one Commissioner.
[14] SWEDEN'S MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE IS VISITING GREECE
Sweden's minister of agriculture Ms. Margarita Winberg is on
a visit to Greece to exchange views with her Greek counterpart
Giorgos Anomeritis on agriculture policy issues in view of her
country's EU presidency that will begin in January 2001.
The main issues under discussion will be the acceleration of
the negotiations with the World Trade Organization aimed at the
liberalization of the foreign trade policy system, the EU proposal
on the cooperation with the least developed countries, ways to
deal with the "mad cow" disease and the proposal on the olive oil.
During her visit to Greece, the Swedish agriculture minister
will also meet with minister of interior Ms. Vaso Papandreou to
discuss sexual equality issues.
[15] THE UN IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MOVES AIMED AT THE RELEASE OF
THE ABDUCTED GREEK ARMY CAPTAIN
The United Nations organization is responsible for the
handling of the situation that was created as a result of the
abduction of Greek army captain Efstathios Kokkinidis, stated
Greek acting government spokesman Tilemachos Hitiris.
The Greek captain served as a UN observer in the former
soviet republic of Georgia and together with a Polish UN observer
were the victims of an abduction by an unidentified gunman.
According to Mr. Hitiris, both the Greek ambassador and the
military attache follow the developments closely.
Mr. Hitiris expressed the belief that there will be a happy
ending.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[16] UN SECURITY COUNCIL GETS UPDATE ON CYPRUS ISSUE
UN Security Council members will be briefed today on the
positions and views of the parties involved in the Cyprus issue
by UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Cyprus Alvaro de
Soto, who has had contacts recently in Cyprus, Athens and Turkey.
The briefing takes place only days before the mandate of the
UN peace- keeping force in Cyprus expires, at midnight on the 15th
of December, and amid increasing concerns about the future of the
UN-led proximity talks, following threats by Turkish-Cypriot
leader Rauf Denktash to leave the negotiating table unless his
demands for recognition of the self-styled regime in Turkish-
occupied Cyprus are met.
[17] PM ON SUMMIT'S OUTCOME: "VERY GOOD FOR GREECE"
Following a marathon session that lasted until dawn today,
European Union leaders attending the Summit Conference in Nice
finally reached an agreement concerning the EU's enlargement, one
that Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis characterized as "very
positive for Greece", even though it does lead to certain
inequalities for smaller member-states.
In a press conference this morning, Mr. Simitis saluted the
European Union's enlargement, which he characterized as necessary
for the Community's development, and stated that the EU is now
entering a new phase. The enlargement, he added, "will facilitate
Greece's position as many Balkan countries are slated for EU
accession, thus promoting central and Eastern Europe and
strengthening Greece's role".
Regarding the Commission, Mr. Simitis stated that the issue
of representation is to be re-examined when the EU expands to 27
members, when the various nations will take turns serving on the
body.
Moreover, the Premier stated that the EU agreed on replacing
unanimity voting by majority voting, a move that allows Greece to
retain its present power.
In the enlarged European Union of 27 member-states, Greece
will be represented by 22 European Parliament members, even though
the French-held EU presidency had originally proposed 20, and 12
votes.
The Premier also stated that the European Union is presently
undergoing an "adjustment period" and referred to the compromises
that led to the final agreements.
[18] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE AND FYROM IN
THESSALONIKI
FYROM foreign minister Sertzan Kerim announced in an
interview with the state radio in Skopje that he will have a
series of meetings with his counterparts from neighboring
countries starting with Greek foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou.
Mr. Kerim stated that the meeting with Mr. Papandreou will
take place in Thessaloniki on December 13.
In January, he is scheduled to meet with his Bulgarian
counterpart, while very soon his Yugoslav counterpart will visit
FYROM. He will also meet with the Albanian foreign minister but
the date of their meeting has not been set yet.
[19] THE POLISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE ON THE ABDUCTION OF THE UN
MILITARY OBSERVERS IN GEORGIA
An unidentified armed man is the abductor of the two United
Nations military observers, Greek Efstathios Kokkinidis and Polish
Zbigniev Bletsac, who were kidnapped in the former soviet republic
of Georgia, according to a statement issued by the Polish ministry
of defense.
Based on the statement, an armed man tried to stop two UN
mission jeeps, some 600 meters away from the Russian outpost
overseeing the truce reached between the Georgian forces and the
Abkazian separatists.
The first jeep managed to get away, stated the Polish
ministry of defense spokesman, adding that the Polish colonel and
his interpreter, who escaped, had heard gun shots and then lost
contact with the second jeep. Shortly afterwards, UN forces found
the jeep empty with its engine running.
[20] ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT TARGETING THE ALBANIAN PRIME MINISTER
The Albanian police arrested an individual in relation with
the bomb attack that took place a few minutes before Albanian
prime minister Ilir Meta and his convoy passed from the spot.
There are no injuries as a result of the explosion that
occurred on a street leading to a cement factory plant in the city
of Fuse Kruntze to where the prime minister was heading in order
to attend the plant's inauguration ceremony. The city is situated
about 25 kilometers north of the Albanian capital, Tirana.
According to the Albanian police the bomb was powerful, was
activated through remote control and the crater it created was
about one meter deep.
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