The convention's works will commence at 9am at the "Hyatt" hotel and will be completed by 14:30pm. Speakers include Ministers of National Defense Giannos Papantoniou, Public Order Michalis Chrysochoidis, Macedonia-Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis, Special Coor dinator of the Stability Pact Erhard Busek, as well as government and party staff members from Balkan countries.

According to the report, 82 important audits took place in 2001 in sensitive sectors of public administration. Seven cases were turned over to the District Attorney, disciplinary prosecution took place in 12 cases, inquiries were made into 9 and a manage ment inspection was carried out on 7.

According to the SEEDD, the majority of the cases above concern local government and are mainly due to employee arbitrariness or lack of checks by the administration to ensure legality.

According to 2500 source income audits on public servants, 9% was judged as inadequate, while a disciplinary check was made on those who did not even submit a statement or those who stated different assets than those foreseen. Inquiries are being made in

28 cases of employees General Secretariat of Public Works, who did not adequately justify their assets.

Accusations against the Romanian travel agency were also made by an official of the Romanian Embassy to Athens. In statements to the "Aggelioforos" newspaper, Valerios Nicolae stressed: "Certain passengers on the bus were going to stay in Greece illegall y . Buses from the "Omnia Travel" agency usually left Greece with 30% to 40% less tourists".

The foreigners that reach the Promachonas border crossing are usually from Romania, Bulgaria and countries of the Former Soviet Union according to the border guards. On a daily basis there are 20 to 30 entry denials, but on certain days it reaches 100 in dividuals.

11-year-old Maria's body was found strangled, hidden in a warehouse, on May 14, after searches by the police and her parents since early that afternoon. The warehouse owner and close by neighbor of the little girl and her family, Christos Kolovos, confes sed to killing her. The coroner stated that the little girl had no evident signs of sexual abuse.

His statement that he had to sacrifice the young girl without spilling any blood in order to save other souls, had initially caused further alarm in the Ioannina community, while the police did not rule out his involvement with Satanist groups. However, no evidence was found linking him to any such organizations or activities after searches on his farm in Arta.

What they did find was blood soaked ropes that have been sent to forensic labs in order to ascertain whether it is human or animal blood. The police also found extreme right wing party pictures and texts.

There are also fears that Kolovos has committed more crimes in the past, as the police have reopened 7 missing person's cases, concerning young women gone missing in the area.

Speaking in an event organized by the Commerce and Industry Chamber in Athens, Mr. Papantoniou stated that unemployment remains at high levels throughout the EU, while social policies cannot be far reaching without the backing of a strong economic growth .

Referring to the results of the recent elections in France and Holland, he maintained that the negative results for the European Socialist Parties reflect to a great extent their inability to build a new vision for a strong and fair society in response t o the US neo-liberal model.

During his stay, the Chinese Vice President will meet with local administration officials, and he will visit museums and archaeological sites.

In statements he made yesterday after the governmental committee meeting, Mr. Simitis expressed the view that the issues of national importance are at a turning point and called for unity of hearts and responsible stance by all.

Next Wednesday, the Prime Minister will meet in Athens with Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides.

Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis will open the proceedings of the meeting that will be held in the Senate Chambers of the Greek Parliament. The participants will hold a discussion on Regional Parliamentary Cooperation and the Future of Europe an d afterwards, a formal dinner will be given in their honor by Mr. Kaklamanis.

Mr. Adamkus, who is on a formal visit to Greece, made the statement addressing the Greek-Lithuanian Forum organized in Thessaloniki by the Commerce and Industry Chamber.

He stated that Lithuania offers opportunities in many sectors and has managed to improve its economy, organize its democratic institutions and win its recognition by the World Bank which recently has upgraded its credit ability. He also made a special re ference to the imminent accession of his country into the EU by the year 2004.

From his side, Thessaloniki's Commerce and Industry Chamber President Dimitris Bakatselos referred to the potential for the further development of bilateral trade.

The Lithuanian exports to Greece were US$10.7 million in 2000 compared to US$1.6 million in 1999, while the Greek exports to Lithuania reached US$8.3 million in 2000 compared to US$6 million in 1999. Mr. Bakatselos stated, however, that those figures und erestimate bilateral trade relations as a big part of the trade transactions is being done through third countries like Germany, Denmark and Poland. Also, based on figures provided by the Lithuanian Ministry of Finance at least 24 Greek businesses have in vested in the country.

Mr. Bakatselos stressed that there is great cooperation potential in the sectors of energy, construction, manufacturing, services, transportation and tourism.

Of the stocks trading today, 291 recorded gains and only 46 had losses, while the value of 36 stocks remained unchanged.

A solution to the issue is expected to be reached before the Summit meeting in Seville, Spain.

Ms. Diamantopoulou stated that in a year from today, the united Europe will include ten more countries and many different policies like those concerning immigration and foreign affairs will acquire a European dimension.

On the issue of the Euro-army, she stated that Europe can be strong in the future only if it is autonomous and independent which means that all EU decisions will be reached through its bodies and through specific procedures.

Referring to the far-right or populist parties, Ms. Diamantopoulou stated that they are political parties that appear in most countries and the messages they send are clear but they do not offer any solutions to the problems. She expressed the belief tha t the rise of the far-right political parties will not create problems for the Greek EU presidency in the first half of 2003 but it can shift interest toward the economic dimension and away from the social one.

Regarding the wages issue, Ms. Diamantopoulou stressed that the income convergence is not an issue that can be solved by a government but it is an issue that concerns a whole generation and it is the result of many successful policies.