After the end of the discussions he had yesterday with his counterpart Lieutenant General Mohammed Lamari and the Commander of the Air Force Mohammed Benslimani, Mr. Papantoniou stressed that in Algiers he realized the dangers involved in deviating from International Law, while he stressed the importance of the efforts being made by the Greek Presidency of the EU to peacefully resolve the issue through insisting on UN procedures.

He also made it known that the Greek Presidency of the EU will provide information on the negative atmosphere that has already been formed in the Arab world due to the possible attack on Iraq, as well as the dangers such an action would hold, so that all

aspects could be taken under very serious consideration by the members of the UN Security Council, before coming to a decision on the issue.

Another issue that was discussed during Mr. Papantoniou's contacts in Algiers, was that of the European dimension of the European Defense and Security Policy, an issue on which, according to the Minister, there was a positive reaction from the Algerian s ide.

the meeting.

Later this evening, Mr. Medgyessy will attend a dinner held in his honor by the Prime Minister at the Maximos Mansion.

On Thursday morning, the Hungarian Prime Minister will have consecutive meetings with the Head of the Opposition, Kostas Karamanlis, and the President of the Parliament, Apostolos Kaklamanis. He will then be received by the President of the Republic, Kos tis Stefanopoulos, at the Presidential Mansion.

That afternoon, the Hungarian Prime Minister will attend a luncheon with businessmen and in the evening he will depart for Budapest.

In the framework of the Hungarian delegation's visit to Athens, the Hungarian Minister of the Interior, Monica Lambert, will meet with the Greek Minister of Public Order Michalis Chrysochoidis on Thursday afternoon.

European Parliament.

He also added that most European countries would prefer that an attack on Iraq was decided on by the UN.

At the same time he underlined that the coordination of the positions of EU member-states, which are members of the Security Council, on the Iraq issue, will continue.

Mr. Papandreou pointed out that for the time being there is no need to issue a new Security Council resolution prior to the possible attack. As he mentioned, what is important is that the UN inspectors in Iraq are given the necessary time to complete the ir work.

Furthermore, he noted that it would be a mistake to have an EU-US conflict on the Iraq issue. However, commenting on the statements of US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that the German and French position on Iraq was indicative of the "old Europe",

he underlined that Europe is proud of its history.

The Foreign Minister, responding to an EUMP's question, expressed his hope that an agreement between Greece and FYROM on the name issue will be signed soon, since, as he said, many of the requirements have been met. As he mentioned, a year before, the tw o countries had come close to signing an agreement, but did not, due to the conflict that broke out in FYROM.

According to statistical evidence presented recently at an event in Thessaloniki by the Police Commissioner of the Thesprotia Prefecture, Dimitris Papanikolaou, in 2002, 4,100 illegal immigrants were arrested while unsuccessfully attempting to enter Gree ce on sea vessels from the Turkish coast. Also, during the past 5 years, the Greek Coast Guard authorities have located and arrested 25,000 illegal immigrants trying to reach Greece or neighboring Italy, via the sea. Approximately 300 vessels were impound ed (ranging from everything from old barges to plastic and inflatable boats), while 600 traffickers - in their majority Turkish citizens - were arrested for transferring the illegal immigrants on old and unsafe vessels, in exchange for large sums of money

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