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Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2003-02-28
MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY
Thessaloniki, February 28, 2003
SECTIONS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
NEWS HEADLINES
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ILIESCU-KAKLAMANIS: COMMON VISION FOR EUROPE
[02] THE BULGARIAN EU AFFAIRS MINISTER IN ATHENS
[03] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON CYPRUS
[04] MARGINAL GAINS IN THE ASE
[05] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE 17N TRIAL
[06] ILIESCU WAS RECEIVED BY STEPHANOPOULOS AND SIMITIS
[07] MORE THAN HALF A MILLION IMMIGRANTS IN GREECE BY THE END OF 2003
[08] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE AND FRANCE
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[09] PAPANDREOU-POWELL MEETING
NEWS IN DETAILS
[A] NATIONAL NEWS
[01] ILIESCU-KAKLAMANIS: COMMON VISION FOR EUROPE
Romanian President Ion Iliescu and Greek Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis expressed their common vision for Europe.
Mr. Kaklamanis expressed satisfaction for the coincidence of their views over the future of Europe. Mr. Kaklamanis said that it is a Europe that promotes the equality of all peoples and the common effort for a democratic, social and progressive European U
nion that will correspond to the vision of its people for justice, progress, democracy and peace.
Mr. Iliescu underlined the ability with which the Greek EU Presidency handled the crisis in the EU over the likelihood of a military intervention in Iraq and expressed his full support to the results of the informal Summit meeting in Brussels.
He also thanked the Greek Parliament for its support to Romania's course toward the EU and the acceleration of the procedures in the EU during the Greek EU Presidency.
[02] THE BULGARIAN EU AFFAIRS MINISTER IN ATHENS
Bulgaria's EU accession course and the developments in the issue of Iraq were discussed in the meeting of Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Tasos Giannitsis with Bulgarian EU Affairs Minister Meglena Kuneva in Athens yesterday.
Mrs. Kuneva congratulated the Greek EU Presidency on the political courage it displayed in handling the issue of Iraq and particularly on the success of the Summit meeting in Brussels. Both sides agreed that it is very important for the EU to have a singl
e voice on that issue.
They made an assessment of Bulgaria's EU accession course so far and the Bulgarian minister conveyed the appreciation of her government for Greece's continuous support. They also discussed the next steps of this course, that will take place during the Gre
ek EU Presidency, aimed at closing two to four negotiation chapters.
[03] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON CYPRUS
UN secretary general Kofi Annan invited newly elected Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash to sign a statement in The Hague on March 10 committing themselves to hold a referendum, stated Greek government spokesman
Christos Protopapas. However, he clarified that this does not mean that the two sides will have to accept the Annan Plan text.
He reiterated that the Greek side wants a constructive dialogue and the solution of the Cyprus problem, while he pointed out that developments depend on the will and the honest discussion on behalf of Mr. Denktash.
Regarding the stance of Mr. Denktash, the Greek government spokesman stressed that if he refuses to go to The Hague it will be an intransigent stance and such a stance would mean that the Turkish Cypriot leader tries to undermine the prospect for a soluti
on in Cyprus.
As it was made known later on, both Mr. Papadopoulos and Mr. Denktash accepted Mr. Annan's invitation. Mr. Papadopoulos stated that the Greek Cypriot side will examine the Annan plan before adopting a stance and deciding on the referendum, while Mr. Denkt
ash stated that he is opposed to a referendum.
[04] MARGINAL GAINS IN THE ASE
Marginal gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.03% at 1.614,05 points, while the volume of transactions was at 88.6 million euros.
Of the stocks trading today, the majority of 176 recorded gains and 122 had losses, while the value of 82 stocks remained unchanged.
[05] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE 17N TRIAL
The terrorist group "17 November" trial is very important for Greece because it will be a catharsis in the drama of terrorism that plagued the country for years, stressed Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas.
Mr. Protopapas stated that the 17N trial is very important for the Greek society because it proves that terrorism can be combated, while there can be a fair trial in accordance with the laws.
Regarding the coverage of the trial by the mass media, Mr. Protopapas stated that he will be in continuous contact with the Athens Journalists' Association. He said that for the journalists to be facilitated in their work the trial transcripts will be dis
tributed to them through the Athens News Agency, ANA. Also, each journalist covering the trial will receive a 25 euro phone-card for free every month.
He also stated that the use of tape-recorders is not banned by the government and it is up to the court to decide whether it will allow them.
Meanwhile, the Athens Journalists' Association will reach a decision on the stance it will adopt in the "17 November" trial as a result of the issue created regarding the coverage of the trial by the mass media.
The Macedonia-Thrace Journalists' Association in a statement issued today stresses that the measures that will be in effect during the 17N trial will lead to the inadequate information of the Greek people. It also states that the complete publicity of the
trial will not create problems in the way justice is served and in addition it will persuade everybody that it will be a fair trial.
[06] ILIESCU WAS RECEIVED BY STEPHANOPOULOS AND SIMITIS
The Greek-Romanian relations, Romania's course toward the EU accession and the issue of Iraq dominated in the talks Romanian President Ion Iliescu had in Athens today with President Kostis Stephanopoulos and Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.
The Greek state and political leadership expressed its support to the efforts made by Romania toward its EU accession, while the Romanian President praised the Greek EU Presidency for the way it handled the crisis in the EU on the occasion of the likely m
ilitary intervention in Iraq.
[07] MORE THAN HALF A MILLION IMMIGRANTS IN GREECE BY THE END OF 2003
Around the world, a total of 175 million people look for work and better living conditions in another country. Specifically, a total of 16.7 million immigrants live in EU countries, while an estimated 600.000 immigrants will be legal residents of Greece b
y the end of 2003, according to Interior Minister Kostas Skandalidis.
Greece occupies the top place regarding the number of immigrants working in the country, as 73% of the economic refugees living legally in Greece have been integrated into the job market.
The above were pointed out in an international conference on the Economic and Social integration of immigrants organized by the Economic and Social Committee in Athens.
The majority of applications for residence and work permit were submitted by Albanians (64.9%), Bulgarians (6.5%), Romanians (4.5%), Pakistanis (3.17%), Ukrainians (2.6%), Georgians (2.01%), Hindus (1.77%), Egyptians (1.67%) and Filipinos (1.5%).
Also, 51% of the immigrants in Greece live in Athens and Thessaloniki. A 49% of the economic refugees have secondary education, 37% are elementary school graduates and 8.9% have a university degree.
[08] MEETING OF THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OF GREECE AND FRANCE
Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou met with his French counterpart in Paris today.
Mr. Papandreou briefed the French Foreign Minister on the contacts he had in the United States and pointed out that a preparation is underway for a likely armed intervention in Iraq. He said that the US side wants to send the message that it wants the bri
dges of cooperation with Europe to be reopened to deal with major problems at a world level.
On his part, the French Foreign Minister stressed that his country follows Iraq's moves closely. However, he reiterated that France expresses opposition to the issuing of a second UN resolution on the issue. He also pointed out that there are other crises
as well around the world, such as in North Korea, and underlined that we should learn to put those crises under control and find peaceful solutions.
[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS
[09] PAPANDREOU-POWELL MEETING
Greek Foreign Minister and EU Council of Ministers President Giorgos Papandreou met in Washington with US officials and the talks he had were characterized as interesting.
Mr. Papandreou met with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, accompanied by High Representative on EU Foreign Policy issues Javier Solana and European Commissioner Chris Patten, responsible for Foreign Affairs issues. In a joint press conference, Mr. Papan
dreou characterized the talks as constructive and useful. They discussed issues concerning Iraq, North Korea, Cyprus and the Middle East. On the issue of Iraq, Mr. Papandreou stated that the EU and the US have common objectives. Specifically, they have co
mmon goals concerning the total compliance of Saddam Hussein with UN resolution 1441 and Iraq's total disarmament.
Responding to the question if the Greek EU Presidency intends to bridge the differences inside the EU and especially, the difference of Germany and France with the United States in the way the Iraqi challenge should be met, he said that the EU countries a
nd the United States are democratic with open dialogue on such issues.
On the issue of Cyprus, he said that cooperation with UN secretary general Kofi Annan is of high significance for the course of the negotiations. He also added that Cyprus has the opportunity to become a multicultural model where Muslims and Christians, T
urks and Greeks will be able to live together peacefully.
Mr. Papandreou stressed the importance of the trans-Atlantic relations and supported the expansion of the EU-US cooperation in view of the Summit meeting in June.
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