Speaking at a meeting on the Convention for the future of Europe, organized by the Region of Central Macedonia in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry and the Coordination Secretariat of European Oriented NGOs, in Thessaloniki, Mr. Magriotis stressed th at it is our obligation to participate in the discussion for the future of Europe.

He also stressed that the Europe of the "25" should promote the participation of all citizens and cover its democratic deficit.

The deputy Foreign Minister pointed out that problems such as unemployment and illegal immigration can only be dealt with, with policies carried out by the EU and not by member-state governments. As he said, the voices asking for the renationalification of policies that are now EU responsibilities, that they be returned to the governments, are coming from the past.

of the Greek Minister of Defense Giannos Papantoniou yesterday.

Regarding the major issue of Iraq, Mr. Papantoniou avoided defining the content of the discussions at the meeting, as that depends, he said, on the developments in the UN Security Council.

Mr. Papantoniou also appreciated that there is a window of diplomacy in averting a military confrontation with Iraq, which all implicated sides should attempt to take advantage of.

The Minister of Defense also repeated that Greece insists on the procedure of the UN through the Security Council and supports the work of the inspectors, and gave his assurance that Greek troops will not be sent to regions that are at war.

As far as the Greek cruiser patrolling the Persian Gulf is concerned, in the framework of the international campaign against terrorism, Mr. Papantoniou pointed out that the vessel will remain in the region to the degree that it is outside areas that are at war. "If the area is at war we will of course reevaluate the positioning of the cruiser. That is our criterion", he said.

The Minister also pointed out that harbor facilitations provided to allied ships are part of existing military cooperation agreements and it is not an issue of asking for things in exchange, as is the case with Turkey, which was asked to allow the deploy ment of 62,000 troops within its territories.

Mr. Papantoniou also referred to the progress achieved in the framework of the Greek Presidency of the EU, regarding the goals set at Helsinki Summit on the ESDP.

Holding the recently published book with the N17 declarations, Dimitris Koufontinas asked the court President, Michalis Margaritis, to give him the permission to speak, wanting to respond to the comments made by the prosecutor yesterday, on the character

of the organization.

Specifically, prosecutor Ilias Anagnostopoulos, called on an organization declaration to question the political character of N17's actions, stating that they had said they were prepared to strike at American tourists on vacation on the Greek islands.

Dimitris Koufontinas read out the excerpt in question, which mentions that "the opponent of N17 is the criminal genocidal mechanism called the US armed forces". "We will continue to strike at these murderers, whether they are working at bases in our coun try, or if they are here on vacation". "Thus - continued Koufontinas - we were not talking about American tourists coming to Greece. The motives behind our actions have been twisted around".

The above were stated to Athens radio station "Flash" by Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis regarding a British Low Court decision to extend the detention time of 25yerold Greek student Charalambos Dousemetzis, who was arrested based on the new anti-terrorist law in the country.

Mr. Beglitis characterized the arrest of the Greek student as a serious problem which is faced by the Greek government with the appropriate seriousness, without affecting the very good level of the Greek-British relations.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman pointed out that the lack of communication and information that was acknowledged by the British authorities was insulting to the Greek government, a fact that was underlined through the diplomatic route both in Athens and i n London.

He said that the British authorities overreacted by deciding to detain him for a long period of time for his ideological beliefs without a proof that he has actually done anything.

The general index dropped to -1.60% at 1.477,91 points, while the volume of transactions was at 51.6 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, the overwhelming majority of 241 recorded losses and 70 had gains, while the value of 70 stocks remained unchanged.

He expressed satisfaction for the statements of the European Commission spokesman and the responsible EU Commissioner according to which, the government in Nicosia represents, based on International Law, the whole of the island. In May 2004, the whole of

Cyprus will become part of the EU and a protocol in the Enlargement Treaty will clarify that the European standards will not be implemented in the northern part of the island.

The European Union, noted Mr. Protopapas, wants to remind Turkey, in the most categorical way, that its own European course passes through the solution of the political problem in Cyprus. He stated that Greece hopes that in the following period Turkey, u nder the pressure of international community and the EU, will be forced to change its stance and create the necessary conditions for the solution of the Cyprus problem.

He concluded that the Greek government will continue to work systematically toward this direction always in close cooperation with the Cypriot Republic government and President Tassos Papadopoulos.

Mr. Papandreou reiterated the need to set specific targets which Iraq must meet within a certain timeframe, as an alternative to the crisis resolution process. He said efforts were currently under way to bring the different sides within the Security Coun cil closer together as well, and stressed the need for Iraq's full cooperation with the UN weapons inspectors.

Referring to the impasse in the talks on Cyprus held in The Hague, Mr. Papandreou expressed the will of Greece and of the EU to resolve the political problem, stressing that at a time when Turkey is in the process of drawing closer to the EU, there could

be no such problems in the Union.

Attributing the breakdown of talks in The Hague to Turkish domestic problems due to the crisis over Iraq, Mr. Papandreou reiterated that the process for the Cyprus Republic accession into the EU would continue according to schedule.

The assassination of the Prime Minister of Serbia coincides with an important and crucial period for the future of the new State Union of Serbia and Montenegro, especially as far as its European perspective is concerned. The Presidency calls on the polit ical leadership in both Republics to take all the necessary measures so that the democratic principles and stability in the country may prevail in these testing times.

Furthermore, the Presidency expresses the hope that the efforts of Zoran Djindjic to promote reform will be further pursued by all political forces in both Republics for the benefit of the people of Serbia and Montenegro.

The Presidency expects from all competent authorities to fully investigate the case and dispense justice.

The Presidency extends its condolences to Zoran Djindjic's family and the Serb people.

Zoran Djindjic played a decisive role in Serbia's transition to democracy and contributed with determination to the normalisation of political life. He took over the post of the Prime Minister in an extremely difficult period and worked steadily for Serb ia's return to the international community, the modernisation of institutions and the economy, the strengthening of its European orientation, the stability and security in the wider Balkan region, stressed Mr. Papandreou.

Mr. Papandreou stated that Mr. Djindjic was a firm supporter of the further development of bilateral relations between Serbia and Greece. He said that many times, when the two had met, he had the opportunity to see for himself the friendly feelings he ha d toward Greece and the Greek people.

Mr. Papandreou said that friend and neighbour Serbia is left with a great political void as a result of Zoran Djindjic's tragic death, and as the Foreign Minister of Greece he extended his condolences to the Serb people and his family.

He said that the efforts continue for Europe to become more competitive concerning its social policy and in order to achieve this goal special measures must be taken for employment, the implementation and dissemination of new technologies and social cohe sion.

Mr. Hitiris stated that the priorities of the Greek EU Presidency within the framework of the Lisbon strategy are: the support of entrepreneurship and small-medium sized businesses, the promotion of the European economy of knowledge, investments on resea rch to reach 3% of the EU GDP and completion of the unification of the European markets.

Mr. Hitiris referred to the proposal made by Blair, Chirac and Schroeder for the establishment of an institution that will submit proposals on employment issues. He also said that in spite of the fact that the creation of new job positions had some resul ts, lately there was a small increase in unemployment.

Referring to the imminent informal EU Defense Ministers Council meeting that will open in Athens on Friday, he said that it will focus on issues concerning the operational readiness of the rapid reaction European forces.

Mr. Hitiris said that the Greek EU Presidency will continue the dialogue with the Mediterranean countries on issues of defense and security and a seminar will be held in Corfu in May with the participation of Arab states.

Mr. Karamanlis condemned the assassination of the Serb Prime Minister and expressed the hope that it will not have a negative effect on the efforts made for the promotion of democratic reforms in the country.

Mr. Protopapas pointed out that unfortunately the assassination took place in a crucial period for democracy and stability in the country and wished that the reform program launched by Djindjic will continue.

The Greek government extended its condolences to his family and the Serb people.

the possibility mentioned by its Foreign Minister Y. Yakis, that Turkey may be considered to be occupying EU territories illegally.

After a trial that lasted 3.5 years, the European Court ruled that the PKK leader was not tried by an independent court and remanded in custody longer than the allowed 4day period after his arrest in Kenya.

The European Court imposed on Turkey a fine of 100,000 euros and the country can file an appeal by June 12.

For the record, the leader of the Kurdish rebels is serving a life sentence in total isolation at a prison in Imrali island.

Initially, Ocalan was sentenced to death in 1999 for his role in the 16year long Kurdish rebel operations against the Turkish army. Last October, the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Fifty-year-old Djindjic, a reformer who played a big part in the downfall of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, was shot in the chest and back by two snipers who fired their guns from a distance.

Djindjic narrowly escaped injury in another incident last month when a truck suddenly swerved out of its lane toward a convoy of cars -- one of which was carrying the Prime Minister.

Djindjic then suggested the near-miss could have been linked to efforts by his government to stamp out organized crime which flourished during the rule of former President Slobodan Milosevic.

Jailed as a dissident student in the 1970s, frustrated as a popular protest leader in the 1990s, Djindjic rebounded in a lightning street uprising in 2000 to become leader-in-waiting of a new democratic Serbia.

A fitness enthusiast, Djindjic was born in Bosanski Samac, Bosnia in August 1, 1952 and his father was a Yugoslav Army officer.

He was married and had two children.

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