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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-03-12Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.BRIEF GREEK NEWS BULLETIN BY THE MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCYThessaloniki, March 12, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] GREECE RESPECTS THE MINORITIESAthens 12 March (MPA)Greek undersecretary of foreign affairs Yiannos Kranidiotis speaking in Parliament stressed that Greece respects its international obligations toward the minorities, while he pointed out that Greece is not afraid of “isolated” and marginal views such as those expressed by European Center for Minority Issues, ECMI, director professor Stefan Trembst.The statement was made in response to a question by a ND Parliament deputy, who mentioned that the ECMI is being financed by the European Commission, Germany and Denmark and works for the creation of an Albanian issue in Greece and supports the autonomous rule of Thrace in north-eastern Greece. Undersecretary of foreign affairs Mr. Kranidiotis stressed that the Greek embassy in Bonn has protested against the stance of professor Trembst, pointing out that the above mentioned positions are personal views of the professor and are not included in the work of the ECMI. Finally, Mr. Kranidiotis underlined that Greece is not involved in the funding of the Center clarifying that this is done directly by the European Commission through the INTERREG II program. [02] THE LABOR MINISTER ANNOUNCED MERGERS OF SOCIAL SECURITY FUNDSKavala 12 March (MPA)The Greek minister of labor announced radical reforms and mergers of social security funds in the 29th conference of the Greek General Confederation of Labor that opened in the city of Kavala today.Mr. Papaioannou stressed that Greece sooner or later will have to adopt the 35-hour work-week, a necessity that is gradually recognized by most EU members. The Greek minister of labor also maintained that the government policy had as a result the creation of 70.000 new job positions. [03] KOSTAS KARAMANLIS UNDERWENT SURGERYAthens 12 March (MPA)New Democracy leader Kostas Karamanlis underwent a successful operation to treat the injury he suffered in his right leg during a football match between Parliament deputies in Athens yesterday.Mr. Karamanlis suffered a rupture of the tendon in his leg and Mr. Bitounis, the surgeon who operated on him, stated that after the operation Mr. Karamanlis was in good spirits and that his leg was put in a cast, adding that he is expected to be released from hospital on Saturday or Sunday. [04] THE PRIME MINISTER OF HUNGARY WILL BE IN ATHENS NEXT WEEKAthens 12 March (MPA)Prime minister of Hungary Gjula Horn will be in Athens next Wednesday for talks with his Greek counterpart Kostas Simitis and the Greek political party leaders.The talks of the two prime ministers will focus on the further development of bilateral relations as well as, on Hungary’s accession course into the European Union and NATO. [05] THE BLACK SEA BANK WILL HAVE TWO VICE-PRESIDENTSThessaloniki 12 March (MPA)The Black Sea Bank will have two vice-presidents and will be in full operation by the end of the year or in early 1999.The proposal to have two vice-presidents and a general secretary, that was made by vice-president of the National Bank of Greece and representative of Greece in the Black Sea Bank Council of Governors Mr. Nikolaos Karamouzis, was accepted in spite of the initial objections raised by Turkey. Based on the final text of the agreement, the term of the two vice-presidents from Russia and Bulgaria and the general secretary from Greece will last three years, while a rotating system will be implemented to avoid the likelihood of conflict with other members of the council. [06] THE EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OPENED IN LONDONLondon 12 March (MPA)The European Conference of the EU state leaders and the leaders of the 11 candidate states for EU membership opened in London today without the participation of Turkey.In the conference, besides the issue of the EU expansion, will also be discussed the fight against illegal drug-trafficking and organized crime, the cooperation for the protection of the environment and the problem of Kosovo. Turkey refused to participate in the conference after the rejection of its bid for EU membership in the first and second round of the EU expansion, in the Luxembourg Summit meeting last December. Cypriot president Glafkos Clerides will present today his government’s proposal for the participation of the Turkish Cypriots in the EU accession negotiations. Meanwhile, Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis, when asked if he will accept Turkish foreign minister Ishmael Cem’s invitation for dialogue, responded that the proposal will be examined, but he added that it is just another proposal aimed at creating impressions. Mr. Simitis said that Greece expects from Turkey concrete proposals and not a war of impressions, while he reiterated that the political negotiation sought after by Turkey has no meaning and once again he backed the step-by-step approach. Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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