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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 98-12-07Macedonian 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, December 7, 1998TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] PM SIMITIS MEETS WITH GERMAN CHANCELLOR SCHROEDER TODAYBonn, December 7 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, presently in Germany, will be received by Germany's new Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, part of the latter's meetings with EU leaders.Talks between Mgrs. Schroeder and Simitis will focus on the preparation, issues and the timetable of the German EU presidency as of January 1, and will include the matter of WWII reparations by Germany to Greece. Following his meeting with Mr. Schroeder, Mr. Simitis' program includes private talks with SPD President and German Finance Minister Oskar Lafontaine. The Premier met with German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Friday. A.F. [02] PRESS MINISTER REPPAS IN CYPRUS TODAY, TO MEET WITH CLERIDESNicosia, December 7 (MPA)Greece's Minister of Press and Media and government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas is to be received by the President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides today.Upon his arrival at the island yesterday evening, Mr. Reppas stated that nothing has changed on the S-300 missiles issue. He pointed out that "there is some concern which is necessary for the realignment of the strategy so that the race with Turkey become the political arena." A.F. [03] COUNCIL OF MONETARY POLICY FOR INTEREST RATES TO CONVENEAthens, December 7 (MPA)The Council of Monetary Policy is to convene tomorrow in order to map out its course.According to reports, the Bank of Greece is to reduce interest rates as of Wednesday by half a percentage point, a move expected to be followed by commercial banks. A.F. [04] UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS PROTEST EDUCATION REFORMAthens, December 7 (MPA)Reactions to academic reforms proposed by the Education Ministry continue to mount as technical college professors and students have joined high-schoolers in rallying against the changes.The archaeological site of Acropolis was taken over by students today, while professors are preparing a 24-hour strike on Wednesday. A.F. [05] G. PAPANDREOU AT EU COUNCIL OF FOREIGN MINISTERSBrussels, December 7 (MPA)Greece's alternate Foreign Minster George Papandreou participated at the European Union's Council of Foreign Ministers meeting, held in Brussels yesterday.The participants discussed the "Agenda 2000" and the EU's imminent enlargement, albeit they failed to reach specific conclusions as Greece, Spain and Portugal refused to accept any move to stabilize EU expenditures over the span of the next five years. Concerning the Cohesion Fund, Mr. Papandreou stated that Greece rejects any idea of abolishing the possibility of funding in the event that a country enters the euro zone. A.F. [06] SAE TO ESTABLISH CLINICS IN SIX EX-SOVIET REPUBLICSThessaloniki, December 7 (MPA)The Council of Greeks Abroad (SAE) has announced its intention to establish 21 medical clinics which will provide free health services in six republics of the former Soviet Union. The clinics would provide services to large ethnic Greek communities in Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and would also be open to the local population.The establishment of the clinics falls under the aegis of SAE, headed by Andrew Athens. Three different types of clinics are planned: 11 small clinics that can deal with up to 25 people a day; six medium-sized clinics de signed for up to 125 visits a day; and four full-scale larger clinics which will also be able to provide medical specialists. Greece's Foreign Ministry officials have stated that this action supplements and does not compete with whatever is happening in these countries, as it connects two policies: that of the foreign ministry's development aid and the General Secretariat for Overseas Greeks. The program would be conducted with the close cooperation of the U.S. State Department, USAID, the World Bank, UN agencies such as UNDP and UNICEF as well as a number of private institutions and multinational groups. A.F. [07] FARMERS TO HOLD PROTEST RALLY TOMORROWThessaloniki, December 7 (MPA)Thousands of organized farmers (Panthessaly Association of Farmers) from central and northern Greece are to hold a protest rally in Larissa, central Greece tomorrow, in order to underline their opposition to the government's agricultural policy and press their demands.The protests are to mount after the holidays when they threaten to blockade the national highways. The farmers are demanding a higher production ceiling for cotton crops and government intervention in Brussels to prevent what they claim will be a 30 per cent reduction in crop prices this year if the European Union does not alter its regulations. The Minster of Agriculture George Anomeritis visited Larissa yesterday but refused to meet with the members of the farmers' association organizing committee. A.F. [08] COUNCIL OF GREEKS ABROAD PRESIDENT COMMENTS ON CYPRUS ISSUEIssue, December 7 (MPA)The President of the Council of Greeks Abroad Andrew Athens, who was received by the president of the Cypriot parliament Spyros Kyprianou, expressed his disappointment regarding the lack of progress noted in the Cyprus issue.Mr. Athens said that in order to achieve progress on the deadlocked issue, the US President Bill Clinton will have to exert pressure and also pointed out the need to take action while Clinton is in office. Regarding the S-300 missiles purchased by Cyprus from Russia, Mr. Athens reiterated the view held by Greeks abroad that "Cyprus has the right to care for its defense" and assured that the Cyprus issue constitutes a priority matter for Greeks living abroad. A.F. [09] ECONOMY MINISTER FORECASTS CONTROLLED DECLINE IN INTEREST RATESAthens, December 7 (MPA)The Minister of National Economy and Finance Yiannos Papantoniou, opening the annual conference of the Hellenic- American Chamber of Commerce today, announced that the state and the Bank of Greece have agreed on a controlled de-escalation of interest rates, a process to be accelerated in the second half of 1999.Moreover, the Minster forecast an inflation rate of two percent during the second half of 1999 and also stated that the privatization process of the Ionian Bank and the Duty Free Shops will proceed during the first quarter of 1999. "The present economic conditions are the best of the past 25 years," Mr. Papantoniou said, adding that there is room for improvement, while there are also vast and long-term opportunities and benefits. "The stability of the economic and political horizon, the accession to the European economy, the move towards the Balkans and the Mediterranean, compose a new, unprecedented scene," he emphasized. Sponsors of the conference are the National Bank of Greece, National Investment Bank for Industrial Development, Commercial Bank of Greece, Sigma Securities and Agricultural Bank of Greece Mutual Funds. A.F. [10] MEXICO HONORS NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS WITH EVENTS AND SEMINARSMexico City, December 7 (MPA)Geneva's Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis organized a series of events in the great Greek writer's honor at Mexico City, held for the first time at the Mexican capital.Participants analyzed the works of Kazantzakis, particularly the notion of freedom through his (perhaps most famous) work "Zorbas". The International Society of Friends of Nikos Kazantzakis has founded a chapter in Mexico and will organize a symposium next year titled "Kazantzakis, Europe and Latin America." A.F. [11] GREEK AND SERB VOLLEYBALL FEDERATIONS ENJOY EXEMPLARY COOPERATIONBelgrade, December 7 (MPA)The president of Yugoslavia's Volleyball Federation Alexandar Boricic has stressed that his team enjoys excellent rapport with Greece's and Russia's volleyball federations.In order to drive the point home, Mr. Boricic reminded that in 1995, Yugoslavia would have been banned from participation in international events if Greece's Mr. Mastrandreas wasn't the president of the European Volleyball federation. Finally, Mr. Boricic said that during a match in Japan the leader of the Greek team congratulated Yugoslavia's national team, a gesture of grave importance, he said, as it was unprecedented. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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