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Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English, 99-03-18Macedonian 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 18, 1999TITLES
NEWS IN DETAIL[01] PASOK PARTY'S FIFTH CONGRESS BEGINS TODAYAthens, March 18 (MPA)The ruling PASOK party is to hold its fifth Congress in Athens today, with the session to be opened by the secretary of the party's central committee Kostas Skandalides. Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, who is also the party's president, will deliver the opening address.The four-day congress, which will feature the participation of 5,802 members, will culminate on Sunday with the election of the president and the new central committee. The new body will have 180 members, as opposed to the 150 of the previous one, while the executive bureau will comprise 11 members. A.F. [02] FOREIGN DELEGATIONS IN GREECE TO ATTEND PASOK CONGRESSAthens, March 18 (MPA)Thirty seven foreign delegations are presently in Athens in order to attend the Greek ruling PASOK party's fifth congress which begins today, while many members of the foreign press have also flocked to the Olympic Stadium where the four-day session will be held.Out of the 5,802 PASOK party delegates, 35.94 per cent are between the ages of 45 to 55; 31.26 per cent between 35 to 45; 13 per cent between 55 to 65; 12.4 per cent between 25 to 35 and 5.6 per cent under 25 years of age. Fifty-five per cent of the delegates are wage-earners or self-employed, while 37 per cent earn are employed in the public sector, either as civil servants or as employees of state-owned enterprises. A.F. [03] LATVIAN PRESIDENT IN GREECE, SIGNS COOPERATION AGREEMENTSAthens, March 18 (MPA)Latvian President Guntis Ulmanis was received by the President of the Hellenic Republic Kostis Stephanopoulos in Athens yesterday, during his officials visit to Greece.The Latvian President also met with the Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, as well as with Parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis and opposition party leaders. Latvian Defense Minister G. Kristovskis and his Greek counterpart Akis Tsochatzopoulos signed a defense cooperation agreement, while Latvian interior undersecretary R. Blukis and Greece's alternate Foreign Minister Yiannos Kranidiotis signed an agreement abolishing visa requirements between the two countries, an educational affairs agreement, an accord on the return of illegal aliens, and an economic and technological cooperation accord. The Latvian President will travel to Thessaloniki tomorrow and will visit the all-male monastic community of Mt. Athos by helicopter on the same day. Later tomorrow, he will meet with Thessaloniki Mayor Vassilis Papageorgopoulos, while Macedonia-Thrace Minister Yiannis Magriotis will host a dinner in his honor later in the evening. A.F. [04] GREEK PREMIER SIMITIS MEETS WITH LATVIAN PRESIDENT ULMANISAthens, March 18 (MPA)Prime Minister Kostas Simitis received the President of Latvia Guntis Ulmanis in Athens yesterday, with whom he held talks on bilateral relations and Latvia's efforts to accede to the European Union.Following the talks, Mr. Simitis stated that Greece supports Latvia's plans to become a member of the EU, saying it would help stability and cooperation.. "Latvia is making strenuous efforts to meet the criteria for participation in the European Union," Mr. Simitis stated, adding that Greek businesses are active in Latvia and that the volume of trade between the two countries was expanding to the benefit of both. In turn, Mr. Ulmanis stated that "Greece is an important neighbor for Latvia," adding that he is optimistic about the future of bilateral relations. A.F. [05] NAME TALKS BETWEEN GREECE AND FYROM HELD IN NEW YORKNew York, March 18 (MPA)Talks were held in New York yesterday between Greece and FYROM over the name dispute pending between the two countries, which were mediated by Cyrus Vance, personal envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General.Taking part in the meeting was the Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations, Ambassador Christos Zacharakis, and FYROM's Ambassador Ivan Tosevski. According to a UN spokesperson, the parties exchanged views in the context of article 5 of 1995's Interim Accord. A.F. [06] ADVERSE WEATHER STRIKES ALL OF GREECEThessaloniki, March 18 (MPA)A wave of adverse weather has stricken all of Greece during this last week of winter, with temperatures having plummeted to single-digit in many regions and gusty winds prevailing in the Aegean..Snow fall continues in Western Macedonia where transportation in provincial roads can be conducted with anti-skid chains. Many villages have become isolated due to the dense snow. A.F. [07] FRENCH FM: TURKEY HAS NO RIGHT TO VETO CYPRUS'S ACCESSIONNicosia, March 18 (MPA)French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine relayed his government's stance that neither the Turkish Cypriots nor Turkey have the right to veto the Republic's accession to the European Union.According to the Cyprus News Agency, Mr. Vedrine said his country believes the Republic's accession should contribute to its reunification. "France supports Turkish Cypriot participation in the accession negotiations, in a single delegation," Vedrine added. The French Foreign Minister also said negotiations between Cyprus and the EU should in no way foster the partition of the island. "With the start of accession negotiations in November, it emerged that the continuing division of the island was posing problems to the implementation of the acquis communautaire, particularly regarding foreign and common security policy," the French FM said. However, he pointed out that "this does not imply that either the Turkish Cypriot community or Turkey will have the right to veto Cyprus' accession as the decision regarding a country's accession to the EU lies with the member-states themselves." A.F. [08] PRINCE AND PRINCESS OF JAPAN ARRIVE IN GREECE TODAYAthens, March 18 (MPA)Prince and Princess Hitachi of Japan are to embark on an official visit to Greece today, at the invitation of the Greek government, the first ever Japanese imperial visit to the country.Arriving in Athens today, Prince Masahito Hitachi and his wife Hanako will attend a number of cultural events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1899 Greek-Japanese friendship and trade agreement. They will meet with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis on Sunday and will also visit Thessaloniki. A.F. [09] TURKISH PARLIAMENT DEBATES POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTIONSAnkara, March 18 (MPA)The Turkish Parliament is to debate the opposition's proposal to postpone the elections scheduled for April, a move that has been interpreted by analysts as aiming at toppling Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's government.Meanwhile, Turkish police are presently conducting investigations into the recent wave of bomb attacks. So far, nine persons have been arrested in western Turkey. A.F. [10] ATHENS SIGNS OLYMPICS COOPERATION PROTOCOL WITH SYDNEYAthens, March 18 (MPA)Greece's Sports Undersecretary Andreas Fouras has signed a protocol of cooperation with the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games organizing committeeThe agreement, which falls under the aegis of the International Olympic Committee, provides for training and education of sports officials from Greece in issues related to Olympic Games organization and management. Sydney's University of Technology (UTS) is also a participant in the agreement, which was drawn after talks between UTS professor Paul Johnson, who is of Greek origin, and professor Gargaliano of the University of Thrace. A.F. [11] IOC PRESIDENT SAMARANCH RECEIVES OVERWHELMING VOTELausanne, March 18 (MPA)The International Olympic Committee's (IOC) executive board has granted an overwhelming vote of confidence to IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, on the aftermath of the bribery scandal, thereby allowing him the finish his term, which expires in the year 2001.Mr. Samaranch said the IOC general assembly must immediately embark on a reform process. A.F. [12] ITALY SUPPORTS PRODI AS EUROPEAN COMMISSION'S NEW CHIEFRome. March 18 (MPA)Italian Premier Massimo D'Alema has stated that Rome supports the candidacy of former Prime Mister Romano Prodi as president of the European Commission.According to the French news agency AFP, Mr. D'Alema met with German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and stated afterwards that Mr. Prodi is a respectable person and his candidacy is a reasonable objective. Mr. Schroeder, for his part, stressed that a successor should be appointed quickly and dismissed speculation regarding the candidacies of former chancellor Helmut Kohl and former finance minister Oscar Lafontaine. A.F. [13] GREEK-DUTCH CONSORTIUM MOST LIKELY BUYER OF BULGARIA'S BTCThessaloniki, March 18 (MPA)The most likely bidder for the purchase of 51% of Bulgaria's BTC is expected to be the Greek-Dutch telecommunications consortium OTE-KNP which is to submit its offer today.The race to become majority holder in Bulgaria's telecommunications organizations is not expected to be without a fight, as both Germany's Deutsche Telecom and Spain's Telefonika, have renewed their interest. A.F. [14] ALMOST A FOURTH OF GREEKS LIVE BELOW POVERTY LEVELThessaloniki, March 18 (MPA)Twenty-four percent of Greeks live below the poverty level, rendering the country second in the European Union's relevant list, led by Portugal whose percentage stands at 29.According to a study conducted by the French Institute of Statistics, the percentage of those living below the poverty level in France, Belgium and Germany does not surpass 9-13%. Nevertheless, Greece, Spain and Ireland show the least degree of social isolation among the poor and unemployed, whereas the northern Europeans subsisting on meager incomes are more likely to be subject to society's "cold shoulder". A.F. [15] KOSOVO: PEACEKEEPING TALKS AT A DEADLOCKParis, March 18 (MPA)The peacekeeping talks presently held in Paris over the strife-torn Kosovo region are apparently leading to nowhere, as, reportedly, the Serb side will not budge from its stance in spite of the mounting pressures.France's Foreign Minister and his British counterpart, Hubert Vedrin and Robin Cook respectively, are to assess the situation this evening prior to deciding whether or not the talks should continue. While the United States mediators believe that the talks have failed, the Russian envoy Boris Majorski stressed that the talks should continue. "As long as there is time and as long as there is a glimpse of hope for an agreement, our efforts should continue," he said. A.F. Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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