Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-11-15

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From: The Macedonian Press Agency at http://www.mpa.gr and http://www.hri.org/MPA.

CONTENTS

[01] NEW GOVT MEASURES FOR THE ISSUING OF GREENCARDS

[02] TIF BEGINS IN TURKEY TOMORROW

[03] PAPANTONIOU & PASCHALIDES IN FYROM

[04] INTER-STATE CONFERENCE ON THE URBAN TECHNOLOGIES NETWORK

[05] REPPAS ON THE GOVERNMENT POLICY

[06] THESSALONIKI IS THE SEAT OF THE CINEMA NETWORK OF SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

[07] SCIENTISTS IN CRETE DISCOVERED A METHOD TO ALTER THE GENETICALLY

[08] THE LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE CONTINUE

[09] A STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT THERE IS NO "MAD COW" DISEASE IN GREECE

[10] ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ: ΠΡΟΣ ΕΠΕΚΤΑΣΗ ΔΙΚΤΥΟΥ ΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑΤΩΝ

[11] GRIGORIS NIOTIS IS UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

[12] ΟΣΕ: ΤΡΟΠΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ ΔΡΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΩΝ ΛΟΓΩ ΕΡΓΩΝ ΣΤΗ ΓΡΑΜΜΗ ΘΕΣ/ΝΙΚΗΣ-ΦΛΩΡΙΝΑΣ-ΚΟΖΑΝΗΣ

[13] OTE WILL PARTICIPATE AGAIN IN THE PROCEDURE FOR THE BUYOUT OF BTK

[14] PAPAZOI: GREECE BACKS THE CZECH REPUBLIC'S ACCESSION INTO THE EU

[15] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS ADDRESSED THE GREEK-CZECH FORUM

[01] NEW GOVT MEASURES FOR THE ISSUING OF GREENCARDS

The Greek government is expected to announce new measures concerning foreigners living in Greece, after the cabinet meeting that will be held tomorrow. Interior minister Vaso Papandreou will present her proposals concerning the issue, which will aim to increase the number of emigrants working and living legally in Greece and to eradicate xenophobia.

The Interior ministry has planned a transitional stage where foreigners will be given a second chance to make their presence in Greece legal and the cabinet will also discuss several measures that should be taken with a view to speeding up the green card process.

It is expected that this transitional stage will allow around 120.000 foreigners already living in Greece to legalise their status.

[02] TIF BEGINS IN TURKEY TOMORROW

Relations between Greek and Turkish enterprises are entering a new, more improved phase, despite the recent events that have affected bilateral relations politically, something which has been made even clearer by the impressive participation of several Greek enterprises in the first Thessaloniki International Fair, to be held in Turkey.

The delegation of 100 Greek companies who will fill the huge space of the Hannover Messe International are due to arrive in Constantinople today, for the exhibition which will start tomorrow and go on until November 19th.

The exhibition has created an arena for cooperation agreements between several Greek and Turkish companies and has encouraged Greek companies to veer their interests and attention towards the Turkish market.

Amongst the Greek companies due to take part in the exhibition, most of which are based in Macedonia and Thrace, is the Greek National Bank, the Industry and Export Association of Northern Greece and the Thessaloniki Port Organisation, as well as Mevgal, Balkan Export, and Akritas.

[03] PAPANTONIOU & PASCHALIDES IN FYROM

Greek Finance minister Yiannos Papantoniou and the minister of Macedonia and Thrace, George Paschalides, met with the president of FYROM, Boris Trajkovski and with the country's Prime Minister Ljupco Georgievski.

The two Greek ministers are touring the Balkans with the aim of promoting the Greek proposals concerning the regrouping of the Balkans.

It was also announced earlier that Greece will give aid worth 85 million dollars to FYROM.

[04] INTER-STATE CONFERENCE ON THE URBAN TECHNOLOGIES NETWORK

The 3rd Inter-state Conference on the Urban Technologies Network, UTN, will open in Thessaloniki tomorrow and will last until November 18 within the framework of the Interreg II program. The last day of the conference will be held in the city of Xanthi in north-eastern Greece.

The Interreg program, part of which is materialized by the municipality of Thessaloniki, concerns the inter-state cooperation between the municipalities of Vienna, Venice, Thessaloniki and Xanthi, while the conference will be attended by representatives from Turkey, Yugoslavia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Austria, Poland, Romania, Albania and FYROM.

[05] REPPAS ON THE GOVERNMENT POLICY

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas expressed reservations on whether minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos had stated in a foreign affairs and defense committee meeting that the dialogue with Turkey will not give fruit now as it did not give fruit with Papandreou and Mitsotakis and also that Cyprus' accession into the EU is the product of a transaction.

Mr. Reppas stated that the policy followed on national issues has been decided by the responsible bodies and it is a policy of principles and not the product of transactions.

He also said that in Helsinki it was decided that Cyprus' accession into the EU will not depend on the solution of the Cyprus problem and that Turkey's accession will be determined by its stance on the Cyprus problem.

[06] THESSALONIKI IS THE SEAT OF THE CINEMA NETWORK OF SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE

Thessaloniki will be the seat of the Cinema Network of south eastern Europe, according to a decision that was reached in the 2nd meeting of the Film Institutions of south eastern Europe that was completed today.

As it was announced in a press conference today, Thessaloniki was chosen to be the seat of the network and the Greek ministry of culture will cover the operational expenses of a permanent secretariat.

A temporary executive committee was elected made up of Greek Cinema Center international relations special adviser Mr. Kostas Vrettakos, Bulgarian Cinema Center head of international relations Ms. Gerganan Dakovska and Yugoslavia's Film Institute general director Mr. Miroljub Vuskovic. The committee will undertake to draw up the founding charter of the network which has to be harmonized with the legislation and the demands of international organizations, while it will also be responsible for the preparations of the next meeting that will be held in Sofia in early 2001.

[07] SCIENTISTS IN CRETE DISCOVERED A METHOD TO ALTER THE GENETICALLY INHERITED HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS

A method that allows the altering of genetically inherited human characteristics involving the transfer of genes was discovered by scientists from Crete in southern Greece, according to the Athens newspaper "Eleftherotypia".

This method can contribute to the revelation of the special function of each gene which is regarded as the biggest challenge after the decoding of the human genome, while it is believed that later it will also help significantly to the treatment of many diseases.

It is one of the most important scientific discoveries worldwide and it affects different levels of human activity. The method was discovered recently by the scientific team headed by University of Crete Medical School professor Charalambos Savakis at the Technology and Research Foundation Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Institute laboratories.

[08] THE LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE CONTINUE

Significant losses of 1.71% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today and the general index dropped to 3.472,41 points, while the volume of transactions was small at 47.7 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today 234 had losses, 107 had gains and 40 remained unchanged.

[09] A STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT THERE IS NO "MAD COW" DISEASE IN GREECE

There are no cases of "mad cow" disease in Greece, according to a study that was launched on February this year at the order of the ministry of agriculture, according to Veterinary Agency director in Thessaloniki's prefecture Mr. Menelaos Patikas, who stressed that people can consume domestic meat without any fear.

Mr. Patikas stated there is no cause for concern in Greece because the use of animal proteins has been banned for years.

Former president of the Association of Public Sector Vets, Mr. Tsolis stated that there is no indication and no suspicion that the Greek cattle have "mad cow" disease, underlining that even before 1994 animal proteins were not used in Greece. As far as, France is concerned, stated Mr. Tsolis, the situation there is out of control and it appears that they fed cattle with animal proteins

3-4 years ago.

[10] ΗΛΕΚΤΡΟΝΙΚΗ ΑΘΗΝΩΝ: ΠΡΟΣ ΕΠΕΚΤΑΣΗ ΔΙΚΤΥΟΥ ΚΑΤΑΣΤΗΜΑΤΩΝ

Την διεύρυνση της αλυσίδας ηλεκτρικών και ηλεκτρονικών ειδών, με τη δημιουργία τριών νέων καταστημάτων, δρομολογεί εντός του προσεχούς τριμήνου η εισηγμένη εταιρία Ηλεκτρονική Αθηνών Α.Ε.Ε.

Ειδικότερα, η εταιρία σχεδιάζει να δημιουργήσει τα δυο από τα τρία νέα καταστήματα στη Βόρεια Ελλάδα, εκ των οποίων το ένα στη Θεσσαλονίκη, ενώ το τρίτο θα λειτουργήσει στο Αιγάλεω.

Μάλιστα σύμφωνα με όσα δήλωσε στο Μακεδονικό Πρακτορείο Ειδήσεων ο Γενικός Διευθυντής της εταιρίας, Νίκος Αλιμπράντης, το ύψος της εν λόγω επένδυσης ανέρχεται σε 450 εκ. δραχμές, ενώ για τη χρηματοδότηση της θα χρησιμοποιηθούν τα κεφάλαια που αντλήθηκαν από το ΧΑΑ.

Υπενθυμίζεται ότι η Ηλεκτρονική Αθηνών Α.Ε.Ε αριθμεί ήδη 20 καταστήματα, εκ των οποίων 18 στην Αττική και από ένα στη συμπρωτεύουσα και στην Πάτρα.

Ακόμη, στα μεσοπρόθεσμα σχέδια της εταιρίας, περιλαμβάνεται και η δραστηριοποίησή της στην περιοχή των Βαλκανίων και της Ευρώπης, ωστόσο το συγκεκριμένο εγχείρημα βρίσκεται ακόμη στο στάδιο της έρευνας.

Επιπλέον, αξίζει να σημειωθεί ότι η Γενική Συνέλευση των μετόχων της εταιρίας πρόσφατα αποφάσισε την αύξηση του μετοχικού κεφαλαίου της, με τη διανομή δωρεάν μετοχών σε αναλογία 15 νέες για κάθε 10 παλαιές, ενώ ταυτόχρονα ενέκρινε τη διανομή μερίσματος ύψους 70 δρχ./μετοχή για τη χρήση 1999-2000.

Σε ό, τι αφορά, τέλος, τα οικονομικά μεγέθη της εταιρίας, οι πωλήσεις για το πρώτο τρίμηνο της χρήσης που κλείνει στις 30/6/2001 ανήλθαν σε 6 δισ. δραχμές, έναντι 3,99 δισ. δραχμές το αντίστοιχο διάστημα της προηγούμενης χρήσης, σημειώνοντας αύξηση της τάξης του 50,4%.

Στ. Τ.

[11] GRIGORIS NIOTIS IS UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Grigoris Niotis became undersecretary of foreign affairs after the resignation of Angeliki Laiou, according to a statement issued by Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, who stated that Ms. Laiou has sent a letter of resignation to the prime minister in which she is adducing personal reasons for her decision.

Mr. Niotis had served as a undersecretary of foreign affairs in the past. He is 51 years old, is elected in parliament since 1989 and he is the chairman of the parliamentary committee on the Greeks living abroad.

[12] ΟΣΕ: ΤΡΟΠΟΠΟΙΗΣΗ ΔΡΟΜΟΛΟΓΙΩΝ ΛΟΓΩ ΕΡΓΩΝ ΣΤΗ ΓΡΑΜΜΗ ΘΕΣ/ΝΙΚΗΣ-ΦΛΩΡΙΝΑΣ-ΚΟΖΑΝΗΣ

Τροποποίηση των δρομολογίων όλων των επιβατικών αμαξοστοιχιών θα πραγματοπιηθεί από αύριο και για τις επόμενες 35 ημέρες λόγω των εργασιών ανακαίνισης στο δίκτυο της σιδηροδρομικής γραμμής Θεσσαλονίκης -Φλώρινας-Κοζάνης και συγκεκριμένα στο τμήμα μεταξύ Πλατέος-Σκύδρας.

Μάλιστα, όπου οι περιστάσεις το απαιτούν θα γίνεται και αναμεταβίβαση των επιβατών σε λεωφορεία του οργανισμού.

Σύμφωνα με τον ΟΣΕ τα παραπάνω έργα εκσυγχρονισμού της γραμμής Θεσσαλονίκης-Φλώρινας-Κοζάνης θα έχουν ως αποτέλεσμα την αναβάθμιση της ποιότητας και της ασφάλειας του ταξιδιού με τρένο.

[13] OTE WILL PARTICIPATE AGAIN IN THE PROCEDURE FOR THE BUYOUT OF BTK

The Greek Telecommunications Organization, OTE, is likely to be one of the candidate companies for the buyout of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Organization, BTK, in the new bid that will take place on December 15, according to Bulgarian government vice-president Petar Zotev after the meeting he had with Greek minister of national economy Yiannos Papantoniou in Sofia.

OTE is still interested in the bid for a permit allowing the establishment of a second mobile phone network (GSM) in Bulgaria, stated Mr. Zotev.

According to Bulgarian analysts, OTE is likely to participate in the tender in cooperation with Cosmote.

[14] PAPAZOI: GREECE BACKS THE CZECH REPUBLIC'S ACCESSION INTO THE EU

Greek deputy foreign minister Elisavet Papazoi stated to reporters, covering the visit of Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos to the Czech Republic, that Greece backs the country's accession into the European Union and believes that it is a country that contributes to the region's stability and development. She also added that the European integration will not happen without the participation of countries like the Czech Republic and others among them, of course, Cyprus.

Among the issues that dominated in the talks during the first formal visit by a Greek president to Prague was the Czech Republic's EU accession course. The European Commission report for the year 2000 was positive for the country's course which meets in principal the political criteria for its accession, while it will also have to meet the criteria concerning the implementation of reforms in the sectors of public administration and justice.

On the economic sector, the Czech Republic is a functioning market economy, according to the European Commission, but changes still have to be made on issues of privatization, in the banking sector and elsewhere.

[15] PRESIDENT STEPHANOPOULOS ADDRESSED THE GREEK-CZECH FORUM

Greek president Kostis Stephanopoulos, who is on a formal visit to the Czech Republic, addressed the Greek-Czech business forum in Prague and stressed that all the necessary preconditions exist for the close cooperation of the Greek and Czech businessmen in the trade sector.

Mr. Stephanopoulos stated that the countries prosper when the trade relations are strengthened. He also stated that the EU enlargement with Cyprus, Malta, the Czech Republic and the other countries will take place in 2003, while speaking about Greece's economic development stated that the economic activities in Greece are very intense.

Also, the president stressed that political stability and the establishment of the single currency in Europe will facilitate transactions greatly, adding that another facilitating factor is the interest rates cuts.

He said that the Czech Republic is almost ready to enter the EU, while the economic activities in Greece are on the increase and the Greek businessmen are active both in the Balkan region, the Black Sea and Russia.

Undersecretary of national economy Yiannis Zafiropoulos speaking in the Greek-Czech forum expressed the belief that there will be joint business actions. He also said that the agreement for economic and technological cooperation is at the stage of ratification in the Greek parliament, while the potential for the improvement of the cooperation framework in the sectors of tourism and road transportation is being examined.

Meanwhile, minister of agriculture Giorgos Anomeritis, who is accompanying president Stephanopoulos, will meet with his Czech counterpart and both men are expected to sign the first Greek-Czech agreement for economic, scientific and technical cooperation in the sector of agriculture.

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