Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-05-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] COOPERATION BETWEEN GREEK AND EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES AT PRE-GRADUATE

[02] STRIKES CONTINUE IN THE GREEK HEALTH SECTOR

[03] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE ECONOMY

[04] 90% OF THE GREEK CHILDREN LEARN ENGLISH

[05] TSOCHATZOPOULOS MET WITH THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA

[06] 107 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THE ISLAND OF LEROS

[07] TURKISH BUSINESS MISSIONS IN THESSALONIKI

[08] FRENCH UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN TRADE WILL VISIT ATHENS

[09] 2001 WILL BE A GOLDEN YEAR FOR TOURISM IN GREECE

[01] COOPERATION BETWEEN GREEK AND EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES AT PRE-GRADUATE LEVEL

The prospect of cooperation between the Greek universities and Technological Institutes and similar European institutes at a pre-graduate level through a bilingual study program is the main issue in the two-day conference that is being held in Prague with the participation of education ministers from 29 European states.

The students will be able to study in two countries, while their diploma will be recognized worldwide besides the two cooperating countries.

The two-day conference is a follow-up of the 1999 Bologna Declaration and its goal is the unification of the European higher education systems.

[02] STRIKES CONTINUE IN THE GREEK HEALTH SECTOR

The doctors in Social Security hospitals in Greece will be on strike on Monday protesting against the downgrading of hospital care, while doctors in Tzanio Hospital in Athens will also be on strike demanding to receive overtime that has not been paid to them for the past three months.

Meanwhile, the Greek Federation of Hospital Personnel decided to hold two-hour work stoppages in public hospitals on June 5-8 demanding the hiring of more personnel and wage increases.

Also, six-hour work stoppages will be held by hospital personnel in Athens and Thessaloniki on June 13.

[03] INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE ECONOMY

The three-day international conference on the economy and computer science will open formally in Athens this evening and will last until May 21.

The international conference "Athens 2001 meeting toward a new economy" is organized jointly by the Athens Polytechnic and the Association of Computer Companies in Greece.

The conference will open in the presence of the presidents of Latvia and Montenegro, while also present will be former French prime minister Mr. Barre. The opening speech will be delivered by Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis.

The conference will deal with education and research, economic strategies in view of the new economy, telecommunications, new technology and the Internet. Also, will be discussed issues concerning the supervision of the banking system, stability in the Euro-zone money markets and the use of new technologies in public agencies.

[04] 90% OF THE GREEK CHILDREN LEARN ENGLISH

The Greek children start foreign language lessons at the age of 9 on the average and about 90% of them learn English. Second most popular foreign language is French (81%) followed by the German language (12%).

The figures come from a research conducted by the European Statistics Agency, Eurostat, in the school year of 1998-1999.

In all the EU states, except from Ireland, learning a foreign language is mandatory for school children.

[05] TSOCHATZOPOULOS MET WITH THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA

Patriarch Petros of Alexandria, who is on a visit to Athens, met with minister of defense Akis Tsochatzopoulos and praised his work and that of the Greek armed forces in the promotion of national interests.

The Patriarch decorated the Greek defense minister with the Grand Cross of Apostle Mark for the contribution of the Greek armed forces to the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt.

[06] 107 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THE ISLAND OF LEROS

The 107 illegal immigrants, 101 men, 2 women and 4 children of different nationalities, located at dawn today in a sailing boat southwest of the island of Agathonisi, found temporary shelter in a football field in the Aegean island of Leros.

Andreas Stogianos, the captain of the boat "Pioneer Shipping", was arrested by the Greek Coast Guard.

[07] TURKISH BUSINESS MISSIONS IN THESSALONIKI

A business delegation from the region of Ismir, Turkey will visit Thessaloniki on May 24-25. The delegation will be made up of 25 Turkish businessmen representing the sectors of clothing and textiles.

The coordination and organizing of the Greek-Turkish business meetings has been undertaken by the Knitwear Business Association in northern Greece. The Turks are interested in textile, ready-to-wear and knitwear exports and in textile and clothing imports.

Meanwhile, two Embroidery Associations from Istanbul and Ismir are expected to visit Thessaloniki on May 30-June 1 to be briefed on the latest developments in the embroidery technology.

In the mission will participate 17 Turkish businessmen and representatives of Ismir's Small Businesses Chamber.

[08] FRENCH UNDERSECRETARY OF FOREIGN TRADE WILL VISIT ATHENS

The French undersecretary of foreign trade will be on a visit to Athens on Monday and Tuesday accompanied by 40 businessmen.

He will have talks with Greek minister of national economy Yiannos Papantoniou and undersecretary Yiannis Zafiropoulos, while he will also attend a working lunch organized by the Hellenic-French Trade and Industry Chamber.

[09] 2001 WILL BE A GOLDEN YEAR FOR TOURISM IN GREECE

It is estimated that 12.8 million tourists will visit Greece this year, while the biggest increase in bookings namely, 15-16% is recorded in the United States.

Arrivals from Belgium and Luxembourg are expected to increase by 10-12%, from Poland 11% and from Austria, France and Italy 10%.

Greek minister of development Nikos Christodoulakis announced that the budget for this year's tourist promotion ad campaign will be 4 billion drachmas.

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