Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-06-16

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

CONTENTS

[01] NEW VICE-PRESIDENT IN THE BLACK SEA BANK

[02] UNICE: 22 GREEK COMPANIES AMONG THE 500 FASTER GROWING IN EUROPE

[03] BELGIUM'S ROYAL COUPLE WILL BE ON A VISIT TO GREECE

[04] A CARYATID IS THE VICTIM OF VANDALISM IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

[05] SIMITIS IS SATISFIED WITH THE EU SUMMIT MEETING RESULTS

[06] A GREEK DOCUMENTARY WON THE FIRST PRIZE IN MOSCOW

[01] NEW VICE-PRESIDENT IN THE BLACK SEA BANK

The new vice-president of the Black Sea Bank, Mr. Oleg Rybachuk, assumed his duties on June 1. He was appointed to the post after a proposal by the Ukrainian government, that had the backing of bank president Ersoi Volkan.

Mr. Rybachuk studied in Kiev's Economic University and in Georgetown University in the United States. He was representing Ukraine in the Black Sea Board of Directors since 1998.

In the period 1992-1999, he was International Affairs Department director and advisor to the Ukrainian National Bank governor, while in 1999 he took over the post of the chief of administration at the Ukrainian prime minister's office.

The new vice-president of the Black Sea Bank, who will oversee the project and trade financing, speaks five languages namely, English, French, Russian and Ukrainian.

[02] UNICE: 22 GREEK COMPANIES AMONG THE 500 FASTER GROWING IN EUROPE

The presence of Greek companies on the list with the 500 faster growing companies in Europe appears impressively stronger this year, according to the European Association of Industries (UNICE).

The list includes 22 Greek companies, which are members of the Greek Association of Industries, while last year the list included only 9 Greek companies.

The list, which was drawn up based on innovation and risk criteria, was given to publicity in Brussels in the annual UNICE conference and it was stressed that the 500 companies mentioned have created 250.000 new job positions.

[03] BELGIUM'S ROYAL COUPLE WILL BE ON A VISIT TO GREECE

Belgium's royal couple will be on three-day visit to Greece beginning on Tuesday.

They will meet with president Kostis Stephanopoulos at the presidential building on Tuesday afternoon, and afterwards they will have a meeting with parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis. A formal dinner will be given in their honor by the Greek president later in the evening.

On Wednesday morning, the royal couple will meet with the opposition party leaders and at noon they will meet with prime minister Kostas Simitis, who will give a formal lunch in their honor.

On Thursday, the Belgian royal couple will be in Thessaloniki. They will visit the archaeological site of Vergina and later they will meet with the minister of Macedonia-Thrace. They will tour the city and in the afternoon they will depart for Brussels.

[04] A CARYATID IS THE VICTIM OF VANDALISM IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Another vandalism incident targeting a Caryatid statue took place in the British Museum.

Greek culture minister Evangelos Venizelos stated that unfortunately the incidents of disrespect toward very important archaeological findings, that are part of the world cultural heritage and are kept at the British Museum, are on the rise.

He said that he expects explanations from the museum, and added that sufficient measures must be taken for the protection of the exhibits, stressing that the most sufficient, effective and simple measure will be the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their natural place.

The statement by Mr. Venizelos was made on the occasion of a new vandalism incident, according to a letter sent by a British man to the London newspaper "The Independent". In the letter it is stressed that one of the Caryatid statues is not guarded and anybody can touch her or cause her damage. He mentioned characteristically that at one time he even saw a chewing-gum stuck on her back. The British man expressed the hope that the new British culture minister will be persuaded that the Parthenon Marbles must be returned to Greece and stressed that the museum is incapable of protecting them.

[05] SIMITIS IS SATISFIED WITH THE EU SUMMIT MEETING RESULTS

Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis appeared satisfied with the results of the Gothenburg EU summit meeting that ended today.

Mr. Simitis in statements he made to reporters after the summit meeting, stressed that the EU enlargement policy is irreversible and the procedure that will be followed will be quick and effective.

The prime minister stated that the summit meeting reaffirmed the timetable for the accession of the candidate states, which will have to complete their negotiations by the end of 2002 in order to be able to participate in the 2004 Euro-elections as full EU members.

He clarified that the procedure will continue in a more rapid pace for the countries that will not be able to complete the accession negotiations, adding that the procedure that was followed in the cases of Denmark, Sweden and Austria will be again in effect allowing them, this way, to participate in the 2004 Euro-elections.

Mr. Simitis stated that Cyprus tops the list with the EU candidate states and stressed that the procedure concerning Cyprus will be completed by the end of 2002.

Mr. Simitis stated that in the summit meeting it was decided that the Kyoto protocol must be implemented to deal with the problem of the climate changes. He also said that the European Council agreed that there is a need for big changes in the EU stance concerning prevention in order to avert problems like the "mad cow" disease, the dioxins etc.

On the European Council decisions concerning Turkey, Mr. Simitis said that Ankara is called to take specific measures for the implementation of the terms included in the partnership relation with the EU and achieve greater progress in crucial sectors such as, human rights and its full adjustment with the terms and program of the European Monetary Fund.

Responding to a question concerning the statement made by the Turkish foreign minister according to which, Ankara will not sacrifice Cyprus for the sake of its European prospect, Mr. Simitis said that Mr. Cem had made similar statements in the past and he is expected to do the same in the future as well. The prime minister said that Turkey has undertaken obligations as an EU candidate state, based on its partnership relation with the EU and as a UN member and it must meet them.

On the foreign policy issues, the prime minister stated that the talks focused on the situation in FYROM and added that the council decided to appoint an EU representative in FYROM, based in Skopje. The EU also supports the existing borders in the region and FYROM's integrity.

To the question by a reporter concerning the creation of a military force to undertake a peacekeeping mission in FYROM, he responded that this is an issue that is being discussed within the framework of NATO. He said that Greece will participate if the rest of the countries decide that such a force must be formed and European countries decide to participate in it.

[06] A GREEK DOCUMENTARY WON THE FIRST PRIZE IN MOSCOW

The documentary film "Paradise Crossings" by Yiannis Lambrou that deals with the lives of the Mount Athos monks, won the first prize in the Moscow Film Festival.

In the specific category competed a total of 29 films from Europe and Canada.

The screenplay was written by Andreas Tsekos, photography director was Giorgos Papanikolaou, the montage was made by Alexis Pezas and the music was written by Panagiotis Vouzas.

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