Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-11-24

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

CONTENTS

[01] SANTIAGO CALATRAVA IN THESSALONIKI

[02] EUROPEAN WATCH ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

[03] A TOTAL OF 617 MILLION EURO BANK-NOTES IN GREECE

[04] BAD WEATHER IN GREECE

[05] BLACK ECONOMY IN GREECE CORRESPONDS TO 30.1% OF THE GDP

[06] HEBRARD'S ARCHIVE IS PRESENTED IN THESSALONIKI

[07] GREECE WILL BECOME AN ENERGY CENTER

[08] AVRAMOPOULOS: WE WANT TO BRING CHANGES

[09] SAE'S 4TH WORLD ASSEMBLY ON DECEMBER 6-14

[10] MILLER: I FEEL SAFE IN GREECE

[01] SANTIAGO CALATRAVA IN THESSALONIKI

Public works of high standard architecture with the signature of world famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava were presented in Thessaloniki today in an event organized by Thessaloniki's Architects Association.

Mr. Calatrava is in Thessaloniki on the occasion of the exhibition of his work that was inaugurated yesterday by Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos. The exhibition includes designs, photographs and scale models of his works among them, the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

Referring to the city of Thessaloniki, Mr. Calatrava stated that he is enchanted by its waterfront and its ancient walls. He also said that the city is built in an orderly fashion and stressed that he is very impressed by the city's trademark, the White Tower.

Mr. Calatrava, who has taken over part of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games projects, stated that the restructuring of the port of Thessaloniki is necessary and underlined that the monuments must be a testimony of civilization for the next generations.

Speaking as a member of the committee for the construction of the new Museum at the Acropolis, he said that the Parthenon is a present of our ancestors, adding that today's generations have the obligation to honor them.

[02] EUROPEAN WATCH ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Greece will propose the establishment of a European Watch on illegal immigration in the European Union Summit meeting in Laken, Belgium on December 14-15.

Prime Minister Kostas Simitis will suggest that Athens should be the seat of the European Watch as Greece is affected by illegal immigration more than any other country, while its sea borders are such that cannot be guarded in an effective way unless joint EU measures are adopted.

The Athens newspaper "Imerisia" in an exclusive report published today, presented the Greek proposal for the establishment of the European Watch on illegal immigration as it was processed by Minister of Public Order Michalis Chrisochoidis.

The European Watch could be regarded as an "umbrella" organization that will collect and coordinate the existing electronic information on issues of asylum and immigration as well as, information coming from the European Migration Information Network and the Odysseus Legal Network. It will also use information from indirectly involved networks on refugees and racism namely, the Refugee Net and the RAXEN networks which are established and financed by the European Commission.

[03] A TOTAL OF 617 MILLION EURO BANK-NOTES IN GREECE

The transfer of Euro bank-notes and coins to the Euro-zone banks is one of the biggest undertakings in the economic history.

The 14.980.000.000 bank-notes with a total value of 633 billion Euro that have been printed and will circulate in the united Europe next year can cover up to 15.000 football fields , while the 51.629.000.000 coins can fill up 9.000 trucks.

A total of 617.000.000 bank-notes with a value of 13.33 billion Euro and 1.330.000.000 coins, with a value of 634 million Euro will circulate in Greece.

[04] BAD WEATHER IN GREECE

Bad weather sweeps Greece with snow, gale force winds, heavy storms and freezing temperatures.

Snow fell in northwestern Greece and in the mountainous areas of central Greece in Thessaly, while snow also fell in the regions of Hortiatis and Panorama around Thessaloniki.

The freezing temperatures are the main weather characteristic across Greece, while heavy storms sweep northern Crete, the Cyclades Islands and the Dodecanese in southern Aegean.

[05] BLACK ECONOMY IN GREECE CORRESPONDS TO 30.1% OF THE GDP

The annual black economy transactions in Greece are estimated at 13.2 trillion drachmas corresponding to about 30.1% of the country's GDP.

The annual black economy turnover in retail sales is about 300 billion drachmas. Many companies do not issue receipts, while the trade of fake products is blooming.

Most of the black trade has to do with fake CDs and cassettes, clothing and footwear, leather items and accessories as well as, contraband cigarettes, alcohol drinks and different kinds of food.

[06] HEBRARD'S ARCHIVE IS PRESENTED IN THESSALONIKI

Unpublished pictures, the archive and the personal papers of French architect and urban planner Ernest Hebrard, who played a leading role in the design and creation of contemporary Thessaloniki, were discovered a few months ago in Paris. A selection of those pictures will be exhibited in Thessaloniki's French Institute on December 13-January 30.

Hebrard was born in 1875 and after studying architecture in Paris he moved to Rome. In 1917 he came to Greece.

He participated in the efforts to design the new Thessaloniki after the catastrophic fire in 1917. In 1921 he went to Indochina and in 1931 he returned to Paris.

Ernest Hebrard is probably the first architect who used the photograph as a notepad turning it into a research tool. He died in Paris in 1933 and his architectural and photographic work did not become widely known.

[07] GREECE WILL BECOME AN ENERGY CENTER

Minister of Development Akis Tsochatzopoulos aspires to promote Greece to an energy center through the signing of new agreements on natural gas, the supply of oil from the Caspian Sea, the reconstruction of the Public Electricity Company, and Greece's accession into the electricity network of the wider region.

Tourism is also included in the agenda with the priorities of Mr. Tsochatzopoulos as well as, the support of small-medium sized companies which will receive subsidies of 3.4 trillion drachmas. In addition, the privatization process tops the list with Mr. Tsochatzopoulos' priorities, who also plans to draw-up a flexible anti-bureaucracy plan, aimed at upgrading both the private and the public sector for Greece to be able to secure a growth rate at least 2% higher compared to the EU average.

[08] AVRAMOPOULOS: WE WANT TO BRING CHANGES

The founding congress of mayor of Athens Dimitris Avramopoulos Movement of Free Citizens party was held in Thessaloniki today and the 3.000 delegates attending the congress elected him to the party presidency.

In his speech, Mr. Avramopoulos stated that his party will soon be the winner in the political scene and stressed that it will help Greece to enter the 21st century in a dynamic way.

Referring to the Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue, Mr. Avramopoulos underlined that the Movement of Free Citizens supports the Greek-Turkish rapprochement, stressing that Greece's relations with Turkey can normalize only through a meaningful dialogue that will be based on the mutual respect of sovereign rights, international law and international practice. He said that it is a precondition for Cyprus to become an EU member unconditionally, adding that a viable solution for the Cyprus problem can be found only if it is based on the UN and EU decisions.

Mr. Avramopoulos stated that the Cyprus issue is for his party the key for the restoration of the Greek-Turkish relations and for the improvement of Turkey's relations with the European Union. He also added that Ankara's road to Brussels passes through Nicosia, stressing that without Cyprus there will be no new EU enlargement.

[09] SAE'S 4TH WORLD ASSEMBLY ON DECEMBER 6-14

The World Council for Hellenes Abroad, SAE, 4th World Assembly will be held in Thessaloniki on December 6-14.

SAE, the leading institution of the organized Greek communities abroad, was established 6 years ago and over 600 delegates representing organizations of Greeks abroad will attend its 4th World Assembly to discuss issues of mutual concern, table their proposals and program their future actions.

[10] MILLER: I FEEL SAFE IN GREECE

I feel safe in Greece and cooperation with Mr. Chrisochoidis in the effort to combat terrorism is excellent, stated yesterday US ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller.

Mr. Miller attended an event organized by governing socialist party of PASOK Euro-deputies on the "Future of Europe" and referring to the action against terrorism and the war in Afghanistan maintained that the military solution should always be the last option stressing, however, that the specific situation is much more complex.

Responding to the views expressed according to which, the freedoms of the US citizens are being violated after the September 11 terrorist attack and the numerous arrests of foreigners in the United States, he said that there is a war against terrorism going on and the most important freedom that has to be protected is the right not to be afraid.

In the event were also discussed the joint foreign policy and the policy of security, the Euro-army in 2003 and the role of national armies. Turkey cannot have a say on Euro-army and as far as Greece is concerned, it will not accept any terms dictated by somebody who is not an EU member, stressed Greek Minister of Defense Yiannos Papantoniou, who also attended the event, referring to the problems created by Turkey.

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