Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-12-01

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

CONTENTS

[01] PAPANDREOU AND PASSY IN AN ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

[02] VERELIS ON OLYMPIC AIRWAYS AND OTE

[03] SIMITIS-VERHOFSTADT MEETING

[04] BAD WEATHER IN GREECE

[05] MOST GREEKS SAY "YES" TO CLONING FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES

[06] THE AXON AIRLINES DECISION TO END ITS OPERATION CAUSES SENSATION

[07] MS. PAPARIGA IN HAVANA ON MONDAY

[08] FORMER ITALIAN PM HONORARY PROFESSOR

[09] ΣΥΝΕΧΙΖΕΤΑΙ Η ΑΠΟΧΗ ΤΩΝ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΑΚΩΝ ΓΙΑΤΡΩΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΝΟΣΟΚΟΜΕΙΑ

[01] PAPANDREOU AND PASSY IN AN ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou opened this morning the proceedings of the 11th annual International Symposium organized by the Greek Association for the Atlantic and European Cooperation in Athens.

Also, present is Bulgarian Foreign Minister and Atlantic Association of Bulgaria president Solomon Passy, who is on a formal visit to Greece. The Association will honor Mr. Passy for his long contribution to Bulgaria's Euro-Atlantic orientation.

Among the main speakers in the symposium, in which are expected to participate many representatives of Atlantic Associations from over 25 NATO member-states as well as, members of the Partnership for Peace program, will be the ambassadors of the United States, Russia, and France, and undersecretaries, ambassadors and other distinguished personalities from the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Minister of Defense Yiannos Papantoniou has also been invited to attend the symposium.

In the symposium will be examined issues like the NATO enlargement in view of the Prague conference, terrorism, the operations outside NATO's limits of responsibility, the developments in the Balkans, challenges and prospects, the Greek public opinion, NATO and the European Union.

[02] VERELIS ON OLYMPIC AIRWAYS AND OTE

Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Christos Verelis stated in Thessaloniki today that the Axon Airlines end of operation will not have any effect on the future of Olympic Airways stressing, however, that this a sad development.

Responding to those who commented negatively about the fact that the government was negotiating the sale of the state-run Olympic Airways with a company that was close to bankruptcy, Mr. Verelis stated that the offer that was made by Axon was examined very carefully and now the government is negotiating with another investor, the Australian joint venture IAS, adding that the talks will continue until December 23.

Mr. Verelis stated that the negotiations for the sale of the state-run airline will continue on the basis of three criteria, namely, the size of the economic offer, the management and the business plan of the prospective buyer.

Referring to the proposal tabled yesterday by businessman Socratis Kokkalis for a partnership between the Greek Telecommunications Organization, OTE and Intrakom, Mr. Verelis stated categorically that there is no thought for such an agreement.

[03] SIMITIS-VERHOFSTADT MEETING

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis met in Athens today with his Belgian counterpart Guy Verhofstadt, currently holding the EU presidency.

The meeting was held within the framework of Mr. Verhofstadt's tour of the EU capitals in view of the Summit meeting that will be held in Laaken, Belgium on December 14-15.

The Belgian Prime Minister stated that Greece's proposal for the creation of a European police to control illegal immigration has been approved. In addition, he denied that the Aegean Sea and Cyprus will be outside the Euro-army's region of responsibility.

In the meeting that lasted an hour and a half, Mr. Simitis referred to the issues that will be examined in the Laaken Summit meeting. He referred to the future form of Europe and how the existing treaty will change to secure greater participation, the adoption of new policies, social cohesion, and the improved operation of institutions. He said that Greece wants the EU enlargement to proceed, adding that Cyprus should become an EU member, as well as other candidate states, for the EU to become broader based. He also said that the Tampere conclusions will be assessed, adding that among the issues that had been discussed then was the creation of a common EU justice and security area.

Mr. Verhofstadt stated that in Laaken the "15" will discuss the future of Europe and the new reforms that need to be adopted to increase democracy, openness and effectiveness in the EU. He also added that Greece's approach to the proposals that have been submitted is positive.

He underlined that Greece and the EU share the same views concerning the creation of a joint police force to guard the external borders of the EU.

[04] BAD WEATHER IN GREECE

The state mechanism is ready to deal with the wave of bad weather that is expected to hit most of Greece. According to the National Weather Bureau, the weather today will be characterized by heavy rainfall, storms, gusty winds, low temperatures and snowfall.

Snow has already covered northwestern Greece causing problems in the road network, while temperature has dropped below zero.

[05] MOST GREEKS SAY "YES" TO CLONING FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES

Three out of four Greeks are in favor of cloning if it is used in the effort to cure diseases but they say "No" to this scientific method if it is used for the production of human "copies".

An opinion poll conducted by the polling company VPRC on behalf of the Athens newspaper "Imerisia" showed that 90.8% of the Greeks, who responded to the opinion poll questionnaire, do not find tempting the idea to have a clone of themselves or of a loved one.

The overwhelming majority expresses concern over the recent scientific revelations made by the US biotechnology company ACT. The company announced that it has created clones of human cells to be used in scientific research expected to lead to a cure for serious illnesses such as, cancer and AIDS. The concern expressed by most of the people is not the result of ignorance, as most of them (75.2%) approve the promotion of scientific cloning programs for clearly medical purposes.

[06] THE AXON AIRLINES DECISION TO END ITS OPERATION CAUSES SENSATION

Yesterday's announcement by Axon Airlines that it will end its operation caused a sensation. Axon is the first Greek airline to become a victim of the international air transportation crisis. The company management stressed in its statement yesterday that after the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States, its economic damage widens in an impressive pace and a recovery is not expected in the near future.

The Axon Airlines stock had big losses in the Athens Stock Exchange last week dropping by -12.8%.

Axon Airlines employed 300 people and had 7 airplanes, 4 of which were leased. No decision was made yet on whether the 3 company owned airplanes will be sold.

The September 11 events and their consequences completely changed the Axon Holding strategy which of course is not interested anymore in purchasing the state-run Olympic Airways, which is going to be privatized soon.

[07] MS. PAPARIGA IN HAVANA ON MONDAY

Greek Communist Part General Secretary Ms. Aleka Papariga departs for Havana. Cuba on Monday heading a party delegation.

The Greek Communist Party delegation will attend the proceedings of the 10th Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum that will take place in Havana on December 7.

[08] FORMER ITALIAN PM HONORARY PROFESSOR

Former Italian Prime Minister Juliano Amato will be declared University of Athens Law Department honorary professor in a ceremony that will be held on December 6.

Mr. Amato is a Comparative Constitutional Law professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, while he is also a New York University professor. He participated in important reforms, among them, Greece's accession into the EMU.

[09] ΣΥΝΕΧΙΖΕΤΑΙ Η ΑΠΟΧΗ ΤΩΝ ΠΑΝΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΙΑΚΩΝ ΓΙΑΤΡΩΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΑ ΝΟΣΟΚΟΜΕΙΑ

Μέχρι τις 14 Δεκεμβρίου συνεχίζουν την αποχή από το κλινικό έργο τους και οι πανεπιστημιακοί γιατροί της Θεσσαλονίκης σύμφωνα με απόφαση της Γενικής Συνέλευσης των μελών διδακτικού και ερευνητικού προσωπικού της Ιατρικής Σχολής του ΑΠΘ. Για το λόγο αυτό οι πανεπιστημιακές κλινικές των δημόσιων νοσοκομείων της Θεσσαλονίκης θα αντιμετωπίζουν μόνο τα έκτακτα και επείγοντα περιστατικά.

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