Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-05-14

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

CONTENTS

[01] GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BACK DOWN

[02] PRESSURE ON GREECE ON EUROARMY

[03] ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS: THE CHURCH-STATE SEPARATION WILL HURT THE

[04] THE INTERREG III PROGRAM HAS BEEN APPROVED

[05] GUARDED OPTIMISM ON THE ANAN VISIT TO CYPRUS

[06] PROTOPAPAS: GREECE WILL NOT EXTRADITE ANY PALESTINIANS

[07] THE ASE CONTINUES ITS UPWARD COURSE

[08] GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES ON THE EURO-ARMY

[09] BUDGET REVENUES IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2002

[10] MAGRIOTIS VISITS TUNISIA AND LIBYA

[11] INCREASE IN RETAIL SALES IN FEBRUARY

[12] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION DROPPED TO 2%

[01] GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BACK DOWN

Decisiveness to defend major national issues, which are at a crucial turning point, will be stressed by Prime Minister Kostas Simitis at the meeting of the Governmental Committee this Thursday, while the course of the government's work, which is the first priority at the "Maximos Mansion", will be discussed.

According to information published in the "Imerisia" newspaper today, the Prime Minister is not very optimistic on the Cyprus issue, while he will have another meeting with President Cleridis after the Annan visit, in order to discuss further moves. There is major concern on the Euroarmy issue as well, while it is not out of the question for a veto to be used at the EU Summit Meeting in Seville, if the Spanish Presidency eventually brings the plan in for discussion.

Following the recent visit of Minister of National Defense Giannos Papantoniou to London, he believes that England will continue to be uncompromising, as it has connected Athens' position to armament, where Athens is submitting neither to Blair's demands, nor those England's military industry.

There is also skepticism concerning the priorities of the Greek EU Presidency, which must be submitted to Brussels by the end of May. "The correlation to Europe was different when we were planning our priorities, and they are different now", state government sources characteristically.

[02] PRESSURE ON GREECE ON EUROARMY

New pressures to lift reservations on the Euroarmy issue, by the EU Summit Meeting in Seville, have been put on Greek Minister of National Defense Giannos Papantoniou, by his 14 European counterparts.

Mr. Papantoniou stressed that Greece will not budge from its current position concerning the Ankara text. "Our position was clarified once more and it was mentioned that there is a procedure moved by Mr. Solana, the Spanish Presidency, with the participation of Greece and other countries, and that Greece is participating in a constructive manner, taking our basic position that we do not accept the Ankara text as it stands into consideration", stressed Mr. Papantoniou.

[03] ARCHBISHOP CHRISTODOULOS: THE CHURCH-STATE SEPARATION WILL HURT THE PEOPLE

The meeting of Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece with Metropolite Savva of Warsaw, who will be on a visit to Greece until May 20, was held in a warm atmosphere.

Metropolite Savva referred to the position of the Christian Orthodox Church in Poland which numbers a total of 600.000 faithful in a country where the overwhelming majority of the population is Roman Catholic.

The head of the Greek Christian Orthodox Church underlined that there are certain circles in Greece seeking the Church-State separation. He stressed that the Greek people will be the losers in such a case and for this reason the Church of Greece will continue to resist and raise obstacles to such designs.

Metropolite of Warsaw stated that the separation of the Church from the State should never be allowed in Greece because the Greek people have a special relation with the Church.

[04] THE INTERREG III PROGRAM HAS BEEN APPROVED

The Interreg III program concerning the Greece-Cyprus inter-border cooperation actions with an estimated budget of 59 million Euro has been approved by the European Commission. The program will be used in projects that will materialize in the regions of northern Aegean, southern Aegean, Crete and Cyprus.

The priority axes that will be covered by Interreg III concern transportation infrastructures, economic development and employment, quality of life, environment, culture and technical support.

[05] GUARDED OPTIMISM ON THE ANAN VISIT TO CYPRUS

Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas characterized as very important the visit of UN secretary-general Kofi Anan to Cyprus, pointing out that the Cyprus issue is at a very critical and decisive phase.

Mr. Protopapas expressed guarded optimism concerning Mr. Anan's visit and referred to the negative statements that were made by Turkish officials regarding Cyprus' EU accession course. He said that Turkey's intransigence continues and will hinder considerably Cyprus' European course.

Turkey must reconsider its position and abandon its intransigent policy realizing that its wish to follow a European course is in contrast with such positions and views, said Mr. Protopapas.

The Greek government spokesman reiterated that Greece will remain firm in its position for a viable and fair solution to the Cyprus problem within the framework of the UN decisions.

[06] PROTOPAPAS: GREECE WILL NOT EXTRADITE ANY PALESTINIANS

The 13 Palestinians will be hosted in European Union countries under a specific status that will be decided by the EU and not by third countries, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas clarifying that Greece will never extradite any Palestinians.

Mr. Protopapas stated that Greece is a European Union member and respects the EU decisions.

[07] THE ASE CONTINUES ITS UPWARD COURSE

The Athens Stock Exchange continued its upward course today. The general index rose to +1.55% at 2.361,09 points, while the volume of transactions was increased compared to previous sessions at 136.8 million Euro or 46.6 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 244 recorded gains and 70 had losses, while the value of 59 stocks remained unchanged.

[08] GOVERNMENT ASSURANCES ON THE EURO-ARMY

The Ankara text on the Euro-army will not be accepted, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas, pointing out that all available means will be used if necessary.

The Greek government spokesman stated that the Greek position on the Euro-army is firm, adding that it is a matter that concerns the EU-NATO relations and it is not just a bilateral problem.

[09] BUDGET REVENUES IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2002

In the first four months of 2002 the state budget revenues were limited to 8.8 million Euro. The role of the budget life best was played by the VAT levy and the circulation of the Euro coins with revenues of 469.3 million Euro.

Based on the figures provided by the Ministry of Finance, public revenues increased in the first four months of the current year by 5.3% compared to the annual target of 6.1%.

[10] MAGRIOTIS VISITS TUNISIA AND LIBYA

Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannis Magriotis is on a three day working visit to Tunisia and Libya within the framework of the contacts the Greek government has with the Arab countries for peace in the Middle East.

Mr. Magriotis will meet with the leadership of the Foreign Ministries of the two countries to examine issues like the Middle East, bilateral relations, Euro-Mediterranean cooperation and current international developments.

The Greek Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs will also meet with representatives of the Greek communities in Tunisia and Libya and attend Greek cultural events.

[11] INCREASE IN RETAIL SALES IN FEBRUARY

Retail sales in Greece recorded an upward course in February increased by 9.4% on an annual basis, according to figures announced by the National Statistics Agency.

For the record, retail sales in January had increased by 8.4%, while the average increase in the first two months of 2002 was at 8.9%.

[12] INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION DROPPED TO 2%

Industrial production in Greece in the month of February dropped to 2% on an annual basis, according to figures provided by the Greek National Statistics Agency.

Production in the manufacturing sector dropped by 2.7%, while industrial production in the first two months of the current year recorded an average decline of 1.3%.

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