Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 02-09-26

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

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

CONTENTS

[01] PRESSURE MAY PREVENT WAR IN IRAQ SAYS ATHENS

[02] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH IN ATHENS ON SUNDAY

[03] AGRICULTURE COMMISIONER IN ATHENS

[04] PROTOPAPAS ON THE EUROSTAT REPORT

[05] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT

[06] PROTOPAPAS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF A WAR IN IRAQ

[07] SWEDISH PARLIAMENT DEPUTY NIKOS PAPADOPOULOS TO MPA

[08] KARAMANLIS' SPEECH IN THE POLITICAL MEMORIAL FOR PAVLOS BAKOYIANNIS

[09] IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN THE ASE

[10] MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE PREFECTURE OF ATHENS AND A

[11] 22% OF THE GREEKS LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

[12] TIRANA CITY HALL DELEGATION IN THESSALONIKI

[13] DISCUSSION ON 2004 OLYMPICS SECURITY

[14] THE SAE PROGRAMS IN THE BALKANS

[01] PRESSURE MAY PREVENT WAR IN IRAQ SAYS ATHENS

Minister of National Defense Giannos Papantoniou expressed his belief that with the intense reaction of the International Community we will ultimately be able to avoid a war with Iraq.

In statements after the end of the works of the unofficial meeting of NATO Defense Ministers held in Warsaw, Mr. Papantoniou pointed out that Alliance member-states are seeking a UN resolution, that will define the International Community's action plan against the Sadam Hussein regime, while pointing out that there is the danger of Iraq producing weapons of mass destruction.

He also added that most countries are against one-sided intervention, since they are dangerous to stability in the Middle East.

He also noted that NATO will stand by Russia in its worries concerning the appearance of terrorist attacks within its territories, and asked that Russia limit itself to political reaction and not move to military action because it would be dangerous to world peace and peace in the region.

The NATO Ministers of Defense accepted Mr. Papantoniou's proposal on extending the time period that the international force would be present in FYROM, in order for tension between the Albanian and Slavic populations to subside.

[02] ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH IN ATHENS ON SUNDAY

Ecumenical Patriarch Vartholomeos will be in Athens this Sunday, carrying out his 4day visit.

During his stay, Mr. Vartholomeos will be made honorary Doctor of the University of Agriculture, he will carry out the opening of the Athens Academy Medical-Biological Center and he will visit the Archdiocese.

[03] AGRICULTURE COMMISIONER IN ATHENS

Minister of Agriculture Giorgos Drys will meet with EU Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler who is visiting Greece, today.

Immediately following their meeting, Mr. Fischler will have discussions with the Presidencies of the Parliament Committees for European Affairs and Production and Trade

His schedule for the duration of his visit, includes meetings at the offices of the EU in Greece, with representatives of agricultural organizations and associations, as well as other relevant bodies and NGOs, in order to inform them on Commission decisions regarding the Common Agricultural Policy. He will also meet with representatives of fishing organizations in order to inform them of Commission proposals on the new Fishing policy, as well as with Agriculture Section Chief of ND, Evaggelos Basiakos.

[04] PROTOPAPAS ON THE EUROSTAT REPORT

Government spokesman Christos Protopapas commented on the Eurostat report according to which the poverty level in Greece is much higher than the EU average. He stressed that Greece is close to the EU average underlining that there are a number of factors that affect the national income.

Mr. Protopapas stated that social spending in Greece is about 25.5% of the GDP, while the European average is just 1.2% higher. He also pointed out that thanks to the government policy and the growth rate that was achieved, unemployment dropped by about 2% in a period of two years from 11.7% to 9.6%. He added that there is still a long way to cover in order to reach the EU average but the signs are good and growth rate is maintained at high levels.

[05] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT

Greece pays a great attention to and respects human rights, stated Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas commenting on the government reaction to the contents of a joint report by Amnesty International and International Federation Helsinki which refer to human rights violations by Greek police officers.

Mr. Protopapas admitted that there were such instances in the past when police officers committed violent acts, adding that the responsible authorities have taken measures and those responsible have been punished. He also called on Amnesty International to enter a dialogue with the Greek government.

[06] PROTOPAPAS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF A WAR IN IRAQ

Greek government spokesman Christos Protopapas referred to the consequences of a war in Iraq and the way they can be faced.

He said that the state budget includes a prevision on the likelihood of a war in Iraq based on a study by the Ministry of Finance on the likely consequences on the economy. There is also readiness to face the consequences of such a crisis in the case of an invasion of Iraq, said Mr. Protopapas.

[07] SWEDISH PARLIAMENT DEPUTY NIKOS PAPADOPOULOS TO MPA

Swedish Parliament deputy of Greek origin Nikos Papadopoulos expressed satisfaction for the victory of the Social-democrats in the September 15 parliamentary elections in Sweden. Mr. Papadopoulos was reelected for a third term with the Social-democratic Party in Stockholm, the toughest electoral district in the country, and occupied the fifth place in the preference of the voters.

Mr. Papadopoulos speaking to MPA stated that the election results in Sweden proved wrong all those who were speaking of a rightward turn in the preferences of the European voters.

Mr. Papadopoulos thanked Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Papandreou who visited Stockholm in the pre-election period. He said that his visit was an honor for the Swedish citizens of Greek origin.

[08] KARAMANLIS' SPEECH IN THE POLITICAL MEMORIAL FOR PAVLOS BAKOYIANNIS

The firm position of right-wing main opposition party of New Democracy that terrorism should be totally crushed, was expressed by party leader Kostas Karamanlis in his speech in the political memorial held for Pavlos Bakoyiannis, who was assassinated by the terrorist group 17 November 13 years ago.

Terrorism is neither an ideology nor a political action. It is a crime against life, a crime against free society, a crime against Democracy, said Mr. Karamanlis in his speech in Parliament. He characterized terrorism as a plague and stated that the efforts against it are a national affair. Mr. Karamanlis said that the political and the social front against it should be strengthened for terrorism to be crushed once and for all.

Mr. Karamanlis referred to the contribution, the ideas and the action undertaken against the junta by parliament deputy Pavlos Bakoyiannis

Among those who attended the political memorial were parliament deputies who were also victims of terrorist attacks namely, Vasilis Michaloliakos, Yiannis Paleokrasas, Lefteris Papadimitriou and Giorgos Petsos.

[09] IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN THE ASE

The Athens Stock Exchange recorded impressive gains today. The general index rose to +2.36% at 1.879,50 points, while the volume of transactions was at 92 million Euro.

Of the stocks trading today, the majority of 292 recorded gains and 42 had losses, while the value of 39 stocks remained unchanged.

[10] MEMORANDUM OF COOPERATION BETWEEN THE PREFECTURE OF ATHENS AND A CHINESE PROVINCE

The formal memorandum of cooperation between the prefecture of Athens and the Local Government of the Chinese province of Hebei was delivered to Parliament President Apostolos Kaklamanis by Athens Prefect Eleni Besbea and the Chinese province governor Niu Maosheng.

Mr. Kaklamanis expressed the wish that the memorandum of cooperation will serve as an example that will be followed by other Greek and Chinese regions.

[11] 22% OF THE GREEKS LIVE BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

The European Union statistics agency Eurostat third annual report issued in Brussels yesterday mentions that 22% of the Greeks live below the poverty line.

Specifically, according to the report titled 2002: the social situation in the European Union, Greece occupies the top place regarding poverty percentage among the 15 EU member-states. Poor is regarded the population with an income that is under 60% of the average national income. The lowest poverty percentage is found in Finland and Denmark with 8% and 9% respectively, while in the EU in general poverty affects 18% of the population.

Regarding the purchasing power of the European citizens, the report mentions that the per capita GDP for the average Greek is the smallest in the EU and corresponds to 69% of the EU average. The highest per capita GDP is recorded in Luxembourg which corresponds to 194% of the EU average.

[12] TIRANA CITY HALL DELEGATION IN THESSALONIKI

Thessaloniki City Council President Sotiris Kapetanopoulos received today at the City Hall, the visiting Tirana City Council Vice-President Petrak Simo and a 14member delegation headed by Eva Alusi.

In the meeting Mr. Kapetanopoulos briefed the Albanian city councilors on the way the Thessaloniki City Council and the Greek local administration in general operate, pointing out that the problems faced by local administration are common in all countries.

Mr. Kapetanopoulos referred to the improvement of cooperation between the municipalities of Thessaloniki and Tirana, while he accepted an invitation to the Thessaloniki Mayor and City Council members that was issued by the Tirana City Council to visit the Albanian capital.

[13] DISCUSSION ON 2004 OLYMPICS SECURITY

The 2004 Olympics were the main point of discussion at the meetings between deputy Minister of Sports Giorgos Lianis and US Ambassador to Athens Thomas Miller.

Mr. Miller appreciated that things are going very well as far as Olympic security is concerned, while he pointed out that the US is working closely with the Greek government in this sector. We are working very closely with the Greek government, we have a US advisory committee. I think things are going well. Let's be honest. The world is a dangerous place, but our cooperation is excellent and thus we are eagerly expecting the Olympics to be a success, he underlined.

On his side, Mr. Lianis pointed out that when we have the cooperation of the world's largest sports power, we feel very safe about our games and certain that we will hold excellent games.

During the meeting, the issue of Greeks living in the US who are baseball players, coming to Greece during the Olympics to help the national team.

[14] THE SAE PROGRAMS IN THE BALKANS

World Council for Greeks Abroad, SAE, President Andrew Athens announced that the activities of SAE will spread to the Greek communities in the Balkans by applying the successful programs developed in the former Soviet countries. The announcement was made after a series of important meetings he had in Greece and Albania.

Specifically, he announced the development of a Church Adoption Program in Bulgaria and Imvros and the opening of a second medical clinic in Korce, Albania. The first medical center in Georgoutsates has been completed, while the construction of the medical clinic in Korce is expected to get underway in the next two months. The inauguration of the two medical centers will take place in early 2003.

Macedonian Press Agency: Brief News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article