Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 03-05-31

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

CONTENTS

[01] NEW ROUTES OF COOPERATION FOR EU AND RUSSIA

[02] MARRIED AND EDUCATED THE MAJORITY OF ABUSED WOMEN

[03] GREEKS LOVE SMOKING

[04] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF ACTORS IN NAFPLION

[05] THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH WAS DECLARED HONORARY CITIZEN OF ORMYLIA,

[06] MAGRIOTIS WILL BE IN STUTTGART

[07] GREECE SPENDS OVER 600 MILLION EUROS ANNUALLY ON BORDER PROTECTION

[08] INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF COMMUNIST AND LABOR PARTIES

[09] THE EU BACKS THE PEACE PROCESS IN CHECHNYA

[01] NEW ROUTES OF COOPERATION FOR EU AND RUSSIA

There was an impression that some kind of a Chinese Wall was built around Europe, pointed out Greek Prime Minister and European Council President Kostas Simitis responding to a question by a reporter on the statements made earlier by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian leader had spoken of a Schengen Wall and had complained on the way the talks progressed concerning the abolition of the visa requirement and the restriction of the movement of the Russian citizens.

Mr. Simitis underlined that the free movement issue is linked with the issue of security and first will have to be solved problems like drug-trafficking and human trafficking. However, he agreed that there is a need for the free movement of people.

European Commission President Romano Prodi stated, in a joint press conference with Mr. Simitis and Mr. Putin, that efforts will be launched immediately to reach specific solutions.

Mr. Putin congratulated Mr. Prodi and Mr. Simitis for the excellent cooperation, stressing that the support displayed by Mr. Simitis contributed to the improvement of the EU-Russian relations.

In the joint press conference, within the framework of the Euro-Russian Summit Meeting in St. Petersburg held in the presence of over 40 leaders, the EU and Russia agreed on new routes for economic cooperation and dialogue and also, on the support of efforts for world peace and security.

[02] MARRIED AND EDUCATED THE MAJORITY OF ABUSED WOMEN

The majority of women (67%), who are the victims of domestic violence, are married and educated. Half of them are being abused after marriage, while in 81% of the cases the culprit is the husband.

According to official data provided by the support centers for abused women and published on the Athens newspaper Ethnos, 67% of the women, who sought advice in the special centers operating in Athens and Piraeus, were married, 43% of them had a secondary education degree, 15.40% had a technical diploma and 10% were university graduates. Also, 57% were out of work when they were abused and their economic status was bad. A 65% of the women stated that they were living together with the culprit without being married.

Impressive is the fact that most of them (81%) were abused by their husbands, while in 10% of the cases the abuser was the father, in 5% was a brother and in 1% was a child. Also, seven out of ten stated that they have suffered physical and psychological violence, while 16% revealed that they had been beaten up and sexually abused at the same time.

Most of the victims of abuse are between the ages of 20-50, while the abusers in their majority are between the ages of 30-50.

[03] GREEKS LOVE SMOKING

Greece occupies the third place in Europe regarding the percentage of cigarette smokers in its population. According to official figures on the occasion of the World No Tobacco Day, 44% of the Greek population over the age of 15 smoke cigarettes.

Doctors at the northern Greek hospitals, where anti-smoking centers are in operation, are optimistic that the number of cigarette smokers will drop in the following yeas. This anticipated decline will be the result of the measures adopted recently by the Health Ministry including the imposition of penalties on those who smoke in public spaces and private companies.

The majority of smokers in Greece are men and women, between the ages of 35-50, while the number of younger age smokers has increased in recent years.

[04] EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF ACTORS IN NAFPLION

The problems created by the cultural preferences of the EU will be discussed in the two-day conference of the European branch of the International Federation of Actors, FIA, launched in Nafplion, southern Greece yesterday.

In the conference participate 50 delegates from 18 European countries to discuss the current developments in the EU, the Television without borders program, the directive on copyright, the Culture 2000 program and the results of the recent EU Culture Ministers' Summit held in Thessaloniki.

The conference will also deal with the agreements concerning the audio-visual media and radio as well as, with the cultural distinctiveness within the framework of the World Trade Organization.

[05] THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCH WAS DECLARED HONORARY CITIZEN OF ORMYLIA, CHALKIDIKI

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew was declared honorary citizen of Ormylia, Chalkidiki in northern Greece and received the city's golden key, while children were showering him with rose petals.

The Ecumenical Patriarch stressed in his speech the importance of moral values for modern people, adding that it is necessary to be able to overcome the challenges sent by God and resist to temptations.

The Head of Orthodoxy visited the Metochion in the municipality of Ormylia where he was welcomed by Undersecretary of Finance Christos Pachtas, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece and Archbishop Anastasios of Albania.

In his address, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew praised the Christian humility as the supreme good.

[06] MAGRIOTIS WILL BE IN STUTTGART

Greek Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Yiannis Magriotis will be in Stuttgart, Germany tomorrow to attend the annual cultural events Thrace 2003-Athens 2004 organized by the Federation of Thrace Associations in Europe.

During his visit to the country, Mr. Magriotis will participate in a round table of Christians and Muslims from Thrace that will be held within the framework of the events.

Invited to participate in the cultural events are the Muftis of Alexandroupolis, Xanthi and Komotini in Thrace, northeastern Greece.

[07] GREECE SPENDS OVER 600 MILLION EUROS ANNUALLY ON BORDER PROTECTION

Greece spends over 600 million euros annually on border protection, according to Minister of Public Order Michalis Chrisochoidis, who stressed that the Greek government will request the fair distribution of the necessary funds for immigration set by the European Union.

In an event held in the northwestern city of Kozani, Mr. Chrisochoidis presented financial data based on which, Greece is included among the EU countries spending huge sums of money on border protection and immigrant reception. He also revealed that in the past four years the sum spent reached 2,4 billion euros.

The Minister of Public Order also said that the Greek government will present a proposal on the fair distribution of the economic burden to be discussed in the Thessaloniki EU Summit Meeting which will deal with the issue of immigration.

[08] INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF COMMUNIST AND LABOR PARTIES

An International Meeting of Communist and Labor Parties on The movements against war and globalization and the Communists will take place in Athens on June 19-20 organized by the Greek Communist Party.

Over 60 political parties from all over the world will attend the meeting to discuss new initiatives for the strengthening of the role of the Communist movement and issues of solidarity with the struggling peoples.

[09] THE EU BACKS THE PEACE PROCESS IN CHECHNYA

Greek Prime Minister and European Council President Kostas Simitis referred to the issue of Chechnya in his introductory statement during the EU-Russia Summit Meeting in St. Petersburg.

Mr. Simitis extended his condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the families of the victims of the recent terrorist attacks and expressed the hope that those attacks will not undermine the recently launched process aimed at reconciliation and normality in the region.

He said that Russia is encouraged to continue the systematic efforts for a political settlement to the issue. The recently held referendum and amnesty constitute steps toward this direction, said Mr. Simitis.

Mr. Simitis added that the EU will continue to back the efforts of the Russian political leadership for the implementation of a more effective policy in Chechnya aimed at the restoration of peace, the respect of human rights and the economic and social reconstruction of the region.

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