Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-03-19

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

CONTENTS

[01] KARAMANLIS-BUSH COMMUNICATION ON CYPRUS

[02] EU COMMISSIONER ON TERRORISM

[03] MOLIVIATIS MET WITH RELATIVES OF THE "TASMAN SPIRIT" CREWMEMBERS

[04] GREECE HAS A WOMAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS

[05] THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OPENS ON MONDAY

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

[07] GREECE IN FAVOR OF THE STRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF UN RESOLUTION 1244 ON

[08] PAPALIGOURAS: GREECE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE MATERIALIZATION OF THE

[09] MEASURES AGAINST TERRORISM BY THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

[01] KARAMANLIS-BUSH COMMUNICATION ON CYPRUS

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis had a telephone communication with US President George Bush on Thursday, mainly regarding the Cyprus issue. The US President underlined Washington's readiness to help in the resolving of Cyprus' political problem. On his side, the Prime Minister, who will travel to Lucerne on March 28 for the quadrilateral meeting on the Cyprus issue, stressed that the solution must be viable, functional and within European acquis and asked him to intervene on the Turkish Cypriot side, so that a solution may move within this framework.

[02] EU COMMISSIONER ON TERRORISM

Battling terrorism will be the main topic at the emergency Meeting of Ministers of Justice and the Interior of the EU, which will look into the institution of a portfolio on the issue in the Commission. Athens agrees with the proposal for the creation of a coordinator position under Xavier Solana, to deal with issues connected to terrorism stated Minister of Public Order G. Voulgarakis, after his meeting with the Prime Minister. Final decisions will be made at the Summit Meeting next week.

[03] MOLIVIATIS MET WITH RELATIVES OF THE "TASMAN SPIRIT" CREWMEMBERS

Foreign Minister Petros Moliviatis met in Athens today with relatives of the crewmembers of the oil tanker Tasman Spirit, who are held by the Pakistani authorities.

The relatives of the sailors expressed concern for the fate of their loved ones in Pakistan and at the same time, they stated that they are satisfied with the way the Greek Foreign Ministry handled the issue.

Mr. Moliviatis underlined the humanitarian dimension of the issue and stated that he will raise the case in the next General Affairs Council in Brussels. He also said that if necessary he is going to continue the efforts at any other level or framework to end the ordeal of the Greek sailors as soon as possible.

[04] GREECE HAS A WOMAN PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY

Mrs. Anna Psarouda-Benaki was elected Parliament President today and is the first woman to hold the post in the Greek history.

She was elected through secret ballot after being proposed as a candidate by the governing party of New Democracy. In favor voted 163 Parliament deputies (2 New Democracy deputies did not vote for her), while there was 1 spoilt ballot paper and 136 blank ballots.

[05] THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY OPENS ON MONDAY

The proceedings of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly open in Athens on Monday with the participation of Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Members of Parliaments of EU member states, the European Parliament and the state Parliaments of the countries in southern and eastern Mediterranean participating in the Barcelona Procedure (Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Independent Palestinian Authority, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon).

Greek Parliament President Mrs. Anna Psarouda-Benaki will open the proceedings formally. The assembly will be greeted by the co-presidents of the Euro-Mediterranean Assembly namely, European Parliament President Pat Cox and Morocco's Parliament President Abdelvahad Radi.

[06] LOSSES IN THE ASE

Losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.78% at 2365.40 points, while the volume of transactions was at 158.1 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 62 had gains and 265 had losses, while the value of 67 stocks remained unchanged.

[07] GREECE IN FAVOR OF THE STRICT IMPLEMENTATION OF UN RESOLUTION 1244 ON KOSOVO

Greece believes that the strict implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1244 constitutes a necessary precondition to safeguard peace, stability and democracy in Kosovo, stated Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos referring to the latest developments in the region.

He pointed out that Greece backs the peacekeeping effort of the UN Secretary General Special Representative and believes that the presence of KFOR and the other bodies of the UNMIK mission in Kosovo is a guarantee for security and stability.

Mr. Koumoutsakos stated that Greece calls on the two rival sides to refrain from any form of violence and respect life and all fundamental human rights.

The dialogue that got underway is the only way to solve the complex problems in Kosovo and Greece calls on the two sides to come to the negotiating table, stressed Mr. Koumoutsakos.

Greece, as a Balkan country and a member of the EU, is willing to offer meaningful assistance for economic development and stability in Kosovo and the wider region of western Balkans, underlined Mr. Koumoutsakos.

[08] PAPALIGOURAS: GREECE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE MATERIALIZATION OF THE EUROPEAN POLICY AGAINST TERRORISM

The need for legislative and regulatory measures at a European level against the plague of terrorism underlined Minister of Justice Anastasis Papaligouras speaking in the extraordinary Summit of the EU Justice and Internal Affairs Ministers held in Brussels today.

Mr. Papaligouras stated after the extraordinary meeting that Europe is directly threatened by the plague of terrorism and expressed Greece's will to contribute to the immediate materialization of a common European policy against terrorism.

The Justice Ministry has set as its main priority to combat organized crime, terrorism in particular, and tackle issues of its responsibility quickly and decisively, said Mr. Papaligouras, adding that he does not believe that freedom and security are conflicting values. On the contrary, he said, they complement each other because true freedom presupposes a society that feels safe.

[09] MEASURES AGAINST TERRORISM BY THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

The EU Ministers of Justice and Internal Affairs agreed on measures against terrorism in their meeting in Brussels today.

They decided to appoint a special coordinator to the Council of Ministers to deal with security issues. Also, there will be closer cooperation among the EU member states' central intelligence agencies, while a number of legal contracts will be signed based on which, the European countries will have to offer their assistance to a state hit terrorists.

Minister of Justice Anastasis Papaligouras and Minister of Public Order Giorgos Voulgarakis were Greece's representatives in the meeting. Speaking to reporters, Mr. Voulgarakis stressed that a central anti-terrorist EU policy should be drawn up and called on the European partners to offer their solidarity and assistance to Greece during the Olympic Games.

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