Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 04-10-15

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

CONTENTS

[01] SECURITY IS A FUNDAMENTAL GOOD

[02] THE CONSTRUCTION OF THESSALONIKI'S METRO TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2005

[03] THE EU ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS COUNCIL MEETING WAS COMPLETED IN

[04] GAINS IN THE ASE

[05] ABOLITION OF THE VISA REQUIREMENT FOR THE TWO-DAY VISITS OF TURKS TO

[06] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE F16 CRASH

[07] GREECE IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT TODAY'S VOTE IN THE UN

[08] RESCUE TEAMS FOUND THE REMAINS OF THE FOUR PILOTS

[01] SECURITY IS A FUNDAMENTAL GOOD

Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis characterized as a big bet for the government the upgrading of the quality of life in the cities, addressing the Regions' Committee of the European People's Party Group that meets in Athens.

The meeting on Security and Civil Protection in the European Cities was held in cooperation with the Municipality of Athens.

Mr. Karamanlis stated that the people living in the European cities are faced today with problems concerning the downgrading of the environment, traffic problems, the social and economic exclusion and unemployment, while he stressed that it is impossible to upgrade the quality of life if the fundamental public good of security is not ensured for the people living in the cities.

Mr. Karamanlis referring to the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in Athens reiterated that they were held in an environment of absolute security a fact that overturned all preexisting concerns.

[02] THE CONSTRUCTION OF THESSALONIKI'S METRO TO BE LAUNCHED IN 2005

The construction of the Thessaloniki metro will be launched in the summer of 2005 according to a statement made by Minister of Environment, Land Planning and Public Works Giorgos Souflias.

The goal is that in the next 5-6 years Thessaloniki will have a modern metro network, stated Mr. Souflias, who also announced that the Athens metro network will be further expanded in very important destinations while it will be linked with the Athens suburbs.

[03] THE EU ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS COUNCIL MEETING WAS COMPLETED IN LUXEMBOURG

The EU Environment Ministers Council meeting was completed in Luxembourg. Head of the Greek delegation was Deputy Minister of Environment, Land Planning and Public Works Stavros Kaloyiannis.

The Environment Council reached a Political Agreement after the first reading on important legislative proposals by the European Commission, while it reached conclusions on other issues as well.

One of the legislative proposal concerns inspections on the production and use of certain of the greenhouse gases and aims at the enactment of a legislative framework to limit the HFC and PFC emissions, which are toxic gases and are regulated by the Kyoto Protocol.

[04] GAINS IN THE ASE

Gains were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index rose to +0.43% at 2422.17 points, while the volume of transactions was at 116,1 million euros.

Of the stocks trading today, 130 had gains and 156 had losses, while the value of 118 stocks remained unchanged.

[05] ABOLITION OF THE VISA REQUIREMENT FOR THE TWO-DAY VISITS OF TURKS TO GREECE

Evros Prefect Nikos Zabounidis with a letter to Deputy Foreign Minister Ioannis Valinakis requests the abolition of the visa requirement for the Turks who want to make two-day visits to Greece.

Mr. Zabounidis in his letter mentions that it has been established from the visits exchanged by the Greek and Turkish local administration representatives and the tourist and trade representatives that the interest of the Turkish people in the strengthening of tourist and trade relations with the prefecture of Evros, northeastern Greece, has increased.

The prefects of eastern Aegean have also expressed the same request with Mr. Zabounidis.

[06] THE GOV'T SPOKESMAN ON THE F16 CRASH

Greek government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos extended the condolences of the government to the families of the four Greek Air Force pilots who were killed yesterday during a training flight.

Responding to a question on the frequency of the accidents in the Greek Air Force, he stated that the metaphysical quests should be avoided stressing that the government examines each case separately.

He reminded that an investigation is underway to determine the causes of the Chinook accident and the same will happen with the two F16 jets.

[07] GREECE IS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT TODAY'S VOTE IN THE UN

There is optimism that Greece will be able to be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the vote that takes place today.

Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Giorgos Koumoutsakos stated that there is optimism that the outcome of the vote will be positive for Greece and will be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the period 2005-2006.

The term in the UN Security Council, in which 5 of the 15 members will be replaced today, lasts two years.

[08] RESCUE TEAMS FOUND THE REMAINS OF THE FOUR PILOTS

The remains of the four pilots of the two Greek Air Force F16 fighter jets that crashed yesterday were found in mount Pilio, central Greece, this morning.

The search continues since the early morning hours today and the most likely cause of the tragedy is the collision of the two aircraft while is not ruled out the likelihood that one of the aircraft crashed on the mountain and the second one followed. The two aircraft were on a training flight in cloudy conditions.

The crash happened yesterday afternoon a few minutes before the end of the exercise given the fact that the two aircraft were expected for landing at the military airport of Anchialos, central Greece.

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