Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-08-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] FOCUSED ON CHANGES

[02] THE POLITICAL PARTY LEADERS' VISITS TO THESSALONIKI'S ITF

[03] OLYMPIAKOS AND PAO TO PLAY AGAINST REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA IN THE

[04] CRAIOVA TO HOST THE 2005 ANNUAL BALCINET SUMMIT

[05] ANA-MPA COOPERATION WITH BALCINET

[06] MERCEDES-BENZ ACTROS TRUCKS RECALLED

[07] DOUBLE RECALL PROGRAM BY HYUNDAI

[01] FOCUSED ON CHANGES

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis addressing the New Democracy Central Committee meeting reiterated that he is focused on the policy of changes and reforms to improve the position of the people and the country.

Mr. Karamanlis stated that the government will follow this path without compromises and in spite of the difficult international environment while he accused the opposition of populism and lack of political positions stressing that it is engaged in an effort to distort the government positions through lies.

The Prime Minister reiterated that Athens looks forward to Turkey's European course under the precondition that it will implement the European acquis and stressed that Greece does not suffer from phobic syndromes.

[02] THE POLITICAL PARTY LEADERS' VISITS TO THESSALONIKI'S ITF

The dates on which the Prime Minister and the political party leaders will visit Thessaloniki's 70th International Trade Fair have been finalized.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will inaugurate the Thessaloniki ITF on Friday, September 9 at 8 pm.

The following day, Mr. Karamanlis will outline the government's economic policy in the formal dinner that will be given in the presence of the production forces' representatives.

PASOK leader Giorgos Papandreou will address the production forces' representatives in a formal dinner on September 17.

Communist Party general secretary Aleka Papariga will visit Thessaloniki on September 14-15 and Coalition President Alekos Alavanos will be in Thessaloniki on September 13-14.

[03] OLYMPIAKOS AND PAO TO PLAY AGAINST REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA IN THE CHAMPIONS' LEAGUE

Athens' football teams Olympiakos and PAO will play against Spain's Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively in the Champions' League.

Olympiakos will also play against French champion Olympique Lyonnais and Norway's Rosenborg, while PAO will face Werder Bremen and Italy's Udinese, its first time in the event.

The opening games will take place on September 13 or 14 and the specific phase of the event will be completed on December 6 or 7.

[04] CRAIOVA TO HOST THE 2005 ANNUAL BALCINET SUMMIT

The European prospect of the Balkan countries and the issues of drug trafficking and crime will be examined in the annual summit of the Balkan Cities Network, BALCINET, to take place in Craiova, Romania on September 30-October 2.

The summit's agenda was finalized in Thessaloniki today in the meeting of the Network's Executive Secretariat made up of the mayors of Piraeus (the host of the previous summit held in 2004), Craiova (the host of the 2005 summit) and Ankara (host of the 2006 summit)

Mayor of Thessaloniki (seat of the Executive Secretariat) Vasilis Papageorgopoulos pointed out that the municipality will submit proposals to the Craiova Summit on the issues of drug trafficking and crime, while Piraeus City Council President Konstantinos Gaveras underlined that the existence of the network since 2000 constitutes a manifestation of the idea of inter-Balkan cooperation.

Craiova Mayor Antonie Solomon gave an emphasis on the European orientation of the Balkan countries, while Ramasan Chabasakal, head of Ankara Municipality Public Relations Office, submitted a proposal to hold the 2006 summit in Ankara on September 6.

MPA general director Spiros Kouzinopoulos conveyed a message by ANA general director Giorgos Tampakopoulos and presented the program of cooperation of the two news agencies with BALCINET.

On his part, Thessaloniki International Trade Fair, ITF, managing director Themis Kartsiotis called on the representatives of the BALCINET members to participate in the 1st International Trade Conference to take place under the auspices of the Ministry of Finance in the Ioannis Vellidis Conference Center on September 13-15 within the framework of the International Trade Fair in Thessaloniki.

[05] ANA-MPA COOPERATION WITH BALCINET

The cooperation program of Athens News Agency, ANA, and Macedonian Press Agency, MPA, with the Network of Balkan Cities, BALCINET, was presented in the network's Executive Secretariat meeting held in Thessaloniki today.

The network's founder Thessaloniki Mayor Vasilis Papageorgopoulos stated that the goal of the cooperation is the promotion of the activities, problems and European orientation of the Balkan cities through the two Greek national news agencies which are in the process of merging.

According to MPA general director Spiros Kouzinopoulos, who attended the meeting and conveyed a message by ANA general director Giorgos Tampakopoulos, a proposal will be presented in the next Association of Balkan News Agencies, ABNA, General Assembly meeting to expand cooperation to include all news agencies in SE Europe.

Within the framework of this joint activity with BALCINET, ANA-MPA will issue an e-bulletin with all kinds of information every three months that will be sent to all Balkan countries, local administration organizations, government agencies, mass media, etc.

The official presentation of this cooperation will be made in the 6th Friendship and Cooperation International Meeting of all major Balkan city mayors to take place in Craiova, Romania on September 30-October 2.

[06] MERCEDES-BENZ ACTROS TRUCKS RECALLED

The Mercedes-Benz ACTROS trucks are being recalled by MERCEDES-BENZ HELLAS in cooperation with the Mechanical Inspection Office, according to the Ministry of Development consumer general secretary Thanasis Skordas.

The recall concerns 10 trucks manufacture series 950-954, code F156, Megaspace driver's cabin. The problem is traced to the specific model's steering-wheel compartment that can be corroded by moisture and dirt and in extreme cases this could lead to steering-wheel failure.

All owners of the above mentioned model will be notified with personal letters. The MERCEDES-BENZ HELLAS stated that they can visit a Mercedes-Benz certified repairer to have their trucks checked and repaired free of charge.

[07] DOUBLE RECALL PROGRAM BY HYUNDAI

The HYUNDAI Hellas in cooperation with the Mechanical Inspection Office implement a program of double recall for the Sonata-NF and the Tuscon-JM models, according to the Ministry of Development consumer general secretary Thanasis Skordas.

The first recall concerns 109 Sonata-NF cars (23 of them have been sold and 86 are still in automobile dealerships). They were manufactured in the period of May 1, 2005 - May 5, 2005 and their ESP system needs reprogramming.

The second recall concerns 25 Tuscon-JM cars manufactured in the period of March 29, 2005 - May 20, 2005 with a possible handbrake malfunction.

The owners of the above mentioned Hyundai cars can visit a Hyundai certified mechanic to have their cars checked and repaired free of charge.

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