Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 05-11-07

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

CONTENTS

[01] LONG-TERM DIALOGUE ON SOCIAL SECURITY

[02] UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO UPGRADE TALAT

[03] FYROM SHOULD MAKE A GREAT EFFORT TO ENTER THE EU

[04] THE MINISTER OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE GREEK ECONOMY

[05] THE ND PARTY SECRETARY MET WITH THE CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT

[06] DIPLOMATIC CONSULTATIONS ON MR. KARAMANLIS' VISIT TO ANKARA

[07] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE INCIDENTS IN FRANCE

[08] ND LEADS PASOK IN AN OPINION POLL

[09] THE AGHIA SOPHIA MUSEUM STOREHOUSE IN A STATE OF DERELICTION

[01] LONG-TERM DIALOGUE ON SOCIAL SECURITY

Minister of Finance and Economy Giorgos Alogoskoufis and Minister of Labor and Social Protection Panos Panagiotopoulos sent a letter to the presiding boards of the Economic and Social Committee, OKE, the General Confederation of Labor Unions, GSEE, the public sector employees' union, ADEDY, and other institutions inviting them to a dialogue on social security.

A number of reports on the issue will be sponsored by OKE and funded by the state budget.

Mr. Alogoskoufis stated that there is a need for a long-term dialogue adding that the next governments will undertake the necessary initiatives.

[02] UNSUCCESSFUL EFFORT TO UPGRADE TALAT

Cypriot Parliament President Dimitris Christofias in statements he made after his meeting with main opposition Socialist Party PASOK President Giorgos Papandreou placed the visit of Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to the United States within the effort to upgrade Mr. Talat's prestige, and possibly the pseudostate's, and exert pressure on the Greek Cypriot side which, however, was unsuccessful.

Mr. Christofias invited Mr. Papandreou to Cyprus on the occasion of the AKEL party congress.

Mr. Papandreou stated after the meeting that Turkey should fully meet its obligations toward the Cyprus Republic with the adoption of the protocol, the recognition of Cyprus and the lifting of obstacles to the Cyprus Republic participation in international organizations.

[03] FYROM SHOULD MAKE A GREAT EFFORT TO ENTER THE EU

New special EU representative in FYROM, Erwan Fouere speculated in statements he made in the TV Sitel private television show Eurozom that the European Commission report on FYROM's European course expected to be given to publicity on November 9 will include both the achievements and shortcomings of this course.

A small country with a turbulent history should make a great effort to create a climate of confidence between ethnic communities, stressed Mr. Fouere.

On the talks regarding the final status of Kosovo, the Irish diplomat expressed the view that they will be hard and sensitive, while he also wished that any solution reached will respect the region's ethnic diversity and bring it closer to the EU.

[04] THE MINISTER OF DEVELOPMENT ON THE GREEK ECONOMY

Minister of Development Dimitris Sioufas pointed out, addressing the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce conference on the Time of the Economy, that the policies followed by the New Democracy government have started yielding fruit.

He pointed out that in spite of the negative international climate, the debts and deficits of the past, Greece's growth rate is more than three times higher compared to the Eurozone, underlining the intense investment interest confirmed by the fact that a total of 769 investment plans of 1,769 million euros were submitted in the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Development by the end of October.

The Greek exports increased 9.9% in the first eight months in 2005 compared to the same period last year when there was a 0.4% decline. Also, there was 8% increase in tourist arrivals during the first seven months of 2005, while foreign currency revenues increased 10%. At the same time, according to the Greek National Statistics Agency figures, unemployment is dropping.

The Minister of Development referred to the conclusions of research and reports conducted by international organizations and firms. For example, the UNCTAD reports on direct foreign investments placed Greece at a comparatively conspicuous place, Grand Thornton International points out that the percentage of the Greek rapidly developing firms increased from 13% in 2004 to 15% in 2005, while this year's Transparency International report shows clearly that Greece's downward international assessment course has ended.

[05] THE ND PARTY SECRETARY MET WITH THE CYPRIOT PARLIAMENT PRESIDENT

Ruling party New Democracy Secretary Vangelis Meimarakis met with Cypriot Parliament President Dimitris Christofias and assured him that the party of New Democracy will do everything so that all the people on the island to be able to enjoy the EU benefits.

Mr. Christofias stated that the meeting was held in a very good atmosphere and discussed common concerns on Cyprus, its course and the Cyprus issue.

[06] DIPLOMATIC CONSULTATIONS ON MR. KARAMANLIS' VISIT TO ANKARA

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos responding to questions on recent news reports according to which the Prime Minister's visit to Ankara has been cancelled cited an older statement he had made.

Specifically, Mr. Rousopoulos reiterated that a diplomatic consultation is underway to set the date for the visit of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis to Ankara, stressing that this is the position of the government.

[07] THE GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ON THE INCIDENTS IN FRANCE

The effort for the solution of the problems of the immigrants is continuous. An effort on the issue has already been made by the Ministry of Interior, Public Administration and Decentralization. Societies in the EU member states are different. However, there are problems that have to be foreseen and the Greek government has proceeded with legislative regulations.

Government spokesman Thodoris Rousopoulos made the statement in response to a question by a reporter on the social unrest recorded in the past few days in France.

[08] ND LEADS PASOK IN AN OPINION POLL

Ruling party New Democracy leads main opposition Socialist Party PASOK by 2.4 percentage points, according to an opinion poll conducted by RASS polling company and published in the newspaper PARON.

Specifically, New Democracy leads with 32.9% followed by PASOK 30.5%, Communist Party 6.1%, SYNASPISMOS 2.9% and LAOS 4.2%.

Responding to the question on who is most fit for prime minister, Costas Karamanlis is leading with 46% compared to Giorgos Papandreou with 27.1%.

A 49.8% of those who responded to the questionnaire expressed the view that PASOK is responsible for the current economic situation compared to New Democracy's 40.9%.

Also, the main opposition party is regarded as responsible by 45.8% for the corruption phenomena compared to New Democracy's 34.4%.

New Democracy is more responsible for the negative developments in national issues 42.9% compared to PASOK's 30.8%.

[09] THE AGHIA SOPHIA MUSEUM STOREHOUSE IN A STATE OF DERELICTION

The Aghia Sophia Museum storehouse in Istanbul, Turkey where church objects, ceramics, and tombstones from the Byzantine and Ottoman period are being kept is in a state of dereliction.

According to the newspaper Milliyet, the Aghia Sophia storehouse looks like a garbage dump and the objects kept there are in a very bad state while humidity has destroyed the storehouse walls.

The new museum director who assumed her duties a month ago called a Scientific Council meeting and requested immediate decisions for the restoration of the storehouse.

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