Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 06-03-20

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

CONTENTS

[01] SOLUTION FOR THE OLYMPIC AIRLINES

[02] DEFENCE MINISTER MEIMARAKIS TO VISIT BULGARIA

[03] PREFECTURE OF THESSALONIKI PROTEST

[04] GREEK-BULGARIAN DEFENSE COOPERATION

[01] SOLUTION FOR THE OLYMPIC AIRLINES

A plan for the rescue and reform of Olympic Airlines is being examined by the government, according to Minister of Transport and Communications Michalis Liapis, who made the statement after the meeting he had with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

Mr. Liapis appeared optimistic that the plan under consideration which provides for the establishment of a new company that will operate based on private business criteria and have a manager, will be ready soon and receive the approval of the European Commission.

Regarding labour relations, Mr. Liapis spoke about a major reform that will benefit the airline employees.

[02] DEFENCE MINISTER MEIMARAKIS TO VISIT BULGARIA

Minister of National Defence Vangelis Meimarakis arrives in Bulgaria today on a formal visit, according to the Bulgarian Ministry of Defence in Sofia.

Mr. Meimarakis is scheduled to meet with his Bulgarian counterpart as well as Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov and Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev.

The Bulgarian Minister of Defense visited Turkey last week and plans to visit Romania by the end of March.

[03] PREFECTURE OF THESSALONIKI PROTEST

All Thessaloniki Prefecture services will remain closed on Wednesday in a show of protest, according to a statement by Prefect Panagiotis Psomiadis.

The move is in protest to the problems faced by the city and the region of Thessaloniki and the prefecture calls for an aid grant of at least 40 million euros.

According to the prefect, 20 million euros are needed immediately to cover the prefecture's debt for schools that have been built and are in operation, while the rest 20 million euros are necessary to meet current needs both in the sector of school buildings and other sectors that fall under the jurisdiction of the prefecture.

[04] GREEK-BULGARIAN DEFENSE COOPERATION

Greek Minister of Defense Vangelis Meimarakis gave a joint press conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Vesselin Bliznakov after the talks they had in Sofia today within the framework of the Greek minister's two-day formal visit to Bulgaria.

The Bulgarian minister underlined that Sofia regards as very important its participation in the European combat formation with Greece, Romania and Cyprus, stating that it is a new important direction for defense cooperation between the two countries which continues successfully for the past 20 years. He also expressed Bulgaria's gratitude for Greece's firm support to his country's NATO and EU accession, underlining that Greece was among the first member-states that ratified Bulgaria's and Romania's accession treaties.

On his part, Mr. Meimarakis expressed satisfaction for the very good level of bilateral relations and the dynamic defense cooperation.

Mr. Meimarakis stated that they expressed their common willingness to create the necessary conditions for the people in the region to live in peace and stability. He said that within this framework it was made clear that the future status of Kosovo should be the outcome of dialogue and negotiations.

Meanwhile, a total of 38 Bulgarian officers have been trained in military academies in Greece. Bulgaria is expected to send a team of surgeons to the Greek-run military hospital in the Afghan capital Kabul. The issue concerning the joint participation in the training of Iraqi army and security forces personnel on Bulgarian soil is under discussion within the framework of the NATO decision.

Mr. Meimarakis is also scheduled to meet with Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev, the responsible parliamentary committee and other officials.

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