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The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English, 01-06-21The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Hellenic Radio (ERA) <www.ert.gr/>CONTENTSNEWS IN ENGLISH ERA-5. THE VOICE OF GREECE 21/6/2001 2:35:00 μμ Greek economy, satisfactory Samaranch is satisfied over the 2004 Olympic Games Developments in the ruling PASOK party The royal couple of Belgium visits Greece Legislation on Immigrants in progress 10 Digit telephone numbers as of July 1st Greek-American MP calls on US Congress about Cyprus' accession to the EU Greece celebrates World Day for Refugees Fuel prices to drop again Athens bourse [01] Greek economy, satisfactoryMinister of national economy Yannos Papantoniou appeared satisfied with the course of the Greek economy in statements he made after the meeting he had with prime minister Kostas Simitis yesterday.Mr. Papantoniou pointed out that in spite of the problems as a result of the slow down in the world economy and the oil crisis, the growth rate in Greece will be over 4.5% and inflation will be just under 3%, while the creation of fiscal surplus is regarded as certain. Referring to the investment growth rate, he said that it is high which means new job positions. The minister of national economy stressed the need to maintain the satisfactory results, stating that when the economy goes well actual income increases and the budget can sustain social spending. [02] Samaranch is satisfied over the 2004 Olympic GamesInternational Olympic Committee, IOC, president Juan Antonio Samaranch yesterday declared the opening of the Olympic Academy meeting in Athens. Mr. Samaranch appeared satisfied at the pace of preparations for the Olympics and expressed the belief that the Athens Olympic Games will be a huge success.Mr. Samaranch and IOC vice-president Jacques Rogge met with members of the Organizing Committee Athens 2004 yesterday, while the board of the Olympic Village presented to them the plans on the relative project. [03] Developments in the ruling PASOK partyThe climate anticipated at the ruling PASOK party's executive bureau session, to be held this afternoon, is expected to be gloomy, to say the least, in light of the latest opinion poll that gives the main opposition party of New Democracy quite a comfortable lead on nearly all counts.Specifically, the MRB poll found that PASOK is trailing the conservative ND by 8. 9 percent in voter preference, while ND leader Kostas Karamanlis for the first time edged Premier Kostas Simitis on the question of who would be the best prime minister. Furthermore, most of those polled (51.3 percent) believe that ND would win elections now, with 26.9 percent seeing a PASOK victory. Government spokesman Dimitris Reppas stated that the results of the poll are "worth studying", adding that PASOK and the government are part of Greek society and have to correctly assess the positions of that society. Stressing that the government still has three years ahead in which to complete its work, Mr. Reppas said that the poll's results reflect public opinion at a given moment. Meanwhile, prime minister Kostas Simitis called on all party senior members to attend today's meeting which will assess the current political developments, while the inner cabinet will convene tomorrow. [04] The royal couple of Belgium visits GreeceVisiting Belgian King Albert II and Queen Paola are to arrive in Thessaloniki today, the last stop of their official visit to Greece, the first by a Belgian monarch in the history of Greek-Belgian relations.The Belgian royal couple will be transported via helicopter to the Vergina archaeological site, while later in the afternoon they will be received by the Minister of Macedonia-Thrace George Paschalidis. King Albert met with Prime Minister Kostas Simitis yesterday, with whom he discussed Europe's future prospects. Yesterday, the Belgian monarch attended an official banquet at the Maximos Mansion and received the ND party leader Kostas Karamanlis as well as the general secretary of the Greek communist party Aleka Papariga, while he visited the Panathinaikon Stadium and the Archaeological Museum in Athens. [05] Legislation on Immigrants in progressIn less than a month since the state implemented new legislation on immigrant legalization, known as "second chance program", the vast majority of foreigners who are presently in Greece approved of the bill (90.2%), with a mere 8.2 percent viewing it as a negative development.According to a telephone poll conducted by the Citizens Service Center, 80.6 percent of those who responded are optimistic that their life will improve, although 6.5 percent fear that it will worsen and 11.7 do not expect any change. Out of the immigrants participating in the poll, 58.4 percent are from Albania, 10.3 percent from Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, 7 percent from Romania and 4.4 percent from Bulgaria. According to the report, half of the illegal immigrants presently in Greece have been here over four years, 63 percent live with their families, 72 percent wish to live in Greece over five years and 50 percent wish to settle permanently. According to the Interior Ministry's program, aliens eligible for acquiring a residence and temporary work permit must have completed at least one year of residency in Greece by June 2, when the new immigration legislation became enforceable. The program ends on August 2. [06] 10 Digit telephone numbers as of July 1stThe telephone numbers of the Greek Telecommunications Organization "OTE" will change into ten digit numbers across the country, as of July 1st, in three stages. The numbers will again change on October 2002, together will the numbers of all cellular phones. The changes are made so as to increase the available numbers, up to 100 million.[07] Greek-American MP calls on US Congress about Cyprus' accession to the EUIn the US, the Greek-American republican MP Michael Bilirakis and democrat MP Caroline Malony, both co-chairmen of the group in charge of Greek affairs of the parliament, have tabled an amendment, calling on the American Congress to issue a resolution in favor of Cyprus' accession to the EU, without setting as precondition a political solution to the Cyprus issue.Meanwhile, according to the European commission's reply to Greek eurodeputy of the Coalition of the Left Wing and Progress Alekos Alavanos about Turkey's national program for its entry into the EU, the dialogue between the EU and Turkey should be held on the basis of the Helsinki EU summit decisions. At the same time, the Turkish foreign minister Mesut Yilmaz, is being attacked by eurodeputies of all the countries and political groups, about delays in reforms in his country, concerning human rights and Turkeys stand on Cyprus' accession course. [08] Greece celebrates World Day for RefugeesGreece celebrated the World day for refugees yesterday with concerts and other events for children and grown-ups. The events were organized by the UN High Commission for refugees in cooperation with other social groups.[09] Fuel prices to drop againFuel prices will be gradually reduced this week. Super and unleaded will go down by 5.6 drachmas per liter while on the contrary, the price of diesel will increase by 4.6 drs.[10] Athens bourseLosses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The general index dropped to -0.93% at 2.806,65 points, while the volume of transactions was at 126.2 million Euro or 43 billion drachmas. Of the stocks trading today, the overwhelming majority, namely, 277 recorded losses and 53 had gains, while 52 stocks remained stable.The Hellenic Radio (ERA): News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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