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MPA NEWS IN ENGLISH (21/06/1996)

From: Macedonian Press Agency <mpa@philippos.mpa.gr>

Macedonian Press Agency News in English Directory

MACEDONIAN PRESS AGENCY NEWS IN ENGLISH

Thessaloniki, June 21, 1996


NEWS IN ENGLISH

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

[B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS


TITLES

[A] NATIONAL NEWS

  • [01] GREEK PRIME MINISTER ADDRESSES EUROPEAN COUNCIL IN FLORENCE

  • [02] EUROPEAN UNION SUMMIT MEETING IN FLORENCE BEGAN TODAY

  • [03] ASSOCIATION OF BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES TO MEET IN ATHENS TODAY

  • [04] GREEK PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S PARLIAMENT

  • [05] PROTOCOL FOR THE COOPERATION OF THE GREEK AND UKRAINIAN RAILWAY NETWORKS IN THE TRANSPORT OF FOODSTUFFS

  • [06] NEXT WEEK'S GREEK-SKOPJAN TALKS POSTPONED

  • [07] MACEDONIA'S HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CALL OFF STRIKE, DEMANDS MET

  • [08] TALKS FOR THE NEW BORDER CROSSINGS IN GREEK-BULGARIAN BORDERS

  • [09] NORTHERN GREECE'S STATE THEATER EMBODIED INTO EUROPEAN CIRCLES

  • [10] WORLD-WIDE CATALOG OF GREEKS LIVING ABROAD CREATED BY PATRA UNIVERSITY

  • [11] LOADS OF FUN IN 1997 WHEN THESSALONIKI WILL BE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF EUROPE

  • [12] GREEK MUSIC CONCERT TO HONOR OLYMPIC GAMES IN ATLANTA

  • [13] GREECE TO GRANT $16,000 FOR GREEK FESTIVALS IN AUSTRALIA


  • [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  • [14] CYPRUS WILL SOON BE A FULL MEMBER OF THE EU, SAYS GOVERNMENT

  • [15] THE UNFICYP PROTESTED AGAINST THE TURKISH PROVOCATIONS

  • [16] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT IN FLORENCE FOR CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION

  • [17] COOPERATION AND TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN EU-FYROM RATIFIED

  • [18] TRADE AGREEMENT SIGNED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND FYROM

  • [19] COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO DISCUSS SITUATION IN ALBANIA NEXT WEEK


  • NEWS IN DETAIL

    [A] NATIONAL NEWS

    [01] GREEK PRIME MINISTER ADDRESSES EUROPEAN COUNCIL IN FLORENCE

    The issue of the turkish provocativeness was raised by greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis in the morning session of the European Council that is being held in Florence, Italy.

    Mr.Simitis, was the third speaker to address the European Council and using the opportunity presented by the issue of the "mad cow" disease that had been raised by Britain said to the EU partners, according to greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, that if mr.Major regards the "mad cows" issue as especially important for Britain then everyone has to acknowledge how important is a problem when it concerns the safeguarding of the national integrity of a member state.

    Mr.Simitis pointed out that, at this moment, the safety of the borders of a member state is in danger by another country which aspires to become a full member of the European Union.

    Specifically, if there is a reference to "solidarity" for Britain on the issue of the "mad cow" disease, then Greece will seek and request from its partners to also offer their solidarity to Athens on the issue of the greek-turkish relations.

    Mr.Simitis after reminding that Britain has made many EU programmes "inactive", through its policy of non cooperation, said to the EU partners that they must realize the difficult position Greece can be led to as a result of their indifference and unwillingness to take a position on the issue of the greek-turkish relations.

    According to information, the attempt by mr.Simitis to correlate those two issues annoyed the British Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister who, at one point during the greek Prime Minister's speech, took off their headphones in a show of protest.

    The greek government spokesman stated that mr.Simitis presented to the EU partners clear and detailed facts concerning the greek-turkish relations and outlined Greece's policy by saying that "problems can not be faced through threats for the use of force and through an effort to create a climate of tension and crisis".

    He also added that this behaviour not only undermines Greece's development course but it can also undermine and the course of the EU. Mr.Simitis left open the possibility for Greece to follow a similar policy with the one followed by Britain on the issue of the "mad cows", namely, to block the completion and implementation of joint EU policies and programmes.

    Also, mr.Simitis reminded that Greece, due to the turkish provocativeness, is forced to spend huge sums of money for the improvement of its defence in order to have the capability to ward off any danger, stressing that this fact undermines the country's economic growth.

    According to greek government spokesman mr.Reppas, the Prime Minister's speech today and the one he gave yesterday, during the meeting of the Socialist leaders, created positive impressions and favourable reactions.

    It should be noted, that in today's speech the greek Prime Minister backed the upgrading of the European Parliament's role and within this framework said that the European Parliament must be informed in advance on the allocation of funds for the MEDA programme in order to have the opportunity to prevent the programme's development in countries with human rights violations.

    Mr.Reppas also expressed Greece's satisfaction because in a European Parliament resolution a special reference was made to the Mediterranean countries "which do not want good neighbourly relations with other member states". This reference, stated mr.Reppas, clearly concerns Turkey and added that Greece will utilize this position.

    [02] EUROPEAN UNION SUMMIT MEETING IN FLORENCE BEGAN TODAY

    The European Union Summit Meeting, which began this morning in Florence at 11 am local time, will tackle major issues that concern the european community, spearheaded by the Inter- Governmental Conference (ICG) regarding revisions of the Maastricht Treaty, the plight of unemployment, the overall EU economic state, and the embargo placed on the beef meat and by- products exports from England that has resulted from the "mad cow disease."

    Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Mr. Fascino of Italy - which currently holds the EU Presidency prior to being relayed to Ireland- stated that the turkish memorandum submitted this week regarding greco-turkish relations and european solidarity will not be brought up for discussion during the Summit, but will be examined during the Foreign Ministers meeting with the turkish delegation tomorrow evening. Greece will be represented by a diplomat at this meeting.

    Prime Minister Kostas Simitis, accompanied by Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos and Under-secretary of Foreign Affairs George Romeos were received this morning at the session by Italian Premier Romano Pronti and Foreign Minister Laberto Dini.

    This afternoon, Italian Presiden Oscar Luigi Scalfaro will host a luncheon at the Medici Pallace welcoming the European Council members and the EU's National Economy ministers and, in light of the signing of agreements between EU-Chile and EU- Uztbekistan, in honor of these two countries' foreign ministers.

    Within the European Council's parameters, Prime Minister Simitis will meet with the President of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides who is currently in Florence.

    [03] ASSOCIATION OF BALKAN NEWS AGENCIES TO MEET IN ATHENS TODAY

    The Second General Assembly of the Association of Balkan News Agencies (ABNA) will begin in Athens this evening with the participation of the national news agencies from Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia.

    Attending the conference will be the general directors from each news agency, which are Macedonian Press Agency (in Thessaloniki) Spyros Kouzinopoulos, Athens News Agency Andreas Christodoulides, Anadolu (Ankara) Mehmet Akarca, ATA (Tirana) Ilir Zhilla, BIP (Sofia) Stefan Velev, BTA (Sofia) Milen Vaikov, MPB (Skopje) Milova Stefanovski, Rompress (Bucharest) Neagu Odroiu and Tanjung (Belgrade) Slobodan Jovanovic. Also present will be two observers, Fevzi Khraman, general-director of the Ankara-based independent IHA news agency and Ali Ibranimoglu, IHA's news coordinator.

    The conference will address issues such as the progress of MPA's Diavlos program, which envisions the creation of an inter- Balkan news data bank based in Thessaloniki, as well as the preparation for the exchange of financial information between ABNA members.

    The Conference's general assembly will begin at 9 am on Saturday at the Asteras resort in Athens' seaside suburb of Vouliagmeni. A dinner will be held on Saturday, honoring the general directors, who will visit Sounio on Sunday. The events are sponsored by the Athens Medical Center.

    [04] GREEK PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S PARLIAMENT

    Greek President Kostis Stephanopoulos will address the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

    On Monday afternoon, mr.Stephanopoulos is scheduled to speak in the Rober Schumann University.

    [05] PROTOCOL FOR THE COOPERATION OF THE GREEK AND UKRAINIAN RAILWAY NETWORKS IN THE TRANSPORT OF FOODSTUFFS

    A protocol of cooperation for the improvement and development of the transport of foodstuffs from Greece to the Commonwealth of Independent States with russian-type refrigerator-cars, without transshipment, was signed by first deputy Transport Minister of the Ukraine and general Director of the Ukrainian Railways, mr.Zeleznjak, Greek Railways Organization General Director mr.Lazaris and the organization's assistant General Director, mr.Rigas.

    During the meeting mr.Zeleznjak underlined his country's interest in that kind of transports and stated that will undertake initiatives in all the interested networks (russian, moldavian, romanian and bulgarian) for the improvement of the transport conditions.

    [06] NEXT WEEK'S GREEK-SKOPJAN TALKS POSTPONED

    The meeting of the representatives of Greece and FYROM, ambassadors Christos Zacharakis and Ivan Tosefski, scheduled to take place on June 25 under UN mediator Cyrus Vance, for the settlement of the issue of FYROM's name in accordance with the interim accord signed in New York, has been postponed.

    According to information from the UN headquarters, the date for the resumption of the talks in New York will be set immediately after mr.Vance's return from South Africa.

    [07] MACEDONIA'S HOSPITAL PHYSICIANS CALL OFF STRIKE, DEMANDS MET

    Macedonia's hospital physicians will suspend their strike today, as was announced after the Medical Assocation's General Convention held this afternoon in Thessaloniki.

    According to the President of the Association of Specialist Physicians of Macedonia Vassilis Nakos, 90 per cent of the doctor's financial demands were met by parliament yesterday.

    A similar move to end the strike is expected any time from the Athens front as well.

    [08] TALKS FOR THE NEW BORDER CROSSINGS IN GREEK-BULGARIAN BORDERS

    A bulgarian delegation is in the northern greek city of Xanthi for talks aiming at setting the area where one of the three new border crossings with Greece will be opened.

    The delegation is made up of bulgarian Undersecretary of Transport and Communications Ivan Gantchev, Prefect of Philippoupolis, Petko Tsarev and mayor of Smolian, Tsatalbasev.

    The bulgarian delegation met with greek local authorities and presented to them three alternative proposals concerning possible areas for the new border crossing in order to be selected the best possible for both countries.

    [09] NORTHERN GREECE'S STATE THEATER EMBODIED INTO EUROPEAN CIRCLES

    Northern Greece's sttate-owned theater has rightfully gained a place among Europe's best, according to the theater's artistic director Vassilis Papavasiliou.

    The European theatrical network includes the most renowed theatrical organizations in the continent, under the leadership of Giorgio Streller.

    [10] WORLD-WIDE CATALOG OF GREEKS LIVING ABROAD CREATED BY PATRA UNIVERSITY

    An electronic catalog, that will some day contain more than five million Greeks living abroad, was formally presented today at the University of Patra.

    The catalog, collated through the use of the Diogenis electronic program, will allow for an expedient and itemized access to all Greeks living in countries throughout the world.

    The task of putting together this voluminous work began at the Patra University and was continued through the cooperative efforts of Washington University and the University of Saint Louis, Missouri.

    [11] LOADS OF FUN IN 1997 WHEN THESSALONIKI WILL BE CULTURAL CAPITAL OF EUROPE

    The final artistic programme for 1997, when Thessaloniki will be the Cultural Capital of Europe, includes 250 cultural events, according to artistic director Panos Theodoridis, who also mentioned that the participation is 65% greek and 35% foreign.

    Among the main events is the exhibition of 580 sacred relics from 17 monasteries in Mount Athos which will be held in the Museum of Byzantine Civilization.

    [12] GREEK MUSIC CONCERT TO HONOR OLYMPIC GAMES IN ATLANTA

    The two Greek cultural events at this summer's Olympic Games in Atlanta will be a concert by the National Orchestra of Greece three days before the opening of the Games and the exhibition "Spirit and Body" which recently departed for the centennial anniversary of the modern Olympics.

    The concert is scheduled to be held at Atlanta's Symphony Hall with singer mezzo soprano Agnes Baltsa as the lead vocalist and noted composer Stavros Xarhakos directing. Works from Greece's most famous composers will be performed, among which will be pieces written by Mikis Theodorakis, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Manos Hatzidakis and Xarhakos.

    [13] GREECE TO GRANT $16,000 FOR GREEK FESTIVALS IN AUSTRALIA

    In a gesture that aids the promotion of the greek culture in Australia, the greek government announced today the granting of $16,000 to the Australian Federation of Greek Festivals.

    Along the same lines, Greece is giving financial assistance to Modern Greek Studies departments featured in australian universities.


    [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    [14] CYPRUS WILL SOON BE A FULL MEMBER OF THE EU, SAYS GOVERNMENT

    Cypriot government spokesman, Yiannakis Kasoulidis speaking to journalists in Florence, Italy where the European Council Summit is being held, expressed the certainty that Cyprus will soon be a full member of the European Union.

    The cypriot government spokesman outlined the cypriot government positions on its relations with the EU, with an emphasis on the accession course and the Cyprus problem.

    Responding to questions by reporters, mr.Kasoulidis stated that the cypriot government has a clear european orientation and works intensively and methodically for the full harmonization of the cypriot legislation with the european laws.

    [15] THE UNFICYP PROTESTED AGAINST THE TURKISH PROVOCATIONS

    The UN forces in Cyprus strongly protested against today's illegal and provocative flights of turkish Air Force jets over the free part of Nicosia.

    UNFICYP spokesman, Valtemar Rokosefski stated that two turkish fighter jets flew over the neutral zone twice, within the framework of the turkish military exercises while strong protests are being made and by the cypriot government.

    Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council begin consultations today for the adoption of a resolution on the renewal of the UN peace keeping forces mandate in Cyprus. According to information, a draft resolution will be tabled that will include only the paragraphs concerning the UNFICYP.

    The references to the Cyprus problem will be added after the UN Secretary General submits his report on his good services which is expected on Tuesday.

    Next Wednesday, will meet the countries which participate in the UN forces stationed in Cyprus, while on Tuesday will begin the informal consultations of the UN Security Council plenary session.

    [16] CYPRIOT PRESIDENT IN FLORENCE FOR CYPRUS' EU ACCESSION

    Cypriot PResident Glafkos Clerides has embarked on a series of contacts in Florence today regarding the matter of Cyprus' accession to the European Union. A meeting scheduled to take place today between Mr. Clerides and the Italian EU-Presidency's special representative for the Cyprus problem Frederico di Roberto will be held in light of the latter's imminent report on the matter.

    President Clerides, who is invited to the Summit by the Italian presidency, will also have a series of meeting with european leaders. In outlining his expectations from these contacts, President Clerides stated that negotiations regarding Cyprus' accession to the EU will begin six months after the Inter- Governmental Conference takes place, and assessed that during the next EU expansion, Cyprus will become a full member of the Union.

    [17] COOPERATION AND TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN EU-FYROM RATIFIED

    The cooperation and trade agreement drawn between the European Union and FYROM was ratified yesterday evening in Brussels.

    The Director of the European Commission's General Directorate of Foreign Affairs Pablo Benartides and the head of FYROM's delegation Yianne Milliovski, exchanged letters ratifying the bilateral agreement which promotes cooperation, especially on the trade sector.

    The EU member-states agreed that the signing of the agreement be done in a "unique" matter and specifically through an exchange of letters similar to NATO's "Cooperation for Peace." In other words, the skopjan government's letter states that the agreement is ratified by the "Republic of Macedonia", while in the European Commission's version Skopje is referred to as "FYROM".

    [18] TRADE AGREEMENT SIGNED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND FYROM

    After negotiations that lasted four months, the European Commission signed on behalf of the European Union, a trade cooperation agreement with FYROM, as well as an agreement concerning the transportation sector.

    The two sides also agreed on the restoration of a regular political dialogue between them.

    Based on the trade agreement, the European Bank of Investments will participate in the financing of the construction of infrastructure projects in FYROM with 150 million ECU.

    [19] COUNCIL OF EUROPE TO DISCUSS SITUATION IN ALBANIA NEXT WEEK

    The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will hold an emergency meeting next week in order to discuss the situation in Albania, which is a member of the imternational organization.

    As it was announced today by a Council of Europe spokesman, will be examined the situation in this country as it is being formed after the controversial elections that were held last Sunday and were won by the governing Democratic party.


    Complete archives of the Macedonian Press Agency bulletins are available on the MPA Home Page at http://www.mpa.gr/ and on the U.S. mirror at http://www.hri.org/MPA/

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