Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 00-05-26

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

CONTENTS

[01] NEW INVESTMENT OPENINGS BY HELLENIC PETROLEUM

[02] THE GREEK ANTIQUITIES MUSEUM IN MELBOURNE IS AT RISK OF CLOSING DOWN

[03] STATEMENTS BY SIMITIS ON THE IDENTITY CARDS

[04] THE CHURCH DECLARED AN UNRELENTING STRUGGLE ON THE ISSUE OF THE ID

[05] ASIA FORUM: FOUNDATIONS FOR EURO-ASIAN BUSINESS COOPERATION

[06] GAINS OF 0.79% WERE RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[07] KAKLAMANIS-ZEMAN MEETING

[08] THESSALONIKI AND NOVOROSISK WILL BE LINKED BY BOAT

[09] STATE SPOKESPERSON ON �MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE�

[10] REFORMS ARE CRUCIAL FOR S.E. EUROPEAN ECONOMIES

[11] EARTHQUAKE ROCKS LEFKADA, CAUSES NO INJURIES

[12] ALBANIAN AGRICULTURISTS WILL ATTEND TRAINING SEMINARS IN GREECE

[13] GREEK, TURKISH, BULGARIAN FMs MEET IN FLORENCE

[01] NEW INVESTMENT OPENINGS BY HELLENIC PETROLEUM

The Hellenic Petroleum proceeded to new investment openings in Albania, Romania and Greece expanding its activity to the sectors of research and exploitation of oil products and fuel trade while the company continues to record impressive gains.

According to statements made during a press conference in Athens, Hellenic Petroleum recorded profits before taxes of 19.5 billion drachmas in the first four months of the year compared to 11.3 billion drachmas in the same period in 1999 showing an increase of 72%.

Regarding the business openings made by the company it should be noted that after the deal reached with the Austrian OeMV for the joint exploitation of oil deposits in Iran, the two companies reached a new deal for the exploitation of possibly oil-rich regions in Albania.

[02] THE GREEK ANTIQUITIES MUSEUM IN MELBOURNE IS AT RISK OF CLOSING DOWN

The Greek Antiquities Museum in Melbourne housed at the city's Immigration Museum is at risk of closing down in case no agreement is reached between the government of Athens and the state government of Victoria in Australia, according to the Melbourne newspaper "Neos Kosmos".

The biggest part of responsibility for this development is attributed to the previous Liberal government of the state of Victoria for not signing an agreement with the Greek ministry of culture.

The Greek Antiquities Museum was inaugurated on November 9, 1998 by the then prime minister Jeff Kennet and Greek former minister of culture Evangelos Venizelos. According to the newspaper report, the fact that until today there have been only two exhibitions held in the museum makes it unprofitable.

[03] STATEMENTS BY SIMITIS ON THE IDENTITY CARDS

Greek prime minister Kostas Simitis referred to the issue of the identity cards during the cabinet meeting held today, pointing out that the law that has been passed in parliament concerning the citizens' relation with the state must be implemented.

Mr. Simitis stated that the issue of the listing of the bearer's religion on the identity card has captured the interest of the people and called the members of his government to focus their attention on the solution of the real problems faced by the country.

[04] THE CHURCH DECLARED AN UNRELENTING STRUGGLE ON THE ISSUE OF THE ID CARDS

The Greek Orthodox Church declared an unrelenting struggle using all means after the government decision not to list the bearer's religion on the new identity cards. Immediately after the meeting of the Lasting Holy Synod in Athens today, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and All of Greece read the unanimous decision reached for an unrelenting struggle which will not be characterized by extreme behavior, fanaticism or intolerance that could be planned as provocation by outside elements in order to defame the Church.

Archbishop Christodoulos accused the government of deceiving the Church and taking it by surprise maintaining that a group of individuals, who are not members of the parliament, mislead the prime minister. He said that he is in favor of the optional listing of religion on the identity cards and called for a mutually acceptable solution even at this final hour, while he suggested again that a referendum should be held on the issue.

In today's meeting of the Holy Synod it was also decided that the Holy Synod of the Church Hierarchy will hold a meeting on June 6.

[05] ASIA FORUM: FOUNDATIONS FOR EURO-ASIAN BUSINESS COOPERATION

Fruitful contacts aimed at forging business agreements in Asia, the Far East, south-eastern Europe and the Middle East were held within the framework of the ASIA FORUM 2000 that will be completed on May 28.

The agreements, proposals and the first conclusions from this year's conference were presented by ASIA FORUM chairman professor Marios Nikolinakos in a press conference that was given in Thessaloniki today.

The ASIA FORUM chairman, who is also the president of the Greek Economy Study Institute, underlined that the majority of the speakers in the conference representing 45 countries have expressed satisfaction for the enactment of a business cooperation institution based in Thessaloniki.

Mr. Nikolinakos also expressed satisfaction regarding the fact that the ministries of Macedonia-Thrace and national economy pledged to offer their backing to ASIA FORUM while HELEXPO repeated its cooperation proposal in the 2001 conference.

Meanwhile, the twinning of the municipalities of Thessaloniki and Seniag in China was made through the ASIA FORUM, while within its framework the cooperation of Greek tobacco company SEKAP with the Chinese delegation and representatives of the Indian embassy for the creation of a joint venture for the production of biological filters, was also promoted.

[06] GAINS OF 0.79% WERE RECORDED IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Gains of 0.79% were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange and the general index was at 4.596,70 points, while the volume of transactions was 159.8 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today 150 recorded gains and 170 had losses.

[07] KAKLAMANIS-ZEMAN MEETING

The warm and friendly relations between Greece and the Czech Republic were confirmed by Czech prime minister Milo Zeman and Greek parliament president Apostolos Kaklamanis in the meeting they had today within the framework of Mr. Zeman's formal visit to Athens.

Mr. Kaklamanis assured Mr. Zeman that the Greek parliament backs all the efforts made by the Czech Republic in its course toward the European Union, while he expressed the Greek parliament's appreciation for the stance adopted by the Czech Republic on the Cyprus issue regarding the implementation of international law and the UN Security Council resolutions on Cyprus.

Mr. Zeman delivered to Mr. Kaklamanis an invitation by his Czech counterpart to make a formal visit to Prague and thanked Greece for its support in the efforts made by his country for its accession into the EU, while he reiterated his country's' firm position on the issue of Cyprus. He also asked to be informed on the Greek electoral system in view of the changes under discussion in the electoral system of his country.

[08] THESSALONIKI AND NOVOROSISK WILL BE LINKED BY BOAT

The ferry-boat "Posidon" will link the ports of Thessaloniki and Novorosisk in Russia starting on May 30.

"Posidon" will make the trip from Novorosisk to Thessaloniki, Patmos, Haifa, Volos and will return to the Russian port. The ship will have the capacity to carry 37 large trucks loaded with goods from Novorosisk to Thessaloniki and Volos.

[09] STATE SPOKESPERSON ON �MACEDONIAN LANGUAGE�

Responding to the recent mobility noted among the self-appointed "National Macedonians of Greece", government spokesperson Dimitris Reppas reiterated today that there is no issue or even a subject for discussion over the self-called "Macedonian language".

Meanwhile, Australia's high court ruled today that descendants of FYROM can refer to their language as "Macedonian".

A.F.

[10] REFORMS ARE CRUCIAL FOR S.E. EUROPEAN ECONOMIES

Reforms necessary for southeastern European countries whose economies are in transition, were discussed today by the delegates attending the First International Economic Conference, presently held in Thessaloniki's University of Macedonia.

The participants also examined the global environment's role in the development of Central and Eastern Europe and discussed the structural characteristics of those economies under transition.

In order to facilitate these transitions, the speakers stressed the significance of establishing the necessary legal framework, while they also agreed that the institutional safeguarding of both domestic and foreign investors constitutes the key for the development of these economies.

Moreover, they underlined that the establishment of the said laws should take international standards into consideration in order to be aligned therewith.

Furthermore, the speakers stated that the development of the road axes which link the region with other countries is a priority task for achieving the said transitions, as this would strengthen trade, provided that border cooperation issues are resolved.

The four-day conference is organized by the Association of Economic Universities (ASECU) of the countries of Southeast Europe.

A.F.

[11] EARTHQUAKE ROCKS LEFKADA, CAUSES NO INJURIES

An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter scale jolted the region of Lefkada in northwestern Greece early today, causing damage to houses but no injuries.

Earthquake experts at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University have stated that seismic activity is a common occurrence for the region, which is the country's most quake-prone area.

An earthquake measuring 6.0 degrees on the Richter scale also struck Kalamata in the Peloponnese on Wednesday, but without damages or injuries.

A.F.

[12] ALBANIAN AGRICULTURISTS WILL ATTEND TRAINING SEMINARS IN GREECE

Twenty agriculturists of the Albanian ministry of agriculture will leave for Greece today to attend training seminars in the Peloponese in southern Greece that will last until June 16.

Albanian minister of agriculture Luftar Jiveli met with Greek ambassador to Tirana Alexandros Mallias and expressed the appreciation of the Albanian government for Greece's contribution to the training of officials from his ministry, stressing that Greece, as a member of the European Union, has offered a significant assistance to the development of the Albanian economy and especially to the development of the sector of agriculture.

Mr. Mallias pointed out the importance of the farming sector for the Albanian government as it can help in the overall development of the country's economy.

The Greek diplomat stressed that already 35 Albanian agriculturists have attended training seminars within the framework of cooperation of the Greek and Albanian ministries of agriculture.

[13] GREEK, TURKISH, BULGARIAN FMs MEET IN FLORENCE

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nadejda Mihailova met with her Greek and Turkish counterparts, George Papandreou and Ismael Cem, in Florence yesterday, with whom she discussed the trilateral initiative concerning environmental protection of the Evros region.

The Bulgarian FM had successive meetings with Messrs. Papandreou and Cem on the sidelines of the NATO Foreign Ministers Summit. She also stated that the aforementioned initiative will be discussed in the upcoming Balkan foreign ministers meeting which will be held in Athens.

A.F.

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