Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 01-04-06

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

CONTENTS

[01] TURKEY FOLLOWS GREECE'S LEAD ON MINE REMOVAL

[02] HOUSE VOTES TODAY ON REVISION OF CONSTITUTION

[03] COMMENTS BY BEGLITIS ON A GREEK-AMERICAN NEWSPAPER REPORT

[04] "17 NOVEMBER" TRACES IN A VAN

[05] GREECE RULES OUT THE CONFEDERATION SOLUTION IN CYPRUS

[06] CONFERENCE ON THE GREEK-ROMANIAN BUSINESS RELATIONS

[07] LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

[08] COSMOTE AND PANAFON: INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF THEIR SUBSCRIBERS

[09] MOST FOREIGN SEASONAL WORKERS AT EVROS REGION

[10] COMMISSION OKs ROAD AXIS X UPGRADE PROTOCOL

[11] SOLBES CONFIDENT OF GREECE'S ECONOMIC COURSE

[12] GREEK, TURKISH DMs MEET IN FYROM, DISCUSS CBMs

[13] PAPANDREOU-CEM JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE

[14] US SECRETARY OF STATE TO MEET WITH BALKAN DMs

[15] THE PATRIARCHATE OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE COPTIC CHURCH RECOGNIZED THE

[01] TURKEY FOLLOWS GREECE'S LEAD ON MINE REMOVAL

Turkish Foreign Minster Ismael Cem stated that his country will remove the minefields at the Greek-Turkish border at Evros, following the initiative undertaken by Greece on this matter.

Specifically, Mr. Cem stated that Greece moved ahead of Turkey on the issue of cleaning the minefields along the Evros River, as it was first to table the matter before the Hellenic Parliament.

This is a very important development with great and symbolic significance, he stated.

A.F.

[02] HOUSE VOTES TODAY ON REVISION OF CONSTITUTION

The Hellenic Parliament's 300 deputies are to vote today on a series of Constitutional amendments in a session that will culminate with a roll call vote.

Ruling PASOK party deputy Evangelos Venizelos has expressed his confidence that the majority of the parliament will vote in favor of Article 57 concerning the incompatibility of exercising one's profession while holding a seat in Parliament.

Regarding the request of main opposition party of New Democracy, which had called for the postponement of the vote until after Easter, House Speaker Apostolos Kaklamanis stated yesterday that the time allotted for reviewing the Constitutional amendments was adequate.

Specifically, he stated that There is no reason for the postponement of the vote for after Easter. Behind this request, there are designs that are not spelled out."

A.F.

[03] COMMENTS BY BEGLITIS ON A GREEK-AMERICAN NEWSPAPER REPORT

Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis characterized as inaccurate a report on the New York based Greek-American newspaper "Proini" according to which, Athens does not want a Greek-American ambassador.

Mr. Beglitis stated that this report does not reflect reality and it is not true. He said that the Greek foreign ministry never had such a disagreement with the US state department. The Greek foreign ministry spokesman in a statement he has issued underlined that the press reports on the issue are inaccurate.

[04] "17 NOVEMBER" TRACES IN A VAN

The British Scotland Yard uses laser beams and other hi-tech means in its effort to find traces of members of the terrorist organization "17 November" in a van used by them in the assassination of British brigadier Stephen Saunders in Athens last summer.

This new fact, which is related with the assassination of the British military attache and can play a decisive role in the investigation underway, was brought to light by Athens newspaper "To Ethnos".

According to the news report, the "17 November" assassins had used a motorcycle and a small Mitsubishi van in the attack. The van is now in the hands of the British secret services and is being examined by specialists.

The Greek Anti-Terrorist Agency decided to keep the existence of the van a secret to facilitate the investigation on the case. The van was found at a distance of about 1 kilometer from the spot where the assassination took place.

The results of the van examination will be included in the report that will be drawn up by the British secret services concerning the terrorist problem in Greece and especially the "17 November" actions. The "Operation Digest" report is expected to be delivered to the Greek ministry of public order possibly by next month.

[05] GREECE RULES OUT THE CONFEDERATION SOLUTION IN CYPRUS

The message of the Greek government to the Cypriot people is clear. The Greece-Cyprus joint defense doctrine is still in effect and the search for a solution to the Cyprus problem is within the framework of the UN decisions, stated Greek government spokesman Dimitris Reppas, stressing that the likelihood of a confederation solution is not under discussion. Mr. Reppas said that the only solution under discussion is that of a federation.

When he was asked if Greece will mediate in favor of Turkey's demand for international economic assistance to overcome its economic crisis, Mr. Reppas said that Greece understands the efforts made by Turkey to overcome its economic crisis in order to solve its problems and referred to the statements that will be made by foreign minister Giorgos Papandreou who is on a formal visit to Turkey.

[06] CONFERENCE ON THE GREEK-ROMANIAN BUSINESS RELATIONS

Romanian prime minister Adrian Nastaze, speaking in a special two-day conference that opened in Bucharest today, underlined that Greece has a strong economy and stressed the role played by Athens in the reconstruction and stability of the Balkans.

The special conference on "The Greek experience from the EU accession and how it can be used by Romania" is organized by the Greek-Romanian Business Council in cooperation with the Greek national economy ministry. Invited to attend the conference are distinguished personalities from the academic, political and economic world in Greece and Romania.

[07] LOSSES IN THE ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE

Marginal losses were recorded in the Athens Stock Exchange today. The general index dropped to -0.17% at 3.054,64 points, while the volume of transactions was slightly increased compared to yesterday's session at 192.90 million Euro or 65.73 billion drachmas.

Of the stocks trading today, 100 recorded gains and 236 had losses, while the value of 38 stocks remained stable.

[08] COSMOTE AND PANAFON: INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF THEIR SUBSCRIBERS

COSMOTE, the Greek Telecommunications Organization, OTE, mobile phone subsidiary showed an increase in the number of its subscribers in the first trimester of 2001 and continues to present high growth rate consolidating its domination in the Greek mobile phone market.

Specifically, its customer basis increased by 87.3% at the end of March 2001 compared to the same period in 2000 and now it numbers a total of 2.284.888 active subscribers.

Meanwhile, the mobile phone company PANAFON SA showed an increase of 32% in the January-March trimester and it numbers a total of 2.340.000 subscribers.

[09] MOST FOREIGN SEASONAL WORKERS AT EVROS REGION

Approximately 45,000 foreign seasonal workers found work in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace last year, with almost half of them having labored in the region of Evros, according to a report recently issued by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Specifically, 20,100 foreign workers were employed in the Evros municipality, followed by the municipalities of Kavala (11,700), Drama (5,500) and Xanthi (5,400). The least number of foreign seasonal workers (1,710) was found in the municipality of Rodopi.

This data was collected by the local agencies of the agriculture ministry on the basis of the per region annual total, as farmers in Greece are obliged to declare ahead of time their needs in foreign seasonal workers, in order to employ them legally, thus avoiding stiff penalties by the law.

A.F.

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