From: miltos@nfl2.irc.nrc.ca Subject: News (in ENGLISH)- Tue, 2 Nov 1993 (Greek Press Office BBS, Ottawa). Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): The Maastricht Treaty on European Union came into effect yesterday, providing Europe with "great impetus", according to a European Council announcement late last week. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos welcomed the implementation of the treaty and expressed the government's satisfaction, saying its initial stages coincided with the Greek EC presidency. The treaty is based on the following concepts: Greater economic prosperity and the progressive establishment of an economic and monetary union constituting a stable framework for development and the creation of jobs. Greater ambitions in foreign policy, the establishment of a joint policy in the foreign relations' sector and effective control of social problems such as drug trafficking, organised crime and illegal immigration. More democracy at all levels and a new framework to attain the Community's steadfast aims of security, prosperity and solidarity. The new treaty strengthens the Community's social activities and extends its responsibilities in the social sector to enable the Commission to table new draft directives improving the working environment, working conditions and social security for the working classes. Britain, however, has been exempted from the treaty's clauses on the social sector. The new treaty effectively establishes "European citizenship", allowing every citizen to circulate freely and settle in member-states with the restrictions and conditions set out in the treaty. European citizens residing in member-states other than that of their origin will have the right to vote and stand for election in municipal and European elections in their adopted country. The Council of Ministers will enact this right before December 31, 1994, after a proposal by the Commission and consultations with the European Parliament. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): Alternate Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos will visit Luxembourg tomorrow and Bonn on Thursday in the context of preparations for the Greek EC presidency in January. Mr. Pangalos will meet Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jacques Poos Wednesday and German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel in Bonn on Thursday. He will visit Strasbourg on Thursday to represent Greece at the Council of Europe's ministerial session and will meet Council of Europe Secretary General Catherine Lalumiere and the parliamentary assembly presidency which includes former deputy and presidency member Lazaros Ephraimoglou. The Council of Europe's ministerial session will focus primarily on assessing the recent Council of Europe summit held in Vienna on October 8-9. Two other major issues to be discussed are national minorities and relations with candidate member-states such as Russia, Albania, Croatia, Moldavia and Belarus as well as the issue of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia being admitted to the Council of Europe. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): Culture Minister Melina Mercouri left for Paris yesterday to attend the UNESCO General Conference and meet UNESCO Director General Federico Mayor Zaragoza. Today, Ms Mercouri will attend the unveiling of the sculpture by Takis which Greece will donate to the UNESCO building in Paris and make an address as a member of the 42-member international honorary committee of international cinema personalities organised by UNESCO. Early in the afternoon, UNESCO director general Mr. Zaragoza will announce UNESCO's event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the cinema to be carried out with a great campaign in the 178 member-states to focus on salvaging the heritage of international cinema. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): President of the Republic Constantine Karamanlis yesterday received the new ambassadors of Japan, Spain and Peru. The ceremony was also attended by Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias and Secretary General to the President's office, Ambassador Petros Molyviatis. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): The name of the Athens News Agency's new general director will be officially announced today, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said yesterday. Mr. Venizelos added that the new management of state-run television, ERT, will also be announced soon. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): Greece yesterday deported 22 Iraqi refugees, arrested in Thessaloniki after entering the country illegally from Bulgaria. The refugees --six adults and 16 children between the ages of two and twelve-- were driven to the Greek-Bulgarian border yesterday morning and deported on the orders of the public prosecutor. They told police that a further 13 refugees, most of whom were parents of the children, had evaded arrest. Meanwhile, a ministerial meeting was held yesterday morning to discuss the problem of illegal immigration. Among those participating in the meeting were minister to the Prime Minister's Office Anastasios Peponis, National Defence Minister Gerasimos Arsenis, Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias, Interior Minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos, Justice Minister George Kouvelakis and Public Order Minister Stelios Papathemelis. Government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said that there had been an exchange of views and a number of proposals were put forward which would be presented to Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou. The spokesman said that the problem of illegal immigration was "extremely acute", particularly with regard to the large number of immigrants entering the country illegally from Albania. He added that the issue would be brought up during Foreign Minister Karolos Papoulias' forthcoming visit to Tirana. Mr. Venizelos said that the problem of illegal immigration was being dealt with in accordance with the provisions of international law and Greek legislation. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): The main opposition New Democracy party will elect a new leader tomorrow morning. The body of electors comprises the party's 111 MPs, nine Eurodeputies and 63 delegates elected by local organisations on Saturday. Candidates include Ioannis Varvitsiotis, former national defence minister, Miltiadis Evert, former minister to the prime minister's office, and Ioannis Kefaloyiannis, former interior minister, who is expected to make a final decision today on whether or not he will stand for election. Two other candidates, Sotiris Kouvelas and George Souflias, withdrew from the race last week. Meanwhile, 10 of the Attica region's 12 electors said they would vote for Mr. Evert, after meeting at an Athens hotel yesterday. Their statement caused a reaction within the party with former premier and outgoing party leader Constantine Mitsotakis declaring such statements did not serve party unity. Mr. Varvitsiotis said such statements were unacceptable as they violated the principle of vote secrecy. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): US President Bill Clinton has praised the work achieved by outgoing New Democracy party leader and former premier Constantine Mitsotakis, noting relations between the US. and Greece had never been better. In a letter dated October 28, President Clinton said Mr. Mitsotakis left office in the wake of a series of major achievements, also stressing Mr. Mitsotakis' efforts as premier would remain in the memories of many Americans who had toiled hard and deeply cared to promote relations between the two countries. Mr. Mitsotakis received similar messages from other foreign leaders including Russian President Boris Yeltsin, German president Richard von Weizsaeker, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, premiers of the UK John Major, Denmark, Paul Rasmussen, Bavaria max Strebl, NATO Secretary-General Manfred Woerner, and UK Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd. New York, 2/11/1993 (ANA - M. Georgiadou): Greece's national holiday of October 28 was also celebrated by the Greek community in New York last week with Archbishop Iakovos officiating at a special service at the Holy Trinity Orthodox cathedral on Sunday. Archbishop Serapheim, primate of Greece, who is in the US for medical tests, was also present. The service was attended by presidiums of the Federation of Greek Associations of New York, the Pan-macedonian Association of America and Canada, Greek and Cypriot diplomatic missions, and a large gathering of members of the Greek community. Greek Consul-General Charalambos Rokanas read out messages from President of the Republic Constantine Karamanlis and Premier Andreas Papandreou. Archbishops Iacovos and Seraphein paid tribute to the patriotism and fighting spirit of Hellenism, which serves as the nation's shield against any designs from its neighbours. Later, a reception was held at the Greek Community Centre, at which the new committee of the Federation of Greek Associations of new York was sworn in. Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): Ioannis Georgakis, chairman of the Foundation for Hellenic Culture, has died of heart failure, the foundation said in an announcement yesterday. It said Mr. Georgakis, 78, died early yesterday morning at his home. Born in Piraeus in 1915, Mr. Georgakis studied law at the universities of Athens, Munich, Heidelberg, Leipzig and Freibourg and was a professor of criminal law. After a distinguished academic and public service career, he was appointed chairman of the Foundation for Hellenic Culture in June 1992. A member of the Athens Academy and former chairman of the Greek National Tourism Organisation (EOT) and the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation, Mr. Georgakis also served as care-taker interior minister in the lead-in to the October 10 elections. The Foundation for Hellenic Culture was established by a unanimous decision of parliament and operated under the auspices of the President of the Republic. President of the Republic Constantine Karamanlis sent a letter of condolences to Mr. Georgakis' daughter expressing his deep grief. "I was deeply moved by the death of your father, my friend, who was distinguished in the cultural and intellectual circles in our country", Mr. Karamanlis said. Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou also sent a telegram expressing his condolences to the family of the deceased. "I express my deep grief at the sudden death of Professor Ioannis Georgakis", Mr. Papandreou said. The Coalition of the Left and Progress party issued an announcement on the death of Mr. Georgakis also saying that "his contribution to the letters and science has been significant". Culture Minister Melina Mercouri said that with Mr. Georgakis' death, Greece has lost "the man who fought for human rights, the scientist who gathered knowledge..." Political Spring President Antonis Samaras described Mr. Georgakis as "a modest presence who will live through the important work he did for all of us as an academic and as chairman of the Onassis Foundation and the Foundation for Hellenic Culture". Athens, 2/11/1993 (ANA): A public prosecutor in Thessaloniki yesterday ordered an investigation into a missing 17th century work which monks at the all-male monastic community of Mount Athens say top Bulgarian officials are implicated in. The move came after repeated accusations by Bulgarian monks at the Zografou monastery that a delegation of academics from Bulgaria had stolen the book "The History of Paisios" during a visit three years ago. In a letter sent to Bulgarian President Zhelyu Zhelev in 1992, the convent's abbot, Efthymios, said Bulgarian embassy officials in Athens assisted the academics in the alleged operation to steal the 17th century work, considered a Bulgarian national treasure. Efthymios said a fake copy was placed in the monastery's library. Judicial sources in Thessaloniki say police are expected to request the help of the Bulgarian authorities. Bulgarian embassy officials in Athens have made no comments on the accusations. END