Athens News Agency: News in English, 03-02-12

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Greek warning of 'deep crisis' if EU fails to adopt a common stance on

[02] Papandreou - EU troika-China meeting called off

[03] Greece beats Norway 1-0 in international soccer friendly

[04] Greece to extend 'anti-pollution' surveillance of ships

[05] Athens municipality, French embassy to hold jobs forum

[06] Weather Forecast: Rain, snow on Thursday

[07] Greek stocks end lower on Wednesday

[01] Greek warning of 'deep crisis' if EU fails to adopt a common stance on Iraq

A foreign ministry spokesman of European Union presidency Greece on Wednesday warned that the Community risked entering ''a period of deep crisis'' if it failed to adopt a common stance on Iraq and reaffirm the position taken at the last General Affairs Council.

''We will make every possible effort so that the EU expresses in a text, in a unified and effective way, its stance for UN precedence on the Iraq issue and for Saddam Hussein's compliance with UN Security Council resolution 1441'', Greek foreign ministry spokesman Panos Beglitis said.

''This is what's desirable. Failure to achieve that would not mean that the Greek presidency's efforts are either voided, damped or defeated,'' he added.

Greece, who is currently holding the six-month rotating EU presidency, in a bid to help bridge variance in positions within the EU member-states vis-a-vis the Iraq crisis, on Monday called an emergency EU summit to take place next Monday, after UN weapons inspectors to Iraq Hans Blix and Mohammed ElBaradei deliver their report to the UN Security Council on Friday.

[02] Papandreou - EU troika-China meeting called off

A European Union troika visit to China, which was to be headed by Greeces Minister of Foreign Affairs George Papandreou, scheduled for Friday, February 14, has been cancelled, according to a Foreign Ministry announcement in Athens on Wednesday.

The announcement cited as the reason for the development the attendance of the Peoples Republic of China Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan in the deliberations of the United Nations Security Council meeting to look into the Iraq crisis.

Papandreou, currently presiding over the EU Council of Foreign Ministers, will also travel to New York to attend the UN Security Council meeting on Iraq, scheduled for Friday, February 14.

[03] Greece beats Norway 1-0 in international soccer friendly

Greece beat Norway 1-0 in an international soccer friendly match in Iraklio, Crete, on Wednesday evening.

The goal was scored by Sotiris Kyrgiakos in the 26th minute.

The match was part of the two teams' preparations for the preliminaries of EURO 2004.

Greece's win can constitute a psychological booster in view of its match against Northern Ireland in Belfast on April 2, a match which will keep alive or dash the hopes of the Greek team to qualify for the finals in Portugal.

[04] Greece to extend 'anti-pollution' surveillance of ships

Electronic 'eyes' that will monitor the activities of tankers will soon be installed in ports used as gateways for the distribution of fuel, such as Limnos, Mytilene, Karpathos, Crete, Kythera and the Peloponnese, it was announced on Wednesday.

Merchant Marine Minister George Anomeritis said the new installations would extend the National System for the Control and Management of Maritime Traffic, which already operates in the ports of Patras, Piraeus, Corfu and Igoumenitsa, and increase protection of the maritime environment.

The new devices will allow 24-hour monitoring of ships that aims to restrict illegal activity, such as causing pollution.

Anomeritis said that fines of 989,737 euros had been levied against polluters of the marine environment in 2002, while 355 separate incidents of pollution had been recorded by ships and land-based installations.

He said that Greece had the means, trained personnel and 17 anti-pollution protection stations in as many ports around the country, which would help protect the environment that was also a source of wealth for Greece.

[05] Athens municipality, French embassy to hold jobs forum

The municipality of Athens and the French embassy are to hold a recruitment forum in Gazi on February 14-15 when 20 Greek and French companies will be seeking new staff.

It is first alliance in the labour sector forged by the embassy and municipality.

A variety of activities to help boost employment will be held by the forum in the future.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet educators, consultants, politicians, managers and business executives.

[06] Weather Forecast: Rain, snow on Thursday

Snow is forecast in the centre and north. The rest of the country will be cloudy with rain in low-lying areas and snow on high ground. Storms are expected in the Aegean early in the day. The weather will clear intermittently on the western mainland. Winds variable, strong to gale force. In the north, temperatures will range from -4 to 4C; on the rest of the mainland from -1C to 9C; and in the islands from 4C to 11C. Temperatures in Athens between 3C and 8C; and in Thessaloniki from 1C to 4C.It will snow on mountains around the capital, with sleet or rain in the capital, and high winds. Thessaloniki will see snow.

[07] Greek stocks end lower on Wednesday

Greek stocks ended Wednesday's session lower, resuming its downward trend after Tuesday's rebound, with the Greek market depressed by a negative climate in other European bourses.

The general index fell 0.68 percent to end at 1,677.32 points, with turnover a low 40.8 million euros.

The Cement and Retail sectors were the only ones to score gains (up 0.75 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively), while the Textile, Publication and IT Solution sectors suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day (2.83 percent, 1.92 percent and 1.56 percent).

The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavy traded stocks fell 0.66 percent, the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index ended 0.95 percent lower and the FTSE/ASE SmallCap 80 index dropped 1.38 percent.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 252 to 52 with another 49 issues unchanged.

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