Athens News Agency: News in English, 05-11-23

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

CONTENTS

[01] Parliament committee approves electricity deregulation bill

[02] 'Developing tourism diplomacy' conference

[03] Papandreou to visit Turkey as ESP rep

[01] Parliament committee approves electricity deregulation bill

Endorsing the bill in outline were deputies of the ruling New Democracy party and main opposition Panhellenic Socialist Movement. Voting against were parliamentarians of the Communist Party of Greece and Coalition of the Left, Movements and Ecology.

Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas was the architect of the bill.

"A modern framework has now been created, attractive for large-scale investments in electricity output," Sioufas said when he sent the bill to the house.

"The benefits for employment and for consumers are obvious. The bill boosts competition, and, gradually, by July 2007, all consumers will be able to choose their supplier," he added.

[02] 'Developing tourism diplomacy' conference

Liaskos' comments were made at the conference "Developing Tourism Diplomacy in Urban Centres," organised by the Vocational Training Organisation (OEEK) and the vocational training school Triandria in Thessaloniki.

"It is time for public and private organisations to partner together, but it is also time for educational and vocational training organisations to realise the role they are called upon to play," Liaskos said.

He added that workers, environmental organisations and tourism enterprises must respect local resources and must encourage local communities to create new products and to modernise infrastructure.

It is in this direction that the government is working by seeking to enhance the tourism product, to strengthen the sector by capitalising and highlighting the country's cultural reserves, to upgrade quality of services and to reduce Greek tourism's seasonal character.

On his part, OEEK Vice-President Constantinos Margaritis said that everyone's priority is the qualitative upgrading of Greek tourism, noting that Greek tourism has taken on a developmental role. This, he said, also explains tourism diplomacy, a concept that has recently become a part of Greece's tourism policy.

"We are certain that the tourism ministry's leadership will make the most of our experience and proposals and will call on us to formulate together a new tourism diplomacy framework that will have the new generation as its reference point," Margaritis said.

[03] Papandreou to visit Turkey as ESP rep

Papandreou, who made the statement following a meeting of the coordinating body of the party's Parliamentary Group, described as "spasmodic the moves being made" in eastern Turkey by the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The PASOK leader was questioned by reporters on the increased presence of Turkish occupation troops in Cyprus and replied that "this is a very serious issue which PASOK will examine very carefully."

Papandreou also referred to the presence of U.S. weaponry in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus, stressing that "they are there in violation of the resolutions of Congress." He noted that "it is probable that all these things would not have occurred if we were not simply observers in Lucerne."

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