Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-04-05

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

CONTENTS

[01] PM meets development minister, EU Commissioner Dimas

[02] Drastic measures against hooliganism planned

[03] Easter exodus begins in poor weather

[01] PM meets development minister, EU Commissioner Dimas

Sioufas said their talks had also focused on the energy and natural gas markets and the major investments planned for these sectors, which he stressed would bring major benefits for consumers and in terms of employment, and the need to intensify efforts on all levels and sectors of the government's overall work.

"The citizens must be sure that we are listening to their voice and meeting the commitments that we have undertaken toward them," Sioufas said, expressing conviction that the government's policies would bring the desired results.

Immediately afterward, the prime minister also received Greece's European Commissioner for the environment Stavros Dimas.

On Wednesday, meanwhile, Karamanlis had separate meetings with National Education Minister Marietta Yiannakou and Culture Minister George Voulgarakis.

In talks with Yiannakou he discussed issues concerning developments in the sector of education and the implementation of the programme, whle the meeting with Voulgarakis focused on the culture ministry's action plan until the summer.

Voulgarakis announced that the draft law on the National Dance and Theatre Centre will be tabled in Parliament on April 17.

He also said that he briefed the prime minister on the return of more antiquities in April, following relevant discussions that have taken place.

Lastly, the minister further revealed that he and the prime minister discussed the culture ministry's activities, such as the Athens Festival, the Herod Atticus Theatre and Epidavros.

[02] Drastic measures against hooliganism planned

Minister of State and government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said the move was decided on Wednesday during the first meeting of a new government committee for tackling sports violence, made up of Deputy Sports Minister George Orfanos, Public Order Minister Vyron Polydoras, Justice Minister Anastasios Papaligouras and himself.

"First, we will abolish the current law on the associations. After Easter a new bill will be discussed and voted on. Secondly, we decided to upgrade the service dealing with violence, that operates within the public order ministry. At the same time, cooperation between the police and the teams before matches will be made more systematic, in order to eradicate the risk of incidents. Thirdly, there will be a campaign to inform and sensitise public opinion to violence," Roussopoulos said.

The minister pointed out that there were 270 fan clubs in Greece, the majority of which were hotbeds for violence. He noted that the law currently in force sent trouble-makers straight to jail, underlining that 19 hooligans had already be sent to prison.

Finally, he reminded reporters that a new system where match tickets would be issued electronically and by name will start being enforced from the next season, when stadiums will also be equipped with cameras.

[03] Easter exodus begins in poor weather

So far, traffic on the two main national highway networks appears to be moving smoothly, while police have taken special measures and restricted on the movements of heavy goods vehicles for the days with the heaviest movement of traffic.

The public order ministry on Wednesday announced a temporary ban on trucks over 1.5 tonnes from using the outbound lanes of main national highways from large cities at peak hours, starting at 15:00 until 20:00 on Thursday and from 6:00 until 14:00 on Good Friday.

On Monday, when holiday-makers return to their homes, large trucks are again banned from using the inbound lanes from 15:00 until 23:00.

The ban does not apply to trucks carrying fresh produce, meat, fish and dairy products, as well as live animals, trucks distributing the press, post office vans and road assistance vehicles, as well as fuel tankers.

Merchant Marine Minister Mihalis Kefaloyiannis, meanwhile, visited Piraeus port in order to inspect the measures taken for the safety and convenience of passengers during the busy Easter period.

He was accompanied by senior officers of the Greek coast guard, which is responsible for technical inspections on ships, checking tickets and counting passengers.

Shipping companies are also inspected on whether they conform to rules about keeping to schedules, informing passengers, safe loading of vehicles and hygiene, as well as to whether they offer mandatory discounts to entitled groups, such as young children, disabled, war veterans and others.

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