Athens News Agency: News in English, 07-08-03

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

CONTENTS

[01] Greece, Turkey link up nat'l gas networks

[02] Magginas visits island of Rhodes

[03] Majority of Brits face no problems in Greece

[01] Greece, Turkey link up nat'l gas networks

After the pipe from Turkey reached Greece and the section of the Greek-Turkish pipeline that goes under the River Evros, Sioufas congratulated the three companies involved in the project - Turkey's BOTAS, the construction consortium and the Greek natgas system manager DESFA.

"This is a very important event and we estimate that the project will be completed after 15 days, so that the two prime ministers can inaugurate for the arrival of natural gas from Turkey to Greece," the minister said.

Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan are scheduled to officially inaugurate the project once it is complete.

Sioufas also underlined that the project was a great achievement for both countries, while expressing his complete satisfaction with the cooperation between the Greek development ministry and Turkey's energy ministry.

"The two natural gas pipeline systems will become one, a Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline that will transport natural gas from Asia to Europe," he underlined.

Guler, on his part, said that it was "a happy day" for Turkey because the project was more than just a natural gas pipeline but a "project of peace that united two friendly nations".

"We believe that through this plan relations will be improved to the desired level," he said, adding that he expected to carry out further projects in collaboration with Sioufas in the future, in electricity, natural gas and possibly renewable energy.

"Both Greece and Turkey are sun-drenched countries and we can also look at the green energy sector. I believe that in the future we will carry out many plans together," he said.

[02] Magginas visits island of Rhodes

The relocation of the IKA offices on the island was among the issues discussed with local authorities in the presence of Aegean and Island Policy Minister Aristotelis Pavlidis, Deputy Foreign Minister Yannis Valinakis and Parliament Special Permanent Committee on Institutions and Transparency Chairman Anastasios Karamarios.

Magginas announced that the Worker Homes Organization, OEE, will undertake the construction of a day nursery on Rhodes, while he also attended the inauguration of the Business Activities Facilitation Centre supporting young entrepreneurs and the unemployed seeking to become active in the sector of tourism and other areas.

The minister of employment also visited the IKA offices in the city of Rhodes and was briefed on existing problems.

[03] Majority of Brits face no problems in Greece

The Embassy announcement said that British tourists enjoy their holidays in Greece and often return, indicating that it is a very popular destination for Britons.

It also clarified that the FCO report aimed to reduce problems faced by Britons on holiday by informing them of the type of difficulties they might encounter if they don't take local conditions into account and adopt some measures of self-protection.

Among these measures the Embassy listed travel insurance, respecting local customs and laws and avoiding drug use and excessive consumption of alcohol.

Finally, it stressed that cooperation with Greek authorities on tourism-related issues was excellent and that the FCO report highlighted the need for British authorities to continue working with the authorities in tourist destinations around the world in order to reduce the problems.

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