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Greek News Agenda |
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AN EAST-WEST ENERGY BRIDGE Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the bridge over the Evros River on Sunday, at the border between Greece and Turkey, for the inauguration of the Greek-Turkish natural gas pipeline that went into operation on that day. The two premiers shook hands and then went to Ipsala, on the Turkish side of the border, for an inauguration ceremony also attended by Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, U.S.Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Greek Parliament President Dimitris Sioufas, who had been instrumental in the execution of the project as development minister. The 300-kilometer pipeline is eventually expected to bring natural gas from the Caspian Sea via Turkey and Greece to Italy and from there to the rest of Europe. "This project will bring significant benefits both for Turkey and for Greece" Karamanlis said, stressing that Greece, its government and all its political forces were "once again seeking good neighbourly relations, relations of cooperation, and relations of continual rapprochement between the two peoples …and strongly support Turkey's course toward Europe". In his own message, Erdogan expressed hope that the cooperation between Greece and Turkey on this first major and important project would extend to political and cultural issues between the two countries. "Greece's geopolitical position is upgraded, the country increases its energy security and creates important growth and financial benefits… the two countries contribute to securing Europe's energy supply," Development Minister Christos Folias told Reuters last week. The underground pipeline - from Bursa in Turkey to Komotini in Greece - is expected to reach an annual capacity of 11.6 billion cubic meters by 2012 when the link to Italy is set for completion. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis is expected to visit Turkey at the beginning of 2008.
Speaking in Parliament last week at Question Time, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis made it absolutely clear that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) authorities "must realize that persistence and intransigence do not build alliances…It must prove that it wants to be an ally and a partner, it must show respect for international law, and it must fulfill all preconditions, without exception if it wants to join both NATO and EU." According to an announcement by The National Coordinated Effort of Hellenes (CEH) on November 16, the FYROM's refusal to adhere to UN and US policy for: (1) an end to threatening propaganda against an American ally, Greece; and (2) the development of a name not injurious to Greece now qualifies as one of the four top concerns regarding foreign matters of Members of Congress since more than a hundred of them are cosponsoring a resolution urging FYROM's adherence to these US and UN policies regarding Greece ( H.Res. 356). NEWS Young Greek Americans Secretary General of Information Panos Leivadas spoke to a group of young Greek-Americans on Saturday during the first day of a symposium organised by the Council of Overseas Greeks of America, on the issue of " Meeting the Needs of Young Greek Americans: Opportunities and Perspectives in the United States and Greece," held at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. Leivadas cited the Greek economy's positive course, a burgeoning development in Greece's energy infrastructure and the paramount position of the Greek-owned merchant fleet. Moreover, he emphasised that Greece remains the business pillar of Southeast Europe, with noteworthy regional investments. Influential Hollywood actor, director and producer John Malkovich took centre stage on Sunday evening in Thessaloniki, where he gave the keynote lecture during a film master class on the sidelines of the 48th Thessaloniki Film Festival. The Academy Award-nominated actor and official guest of this year's festival, was presented with a "Golden Alexander" on Sunday evening, for his body of work and his contribution to cinema. The 48th annual Thessaloniki Film Festival began on Friday and continues to November 25.
The success of Sotheby's Greek Sale, which took place on November 14 in the London auction house, surpassed the best expectations and marked a profit that was much higher than the original estimate made by experts. Proceed from the sale amount over €11,500,000, which according to the official announcement that followed the sale, is the highest amount garnered at any auction of Greek art held thus far, not just by Sotheby's but by other auction houses as well. Experts say that the auction has raised the annual turnover made by Greek Sales to €22.5 million, which marks an impressive 97.5% increase over the 2006 revenues. Paintings in the last sale included works by Thodoros Rallis, Constantinos Parthenis , Yannis Tsarouchis, Yannis Moralis, Nikolaos Gyzis, and Constantinos Volonakis. Kathimerini daily: Greek art fetches record prices Greece became the first EU country to implement the Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises initiative- JEREMIE - a new EU tool to finance SME growth throughout the country. Danuta Hübner, the European Commissioner for Regional Policy, and Francis Carpenter, Chief Executive of European Investment Fund (EIF), officially launched a joint initiative to improve the access to finance for SMEs in regions of the European Union. JEREMIE, will enable European Member States and Regions to use part of their structural funds allocations more efficiently and flexibly through new financial instruments designed to support micro-, small- and medium- scale enterprises. Hellenic Centre for Investment: JEREMIE - Supporting Improved Access to Finance for SMEs
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