This Week
Monday Chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix and Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, are due in Athens at 7 p.m. to brief the Greek EU presidency on developments in Iraq. – Foreign Minister George Papandreou to meet in Athens with the president of the Western European Union’s parliamentary conference, Jan Dirk Blaauw, at noon; with his Dutch counterpart, Jacob de Hoop Scheffer, at 3 p.m.; with Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller at 4.30 p.m. – Secondary school teachers hold a work stoppage from 11 a.m to 2 p.m for more pay. They will stage a protest at noon outside the Education Ministry in Athens. – Prime Minister Costas Simitis heads a government team on a visit to Patras and the construction work on the Rio-Antirio bridge east of the city. – Justice Minister Philippos Petsalnikos, Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos, Culture Minister Evangelos Venizelos, and Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos brief their counterparts on the Greek presidency in Brussels. – The board of the Federation of Greek Industries (SEV) meets with members of the European Commission in Brussels. – Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee, visits Berlin at the invitation of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. To tomorrow. – British track legend Sebastian Coe due in Athens for briefings on the Olympics with government and 2004 officials. – US Embassy and consulates closed in observance of Martin Luther King’s birthday. – Spanish Deputy Foreign Minister Ramon de Miguel visits Athens. To January 21. Tuesday Disabled people protest outside Parliament against new legislation which they say will damage the welfare system. At 6 p.m. – EU-USA meeting in Vouliagmeni, Athens, where EU ministers will meet with US Deputy Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones. To January 22. – Romanian PM Adrian Nastaze pays an official visit to Athens. – Street market vendors stage a rally outside the Economy Ministry, demanding the suspension of new tax provisions. – Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis to chair an ECOFIN meeting in Brussels. Thursday Communist-led Pan-Labor Front (PAME) holds a demonstration in Athens in view of the informal meeting of EU labor and social security ministers in Nafplion on Friday. – Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov arrives in Athens to meet with the EU troika. – Farmers in Trikala and Karditsa prefectures hold a rally protesting against the economic crisis. Friday EU Labor and Social Security ministers hold an informal meeting on employment in Nafplion in the northeastern Peloponnese. To January 25. Anti-globalization groups and other organizations are planning a protest at 6 p.m.
