Salonica will be nice to summit protesters
The crowds of anti-globalization activists expected to converge on Thessaloniki for the June European Union summit will enjoy their stay, according to government proposals unveiled yesterday. After chairing a meeting of local authorities on the matter, Minister for Macedonia and Thrace Giorgos Paschalidis said a great effort would be made to be nice to summit protesters. «We want Thessaloniki, during the summit, to be an open, hospitable city without forbidden zones,» he told journalists. Proposals aired at the meeting included providing accommodation, free or subsidized public transport, «hygiene support,» special tourist maps and online information to visiting protesters. The end-of-presidency summit will be held in a Halkidiki hotel complex 120 kilometers (75 miles) out of town.