This Week
MONDAY Foreign Minister George Papandreou leaves tonight for a one-day visit to Cairo. – The Athens Labor Center and other groups are to hold a rally protesting Israel’s military action in Ramallah. Starting at 7 p.m. at the Old University on Panepistimiou Street they will march to Parliament, the US Embassy and the Israeli Embassy. – University professors start a five-day strike in pursuit of financial and institutional demands. To Friday. – Farmers in Ioannina hold a demonstration protesting over the price of cotton. – The Corinth Canal will be closed to traffic from 8 a.m. to noon due to maintenance works. TUESDAY Prime Minister Costas Simitis chairs an interministerial meeting to review all planned state projects for the northern city of Thessaloniki, including the construction of a subway. – The chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission, Denis Oswald, arrives in Athens for a series of meetings with government officials. To Friday. WEDNESDAY The IOC’s Coordination Commission begins to inspect preparations for the 2004 Summer Olympics. To Friday. – Garbage collectors and other municipal and local community workers begin a 48-hour strike demanding more pay and permanent contracts. – The Communist-led Pan-Labor Front (PAME) holds a countrywide strike protesting recent government proposals for reforming the social security system. THURSDAY Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller arrive in Athens on an official visit, during which they will hold talks with Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Foreign Minister George Papandreou and other top government officials. – UN special envoy for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, briefs the UN Security Council on the ongoing direct talks between Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash. – Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Cassoulides arrives in Athens for talks with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou. The Cyprus talks are expected to top the agenda. – The executive committee of the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) convenes to examine the impasse in the collective wage agreement and the social security issue. – The Bank Employees’ Federation (OTOE) meets to decide on strike action. – The Movement of Free Citizens, headed by Athens Mayor Dimitris Avramopoulos, is to be declared a member of the European Liberal Democratic Parties in Brussels. FRIDAY Cyprus President Glafcos Clerides and Turkish-Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash open the third round of their direct talks. – Prime Minister Costas Simitis begins a two-day visit to the islands of Cephallonia and Zakynthos. – National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis, on a visit to the central prefecture of Larissa, is to speak at a conference on «The Future of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.» – Farmers in Tyrnavos, Larissa, hold a demonstration against government measures on cotton.
