This Week
MONDAY Taxi drivers begin a 24-hour strike at 5 a.m., protesting new legislation that aims to create cooperatives and enforce the renewal of the taxi fleet. – Staggered summer opening hours begin, with public offices, food stores and supermarkets opening at 7 a.m.; banks at 7.45 a.m.; and clothing stores, bookstores and department stores at 9 a.m. To the end of September. – Prime Minister Costas Simitis starts an official six-day visit to China, during which he will meet with President Jiang Zemin and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji. – The Foreign Ministry’s political director, Anastasios Skopelitis, holds talks with his Turkish counterpart, Ugur Ziyal, in Athens for the third round of exploratory talks on sovereignty issues affecting the Aegean Sea. – Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides is in Copenhagen for talks with top government officials. – National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis is to attend a Eurogroup finance ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg. – Alternate Foreign Minister Tassos Yiannitsis holds talks with Alvaro Gil Robles, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, at the Foreign Ministry. – Army Chief Gen. Panagiotis Harvalas travels to Istanbul for the annual meeting of NATO army chiefs. To Wednesday. – Posidonia Exhibitions hosts the Posidonia Congress at the Athens Concert Hall. The congress deals with economic, transport, commerce and energy issues within the framework of globalization. Merchant Marine Minister Giorgos Anomeritis and European Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio will attend. TUESDAY National Economy and Finance Minister Nikos Christodoulakis attends a EU finance ministers (ECOFIN) meeting in Luxembourg. – President Costis Stephanopoulos starts an official five-day visit to Australia. Stephanopoulos will then visit New Zealand. – New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis begins a two-day visit to Brussels. He is to meet with European Commission President Romano Prodi and attend a meeting of the European People’s Party. – The Posidonia 2002 maritime exhibition gets under way at the Piraeus Exhibition Center (OLP). WEDNESDAY Ecumenical Patriarchate organizes the 4th Environmental Symposium, on a tour of the Adriatic. To June 10. THURSDAY Defense Minister Yiannos Papantoniou attends a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels. To Friday. – Foreign Minister George Papandreou is to attend a meeting of Asian and European (ASEM) foreign ministers in Madrid. – Development Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos is to attend a meeting of EU industry and energy minister, in Luxembourg. – New Democracy party leader Costas Karamanlis begins a seven-day visit to the USA. He is expected to meet with administration and congressional officials and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. FRIDAY The Macedonian News Agency in cooperation with the Athens 2004 Organization holds a conference at the Olympeion in Thessaloniki, on «The Role of the Balkan Mass Media in the Digital Era, in view of the 2004 Olympic Games.» To June 8. – The Institute for the Development of Euro-Chinese Relations holds the 3rd International Congress of Greek and Chinese Philosophy entitled «Wisdom and Philosophy in Ancient Greece and in China.» At Delphi Cultural Center. To June 8.
