Greek Parliament

Greece's president-elect, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, is to be sworn in on Thursday in a simplified ceremony in Parliament, with few officials present, to avoid the spread of the new coronavirus.

Greek lawmakers approved a restructuring plan for Larco late on Wednesday which Greece called a last attempt to save Europe's biggest nickel producer.
The European Commission said in November it was taking Greece to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over its failure to recover 135.8 million euros of illegal state aid to Larco, which is struggling under heavy debt.

Greek lawmakers approved a restructuring plan for Larco late on Wednesday which Greece called a last attempt to save Europe's biggest nickel producer.

The European Commission said in November it was taking Greece to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over its failure to recover 135.8 million euros ($147.63 million) of illegal state aid to Larco which is struggling under heavy debt.

A man reads in one of three branches of the Greek Parliament's library, in the central Athens district of Kolonos, during a visit to the facility by a group of MPs, on Wednesday. The Lenorman Street branch is located in a former state tobacco plant that was built in 1927 and listed as a historic monument in 1989.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the ratification by Greek Parliament on Thursday of an agreement with the US for a significant expansion of military cooperation.

In a tweet, Pompeo said the updated Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement agreement is "a strategic touchstone in our defense relationship."

The Greek National Intelligence service was among several top Greek state and government websites that went down on 17 January due to a wholesale cyber attack for which an ultra-nationalist Turkish hackers group with apparently strong neo-Ottoman sympathies named Anka Neferler Tim  has claimed responsibility.

The prime minister's nomination of top judge Katerina Sakellaropoulou to become Greece's next president is undoubtedly a historic step forward for the country.

At the same time, it is also a golden opportunity for all the political forces represented in the Greek Parliament to send out a loud and clear message, not only of unity but also of a collective recovery of the country.

Greece's prime minister announced on Jan. 15 his nomination of one of the country's top judges, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, as its next president.

In a televised address on state-run channel TV ERT, Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the next president would have to incorporate the nation's unity, as well as have a sense of duty, knowledge, prestige and international experience.

The government welcomed the central bank's interim report on monetary policy on Friday, saying it confirms the "realistic optimism" of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' cabinet, sources from ruling New Democracy said, adding that the report submitted to the Greek Parliament also confirms the entry of the Greek economy into "an upward spiral."

Greece needs to take tougher stance against bribery offenses involving state officials, the Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said in a report published on Wednesday.