Latest News from Greece

Unfavorable climate in the EU

Government officials are very pleased because they no longer feel the tight grip of the fiscal straitjacket imposed on them by Greece's creditors. They can comfortably spend, appoint civil servants and revoke painful reforms. They are fully focused on the next general elections.

No room for mistakes

In 2015 frustration spurred Greeks to vote for a party that vowed to turn things upside down with a supposedly heroic renegotiation of the bailout agreements with the country's foreign lenders and partners. But SYRIZA repeated all the bad habits that led Greece to default: nepotism, corruption, misguided handouts, mass hirings, interference in institutions and reliance on party acolytes.

Foreign firms niche in on Greek property

An international network promoting Greek apartments and holiday homes in select countries has started developing over the last few months, as a result of the growing demand by foreign investors for properties in Greece.

Qatar eager to grow business ties with Greece

Qatar is planning an economic and diplomatic overture to Greece as part of its new extrovert policy following its economic isolation by other states in the Gulf region.

Agenda

MONDAY

Capital Link holds its 20th Annual Invest in Greece Forum at the Metropolitan Club of New York from 7.55 a.m. to 6.20 p.m. ET. (Info: forums.capitallink.com)

Attica hospital doctors and employees hold a four-hour work stoppage from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a rally outside the Health Ministry at 11.30 a.m.

Greek academics call for revision of Article 16 prohibiting private universities

Leading academics from local and foreign institutions have signed an open letter urging Greece's leftist-led government to green-light the review of the Greek Constitution's Article 16, which prohibits the establishment of private universities, describing the matter as a question of democratic principles.

Red tape, prohibitive costs deter parental concessions of property

Property owners are rushing to notaries to transfer their real estate assets to their children before January 1, when the new taxable rates for properties, known as objective values, come into effect. However, most give up when they figure out just how much such a transfer would set them back.

With or without a tie

If Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras wanted to go down in history as the "Greek premier who did not wear a tie," he has certainly achieved it and does not need to make any extra effort - provided, of course, that he remains (in this respect, at least) consistent, and does not start putting one on and taking it off on various occasions.

SSM grants Piraeus extension for its bond issue

Piraeus Bank has formally secured an extension from the European Central Bank for the coverage of its 500-million-euro corporate bond that will count toward its Tier II capital.

Kathimerini understands that the ECB's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) has given Greece's leading bank in assets a nine-month extension from the original deadline of December 31.

Greek policeman, 98 other Greeks denied entry to Albania

Albanian police say a Greek policeman has been arrested after he was found with a pistol.

A statement Saturday said that 98 other Greeks were denied entry to the country due to a lack of documentation or being on a list of banned persons.

Tensions at Greek-Albanian border as mourners try to reach Katsifas service

There were tensions at the Greek-Albanian border on Saturday morning when Albanian authorities reportedly stopped Greek citizens trying to enter the country to attend a memorial service for an ethnic Greek man, Konstantinos Katsifas, who was fatally injured by Albanian police in an exchange of fire in late October in the village of Bularat.