Latest News from Greece
Time for Greek tourism to diversify its product, says Retsos
Tourism cannot operate on autopilot, Yiannis Retsos, head of the Greek Tourism Confederation, said on Friday.
Speaking at the entity's annual conference, he explained that the future of the sector demands the formation of strategic management and the immediate implementation of plans, with tourism in Greece expanding into spheres beyond the sea-and-sun model.
PM: Greece requested drafting of backup plan for migration
Greece called on the European union to prepare a back-up plan in case the number of migrant and refugee arrivals becomes unmanageable by the country, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after the end of the summit meeting in Brussels on Friday.
Greek olive oil cheaper in the US than Spain’s
Rafael Pico, president of the Spanish Olive Oil & Pomace Olive Oil Exporters Association (ASOLIVA), told Xinhua in an interview that the 25 percent US tariff imposed as of Friday on bottled Spanish olive oil means the product will be effectively "expelled" from the US market.
Spain currently exports around 200,000 tons of olive oil to the US every year.
Drugs found in Halkida prison raid
As part of an ongoing crackdown on drug use and crime within Greek prisons, authorities raided some 10 jail cells at a penitentiary in Halkida in central Greece early on Friday morning.
According to the Citizens' Protection Ministry, the 3.5-hour operation yielded nine grams of cannabis, 3.5 grams of heroin, as well as eight mobile phones and two routers.
Where the Most Generous People Live?
Bulgaria is among the last in the ranking of 126 countries.
A large-scale study of people's willingness to donate money or help others in the first place by generously Americans, writes Di Welt.
Charity Aid Foundation's analysis has taken a decade and reached 1.3 million people in 126 countries.
Germany rejects fresh demand for war reparations
Germany on Friday rejected a fresh demand from Greece for hundreds of billions of euros in World War I and II reparations, insisting that a treaty signed 29 years ago had wrapped up all such claims.
Greek F-16s take part in Steel Arrow exercise in solidarity with Cyprus
In an indication of Greece's commitment to support Cyprus, three Greek F-16 jets flew over the Eastern Mediterranean island on Thursday during a joint training exercise with the Cypriot National Guard dubbed Steel Arrow.
It came on the heels of a smaller exercise involving Cypriot forces and a French frigate earlier in the week.
EU needs plan to prevent ‘full-blown’ migration crisis, Greek PM says in Brussels
Greece stands "at the crossroads of many of the challenges faced by the European Union today" and is in an excellent position to help in talks addressing them, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Friday.
Talks on the potential EU membership of Albania and North Macedonia disrupted!
The decision was not reached despite all night long dramatic discussion, and despite the warnings that turning Tirana and Skopje away would tarnish the EU's reputation and could risk inflaming the Western Balkans region.
Greek FM advises caution on Turkey, says ‘dust must settle’ in Syria
Greece needs to be cautious and not jump to any hasty conclusions regarding Washington's announcement that Turkey has agreed to a five-day ceasefire in northern Syria to allow the withdrawal of Kurdish troops, Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said on Thursday night.
Minister says 20,000 refugees to be transferred from Greek islands by year-end
At least 20,000 refugees and migrants will be transferred from the Greek islands to the mainland by the end of the year, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis was cited as saying by New Democracy sources on Thursday.
Invaders threaten local marine ecosystems
Two men were rushed to hospital on Crete recently, after being stung by a beautiful yet dangerous invader. The lionfish has spiky fin rays that deliver a powerful venom which causes intense pain and swelling, and can, in some cases, lead to anaphylactic shock. Despite all of these frightening traits though, this is a very delicious fish.
Eurostat: Bulgarians are Most at Risk of Poverty in the EU
We are followed by Romania and Greece.
Bulgarians are most at risk of poverty among all EU Member States, Eurostat data show. According to them, about 2.3 million people in Bulgaria live with income around the poverty line, which is BGN 350.
Gov’t seeks more tools for NPLs
The government is seeking out additional systemic solutions for the banks' bad-loan problem, beyond the state's Hercules plan, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras revealed to Bloomberg on Thursday. His comments came after Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras said that Hercules is a step in the right direction but is not enough.
Greek PM Mitsotakis calls for Plan B to tackle migration
Arriving at his first European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece and the European Union should not be held hostage to Turkey over migration and should have a "Plan B" in place to respond to a possible new refugee crisis.