All News on Social Issues in Greece
EU asks member states to admit 40,000 asylum seekers
The EU on May 27 asked its member states to admit over the next two years 40,000 asylum seekers from Syria and Eritrea who have already landed in Italy and Greece.
EU seeks to move 40,000 refugees to north from Greece, Italy [Video]
The European Commission proposed easing the impact of the Mediterranean migration crisis on Greece and Italy by moving 40,000 refugees to countries further north.
Half of Greeks cover their needs from their deposits
Greek salaried workers cannot buy what they want but, rather, have to limit themselves to what they can afford on their reduced disposable income, a survey by the Labor Institute of the General Confederation of Greek Labor (GSEE) and the Association of Working Consumers of Greece (EEKE) showed on Tuesday.
Athens waits to hear EU scheme for refugees
Greece will be looking with interest Wednesday at the news emerging from Brussels, where the European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship is expected to announce a plan to relocate about 40,000 refugees from Italy and Greece.
Pseudo-mufti wants … referendum to prove number of … ‘Turks’ in Thrace
A pseudo mufti in the northeast province of Thrace wants a … referendum. And not just any referendum, but one to show people and other countries, as he maintained, “who and how many Turks there are in western Thrace.”
The statement belongs to one Ahmet Mete, who used the “referendum” idea to prove, as he claimed, that “150,000 Turks” live in the northeast Greek province.
Europe must do more on migrants, says UN chief
Europe must do more to help migrants crossing the Mediterranean, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said on Tuesday ahead of a visit to Brussels, as a planned EU naval operation awaits UN Security Council approval.
More migrants reach Greece, approaching 1,200 in 2 days
Greek authorities in the eastern Aegean Sea have picked up more than 300 people who entered the country illegally in small craft from Turkey, raising the total of arrivals over the past two days to nearly 1,200.
Varoufakis says Greece committed to reforms, rules out more austerity
Greece is committed to liberalising its economy, reforming its pension system and running a reasonable primary budget surplus, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis wrote on Tuesday.
IMF's Blanchard says Greek budget proposals not enough
Greece's budget proposals are not enough to ensure a surplus this year, the International Monetary Fund's chief economist was quoted as saying on Monday.
Greece was supposed to have a 3 percent budget surplus in 2015, but that looks unrealistic now, Olivier Blanchard told the French financial newspaper Les Echos in an interview.
Counter-incentives against early retirement
By Roula Salourou
Alt. FM N. Chountis stresses need for comprehensive deal with lenders
Alternate Foreign Minister for European Affairs Nikos Chountis stressed the need for a comprehensive agreement with partners and Greece’s international creditors during statements he made to private MEGA TV on Monday. He added that this deal should also include debt reduction.
Brussels Group talks to resume Tuesday with VAT, pension topping agenda
Negotiations between Greece and its lenders are due to resume via the Brussels Group on Tuesday.
The two main issues that the technical teams have to tackle are value-added tax and pension reform.
On VAT, the institutions propose that there should be two rates, one at around 23 percent and another at 10. Greece has proposed three rates: 23, 14 and 7.
Greeks back government's red lines, but want to keep euro
Cash-strapped Greeks remain supportive of the leftist government's tough negotiating style, according to a new poll published Sunday, but hope for a deal with creditors that will keep the euro in their wallets.
SYRIZA campaign pledges fade amid tough negotiation with creditors
The four-month anniversary of radical leftist SYRIZA party’s ascent to power comes as it struggles to clinch a deal to extend bailout financing from international creditors and, more ominously, with several of its main pre-election pledges apparently abandoned in the face of tough negotiations.
First aid for the capital
By Maria Katsounaki
The fact that the center of Athens exudes the stench of human waste is an undeniable truth, just like the fact that in late spring, one nostril smells blossoming bitter lemon trees while the other smells urine. Equally true is the fact that daily life in the Greek capital is rapidly deteriorating once more.