Latest News from Greece
A clear message needed
Let's assume that the negotiations with Greece's creditors will come to a close late one night in May with an agreement on debt restructuring and the country's inclusion in the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program. This would likely spark an investment rally and restore the markets' faith in us, possibly to a sufficient degree so they would start lending to us once more.
Use, production of medical cannabis may be legalized in Greece
The Health Ministry is set to propose changes to legislation covering the use and production of medicinal cannabis.
Health Minister Andreas Xanthos suggested measures are on the way allowing doctors to prescribe drugs that contain cannabis purely for medical reasons.
Institutions due to return for conclusion of review
Officials representing Greece's lenders are due back in Athens on Monday with the aim of completing the program review and paving the way for an agreement on debt relief.
Serbia, Greece view situation in region from same positions
ATHENS - Serbia and Greece view the situation in the region from the same positions and they will cooperate more on regional stability in the future, Serbian European Integration Minister Jadranka Joksimovic and Greek Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Georgios Katrougalos agreed in Athens Thursday.
Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki attacked by Molotov cocktail
The Turkish consulate in Greece's Thessaloniki was attacked by a small group with Molotov cocktails early on April 23, Doğan News Agency has reported.
The group with their faces covered threw two Molotov cocktails at police officers at the consulate at 5:30 a.m., but only one of them caught fire.
There were no injuries or material damage in the attack, the agency said.
ND leader Mitsotakis: Tsipras offering “stale Chavez” policies
Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of major opposition party New Democracy (ND), stressed that the current leftist government of SYRIZA and its leader, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras were not only implementing new memoranda but generating more. In an interview to newspaper “Ta Nea”, Mr.
ND chief seeks trust with lenders, despite criticism
New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis says that he can convince the country's lenders that Greece "can make the necessary changes out of choice and not because it is forced to."
German intelligence spied on Interpol in dozens of countries, says Spiegel
Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency spied on the Interpol international police agency for years and on the group's country liaison offices in dozens of countries such as Austria, Greece and the United States, a German magazine said.
No comment was immediately available from the BND, Interpol or Europol.
Greek-Chinese news cooperation
The head of Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Cai Mingzhao, conducted this week a particularly productive visit to Greece, which confirmed the excellent prospects for the expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
Greek Foreign Minister: “Aim of Ancient Civilizations Forum is to turn it into an institution”
Greece’s aim through the Ancient Civilizations Forum scheduled for next Monday (April 24) in Athens is to give it an institutional character and open it up to more countries, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on Friday, during a press briefing on the forum.
The thin line between democracy and autocracy
Anniversaries are an opportunity for many things - and nothing at the same time. They can sometimes cause us anxiety, but also make us revisit and reevaluate situations.
What do freedom and tyranny mean? How does authoritarianism pose as democracy? And how does democracy stoop to autocracy?
Breaking the cycle
It is a huge development that Greece managed to achieve such a high budget surplus, and especially in light of the economic pressures it continues to find itself under to this day.
That said, it needs to be noted that this over-performance was achieved thanks to overtaxation, to measures for cutting costs and to slashed expenditures.
IMF admits to misjudging economic performance
As the government hailed official figures putting last year's budget surplus eight times the size of the target set by Greece's international creditors, a key International Monetary Fund official on Friday conceded that the organization underestimated the resilience of the Greek economy once again.
Primary surplus chokes market
The state's fiscal performance last year has exceeded even the most ambitious targets, as the primary budget surplus as defined by the Greek bailout program, came to 4.19 percent of gross domestic product, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced on Friday. It came to 7.369 billion euros against a target for 879 million euros, or just 0.5 percent of GDP.
Police concerned at spike in violent thefts
The Greek Police (ELAS) is on high alert amid a spike in violent robberies and burglaries in recent months, with official figures, due to be released in the coming days, expected to point to a significant increase in such crimes over the past year.