Latest News from Greece
Amazing Greek winter destinations!
Everybody has heard about the wonderful Greek summer the blue waters and the sandy beaches. But there is so much more that Greece can offer to anyone who is looking for a good vacations destination!
Pelion Mountain
Rising over the city of Volos in Thessaly and home of the mythical Centaurs, creatures who were half man and half horse.
Turkey-Greece Island Dispute (BBC VIDEO)
A Turkish cargo ship ran aground on a tiny rocky island in the Aegean Sea in December 1995. But a dispute between Turkey and Greece over who owned the island sovereignty almost brought the two nations to war. Agreement still hasn’t been reached over the territory called Kardak by the Turks and Imia by the Greeks.
Products withdrawn from supermarket shelves after acid contamination scare
Coca-Cola, Unilever, Nestle and Delta have preemptively removed products from retail outlets across Attica after an anti-establishment group warned it had contaminated products with chlorine and hydrochloric acid.
In a statement Wednesday, Greece's food authority (EFET) said it was working in close cooperation with police to protect consumers.
Perhaps it's too late
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras now faces the unrestrained populism that he himself helped to invent and nurture.
With his behavior as leader of the left-wing SYRIZA party while it was in the opposition, he indisputably contributed to the entrenchment of a culture of unbridled protest over anything the government would do or suggest. It was a form of protest that knew no limits.
Greek current account swings into deficit in October
Greece's current account posted a deficit in October compared to a surplus in the same month a year earlier, the Bank of Greece said on Wednesday.
Greece has the right to set maritime zones, says Greek UN represntative to Turkey
The representative of Greece’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Catherine Boura officially rejected the positions expressed by the Turkish government which dispute the right of Greece for the demarcation of maritime zones, i.e the sea-shelf and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
World Bank approves $800 million loan for TANAP
The World Bank's board of directors approved loans of $400 million each for Turkey and Azerbaijan late on Dec. 20 for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project.
Greek law limiting mass layoffs overturned by EU court
A Greek law forcing employers to seek government approval for mass layoffs is too vague and violates European Union laws, the EU's top court ruled on Wednesday, potentially complicating Athens's stance in talks with international lenders.
Emergency EuroGroup on Greek matter
The head of the EuroGroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem is expected to call an extra-ordinary meeting of the EC Finance Ministers on Wednesday via teleconference, after Tuesday’s EuroWorking Group (EWG) meeting on the review of the Greek PM Alexis Tsipras’s provisions failed to produce any results.
Greek PM douses speculation of snap vote
Alexis Tsipras, Greece's left-wing Prime Minister, on Wednesday doused speculation of a snap vote, vowing that the government will complete its four-year term.
"We are still in the beginning of our four-year term, and there is still way to go. Elections will be held when they are due, in September of 2019," Tsipras said during a visit to Crete.
Albania revises gas pipeline deal to get more support
Albania's Energy Ministry and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline have amended their agreement to give more financial support and assistance to Albania.
In a statement Wednesday, they said that following seven months of negotiations they agreed on reviewing payments paid, on increasing investments in communities and on training the local gas sector.
EKAS allowance to be cut by half
The EKAS allowance for low-pension retirees will be reduced by 50 percent, according to a decision by alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis and deputy Minister for Social Security Tasos Petropoulos that was published Wednesday in the government gazette.
The move will reduce the cost of the EKAS in the 2017 budget by 421 million euros.
No debt verdict at Euro Working Group
The meeting of the Euro Working Group (EWG) ended on Tuesday with no agreement on whether the implementation of the short-term debt relief measures for Greece can go ahead, although the impasse may be overcome if Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos sends a letter of clarification regarding the recent handouts pledged by the government.
ND: We need an exit plan from crisis
Major opposition party New Democracy (ND) threw down the gauntlet at the Greek government and PM Alexis Tsipras calling for national elections, in a statement by the party’s spokesperson Vasilis Kikilias. ND called for the implementation of a “Greek growth plan to exit the crisis under conditions of national dignity and responsibility”.
Creditors call for written guarantees that no unilateral action will be adopted in future
Greece’s European creditors are requesting the country’s Finance Minister, Euclid Tsakalotos sign a written document guaranteeing his government would refrain from unilateral actions in the future similar to the recent social benefits PM Alexis Tsipras granted to pensioners.