Latest News from Greece
Greek leader claims Turkish border guards 'support' people smugglers
Greece's President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Jan. 18 accused Turkish border authorities of facilitating people smuggling by turning a blind eye to the trafficking of thousands of migrants to Europe.
President Pavlopoulos: Discussion on Greek debt should start soon
Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos met with German Chancellor Angela Merke during his visit to Berlin.
Their discussion was focused on the Greek program review and the debate on Greek debt, as well as the refugee issue.
Turkey worst in OECD for unregistered economy: Study
The share of the unregistered economy in Turkey is bigger than any other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member state, according to a new study.
The shadow economy's ratio to the Turkish cross domestic product is at 28.72 percent, said the study's author Ceyhun Elgin, from the Economy Department of Istanbul's Bosphorus University.
Tsakalotos criticizes Varoufakis and Tsipras: We won’t be engaged in endless discussions as we did before
“IMF worries about the numbers. It wants Greek government to achieve the numbers set. Primary surplus of 3.5% in 2018. Because, as I told to six finance ministers, if Greece does not turn over a new leaf, we won’t be able to complete this program, as we and our partners want” Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos stressed during a press briefing on Monday.
President Pavlopoulos: Strict austerity policy is extremely dubious
President of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos in an official luncheon hosted by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany Joachim Gauck in Berlin on Monday stressed the importance of our partners to proceed with the necessary corrections, “especially as regards the sustainability of the public debt and the austerity policy.”
EU Commission: We want more information on social security reform in order to visit Athens
The institutions are currently waiting for the additional fiscal data requested from Greek authorities at Thursday’s Eurogroup in order to visit Athens, European Commission spokesperson Annike Breidthardt said on Monday.
Greece vs Rome: the ultimate clash of civilisations (vid)
On November 19th Intelligence Squared hosted the ultimate clash of civilisations: Greece vs Rome. But it was also the ultimate clash of intellectual titans.
Is Prince Harry dating Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece?
Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece, as she likes calling herself, is allegedly the new girlfriend of the fun-loving royal Prince Harry, as the Australian magazine New Idea magazine says.
“Harry has fallen head over-heels with Maria-Olympia,” a royal insider tells. “He’s absolutely smitten. They’ve been on a string of dates and are planning to go skiing in Switzerland before Easter”.
Migration waves and terrorism to dominate Davos get-together
Europe's migrant crisis and devastating terror attacks will combine with the plunging oil price and China's economic slowdown to give the elite of the political and business worlds plenty to talk about when they gather in Davos from Jan. 18.
8 out of 10 citizens are disappointed in the gov’t
A new poll conducted by Alco for Proto Thema newspaper shows New Democracy party leading over SYRIZA by 3.3% confirming that the election of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has brought a change to main opposition party, while SYRIZA’s voters seem to abandon Alexis Tsipras day by day.
European partners concerned over politicized appointments in Greek gov’t
The politicized appointment in public sector risk the future of Greek proram, European partners warn.
An EU official told Kathimerini newspaper that growing politicization of the public sector could have a negative impact on market perceptions and the review of the Greek bailout program.
Bulgaria's South Stream Hopes Look 'Bleak' - Stratfor
No matter how interested Bulgaria is in pursuing the South Stream project, the outcome looks bleak, Stratfor writes in an analysis of Russian gas infrastructure plans.
There are certainly reasons Bulgaria and Russia might choose to return to South Stream.
Bulgaria's Govt to Invest BGN 23.5 M in Flood Prevention
National and local budgets, EU funding, and private investment worth BGN 23.5 M is to be put aside for flood prevention in Bulgaria's Black Sea region, the Environment Ministry has announced.
The money sill be sought for the period of 2016-2021.
Bad weather continues with snowfalls in Greece
The severe weather continues with low temperatures, snowfalls and heavy rainfalls accompanied by strong winds causing the death of a man and many damages.
Yesterday, a man was found dead in his car where he was trapped and swept away by the floods, while the main bridge on Pinios River at Kalabaka, central Greece, ruptured.
More austerity in Greece heralds more demos in Syntagma
"How are things in Greece now?" a Turkish friend asked me the other day, looking a bit perplexed over the information that a period of political instability may be around the corner once again.