Latest News from Greece
Serbian Homeland Front founded
BELGRADE - A new political party, the Serbian Homeland Front, was founded in Belgrade on Saturday, with famous dramatist Dusan Kovacevic elected as its president.
Greek defense minister chides Schaeuble over comments
Greece?s Defense Minister Panos Kammenos (photo) has accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of exercising a form of ?psychological warfare? on Greece through his repeated comments about the country.
?I do not understand why he criticizes Greece every day with new statements,? Kammenos told the German daily Bild.
New Greek president to work for unity between political parties
A day after being sworn in as Greece?s seventh president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos told journalists on Saturday that he will make an effort to create greater unity between Greece?s political parties in an attempt to get Greeks back on their feet.
?It is a common effort,? he said.
Technical talks to resume with lenders
Greece embarks on a second week of technical discussions with its lenders from Monday with the aim of agreeing on a first batch of reforms but also securing a concession, possibly from the European Central Bank, that would help it overcome its pressing liquidity problems.
No more cash for Amphipolis dig at the moment
There will be no more government funding at this stage for the archaeological work at Amphipolis, northern Greece, with experts focusing on the findings that have already been unearthed, Alternate Culture Minister Nikos Xydakis said on Saturday during a visit to the site.
Search by divers in Pamvotida Lake finds no sign of missing student
A search operation conducted on Saturday by divers in Pamvotida Lake in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, failed to produce any evidence with regard to the disappearance of student Vangelis Giakoumakis (photo).
The 20-year-old, who was enrolled at the city?s Dairy School, was last seen walking into Ioannina city center on February 6.
SYRIZA MEP urges coalition members to focus on work, not publicity
SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis (photo) on Saturday called for coalition members to refrain from giving too many interviews and posing in photo shoots.
Through his Twitter account Papadimoulis noted that the times demanded ?seriousness, solutions and calculable results.?
IMF Calls for Better Banking Supervision in Bulgaria
The IMF called for better banking supervision in Bulgaria in the concluding statement of its mission to the country, which was released on Friday.
The IMF notes that the collapse of Corporate Commercial Bank (KTB) and the deterioration in the fiscal balance tested the country's macroeconomic and financial stability.
Tsipras warns of far-right rise if EU leaders fail to respect Democracy
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sent an indirect message to European leaders on “whether they will take the risk of the rise of far-right populist powers in Europe, or respect Democracy”, after his meeting with Pierre Laurent, leader of the European Left party.
Greek finance minister says some election vows can be put off
Greece's combative finance minister has indicated that Athens' new radical left government is prepared to put some of its campaign promises on hold while it seeks to build confidence among its creditors.
"Our program is a program for four years," Yanis Varoufakis told reporters after a meeting of economic and finance leaders in northern Italy on March 13.
Bulgarian Economist to Head IMF Mission to Athens
Bulgarian economist Iva Petrova will head the IMF technical team to Athens and will participate in the negotiations with the Greek government on behalf of the IMF.
This was confirmed by both IMF spokesman Gerry Rice and Elena Panaritis, who is adviser to Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, private bTV station reports.
CNBC: ‘Patience with Greece running low after tough week’
CNBC underlined this week that “Patience with Greece running low after tough week”. The international cable new network reports that more and more analysts are wondering if relations between institutional creditors and Greece can be repaired.
Fiscal gap seen as initial problem in technical talks
Technocrats representing the country?s creditors had their first exchanges with government officials in Athens, focusing on fiscal and macroeconomic issues amid concern that Greece will have lower than previously forecast growth and will have to find extra savings to meet its primary surplus target.
Spiegel: We might as well pay for Distomo reparations and render Tsipras’ arguments invalid
This is the first time that German media and especially one of the most prominent is in favor of German reparations repayment.
Der Spiegel, on its website main page, is clearly in favor of German war reparations, claiming that this is both morally and politically the right thing to do.
Athens ready to delay some election pledges, says Varoufakis
By Francesca Landini
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Friday he was confident Athens could reach a deal by April 20 with its international creditors on the reforms it must implement to unblock further aid.