Latest News from Greece
Greek finances: Mind the 5-7-bln-euro gap, lost in numbers
The more the new Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government focuses on the figures, the nearer it gets to introducing more austerity measures. The most crucial stage of negotiations with Greece's international Greek creditors came on Wednesday as Finance Ministry officials gazed at a fiscal gap of 5-7 bln euros.
Mother and son commit suicide after invalid pensions cut (video)
The community at Halkida, the chief town of the island of Evia, has been shaken by the suicide of two people - a 63-year-old mother and her 27-year-old son. They put an end to their lives at 8 a.m. on Wednesday after three years of battling with the Greek judicial system in an effort to regain their pension benefits.
Tsipras: Government's function will define the deal
At the end of the Parliamentary Group of SYRIZA session, the Greek Prime Minister Mr. Alexis Tsipras stated that "Government's function and judgment will define the deal".
Varoufakis says funding problem lies ahead
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis admitted on Wednesday that Greece may face difficulties in finding the money to pay its obligations to the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank over the next few months.
Ex-finance minister denies tampering with list of Greeks with Swiss accounts
Former Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou appeared before a special court on Wednesday on charges of tampering with a document and attempted breach of trust in connection with his handling of the so-called Lagarde list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts.
?I am innocent,? Papaconstantinou told the court. ?I categorically deny all the charges.?
Econ expert: "You can't turn Greece into Sweden overnight"
Economic expert Guntram Wolff detailed the prospects and risks facing Greece in the long run, speaking to DW this week.
Asked if Greece is a special case and different from Spain, Portugal and Ireland, the Brussels-based analyst says:
Tsipras hears first (soft) internal criticism of eurogroup agreement
It was Greek PM Alexis Tsipras' turn on Wednesday to "preach to the choir" as he took the podium to address his Parliament group on the crucial agreement with eurozone creditors, a development that generated the first spate of internal criticism for the one-month-old SYRIZA government.
"Whoever disagrees with the agreement should say so," Tsipras told the party's MPs.
Ioannina businessman arrested on tax evasion charges
A 63-year-old man in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, faced a prosecutor on Wednesday in connection with debts to the state estimated at 20 million euros.
According to sources, the suspect is a businessman trading in precious stones.
Greece's Jumbo posts higher H1 profit year-on-year
Greece?s biggest toy retailer Jumbo posted higher first-half profit year-on-year on Thursday and stuck to its forecast for a 4-6 percent rise in full-year sales despite recent political turmoil in Greece.
Govt leaks emerge on pending policy vis-a-vis privatizations, foreclosures
The Greek government will reportedly unveil a plan to offer a 100-payment scheme to taxpayers owing debts to the state, part of a much-heralded pledge by the leftist SYRIZA when it was in the opposition.
Greek FinMin sees problems in repaying IMF and ECB
By Lefteris Papadimas & Stephen Brown
Greece admitted on Wednesday it will struggle to make debt repayments to the IMF and the European Central Bank this year as Germany?s finance minister voiced open doubts about Athens?s trustworthiness.
Merkel's Bavarian allies to support Greek extension
Angela Merkel?s conservative allies in Bavaria agreed to support an extension of the Greek bailout in a parliamentary vote expected on Friday, but kept up their tough rhetoric in insisting on precise details from Athens on planned reforms.
Rally in solidarity to Greece outside German embassy in Paris (watch video)
On Wednesday members of the French Left Front and other groups demonstrated outside the German embassy in Paris in solidarity to Greece.
With slogans and banners they protested in favor of Greek debt relief as well as an end to austerity and to the troika.
German court mulls Greek teacher's pay cut return claim
German judges are seeking a European Union court's advice on whether a teacher at a Greek school in Germany can claim back pay cuts caused by Greece's austerity drive.