Finance Ministry

The Greek Finance Ministry will table legislation within the next two weeks halving the fees for POS transactions, MInister Kostis Hatzidakis said on Tuesday.

With investments in Greece on the rise, Michael Arghyrou, the head of the Council of Economic Advisors for Greece's Finance Ministry, joins Thanos Davelis to look at how these investments are transforming Greece's economy, and to bust some of the myths around investments in Greece. 

The central government debt stock was 7.5 trillion Turkish Liras ($232 billion) at the end of March, the Treasury and Finance Ministry has said.

Some 2.7 trillion liras of the debt stock is denominated in the local currency, and 4.8 trillion liras is denominated in foreign currencies, the ministry said in a statement.

In a significant affirmation of Bulgaria's path towards Eurozone accession, European Commissioner for Economy Paolo Gentiloni has confirmed the European Commission's support for Bulgaria's admission to the Eurozone in 2025.

Taxpayers' overdue debts to the tax office are divided into three categories, for which the National Economy and Finance Ministry and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) are planning settlements.

Eastern Mani in southern Greece and the islands of Karpathos and Syros have been deemed to have the most environmentally friendly beaches, and will be spared of umbrella loungers this year, according to a list drafted by the Finance Ministry of 198 "untouched" beaches in 49 municipalities, published on Friday.

The government is working on measures to increase public sector savings, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said.

The Finance Ministry and the presidency of strategy and budget authority are carrying out studies on public sector savings, with more than 15 articles being worked upon, and they will be implemented, Yılmaz told reporters after the cabinet meeting earlier this week.

Amidst discussions about Bulgaria's journey towards joining the Eurozone, Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), Petar Chobanov, highlighted the robustness of Bulgaria's banking system, stating it aligns closely with Eurozone standards.

Greece has tightened its Golden Visa rules raising the required investment to as much as 800,000 euros in a bid to help ease a housing crisis.

The successful program that has attracted thousands of Chinese launched in 2014 granting foreigners a renewable, five-year residence permit in return for a 250,000-euro property investment.

Last summer, Mykonos was prominently placed on the list of islands where legislation on use of the seashore was flouted. Despite the arrests and fines, and the tightening of the legal framework for arbitrary occupation of the seashore, violations continue unabated.