Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Turkey blasted Greece's prime minister on April 3 after he sent a letter to European leaders urging a reduction in financial support to Ankara amid a refugee crisis.

European resources of 4.5 to 6.5 billion euros are being released from the Partnership Agreement for the Development Framework, known in Greece as ESPA, to be rapidly channeled to the real economy so they can be used to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, his Norwegian counterpart Erna Solberg and 11 other national leaders of the conservative European People's Party have written to the EPP's president, Donald Tusk, calling for the ejection from the group of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's Fidesz party due to authoritarian tactics.

By George Gilson

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned Greeks on Thursday that if they relaxed compliance with lockdown measures "we will pay for it," saying April would be the most critical month in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus.

"We are not at the beginning of the end, rather at the end of the beginning," Mitsotakis told Parliament, urging people to stay at home.

"April may determine what the future will look like," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday during a discussion in Parliament in Athens on new legislative measures to contain the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

"Everything that has been done so far has brought reservedly optimistic results," he said, warning that the country needs to stay the course.

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday night, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the measures his government has taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus appear to be working and thanked the Greek people for their cooperation, conceding however that "the hard work is still ahead of us."

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday confirmed comments earlier by spokesman Stelios Petsas that the government is prepared to impose stricter measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus if necessary.

By George Gilson

The Greek flag on the Acropolis is flying at half mast in honor of World War II resistance hero Manolis Glezos who is to be buried Wednesday.
In a post on social media Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the gesture was a tribute to a "great Greek."

Glezos died of heart failure at a central Athens hospital Monday. He was 97.