Economic anthropology

The state will utilize seized movable and immovable assets that come from criminal activities, per a bill by the Ministry of Finance that was submitted to Parliament, so that boats, yachts, ships, helicopters and ultra-luxury cars can go under the hammer.

Long legal battles have marred the process in Montenegro of returning property seized under communism or compensating the owners or their heirs.

Greece appears to be taking two steps back for every step forward it makes in combating bureaucracy, as it has slid further on the World Bank's global Doing Business chart.

Property owners with homes or plots of land in the Municipality of Athens can check their assets as of Monday as the online platform for that area is to go live, as part of continuing efforts by the authorities to complete Greece's land register.

Property owners with homes or plots of land in the Municipality of Athens will be able to check their assets from Monday when the online platform for that area is to go live, as part of an ongoing process to complete the country's land register.

The checks are the second stage of a declaration process that began in 2008.

At a time when cutting red tape should be a key objective for the government to boost Greece's competitiveness, the state demands an average of 10 papers for property market transactions such as sales or inheritances, while the total number of documents that may be demanded from owners, depending on the transaction they wish to make, stands at 22.

It was raining cats and dogs. I wanted to hop on a bus but I didn?t have a bus pass. I had barely made myself visible to the driver through the rushing crowd, and poked my head in to ask, ?May I get in? I don?t have a pass.?

The Environment Ministry has announced a one-year extension for property owners who want to declare illegally constructed buildings or building additions in order to be granted immunity from demolition until February 8, 2016.

Municipalities and private companies may soon get a chance to take over abandoned or empty buildings if a new bill drafted by the Environment Ministry is voted through Parliament.