Greece

Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras has called an emergency meeting with officials from Attica Bank to discuss a controversial loan that was issued by the Greek lender to Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis.

The new members of the cabinet, announced last Friday, are to be sworn in during a ceremony at 6.30 p.m. on Monday during a ceremony at the presidential mansion to be attended by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Commentators have recently suggested that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras may achieve a political legacy "unmatched" by any of his recent predecessors, or that he has achieved the status of "statesman," or that, along with Zoran Zaev, his counterpart in North Macedonia, he might be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The year is 2021. Athens is a changed city. It is already acknowledged as a hip European destination. Neighborhoods that were considered no-go zones have become a magnet for alternative tourists - but not the kind who want to hurl petrol bombs in what they consider a Balkan playground. The Athens coast is transformed, overtaking Barcelona in popularity.

Airlines are planning a 7 percent reduction in the number of seats on flights to Greece this year, according to the latest report by the Institute of the Greek Tourism Confederation (InSETE), increasing concerns in the local market of a downturn in the coming season.

MONDAY

Farmers ended their road blocks on Greek national highways on Saturday even though talks with government officials failed to yield a compromise.

Farmers had set up some 23 road blocks across the country for three weeks demanding tax breaks and lower production costs.

Speaking on Friday, the union representing farmers described the government as "hostile."

The drawn-out campaign period is harming the country's fragile economy by sending mixed signals to foreign and local investors, Greece's opposition leader has warned.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday that she had given up hope that Athens and Skopje could ever find a solution to the decades-old name dispute, before congratulating the two prime ministers for reaching a settlement.

In a mini cabinet reshuffle announced by spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, Greek Prime Minister Alexis on Friday replaced five of his ministers while giving up his own role as foreign minister, a post he temporarily filed following the departure of Nikos Kotzias in October.