Greece

The prospects for one of Greece?s few privatization projects, the development of the old Athens Airport plot at Elliniko, appeared unclear Wednesday, after Alternate Finance Minister Nadia Valavani said a small portion of the plot would be set aside to create waste management facilities for four municipalities.

An Athens court on Wednesday ordered the conditional release of Dinos Michaelides, a former Cypriot minister jailed in February in connection with a money-laundering scheme centered around Greece?s ex-Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos, currently appealing his own conviction.

Greek authorities feared a backlash on Wednesday following an Athens prosecutor?s proposal that a request by anarchist and convicted robber Nikos Romanos asking that he be allowed to attend classes at an Athens technical college (TEI) wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet be rejected.

The opposition Potami and PASOK parties on Wednesday demanded that embattled Greek DM Panos Kammenos reveal the holder of an AMEX card he used in Washington D.C. to pay for a $1,400-a-night suite at a luxury hotel and a nearly 1,000-buck steak dinner.

A Greek court on Wednesday ordered the conditional release of a former Cypriot minister jailed for helping a leading Greek politician take millions of euros in kickbacks from arms deals more than a decade ago.

In a majority vote, a court in Athens upheld a petition by Dinos Michaelides, 80, that he be released on health grounds and on account of his advanced age.

SYRIZA’s parliamentary group is due to meet on Thursday to discuss the proposal Greece’s lenders are due to present to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Brussels on Wednesday night.

By Corina Ruhe, Paul Tugwell & Birgit Jennen

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he will press creditors to be realistic about what his country can accept as they prepare to deliver a final proposal to break a stalemate over a financial lifeline.

Greece will not make a June 5 repayment to the International Monetary Fund if there is no prospect of an aid-for-reforms deal with its international creditors soon, the spokesman for the ruling Syriza party?s lawmakers said on June 3. 

A recent poll suggests that 58% of SYRIZA supporters would rather return to the drachma than to remain in a single currency on the condition of harsh austerity measures. From this viewpoint, it is not unlikely that Greece would choose to default and return to the drachma if the party’s “red lines” are crossed.

Greece will not make a June 5 loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund if there is no prospect of an aid-for-reforms deal with its international creditors soon, the spokesman for the ruling Syriza party's lawmakers said on Wednesday.

"If there is no prospect of a deal by Friday or Monday, I don't know by when exactly, we will not pay,» Nikos Filis told Mega TV.