Greek government-debt crisis

Police briefly detained two people for putting up flyposters advertising a speech of main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras on a main avenue in Athens without a legal permit.

The two individuals, identified as foreign nationals, were placing the posters on street lamps near the Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center on Syngrou Avenue, police said.

Greece's Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA) announced on Friday that on Wednesday, February 26, it is planning to issue new 26-week treasury bills maturing on August 28, 2020.
The PDMA intends to draw the amount of 625 million euros.
The settlement date will be next Friday.

Greece's middle-income earners are today at least 30 percent poorer than they were in the period before the economic crisis, having been overtaxed and having grown in number, as they now include previously wealthier categories too, according to Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) data processed by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV).

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas on Wednesday weighed in on a row between the Greek government and local authorities over plans to build pre-deportation centers on the five Aegean islands that are on the frontline of the migration/refugee crisis, calling for a greater "sense of responsibility and consensus."

Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis and Alternate Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos are set to meet with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in Berlin on Thursday.
Talks are expected to focus on the EU's new migration and asylum pact which will be presented in the spring.

US President John F. Kennedy once observed that "When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."

A working meeting of the Greece-UAE Broader Strategic Cooperation Forum will be held in Athens on 19 February following Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to UAE.

Mitsotakis will meet on Wednesday morning with the head of the delegation, State Minister of UAE Sultan Al Jaber, at the Maximos Mansion.

Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis announced on Monday that he will delay the announced expropriations of land for the creation of new detention camps on five Aegean islands until Friday, after facing strong opposition by local communities.

MONDAY

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras attends the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels.

The US Embassy in Athens and its Consular Section, the US Consulate General in Thessaloniki, and all US government offices in Greece will be closed in observance of Presidents' Day.

Greek authorities have managed to slash the time needed to process asylum applications down to 24 days, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Saturday, adding that easing the pressure on the Aegean islands hosting camps was the government's top priority.