Members of the Delian League

A trip around the Aegean is one of the best 50 journeys of a lifetime, according to international tour operator Flight Network.

The route selected in "The World's Best Journeys 2018" includes Athens, Aegina, Hydra, Kythnos, Kea, Syros, Myconos, Naxos, Paros, Ios (pictured), Sifnos, Santorini and Iraklio.

Authorities have issued fire warnings for Saturday on the islands of Icaria, Chios and Samos in the eastern Aegean, the Dodecanese chain in the southeastern Aegean and Crete.

This is the second time so far this summer that a fire warning has been issued, after one in June for the Ionian islands and parts of the Peloponnese.

Berlin on Thursday blocked the disbursement of the last bailout installment to Greece, worth 15 billion euros, due to Athens extending the value-added tax discount on five Greek islands without securing the approval of its creditors first.

Berlin on Thursday blocked the disbursement of the last bailout installment to Greece, worth 15 billion euros, due to Athens extending the value-added tax discount on five Greek islands without securing the approval of its creditors first.

A delegation from the German Interior Ministry will start discussions with officials in Athens on Tuesday about Berlin's proposals to return 3,300 migrants and refugees that were registered in the Eurodac fingerprint database in Greece but still managed to make their way to Germany.

Migration Policy Minister Dimitris Vitsas has sent a letter to the mayors of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros in an attempt to reassure them that asylum seekers will not be returned from Germany to hotspots on the islands.

Vitsas dismissed speculation that the government made a deal with Berlin for a suspension of planned VAT hikes on these islands in exchange for migrant returns.

The mayors of the five eastern Aegean islands hosting thousands of undocumented migrants on Monday issued a joint statement accusing the government of making them "hostages" to the refugee crisis by linking it to the issue of their special value-added tax status.

The suspension of a value-added tax hike on five eastern Aegean islands to bring them into line with the tax regime elsewhere in Greece will only last until December 31, according to the legislative act published in the Government Gazette on Saturday.

The reduced value-added tax regime for the five islands of the northeastern Aegean most affected by the refugee crisis will apply until the end of the year, according to the announcement published in the government gazette on Saturday.

The favorable tax rates, that will affect the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros, were due to expire today (June 30).

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced on Friday in Brussels that the value-added tax rates on the eastern Aegean islands of Chios (pictured), Kos, Leros, Lesvos and Samos would not be raised to those that apply in the rest of the country.