International

The government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou appeared on ANT1 on Thursday morning to announce that the coalition government has the will to tackle all forms of fuel smuggling, in light of the recent police operations. According to Mr. Kedikoglou the recent equation of the heating oil and diesel taxes out an end to smuggling and fraud […]

The President of SYRIZA Alexis Tsipras hosted a workshop in Athens with the participation of the European Left party, where he announced that when elected, his party will not accept any of the current government’s election campaign agreements with the troika. Mr. Tsipras welcomed the participants to “election campaign Greece” and stressed that the New […]

Representatives from PASOK and the Initiative of 58 have arranged to meet today in order to discuss the formation of a coalition along the lines of the Italian “Olive Tree” center left coalition for the upcoming elections for the European Parliament. At first the two sides will discuss the coalition’s name and symbol, the criteria […]

Based on the findings of a study conducted by Metron Analysis, about three out of four unemployed are unable to find a job two and a half years after dismissal, while 72% would accept a lower-paying job. The study shows that unemployment mostly affects the self employed and employees, with the majority seeking employment in […]

The Fire Brigade has launched an investigation over a series of arson attacks that took place in Petroupoli, Egaleo and Agia Varvara early on Thursday morning. A group of arsonists targeted six vehicles of telecommunications company OTE in a car park, which they doused with flammable liquid and set fire to, before escaping, at about […]

Despite the optimism exuded by the coalition government over the development of the bailout program, the troika is beginning to worry about the rate of implementation of reforms. The troika teams in Athens report a 50% to 60% rate of government compliance to the agreed upon reform program, compared to an 80% rate that was […]

With the steel industries in Greece facing uncertainty due to the serious financial problems, the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Climate Change announced that it is going to take introduce new measures to reduce to cost of energy. Deputy Minister Papageorgiou met with the management of Halyvourgiki and reported that the company agreed to continue […]

The Geodynamic Institute of Athens reported that a 3.8 magnitude earthquake occurred at about 1:08am on Thursday, in the maritime area northwest of Lixouri, at a depth of about 5 kilometers. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center on the other hand reported a 4.2 magnitude earthquake at a depth of 2 kilometers and about 18 kilometers northwest […]

Fuel smuggling has consistently been – and apparently continues to be – a scourge. The governments and ministers who came and went realized this, but the smuggling rings carried on regardless, with few and far between exceptions. The tax equation of diesel with heating oil was meant to be a litmus test. The price of […]

The Parliamentary Assembly voted against lifting the parliamentary immunity of ANEL leader Panos Kammenos, who is being sued by fellow MP Adonis Georgiadis and the Skai TV director Aris Portosallte for defamation. Of the 207 MPs who were present in the vote for the first case, 155 voted against the motion, 39 in favor, 12 […]

A further two people have succumbed to the latest outbreak of the flu virus Greece, raising the total number of casualties to 45, while 156 people have been hospitalized in ICUs. Representatives of Disease Prevention and Control Center (KEELPNO) have warned those belonging to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, obese and those with chronic […]

The Turkish ambassador to Athens Kerim Uras recently gave an interview to the Turkish news agency Anadolu where he developed Ankara’s intentions regarding the Cypriot dispute, Turkey’s EU perspectives, Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), as well as the broadcasting of popular Turkish soap operas in Greece. In the interview, Mr. Uras claims that the key to […]

The managers of the demining NGO involved in an emergent subsidy scandal appear to have been involved in the creation of a support network for Bosnian Serb politician Radovan Karadzic, while he was still on the run in 2004. According to documents recovered from the files of the SFOR peacekeeping force that was stationed in […]

The Deputy Minister of Health Zetta Makri has issued new guidelines regarding the prevention of disease in public and private nurseries alike. Mrs. Makris’ new guidelines include measures which have been designed to help protect children, given that nurseries can present the ideal conditions for the spread of disease. Amongst the measure are guidelines on […]

Although New Democracy’s official party line for the upcoming local government elections is to not officially nominate any candidates, the party’s leadership is carefully considering which perspective mayors and regional governors to support. This decision however was not without controversy, as some New Democracy executives have rebel against the party line and run against the […]

With the Ministry of Health and striking doctors unable to come to any agreement, the doctor unions have arranged to demonstrate against the changes introduced in primary healthcare, outside the central EOPYY offices at 1pm today. The doctors argue that the upcoming shut down of EOPYY’s healthcare units will not only result in the suspension […]

After the positive announcements regarding the lower-than-expected rate of recession for 2013 (3.5% instead of 4.2%), the Bank of Greece announced today a 1.2 billion euro surplus in the current account balance, for the first time since 1948 (when the Bank began documenting it). This development marks a significant improvement from the 4.6 billion euro […]

The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras is scheduled to meet with the troika heads on Monday and must address a number of unresolved issues before negotiations can actually begin, with a 10.1 billion euro loan installment being at stake. Based on the outcome of last Monday’s Eurogroup, the troika is going to put the pressure […]

The president of the ETEKA group and Atromitos F.C. Giorgos Spanos, along with 11 other people, has been arrested for his involvement in a petroleum smuggling ring. Based on information from official sources, the police is currently investigating a petroleum smuggling ring that involves fuel station owners, executive officers of petroleum companies as well as […]

The city of Athens will host the farmer union protest today at noon, with farmer from all over the country congregating at Vathi Square to demonstrate against the government’s taxation policy and in demand of lower production costs. The farmers will also be joined by employees from other sectors. Buses with farmers from all over […]