International

The recent devastating earthquakes that have struck the island of Kefalonia have seemingly reignited the intense rivalry between Argostoli and Lixouri, which dates back to 17th century. The rivalry is thought to have started in 1757 when the Venetian rulers decided to transfer the island’s capital from the affluent Lixouri to Argostoli due to its […]

The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras is scheduled to meet with representatives of the farmer unions today at 1pm in the afternoon in order to begin discussions. The farmer unions had demanded an audience with Mr. Stournaras last week, to present to him their demands regarding the cost of production and tax debt settlement. Meanwhile […]

The vocal and public disagreement between SYRIZA executives over the selection of the party’s candidates in the upcoming elections illustrates the intense debate and schism emerging in the opposition leaders. The selection of Giorgos Karypidis and Odysseas Voudouris, who do not belong to the opposition party, to represent SYRIZA in the upcoming elections prompted a […]

One of the coalition government’s more controversial bailout obligations to the troika is to carry out thousands of dismissals in an effort to restructure the public sector. In 2014 the government must fire 11,000 and suspend a further 12,500 – mostly in healthcare, local government and the insurance funds. To that end, Ministries are taking […]

The negotiations between the state natural gas company DEPA and Russian energy giant Gazprom for cheaper priced natural gas are still under way, with rumors suggesting that the two sides are close to finalizing a deal. It appears that high-ranking officers from both sides communicated yesterday and agreed to continue negotiations, without however providing any […]

In its effort to tackle the perpetual tax evasion problem and bolster public revenue, the government has decided to document most transactions of tax payers, from bank accounts, to credit card payments, phone bills, tuition fees and other expenses. The Ministry of Finances will collect the sensitive financial data directly from banks, insurance companies, education […]

After being planned for months, if not years, the much-announced plan for the abolition of 23 organizations and bodies, which could not be implemented until now, is entering its final stage. It is the first serious attempt to bring some order to the multitude of organizations that were established in the good old days so […]

The courts found Andreas Kouris, son of publisher Giorgos Kouris, innocent in a case of debt towards insurance fund IKA over 2 million euros of contributions owed by Eleftheri Tileorasi SA, the parent company of the Alter television station. According to the court ruling, the defendant was a non-executive member of the board of directors […]

The Greek football league may not be the most popular or sensational amongst the other European leagues, but according to a study conducted for the Super League by the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research and the “Stochasis” Business Consultants firm, it is able to have a significant impact on the economy and growth potential. […]

The leader of DIMAR Fotis Kouvelis gave an interview to Vima 99.5 regarding the upcoming elections, the recent developments in the center left and the possibility of his party rejoining the coalition government. Regarding the upcoming municipal and regional government elections in May, Mr. Kouvelis estimated that they will be highly politicized, but the focus […]

Bloomberg’s financial analysts believe that a potential new deal between Greece and its creditors that does not include any provisions for a debt haircut will result in failure. The analysts justify their belief on the fact that the troika’s predictions have been proven wrong and many of the tragic consequences could have been avoided if […]

According to the Minister of Infrastructure Michalis Chrysochoidis, 2014 will be the year that many of the major projects will resume and be complete over the next six months. Amongst the major projects are major highways in Crete, Peloponnesus, central and northern Greece. Also expected to resume and be complete are the railroad in Alexandroupoli, […]

After searching the surrounding area of the Mercedes-Benz facilities in Varybobi, members of the Army’s bomb disposal unit located the remains of a rocket in a crater. The investigation was prompted after the Group of Popular Fighters referred to an undocumented rocket attack against the German car-maker’s dealership in their latest declaration. The remains have […]

The German Minister of Finances Wolfgang Schäuble gave an interview to the international news agency Reuters about how the IMF contributed towards increasing the credibility of European policy against the crisis. In the interview the German Minister claimed that the debt crisis in the Eurozone has “calmed down” and that he does not expect any […]

The National Council for Radio and Television (ESR) and the Ministry of Infrastructure have criticized the government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou for being responsible for the delays noted in the digital changeover. As it turns out, Mr. Kedikoglou has not taken the necessary legislative initiatives in order for ESR to carry out a bidding process for […]

The prosecution has asked from the tax authorities to investigate the finances of the people contained in the controversial “Lagarde List” and complete all checks within two months. According to the Financial and Economic Police Unit (SDOE) and tax authorities, one person on the list with an account containing 550 million dollars and appears to […]

There are many who doubt the achievement of the primary surplus in 2013. They are the same people who react to the currently implemented restrictive financial policy and indiscriminately condemn every fiscal measure, whether it is the imposition of new taxes, or the restriction of expenses. It is one of the main contradiction of Greek […]

The Geodynamic Institute of Athens has reported that a 4.5 magnitude earthquake was documented at around 12.34 today, about 12 kilometers west of Argostoli and at a depth of 5 kilometers. The latest earthquake was felt in Lixouri and surrounding villages. While the seismic activity has greatly reduced over the past few days, the Geodynamic […]

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has admitted that it was excessively optimistic and made some mistakes in the estimations of the GDP progress of its member states. In a “post mortem” report that was presented at the LSE in London on Tuesday, the OECD sought to examine its forecasts during and after […]

With the farmer unions appearing adamant over their demands and calling their colleagues to reinforce and support the road blocks that have been set up on national highways across the country, the Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras has arranged to meet with farmer representatives on Thursday. The farmers had been demanding a meeting with Mr. […]