International

High-ranking officers in the Police claim that the arrest of four Turkish nationals of Kurdish descent who appear to be members of the DHKP-C militant group in Turkey is unrelated to the extradition of Angelos Filippidis to Greece, in relation to the Postbank scandal. Additionally, the police officers maintain that Greece does not harbor terrorists, […]

According to the divs announced by the Treasury, the Greek State’s outstanding debts in December of 2013 were estimated to be 4.66 billion euros, down from 9.19 billion euros in December of 2012. The greatest progress was documented in the debts towards hospitals, which were reduced to 687 million euros in December 2013 from an […]

A “civil war” is about to break out amongst New Democracy voters, as Nikos Kaklamanis and Aris Spiliotopoulos are going to run against each other in the upcoming municipal elections. Prime Minister Samaras met with both candidates over the past few days to discuss their intentions, but avoided giving a definite answer as to who […]

According to a study conducted by Public Issue in early February, opposition party SYRIZA is ahead of New Democracy in the polls, despite having suffered a minor drop compared to the divs in January. The polls were published in the Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper and shows SYRIZA in first place with a 30% share (compared […]

The Reporters Without Borders published their annual Press Freedom Index, according to which Greece dropped by 14 positions since last year (and 50 since 2007) and now ranks 99th in the world, the second before last amongst EU members. The organization attributes the significant decline to the sudden shut down of ERT in June 2013, […]

The positive developments on the economic front that Mr. Stournaras alluded to over the past few days seem to be confirmed by the data regarding the execution of the 2013 budget. It is a fact that the primary surplus will be far larger that the initial estimations of the troika. The estimations of a 3.9 […]

The Group of Popular Fighters has claimed responsibility for an attack against the German ambassador’s residency in Halandri...

From the stand in Parliament today, the Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis commented on the progress of disciplinary procedures claimed in the public sector and claimed that the “era of impunity in the public sector has ended for good”. The Minister admitted that for many years the public sector was dominated by a “code […]

The police are searching for Kostas Sakkas, after he failed to show up at his local police department in Kaminia to report by midnight on Monday, as per the terms of his release from prison. Sakkas was released from prison in July 2013 following a hunger strike in protest of his unlawful detainment for 31 […]

The coalition government party PASOK has issued an angry statement, chastising the Minister of Culture Panos Panagiotopoulos for repeatedly refusing to meet with party representatives. In the statement PASOK argues that it has repeatedly attempted to contact the Minister to discuss “important matter regarding Greek literature, such as the fate of EKEVI and preserving book […]

The Minister of Infrastructure Michalis Chrysochoidis has vowed to complete with a week the secondary inspection of about 1,400 homes that were damaged by the recent earthquakes in Kefalonia, so that the restorations can commence as soon as possible. An information pamphlet will soon be distributed amongst the earthquake victims detailing the necessary procedures regarding […]

The farmers in Northern Greece have decided to reinforce the road blocks that they have established on the national high ways, as they prepare for a new round of talks with government executives. Representatives are going to meet with the Minister of Agricultural Development today, while an appointment with the Minister of Finances is being […]

The Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) has requested from the Ministry of Finances to withdraw and revise its plans for higher fines and to provide clarifications regarding the collection of receipts. According to the ESEE, the Finance Ministry’s proposed new tax fines are deemed excessive and unrealistic, when most businesses are focused on merely surviving […]

The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras had a brief meeting with the former president of the European Central Bank Jean-Claude Trichet who is currently in Athens. Mr. Stournaras was reported to have updated Mr. Trichet on the latest fiscal developments, the primary surplus, the overall restructure efforts in the banking sector and the Greek government’s […]

The nine people who were arrested for a rally that escalated with an arson attack against a toll booth in Malakasa have been taken to prosecutor to state their plea and later set free. The nine people are facing charges of disrupting the peace, arson, disrupting transport security, obstructing transport, traffic disturbance, excess damage and […]

The appeal of former Mayor of Thessaloniki Vasilis Papageorgopoulos continues for an eighth day in session. Mr. Papageorgopoulos was convicted in 2013 for his involvement in an embezzlement scam in the Municipality of Thessaloniki. Mr. Papageorgopoulos’ defense attorney will cross examine the main prosecution witness, financial inspector Anastasia Tsempera. Papageorgopoulos’ defense team has argued that […]

From the stand in Parliament the Deputy Minister of Finances Christos Staikouras repeated his claim that the primary surplus will exceed the government’s initial expectations and stressed that after being certified in April, it will pave the way for reducing the debt “by any means necessary”. Mr. Staikouras explained that the troika predicts that the […]

The Ministry of Interior recently decided to pass an amendment according to which expatriates and legally-residing nationals from third countries are not allowed to participate in municipal elections, prompting migrant clubs and anti-racist organizations to react. A demonstration against what is being perceived as a racist amendment has been organized for Tuesday afternoon at 7pm […]

Yesterday the Ministry of Finances announced the names of three active MPs who being investigated for overseas remittances, in order to dispel a number of rumors circulating in the press. The General Secretary of Public Revenue Haris Theoharis has ordered an inquiry to determine who was responsible for the leak regarding the names of the […]

The counterterrorism police arrested four Turkish nationals of Kurdish descent who are believed to be members of the DHKP-C militant group, during an operation in an apartment in Gyzi, from which weapons and explosives were also recovered. The four men are aged 25, 33, 41 and 49 years old and were in possession of falsified […]