International

The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras is scheduled to meet with representatives of the farmer unions today in order to discuss various tax measures. While the government announced a number of measures in favor of farmers last week, the unions have rejected them as they claim do not address their demands. Meanwhile the farmers are […]

It might be a bit premature to estimate that the Greek economy is finally exiting the recession once and for all, but there are many leading indications that would confirm such an estimation. A series of data and financial developments suggest that we “hit rock bottom” and now the economy is starting to react. It […]

The political parties in Greece have shrunk… They continually loose more of the influence they used to have; they do not have the money to make things happens and they have already collected in advance a large portion of the State subsidies; they have lost their credibility and are finding it incredibly difficult to be […]

The Minister of Shipping Miltiadis Varvitsiotis met with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Sang-jick, with whom he discussed the possibility of Greek shipping companies and South Korean shipyards cooperating. At the meeting, the Greek and South Korean Ministers had the opportunity to exchange ideas on further expanding the business ties between the two countries, including […]

The Governor of the Bank of Greece Giorgos Provopoulos gave a lecture on the Greek financial crisis at the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum based in London. According to Mr. Provopoulos, the sacrifices of the Greek people are starting to “pay off” and that Greece is about to return to growth. The central banker […]

After much speculation and uncertainty regarding New Democracy’s candidates in the upcoming elections, MP Yannis Ioannidis has formally announced in a written statement that he will run for the position of Regional Governor in Central Macedonia. In his written statement, the former basketball coach-turned-politician explained that his intention is to bring about an improvement in […]

The Greek Statistics Authority ELSTAT announced that between January 2013 and December 2013, the total value of Greek exports marginally dropped by 0.2%, compared to the same 12-month period in 2012. Additionally, ELSTAT revealed that the total value of imports in 2013 also dropped by 5% compared to 2012. The total value of imports in […]

The Afghan community has organized a demonstration outside Parliament on Syntagma Square at 5pm on Friday, in response to the tragic death of 12 refugees off the coast of Farmakonisi. The protesters demand that the Greek and European authorities investigate the political and criminal responsibilities of those implicated and that justice be served for the […]

The Felony Appeal Court sentenced Tasos Theofilou to 25 years imprisonment for participating in a bank robbery, being an accomplice in manslaughter, forgery, carrying weapons and accepting stolen goods. The courts did not accept any mitigating circumstances, but dropped the terrorism charges of participating in the Conspiracy of Fire Cells group against the 30-year-old anarchist. […]

The Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiadis met with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Evangelos Venizelos this morning in Athens. After the meeting concluded, Mr. Samaras stated that the Cypriot dispute is a “top priority” for the Greek government and spoke of the need for a broad national consensus. The three politicians […]

The Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis appeared on ANT1’s morning chat show in order to address the reappointment of the school wardens, all of whom were suspended in September. Mr. Mitsotakis claimed that 526 applications have been submitted and that one in three school wardens will find a job. The Minister explained that former […]

The Archbishop Ieronymos attended the celebrations of St. Fotios at the Penteli Monastery and took the opportunity to discuss some of the problems the Church faces. According to the Archbishop the people “see us, but they don’t want us”, in reference to the strained relations with devotees, particularly with people who follow other dogmas and […]

The state privatization fund TAIPED convened yesterday and finalized its plans regarding the sale of a 67% stake in the Port Authority of Piraeus (OLP). After finalizing the plans, TAIPED will send a copy of the terms of the sale to Parliament for consideration. A few weeks ago the Ministry of Shipping decided to include […]

Protesters from the local government employee union POE-OTA have clashed with the riot police outside the Council of State in down town Athens, where a critical vote regarding the government’s dismissal and suspension scheme is taking place. The police decided to intervene when the protesters attempted to block off the main road outside the building. […]

Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded the rating of the city of Athens from “C” to “Caa3”, meaning that there is a stable outlook. The credit rating business attributed the upgrade to the possibility of a default having been averted. Specifically, in December 2013 the Municipality of Athens paid 675,000 euros in late payment interest fees […]

The Ministry of Education recently decided to extend the school year and abolish a number of school holidays in order to address the problems caused by set-backs and delays. The decision has prompted a general discussion regarding the structure of the academic year, which in turn has unveiled some rather interesting facts. Despite the impressions […]

The drama surrounding the candidacy of Theodoros Karypidis with SYRIZA for the position of Governor of Western Macedonia in the upcoming local government elections will be prolonged for another day, as SYRIZA’s political secretariat will convene today and decide on the matter. While there is concern and dissatisfaction amongst SYRIZA members and voters regarding Mr. […]

An early morning aftershock tremor worried the residents of Kefalonia, who have seen their island suffer unprecedented damages from the recent seismic activity. According to the Geodynamic Institute, the latest aftershock measured 4.1 on the Richter scale and took place at 5.26am at a depth of about 2km and about 15km northeast of Lixouri. The […]

With the farmer unions appearing determined to continue their struggle, the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras held a meeting on Thursday afternoon with the Minister of Agricultural Development Athanasios Tsaftaris, the Deputy Minister of Finances Giorgos Mavraganis and the General Secretary of Public Revenue Haris Theoharis to reexamine the taxation of farmers. After the meeting concluded, […]

The Minister of Finances Yannis Stournaras plans of relying on the unexpectedly high 2013 primary surplus, which is estimated to be about 1% of the GDP, as well as the improvements in the real economy, in order to strike a deal with the troika by the next Eurogroup session. During his visit to Frankfurt, the […]