European Commission

The European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström will meet Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and a number of Ministers in order to discuss immigration in Greece. Mrs. Malmström met the Minister of Public Order Nikos Dendias this morning and later met with the Mayor of Athens Giorgos Kaminis. The Commissioner commented on her twitter account […]

The European Commission has denied the rumors that during the recent troika visit to the Ministry of Labor to discuss the development with the insurance funds, EU officers suggested to introduce income-based pensions, similar to the pension system in Australia. However, the Commission was quick to point out that IMF officers may have expressed “personal […]

Despite the troika originally scheduled to return to Athens on Monday the 2nd of December, the European Commission’s spokesman Simon O’Connor revealed that no precise debt had been set and that a decision was still pending. This unfortunate delay will undoubtedly concern the Ministry of Finances, as Mr. Stournaras’ aim was to complete talks for […]

The Ministers of Finances Yannis Stournaras and Growth Kostis Hatzidakis met with the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier this morning and discussed public contracts, supporting the banks and government subsidies. The French Commissioner and Growth Minister exchanged ideas on setting priorities for the upcoming Greek EU presidency in the first […]

The European Commission has approved an investment of 29.5 million euros by the Regional Development Fund for the modernization of the ticket issuing system and the introduction of “smart tickets” for urban transport in Athens. According to the approved plan, the plastic credit-card sized “smart” tickets will replace the current paper-based tickets. Travelers will add […]

European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn was asked by SYRIZA MEP Nikos Hountis to comment on rumors suggesting that TAIPED was going to be converted into a “special purpose vehicle” with foreign managers. In his response Mr. Rehn avoided confirming and denying such a possibility, however he hinted that there would be […]

The European Commission has announced its revised its estimations about the rate of recession in Greece in 2013, from 4.2% to 4%. The Commission also estimates that the Greek GDP will increase by 0.6% in 2014 and that unemployment will reach 27%. According to the EC’s revise autumn estimations, the 4% recession in 2013 will […]

European Commission spokesman Simon O’Connor has confirmed that the troika teams will be visiting Athens after all, after news agency Reuters reported late last week that the trip had been postponed, due to significant delays and differences of opinion. On Friday afternoon European Commission representative Chantal Hughes explained that the troika team would return to […]

Greece was victorious in the “Battle of Feta” that kicked off a few weeks ago, when the original draft of an EU-Canadian contract that was submitted for discussion included a clause allowing Canadian cheese industries to use the term “feta”. Greek Commissioner Maria Damanaki reacted strongly during meetings with other members of the European Committee, […]

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it has approved the acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean Airlines, which is compliant with the EU’s relevant legislation on company mergers. In the announcement the Commission stressed that if Olympic Air did not merge with Aegean, then it would face closure in the near future due to […]

State natural gas supplier DEPA and Russian power giant Gazprom are expected to negotiate a new price for natural gas by the end of December. If there is no agreement, the two sides will refer to international arbitration. According to a document that PASOK MP Odysseas Konstantinopoulos read in parliament, the negotiations for the price […]

According to Laszlo Andor, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, as of July 2013, Greece has taken advantage f 59.12% of EU funds available for vulnerable social groups, namely 66.9 million euros. Mr. Andor was quizzed by New Democracy’s MEP Papanikolaou, who stressed that Greece has used available funds to expedite the […]

The President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso stated that he was impressed by the fiscal changes and reforms taking place in Greece over the past three years. Mr. Barroso, who was addressing the European Parliament Assembly about the latest developments in the EU, claimed that after three years of huge changes, Greece is […]

A day after the German Minister of Finances Wolfgang Schäuble openly spoke of the possibility of a third aid package to Greece, European Commissioner Olli Rehn explained that there were “other options”. Mr. Rehn was interviewed by Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat and commented that “the debt sustainability can be improved for instance by extending the […]

German economist and ECB board member Jörg Asmussen is arriving in Athens today for talks with the political leadership and high-ranking bank executives. The official visit comes a day after the German Minister of Finances Schäuble commented on the need for a third aid package in 2014. Mr. Asmussen is scheduled to meet the Minister […]

According to the European Commission’s data that was published on Tuesday, the economic climate index in Greece dropped for the second month in a row. The Commission attributed the drop to the increasing lack in consumer trust. In detail, the index dropped to 91.7 from 93.5 in June, echoing the drop in consumer trust (-70.9 […]

The European Commission has postponed today’s presentation of the Greek program’s progress report for Friday. The delay came as a result of the extension for the 4-billion euro loan installment, due to the outstanding prior action. The report is expected to make provisions for the lift on the auction ban of primary residences, delaying an […]