Many Greeks have been wondering what is the purpose of the snap elections scheduled for September 20th? Some answer the question replying “Tsipras could not govern with the support of the opposition but without the support of his own MPs,” others warn that “with such a huge debt and such …
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Greece leads in EU- and EZ-unemployment: 25% general and 51.8% among youth
Nice. Unemployment rate dropped from 25.6% April to 25% in May 2015. However, this positive development did not hinder Greece from holding the top position in unemployment among the European Union and the Eurozone countries. With 25% in general unemployment and 51.8% among the youth, Greece leads the list of …
Read More »Lafazanis’ Popular Unity doesn’t exclude Grexit and Return to Drachma
This is a very clear stance before the elections: Popular Unity, the party of SYRIZA rebels around former energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis will pledge to abolish the bailout program and cancel austerity plans, will not exclude an orderly exit from the Eurozone as an option and introduce anew a national …
Read More »Varoufakis to launch pan-European anti-austerity movement and political party
Varoufakis’ fans get ready! The ex finance minister is preparing to launch a European movement that will develop into a political party. Yanis Varoufakis will push for a Pan-Εuropean network for fight austerity. Instead of running for the upcoming elections, he will put his energy into political action on European …
Read More »Greece misses €3.46bn in tax revenues, Greeks will have to pay €20bn by end of 2015
These are difficult times for state revenues. Greece’s government managed to raise only 22.3 billion euro in the seven months it was in power. The goal was €25.772 billion, and now the gap amounts €3.46 billion. Even the revised target of Primary Deficit of 0.25% for 2015 – as it …
Read More »Greece’s newborn babies to get Tax Identification Number as of 1.1.2016
Awa! So cute! As long as a newborn will let its first scream and take a deep breath of tax-evasion-free Greek air, it will get a Tax Identification Number (AFM). The AFM-number is necessary, for the case, the newborn Greek -who may look innocent and guileless today – turns into …
Read More »UPD Greece’s biggest pensions fund IKA stops issuing new pensions for those below 67 and thus retrospective 1.1.2015
Greece’s biggest insurance fund for the private sector IKA has apparently stopped issuing pensions due to retirement age, invalidity or death for all those below 67 years of age or for those with less than 4,500 working stamps. According to an exclusive story of daily Eleftheros Typos, IKA will not …
Read More »Greece’s Parliament approves 3. bailout – Tsipras to seek vote of confidence as SYRIZA suffers losses
Bill passed, SYRIZA suffers defeat and thus by its own lawmakers. With 222 YES votes the Greek Parliament approved the 3. bailout bill on Friday morning. 64 MPs voted NO and 11 Abstained. With 42 SYRIZA MPs to have voted NO or “Present”, the the major coalition government partner suffered …
Read More »My Big Fat Greek Funeral: SYRIZA, 3. bailout and capital controls
I am speechless. Not since yesterday or last week. I have been speechless since July 13th when the Greek left-wing coalition government agreed to burden the country and the people with a new loan, the third bailout for Greece since 2010 together with the strictest austerity program ever. I have …
Read More »Audio uploaded: Varoufakis’ Plan B and “parallel banking system within the eurozone”
The controversial audio excerpt from the conference call between former Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis with international hedge funds representatives has been uploaded on internet. In the audio Varoufakis speaks of his Plan B project that contains among others also “hacking taxpayers’ registration numbers” and the creation of a “parallel banking …
Read More »Varoufakis’ Plan B: Hack FinMin’s software, introduce parallel banking system
The first scenario that wanted ex Energy Minister Lafazanis to seize the Greece’s assets and arrest the governor of Bank of Greece did not thrill the public. Now a new scenario with much more suspense claims that former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis wanted to hack the Ministry’s software, hijack taxpayers’ …
Read More »Race to keep Gov’t majority: Tsipras excludes “pensions & farmers reforms” from Wednesday’s voting
With a simple non-paper, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced on Monday, that the “reforms on pensions and farmers’ taxation” will not be on the voting agenda of the Parliament upcoming Wednesday. The move is understood as Tsipras’ big retreat towards SYRIZA lawmakers threatening to not vote for these measures and …
Read More »Tsipras’ Judgement Day: Austerity voting with eyes fixed on the clock
Greece’s lawmakers started to debate the first set of 3. bailout “prior actions” to be voted in the Parliament later today. The voting is the toughest political challenge for Syriza and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras who most likely see his parliamentary majority decreasing. One after the other, SYRIZA Ministers and …
Read More »Poll on Brussels Agreement: 72% of Greeks “necessary”,70.1% wants the Parliament to approve it
The overwhelming majority of Greeks want to the Parliament to approve the agreement between PM Alexis Tsipras and the creditors. In a public opinion survey conducted by Kappa Research on July 14th 2015 for daily To Vima,gr 70.1% says that the Parliament has to approve the Brussels agreement and thus …
Read More »251 lawmakers vote for Rescue Program, SYRIZA suffers heavy losses
With a wide majority of 251 votes the Parliament authorized the Greek government to reach an agreement with creditors on another “rescue” package with will bring more painful austerity in the next 3 years. The roll call voting ended at 3:30 am Saturday with heavy losses for governing left-wing SYRIZA …
Read More »PM Tsipras Speech at the European Parliament I + II
Below are the two speeches at the Plenary Session of the European Parliament on July 8th 201. The first text is Tsipras’ opening speech and the second after several MEPs took the floor launching an unprecedented attack against the Greek Prime Minister. Tsipras opening speech Thank you very much Mr. …
Read More »ECB chocks Greece: “ELA to Greek banks maintained, Haircuts on collateral for ELA adjusted”
The European Central Bank decided today to maintain and to not increase Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greek banks, despite a request for an allegedly 3 billion ELA increase sent by Greek government on Sunday. Furthermore the ECB decided to “adjust” “haircuts on Greek collateral for ELA, although it did not …
Read More »Economics Professor Euclid Tsakalotos is Greece’s new Finance Minister
Alternate Foreign Minister and chief negotiator with creditors Euclides Tsakalotos replaces Yanis Varoufakis as Greece’s new Finance Minister. He is to take political oath at 8 pm local time on Monday and fly to Brussels Tuesday morning to submit Greece’s new negotiations proposals to the Eurogroup. The 55-year-old Economics Professor …
Read More »Referendum final: NO 61.3%, YES 38.6%; SAMARAS resigns
Ballot boxes closed at 7 o’ clock in the afternoon. Immediately, several private television channels started to public results of public opinion surveys conducted among Greeks before and after they voted. However these results were not exit polls. Orange: NO Green YES Live Blog starts here 07:30 pm – First …
Read More »Referendum: Greek voters angry at media & creditors, scare-mongering campaign seems to backfire
The family of a friend is divided: her husband and her two children, 20 and 21, will vote “NO” in Sunday’s referendum, while she – a left-wing voter all through her voting life – was still undecided on early Saturday afternoon. “Hm… I don’t know yet, I despise the old …
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