Tag Archives: austerity measures

E-mails land in the inboxes of the Troika and the Greek government seeking an agreement on what austerity measures the debt-ridden Greeks will have to take in order to fill the fiscal gap of 2.5 billion euro stated by the country’s international lenders EU, IMF and ECB. The latste Troika …

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Greece’s resistance to Troika’s demand did not last long. Just a couple of days after the negotiations failure in Paris, the country’s lenders e-mailed the Greeks that they should definitely need to impose additional austerity measures and fill the hole of estimated 2.5 billion euro in the budget of 2015.  …

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In many countries governments are quite unpopular and thus for several reasons. According to a global public opinion survey, Greece has apparently the third most hated government in the world. Only 14% of the Greeks appear to approve Samaras-Venizelos coalition government. Top on the list with the lowest government approval …

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After the exorbitant hikes of up to 70% in co-payments for prescription drugs, Greek Health Ministry took a further step in cutting subsidized medical services to insured patients. Minister Makis Voridis announced very strict criteria for diagnosis and screening tests that will affect mainly cancer prevention tests (test PAP, mammography, …

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I have been quite quiet lately, as reporter, as blogger, as a human being… It is not that I have nothing to say, it is not that nothing important is happening in Greece and the Greek society.  But it is the same thing happening in Greece and to the Greek …

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It was shortly after 5 in the afternoon and a fully troubled plenary session, when police hanged a Presidential Decree announcing the unexpected closure of the Greek Parliament and the start of the summer sessions. The government decision to close the Parliament as expressed by the Presidential Decree took Greek …

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How much money does one need to cover monthly basic needs while living in Greece? Well, it depends…. In fact, it depends on who decides. The Troika, the government institutions, the banks, the employers or just the person concerned? The views seem to vary between the theoretical approach and the …

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In other Greek news: The Troikans Poul Thomsen (IMF) and Matthias Morse (EU) had to leave the building of the Greek Finance Ministry from a back door. Cleaning personnel on “mobility scheme” and Development Ministry personnel protesting the dismissal of their colleagues had blocked the main entrance of the ministry …

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What if coalition government leaders PM Antonis Samaras and deputy PM Evangelos Venizelos repeatedly assured there would not no new austerity measures. Appointed and not-elected finance minister Yiannis Stournaras gave things a sober approached and even indirectly announced where the new cuts will come from: from social security funds. “We …

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Hurray! Our Lenders & Masters are pleased with us! Yes, us, the lazy and tax evading Greeks. Our Lenders & Masters are pleased with the progress we have made. Oh wait! EU Monetary affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn did not say that exactly. He said instead: “We are seeing encouraging signs …

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The clock shows two in the afternoon. I have been thinking the whole morning what news I should write about. Should I start with the upcoming cuts in pensions of several professional groups? With the hikes in patents’ cash participation in prescription medicine, maybe? As I was sipping in my …

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Oxfam, the international charity organization founded in 1942 because of the famine in Greece,  finds it hard to believe that 70 years later, this same country “is in a terrible state.” Sharply criticizing the IMF- austerity programs, Oxfam said: “These policies were a failure: a medicine that sought to cure the …

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I was reading in the news today, that technical units of the EU Task Force, the extended hand of the Troika of Greece’s lenders, had a meeting with the political leadership of the Health Ministry. “Emphasis was given on the pharmaceutical expenditure with the country’s lenders to push for further …

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Greeks’ properties are an inexhaustible source of revenues. This is what the Troika and the Greek government  think. After forcing property owners to pay extraordinary ’emergency taxes’ as a kind of small rent to the state for the house/flat/apartment they live in, a new levy is coming just around the …

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The good news: recession eases. The bad news: recession is still high. And thus for the sixth consecutive year. Austerity measures crack down on consumption, shops and businesses close down. Half of the touristic shops and hotels in Agia Marina, Aegina, stay closed for the second consecutive year. Photo: KTG …

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The finance ministers of Eurogroup and Greece’s international lenders approved on Monday evening the next bailout tranche for the debt-ridden country. A total of 6.8 billion euro are to come to Greece in three aub-tranches and be immediately forwarded to anybody else except the average Greek. The money will only make …

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Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis came under physical attack late Sunday afternoon, while he was leaving a meeting of the Confederation of Greek Municipalities (KEDE).  The mayor was beaten with fists and he was taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.  At the time of assault, several municipality unionists had …

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Economic hardship – chronic sickness: one of the real plaques that hit thousands of Greek households suffering from income cuts, tax hikes, cuts in health care and welfare and increase in health care participation. According to a nationwide survey, one in four Greeks suffering from chronic illness have to cut …

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This is a lesson  Eurozone member-countries in bailout should learn: that Troika imposed and government applied bailout terms can be against the national Constitutions that aim to protect the citizens in these countries. “Portugal’s Constitutional Court has ruled several key articles of the 2013 state budget unconstitutional. It rejected four …

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The final terms of the bailout agreement between the Cypriot government and the troika of international lenders are to be worked out and have been finalized until Thursday, in order to be approved by the Eurogroup working group. The deal is based on the bailout terms agreed last November with …

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