Tag Archives: crisis

The aim is to reach a staff level agreement by the Eurogroup on April 7, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said on Monday, as Greece and lenders continue negotiations in order to conclude the second review of the current Greek program. The spokesman said that the negotiations between Greece and …

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Tax evasion in Greece is estimated to be between 11billion euros and 16 billion euros annually, a study has found. The study prepared by EY and commissioned by the DiaNEOsis think-tank was presented during an event hosted by the institute and the Federation of Hellenic Enterprises (SEV), Greece’s largest employers’ …

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I had to contemplate a lot about the Eurogroup on Monday. I had to think a lot on whether I should write a report about the results or simply grab any Eurogroup post from my archives 2010-2016 and just copy paste it. From Eurogroup to Eurogroup, seven years long, always …

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As relations between Turkey and Europe deteriorated, the government in Ankara did what it knows best: it fired threats. Exactly there where it knows it hurts Europe: The Refugees.  At least two ministers told media that the government is considering to review the EU Turkey Deal.  The statements were immediately …

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We saw it coming when wages in Greece started to plummet. Now the data obtained by social security experts confirm it: A lot of people need to work in order to pay one single pension. It takes the contributions of ten workers to pay one single pension. Before the crisis …

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The cost for energy has not increased during the last year. Greek Public Power Company (PPC/DEH) did not dare to increase the price for electricity consumption amid the deep economic crisis in the country. However, electricity bills have turned unpayable for thousands of households due to the additional fees and …

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Workers are still not feeling economic recovery: wages are lower now than they were eight years ago in seven EU member states, according to new research published today by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) and European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). The research also shows that in 18 EU countries …

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Real unemployment in Greece is at 30% and the salary gap between the private and the public sector is growing. These are some of the findings of the annual report 2016 conducted bu the Labor Institute of the Confederation of Greek Private Sector Unions (INE-GSEE) about the state of laborers …

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The European Commission keeps its Plan B for Greece in the Berlaymont building in Brussels, in a safe. A secret with seven seals. The emergency Grexit plan drafted by the Commission in summer 2015 in the peak of the crisis between the Greek government and the European creditors. The 200-point …

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The diplomatic row between Turkey and the Netherlands has escalated to unprecedented level. The Dutch detained a Turkish minister and escorted her to the borders in Germany, police used dogs and water cannon to disperse angry Turks protesting near the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam on Saturday. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim …

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Spokesman of the International Monetary Fund, Gerry Rice, dismissed media reports according to which the IMF will join the Greek program with a small loan somewhere between three and six billion dollars. Rice insisted that there has been no discussion at the IMF board about any amount. Gerry Rice‏ @IMFSpokesperson As …

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Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confirmed on Friday that he had asked managing director Christine Lagarde for the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the Greek program. Greece’s request was reveled by Lagarde a day earlier. The previous approach of the Greek government “We can do also without the IMF” …

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I can’t help but remember German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble every time I read somewhere the word “Puerto Rico.” In 2015, Schaeuble offered  US-Treasury Secretary Jack Lew swap burdens of Puerto Rico with those of Greece. Would the swap have been a good deal for Germany and the Eurozone? Hardly. …

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Greece’s debt-ridden economy stagnated in 2016, the national statistics agency ELSTAT said in a first estimate on Wednesday, two days after quarterly data pointed to a small contraction. “GDP in volume terms recorded 0.0% annual rate of change in 2016,” ELSTAt said, adding that the figure was derived from non-seasonally …

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Greece’ economy shrank by 1.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016.This is three times worse than a first estimate of 0.4%. It was the worst quarter since 2015. OUCH. Greek GDP shrank 1.2 per cent in fourth quarter – three times worse than a first estimate of 0.4% …

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The Greek team goes to Eurogroup with anything but great expectations. The topic “Greece” is third on today’s agenda of the finance ministers of the eurozone.  Athens seeks a political solution to the Greek problem and anticipates the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the managing director of the …

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Delays in the talks between Greece and its lenders have brought back the ghost of Grexit.  The grave disagreement between the International Monetary Fund and the European lenders, Grexit bombshell flying around and Greece’s reluctance to accept additional austerity measures have increase uncertainty among citizens – for one more time. …

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Hundreds of people in need flocked to the social service of Athens Municipality to register for the Social Solidarity Allowance. The expected happened: long queues, tension, anger and a registration system that collapsed. Some people had gone there already at 5 o’clock in the morning and awaited patiently despite the …

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A sustainable Greek debt and completion of the second review of the Greek programme are necessary prerequisites for Greece’s inclusion in the quantitative easing, European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi said on Monday. Addressing the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in Brussels, Draghi explained that the sustainability …

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