August 7, 2017
Uncategorized
Greece’s GDP shrunk by 61.6 billion euros (26 percent) since 2010, the time span when three bailout memorandums with institutional creditors were signed and implemented, figures showed this week. Additionally, general government revenues decreased by five billion euros, with public sector wages, pensions and welfare benefits cut by 19.13 billion …
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August 6, 2017
Social, Society
A cancer patient postponed his death for a couple of days in order to secure pension for his wife and future widow. The terminally ill man was asked doctors to put him on life supporting machines and prolong his life for just five days in order to secure that his …
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July 2, 2017
Economy
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble insisted that it is successive Greek governments to blame for the pension cuts that have been enforced in Greece and not the international or the European creditors. In an interview to newspaper TA NEA, has insisted in an interview that successive Greek governments were to …
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May 10, 2017
Economy
The Plenary of the State Audit Council has ruled that the cuts to main and supplementary pensions to be implemented in 2019 are against the Constitution and contravene the European Convention of Human Rights. Pension cuts are creditors’ top favorite austerity measure. The pension cuts the government and its creditors …
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April 25, 2017
Social, Society
The implementation of the pension reform of 2016, leads to sudden death of incomes for survived widows and pushes a large portion of population to poverty. Widows’ pensions will by cut down to 50 percent of the deceased’s pension, new age criteria go into effect this month. According to so-called …
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April 4, 2017
Social, Society
Thousands of pensioners marched through the streets of downtown Athens on Tuesday demanding a stop to further pension cuts. Representatives met with Deputy Minister in charge of Social Security and Retirement, Tasos Petropoulos. The meeting ended without the result protesters had hoped to achieve. The Minister merely confirmed that the …
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March 24, 2017
Social, Society
The public hospital in Volos has reportedly stopped providing chemotherapy to cancer patients and sends them away because the monthly budget has been exceeded. Public Hospital workers unions denounce and media report that the oncology unit stopped the chemotherapy treatment since last Monday and by order of the hospital commander. …
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February 5, 2017
Economy
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and the International Monetary Fund finally agreed on the Greek debt issue. However what they agreed upon is not what Greece would like to expect. Schaeuble and the IMF’s responsible for Europen Poul Thomsen agreed to a common hard-line, that translates into to increase pressure …
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December 7, 2016
Economy
The scissors are here to stay and they will keep cutting until there is no more to cut but a desperate Greek life. Despite assurances by the Greek government that there will be no further cuts in the pensions and that the social security reforms have been concluded, the country’s …
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November 23, 2016
Economy
Armageddon on the way to Greece! Measures that will crack down pensioners and debtors to the government and will affect wages and recruitment in the public sector are included in the so-called “updated bailout agreement” Greece’s creditors sent to the Finance Ministry on Sunday. According to daily Kathimerini that published …
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November 12, 2016
Society
Members of the civic movement “I Don’t Pay” reconnected electricity to the home of a cancer patient in Chalandri suburb of north Athens. The 65-year-old woman who lives with her family in the apartment had the electricity connection cut due two days ago due to 2,500 euro debt to the …
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September 29, 2016
Society
45% of Greece’s pensioners live below the poverty line. They receive monthly pensions below 665 euro gross. The data has been released by the Greek Pensioner’s Network and shows the dramatic situation in which 1.2million pensioners experience after the repetitive cuts and hikes for health contributions. Unions stress that 13.7% …
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September 23, 2016
Economy
Fiscal policy is not sustainable – Debt relief in needed – Weak growth perspective – Tax collection 50% below the target – Investment decreased by 60% – The Rich and the self-employed evade taxes – Cut tax allowance and pensions but also tax rates. This is the message the International …
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September 6, 2016
Society
Hundreds of pensioners gathered on Tuesday morning outside the Labor Ministry in Athens to protest the new cuts in their pensions. It is the second cut in supplementary pensions this year. As it was implemented retroactive, many pensioners were shocked in the first days of September see even more than …
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August 3, 2016
Economy
It was certainly a shock for thousands of Greek pensioners: beginning of august they saw their supplementary pensions to have undergone cuts from 21% up to 46%. Affected are 311,680 pensioners receiving pensions from 11 pension funds. The 3. bailout and the Pensions Reforms provided that if the sum of …
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March 21, 2016
Economy
For Greece’s lenders faith was apparently stronger than an agreement on bailout program review, the pensions reforms and the new additional taxation. They left Athens on Sunday and will return beginning of April, after a two weeks break for the Catholic Easter. The representatives of the “institutions” left and left …
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February 12, 2016
Economy
The International Monetary Funds wants additional austerity measures in order to secure 3.5% Primary Surplus – of the usual wrong IMF projections. The IMF Director for the European Program, Poul Thomsen wrote his thoughts about a Workable Program for Greece and uploaded them on the IMFBlog. Poul Thomsen demands additional …
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February 5, 2016
Economy
The International Monetary Fund is apparently concerned about its image. “I really don’t like it when we’re portrayed as this draconian, rigorous, terrible IMF,” Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Thursday in an online news conference. “We don’t want draconian measures to apply to Greece, which has already made a …
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January 5, 2016
Society
The great pensions slaughtering. Ops! In creditors’ language we call it nicely “the great pensions reform”. Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos submitted the Greek government proposal in an e-mail file containing 170 pages. the creditors’ received it and are reportedly evaluating it. As Katrougalos’ proposal was leaked to the press, the …
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December 28, 2015
Society
The Greek government is allegedly considering to impose a special tax on bank transactions in order to avoid further cuts into main pensions as demanded by the country’s creditors. The government’s alleged thought have been revealed by daily Ta NEA, at a time when Greece and creditors keep exchanging ‘negotiation’ …
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