A voluntary scheme by European Union member states to accept unaccompanied migrant children from Greece officially ended Tuesday, raising concern over delays still facing the bloc in hammering out a comprehensive new migration agreement. Fifteen minors from Somalia, Gambia and Pakistan boarded a plane in Athens bound for Lisbon, Portugal, …
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EU Court of Justice condemns Greece over Thessaloniki pollution
The European Court of Justice has once again condemned Greece over its environmental performance, and Thessaloniki more specifically over its air quality. The court on Thursday found very high levels of micro-particles in the air of the northern city, which Greece has failed to tackle over the last decade. The …
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Turkey, EU partners express condolences over Greece’s train tragedy
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias on Wednesday to expressed his condolences over the tragic railway accident in Tempi, central Greece. He later posted on Twitter: Yunanistan’da meydana gelen tren kazası nedeniyle mevkidaşım Dendias’ı arayarak taziye dileklerimizi ilettik. Yunan devletinin ve halkının acısını paylaşıyoruz. Spoke …
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Greece’s economy growth to exceed Eurozone average in 2022, 2023, 2024
Greece’s economy recorded solid growth in the first half of 2022 and it is projected to remain on a growth path in 2022, 2023 and 2024, surpassing the EU and the eurozone average growth rates, the European Commission said in its winter economic forecast report released on Monday. The Greek …
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Commission calls on Greece to apply EU directives properly
The European Commission has called on Greece to include in its national legislation directives on fighting children’s sexual abuse on the conditions of reception of asylum applicants, it said on Thursday, among other directives the country needs to implement. The Commission is also referring Greece and another five EU member …
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High expectations natural gas off Crete could cover EU needs
Positive messages from ExxonMobil for an important natural gas field in Crete. Energy Minister says “there are expectations that it will cover the gap of Russian gas for 10 years in the European Union.” Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas spoke of “high expectations” from hydrocarbon exploration in the maritime …
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Greece top in hazardous waste management, fines
The findings of a European assessment on Monday regarding hazardous waste management in Greece offer an interesting contrast. On the one hand, it ranks among the highest reaches in the EU in terms of waste management as only 1% of the quantities remain untreated, while 91% are recycled. However, it …
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Greece among EU members to not impose Covid-tests to travelers from China
The European Union is assessing Beijing’s rollback of its strict anti-infection controls but refrained Thursday from immediately following EU member Italy in requiring coronavirus tests for airline passengers coming from China. Health officials from the 27-member bloc promised to continue talks on seeking a common approach to travel rules. However, …
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EU countries finally agree gas price cap after weeks of talks
European Union nations’ energy ministers have agreed a gas price cap, a spokesperson for the Czech Republic said on Twitter on Monday. First reaction from Russia: “Unacceptable!” The deal follows weeks of talks on the emergency measure that has split opinion across the bloc as it seeks to tame the …
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48% of Greeks hesitate to approve EU’s backing for Ukraine (POLL)
Deviating from the general mood in Europe, a large number of Greeks hesitate to declare their approval of the European Union’s backing for Ukraine following the Russian invasion. In the relevant question of the Parliament’s Eurobarometer for autumn 2022, a majority of citizens in the 24 member-states approve of the …
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Albanian PM Rama apologizes to Greek PM for offending remarks
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama apologized to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for offending remarks against Greece he had made recently. “I hope you were not offended,” Rama told Mitsotakis on the sideline of the EU-Western Balkan Summit in Tirana on Tuesday. A day before the summit and in an …
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EU reaches deal for $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil
The European Union reached a deal Friday for a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil, a key step as Western sanctions aim to reorder the global oil market to prevent price spikes and starve President Vladimir Putin of funding for his war in Ukraine. After a last-minute flurry of negotiations, …
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Greece wants a 150-200 euros cap on natural gas
“A cap at 275 euros is not in essence a cap,” Greece’s Environment and Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said on Thursday. Arriving at the Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels, he pointed out that a gas price ceiling between “150 euros and 200 euros is a realistic ceiling.” Stressing that …
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Greece topped EU ranking for innovation in 2018-2020, reports Eurostat
Greece has outdone other European Union countries for the percentage of businesses that reported some kind of innovation activity between 2018 and 2020, achieving first place with a rate of 73%, according to a graph published the European Statistics authority Eurostat on Friday. According to a Eurostat tweet, the EU …
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Greeks should limit electricity consumption in the evening, says minister
Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas issued a recommendation for citizens to reduce electricity consumption by 5% as Greece is obliged to do according to EU member-states agreement. “Greece in the coming months has a goal to reduce energy consumption during peak hours by at least 5%. So the effort of all …
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Greece to raise naked migrants issue with UN; Turkey claims “fake news”
Greece’s Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Monday that he will inform the United Nations on the issue of 92 naked migrants collected at the Evros river, the natural border with Turkey on Friday. He once again accused Turkey of mistreating migrants. Speaking to Skai TV, Mitarakis said …
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Greece’s Justice keeps moving at snail’s pace; the slowest in EU
Justice in Greece keeps moving at a snail’s pace and Greek courts are by far the slowest in the EU in disposing of even uncomplicated cases Despite all the promises of reform and the solemn declarations of successive officials that justice delayed is justice denied, that is exactly what’s happening …
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EU Commission: Accession negotiations with Turkey are deadlocked
The European Union has strategic interest in having a stable and secure environment in the Eastern Mediterranean and in developing cooperation and a mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey, the draft report of the European Commission on enlargement states. According to the report seen by Greek state-run news agency amna, it …
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Frosty atmosphere in Prague as Erdogan attacks Greece again
Frosty atmosphere between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the European Political Community summit in Prague, where the two leaders did not even exchanged a glance when they headed to the group photo opportunity. Once again Erdogan verbally attacked Greece accusing it of creating …
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Tsipras calls for EU sanctions to keep Turkish aggression in check
Greece main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras has urged the European Union to prepare a package of sanctions against Turkey over its escalating challenges to Greek sovereignty. The interventions of the leader of left-wing SYRIZA came on the sidelines of the Eurosocialist Summit PES in Prague. Tsipras called on the EU …
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