The European Commission will not prolong the enhanced surveillance of Greece once it expires on 20 August, it said on Wednesday. In a statement, the Commission said that “following exchanges with the Greek authorities, including at the Eurogroup meeting of June 16, the Commission acknowledges that Greece has delivered on …
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EU Commission calls for investigation of phone tapping scandal in Greece
The European Commission has said that the illegal surveillance of citizens by intelligence services is “unacceptable,” while calling for an investigation into the tapping of a Greek political leader’s phone. Asked during a press briefing on Tuesday, Anitta Hipper, a spokeswoman on home affairs, migration and internal security, said the …
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“Gas reduction by 15% in case of European alert,” says Commission
European Commissioner President Ursual von der Leyen presented on Wednesday an emergency plan for the case Russia halts the supply of natural gas to Europe. The plan called “Save gas for a safe winter” provides that EU member state reduce annual gas consumption by 15%. “In case of a European …
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Greek economic growth to exceed EU average rate, Commission report says
Economic growth in Greece will exceed the EU average in 2022, but the inflation rate will remain high, the European Commission said in its summer 2022 Economic Forecast report released on Thursday. More specifically, the report said that Greece kept its momentum in the first quarter of 2022, with real …
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“Feta is Greek!” EU top court tells Denmark
Greece on Thursday scored a win in its fight to protect their right to the term “Feta” as Europe’s top court reprimanded Denmark for not blocking local companies from using the name for sales outside the European Union. Greece claims feta as part of its cultural heritage because it has …
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Athens air quality “moderate,” says EU Environment Agency that evaluated 344 cities
Air quality in Athens is only “moderate,” according to air pollution data published on Monday by the European Environment Agency (EEA). More than 340 European cities are included in the map based on data collected from measuring stations across the bloc. Athens ranks 227th in the list. Moderate is for …
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EU registers “Turkaegean” trademark, while Greece gently weeps
The European Union agency responsible for trademarks accepted A request from Turkey to register the term “Turkaegean.” – Turkish Aegean – as brand name. The EU decision is unacceptable against Greece and it raises questions about what Greek authorities did or not to prevent such a move. The EU Intellectual …
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“Turkey must respect the sovereignty of all EU member states” says EU spokesman
Turkey must respect the sovereignty of all EU member states “in their territorial waters and airspace,” said European Commission spokesman for external affairs Peter Stano on Friday. Asked by Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent provocative statements, Stano noted that “the EU has always been …
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EU authorities drop mandatory mask in airplanes and airports
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) issued an update on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, to the health safety measures for air travel, paving the way for a relaxation of the need to wear medical masks on board a flight, but …
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Energy blackout? EU has an emergency plan for states and citizens
The European Commission has prepared an emergency plan for the case of an energy blackout. According to Spanish daily El Pais the Commission intends to present the plan on May 18. The plan contains several actions to be taken by EU member states for the worst case scenario in which …
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Greece among countries pushing for lifting Russian oil ban with EU-owned tankers
The European Union plans to abandon the proposal banning EU-owned ships from carrying Russian oil to third countries. Among the EU member states that pushed for the lifting if the export ban is Greece. According to a report, Bloomberg has learned and with those familiar with the matter, the proposal …
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EU court adviser faults Denmark for misusing “Feta” name on cheese exports
Denmark has infringed European Union law by failing to prevent local companies from making and exporting outside the EU white cheese labelled as “feta”, adviser to EU’s top court Tamara Capeta said on Thursday. “Feta” has been a registered Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) since 2002 and the European Commission …
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Greece’s 6-point proposal plan to EU to control soaring energy prices
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, outlined a proposal for a six-point plan for dealing with the economic repercussions of soaring energy prices. In his letter Mitsotakis stresses the necessity for immediate and decisive action to avert an additional cost …
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Erdogan calls on EU to show “same sensitivity” to Turkey’s application as to Ukraine’s
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called on the EU to show the “same sensitivity” for Turkey’s application to join the bloc as it showed for Ukraine’s membership bid, slamming member states for being “not sincere.” “Will you put Turkey on your agenda when someone attacks (us) too?” he said, …
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Russia closes its airspace to airlines from 36 countries incl. Greece
Russia has closed its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including Greece and all other 26 members of the European Union, in response Ukraine-related sanctions targeting its aviation sector. Some of the banned countries had already been identified, while others were named by the aviation authority Rosaviatsia for the first …
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Greece supports Ukraine’s EU prospects, says PM Mitsotakis
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his support to Ukraine’s European prospects on Monday after the appeal of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for immediate European Union membership. “Full solidarity with President Zelenskyy and the people of Ukraine. We welcome Ukraine’s EU choice; they are one of us,” Mitsotakis said in …
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EU shuts down its airspace to Russian aircraft, incl oligarchs’ “private jets”
The European Union is shutting down the EU airspace for Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Sunday evening, in a second package of measures against Russia. Russian aircraft “won’t be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the …
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ECB must keep buying bonds to cushion Ukraine fallout, says Bank of Greece governor
The European Central Bank (ECB) should continue its bond-buying stimulus programme at least until the end of the year and keep it open-ended to cushion the fallout from any conflict in Ukraine, ECB policymaker Yannis Stournaras told Reuters. He was the first ECB official to spell out how events in …
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EU advises further relaxing of Covid travel rules for foreigners
European Union member countries agreed Tuesday that they should further facilitate tourist travel into the 27-nation bloc for people who are vaccinated against the coronavirus or have recovered from Covid-19. The European Council is recommending that EU nations next month lift all testing and quarantine requirements for people who received …
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“Greece will stand with its allies in the EU and the NATO” says Athens
Greece needed some twelve hours to take official position on the Russia-Ukraine developments and Tuesday morning it announced that it will stand with its allies in the European Union and the NATO. At an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis early in the morning, the Council of Foreign …
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