June 28, 2018
Politics, World
The first day of the EU Summit did not go according to plan. The EU Council has cancelled the press conference at the end of Day 1 of the summit and in a very diplomatic statement, make it clear, it’s Italy’s fault… The European Council this afternoon had an exchange …
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June 28, 2018
Greece, Politics
Greece’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, is about to make a present of a very special political kind to German Chancellor Angela Merkel: He will give her a helping hand, sign an agreement with her to take back asylum seekers and save her fragile coalition with anti-migration CSU. Tsipras said he …
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June 25, 2018
Greece, Politics
Sixteen leaders out of the EU 28 rushed to Brussels on Sunday afternoon, following an invitation by the European Commission spoken on behalf of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Aim of the emergency mini summit that turned into a medium size summit was to seek ways for common solution on Migration. …
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June 24, 2018
Arts, Culture
World famous British singer Sting grabbed a broom and swept rain water off the stage of the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus on Saturday evening. The rain poured down short before the concert was to start. Wearing a trench coat, the music star had no problem to rush in aid …
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June 21, 2018
Politics, World
Provisional draft ‘conclusions’ of the mini-summit on Migration on Sunday have angered several leaders of European Union member states. Italy is threatening to abstain from the summit, the Visegrad Group has called for an emergency session. The draft distributed to state leaders ahead of the summit is focusing on protection …
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June 20, 2018
Greece, Politics
European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, announced an informal mini summit on migration and asylum issues. The meeting is scheduled for Sunday, June 24th, in Brussels. In a tweet Juncker announced the informal summit, however without revealing who is to participate. Howver, he tagged the prime ministers of Greece, Italy, Bulgaria …
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June 14, 2018
Refugees
Austria’s conservative chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, called for an “axis of the willing” between Rome-Berlin-Vienna” in order to fight illegal migration. A new Axis of Evil like in 1940? For sure the word choice with the terms axis and willing burdened with ugly connotation and war is not a fortunate one. …
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May 17, 2018
Refugees
The European Union Commissioner for Migration has warned that Greece is receiving more and more refugees from Turkey this year, pinpointing the need for more budget and personnel to police the borders. Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said on Wednesday that the arrivals in Greece had increased nine times in March this …
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April 24, 2018
Refugees
Greece is concerned about the increase of refugees and migrants inflow especially through the natural border of Evros river in North-East. Briefing the parliamentary committee on Tuesday, Mgration Minister, Dimitris Vitsas, said that that refugees and migrants arrivals from Turkey have dramatically increased after the Varna EU-Turkey Summit on March …
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February 1, 2018
Social
Greek society in economic decline: Three out of four are long-time unemployed. 51% of the households depends on pensions. One in five households is afraid to lose its home. 70% of the young Greeks want to look for a work abroad. 16.3% say they cannot afford to cover an extraordinary …
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January 24, 2018
Greece, Politics
Speaking at a panel discussion in Davos, Switzerland, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras described Turkey as an “aggressive neighbor.” Addressing the migration crisis, he blamed “austerity policies” for “the rise of racism and nationalism in Europe.” His European partners couldn’t always appreciate the challenges of living with an ‘aggressive’ neighbor …
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October 16, 2017
Politics, World
The leader of center-right New People’s Party, Sebastian Kurz, won the Austrian elections on Sunday and is to be the next Chancellor. He turned 31 in August and once he assumes office he will be the younger leader in the Western world. According to preliminary results published by the Interior …
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June 6, 2017
Refugees
Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas said that 20 to 25 thousands refugees will remain in Greece if the EU Turkey deal stands. At the same time, he expressed concern about the increasing influx of refugees and migrants on the Greek islands. Speaking to Skai TV on Tuesday, Mouzalas said if …
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June 6, 2017
Social, Society
Famous Greek actor Kostas Kazakos, director of Patras Municipal and Regional theater and former lawmaker with Greek Communist Party KKE, attacked young Greeks who leave the country seeking a job abroad. He called the thousands of people who seek a future outside a country with high employment ‘traitors’. “Whatever young …
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April 28, 2017
Society, Very Mix
Miserable present, no future. The brain drain from Greece takes distributing dimensions as even teenagers want to leave the country. For studies or for professional development. An entire generation of teenagers, regardless of their economic status and possibilities, want to leave Greece and move abroad. These plans have usually the …
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March 30, 2017
Politics, Refugees
The European Union’s commissioner for migration says there are ways to make all EU members states comply with the program of relocation of refugees among them. Dimitris Avramopoulos made the statement last week in Warsaw, where he is visiting the growing European border guard agency, Frontex. Poland is refusing to …
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March 15, 2017
Politics, Refugees
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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February 4, 2017
Politics, Refugees, Turkey-GR, Very Mix
Ankara alleges that Greece has forcefully sent more than 3,000 refugees migrants back to Turkey in the past months violating the Turkish-Greek readmission agreement and the EU Turkey Deal. According to Turkish officials, the migrants were sent back to Turkey through the Evros river (Maritsa in Bulgarian, Meric in Turkish), …
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December 8, 2016
Politics, Refugees
EU to set Greece a deadline on asylum seekers and enforce transfer of asylum applicants from EU member states back to Greece as of March 2017. The European Commission will set Greece a deadline on Thursday [today] to fix its migration system and resume taking in asylum seekers from March …
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September 26, 2016
Politics
The so-called Balkan migration route has been the focus of attention at a mini summit in Vienna of leaders from affected countries. Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern welcomed head of states form Germany,Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia as well as the European Council President Donald Tusk. The …
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