March 14, 2019 Greece, Politics
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos admitted that the Tsipras government made two strategic mistakes during the negotiations with the European lenders in the first half of 2016. He said that the government considered “the threat of Grexit as a means of pressure towards creditors. However, at that time the German …
Read More » May 17, 2018 Greece, Politics
“We have not yet in position to talk about an agreement,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a press conference after a meeting with his FYROM counter part, Zoran Zaef, on the Macedonia name issue, in Sofia on Thursday. “I think we have traveled a lot of the distance, …
Read More » January 17, 2018 Greece, Politics
Grande premiere: Officials from Greece and FYROM meet at the United Nations on Wednesday seeking to end the 27-year-old Macedonia name dispute, a Greek precondition to give green light to FYROM to access the EU and the NATO. At the same time, Tsipras’ junior coalition partner insists on any name …
Read More » January 8, 2018 Greece, Politics
Negotiations in the decades long name dispute over “Macedonia” are to start in the next couple of days and both Greece and FYROM seem ready to finally solve the issue – at least they have good intentions setting aside the nationalist hardliners in both countries. Macedonia and Greece have a …
Read More » April 28, 2017 Greece
“There are great social problems that need to be solved step by step, but for the first time we are facing the exit of the seven-year crisis”, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos on Friday said in an interview to Kokkino radio station. He underlined that the issues remaining to be solved …
Read More » April 6, 2017 Economy
While the Greek government is making desperate efforts to have the additional austerity measures of further pension cuts and broader tax-free basis implemented in 2019 and 2020, the known ‘powers’ take to their favorite hobby: sabotage, boycott, hit and run and new obstacles. A day before the crucial Eurogroup meeting …
Read More » April 5, 2017 Economy, Greece, Politics
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for an emergency Summit of the Eurozone member states before Easter, should there be no agreement between Greece and its European creditors at the Eurogroup meeting on upcoming Friday, April 7, 2017. The Prime Minister revealed that he already asked European Council President Donald …
Read More » March 12, 2017 Uncategorized
Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis directly blamed the International Monetary Fund and two European countries for the delays of the second review of the Greek program. Speaking to newspaper Ethnos tis Kyriakis, Dragasakis said that the second review could have concluded by December 5th, if it wasn;t for the IMF …
Read More » February 5, 2017 Economy
Former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis strikes back and urges Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to turn his back on Greece’s lenders, adopt a parallel payment system and to unilateral restructure the loans held by the European Central Bank. In an op-ed in Efimerida ton Syntakton, Varoufakis, Varoufakis calls on Tispras to …
Read More » January 26, 2017 Economy
The Greek government believes that the second review of Greece’s program has concluded in theory but not in practice due to the controversial issue of the participation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the program. No groundbreaking results are expected in the Eurogroup meeting that takes place later today, …
Read More » November 22, 2016 Politics
Negotiations to reunite the divided island of Cyprus have failed to strike a deal, the United Nations said early on Tuesday. In the latest round of U.N.-brokered talks in Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin, Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci had been negotiating for two days. …
Read More » November 22, 2016 Economy
The critical negotiations between Greece and the lenders aiming to conclude the second program review …concluded at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday without agreement. Main issues that still remain open are the Labor and the Fiscal ones. There was some convergence in the fiscal issues, the gap decreased to 600 million …
Read More » March 18, 2016 Politics, Refugees
The day in Brussels started with a breakfast. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council president Donald Tusk, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and an army of assistants sat around the long table do discuss Refugees and Migrants. Juncker and Tusk present a draft of the EU-Turkey deal that they …
Read More » February 2, 2016 Economy
Representatives of Greece’s creditors had a 3-hour meeting with Greek officials top officials Finance Minister Tsakalotos, Labor Minister Katrougalos and Economy Finister Stathakis in the first round of negotiations. Protagonist in this today’s meeting was Labor Minister Giorgos Katrougalos as the issue of social security contributions was top on the …
Read More » January 22, 2016 Politics
And Greece’s auditors, the Quadriga becomes…Quinquatria. The leaders in the European Parliament have today approved a proposal by the Liberal and Democrat Group to monitor and scrutinize the implementation of macroeconomic adjustment programmes in countries such as Greece. According to a press release, the Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee …
Read More » January 20, 2016 Economy
Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufaks revealed that there was a Plan X for the case that Greece would have been kicked out of the eurozone. Speaking to private Skai TV about the long and winding road of the negotiations with the European nand the IMF creditors in the first half …
Read More » August 19, 2015 Economy
Yesterday, we “celebrated” the Greek government decision to seal the deal and give the privatization of the country’s top 14 regional airports to German-Greek consortium Fraport-Slentel. Yesterday, we welcomed German state-run enterprise FRAPORT for ‘helping Greece’ as some German media underlined. Today, FRAPORT seems to reconsider the offer it made …
Read More » July 25, 2015 Economy
Greece has submitted an official request to the International Monetary Fund for a new loan as it seeks a huge third bailout from its creditors, the finance ministry said. “We would like to inform you that we are seeking a new loan facility from the International Monetary Fund,” Finance Minister …
Read More » July 14, 2015 Politics
Several international media have leaked background information of the stormy negotiations between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his euro “partners” during the Euro Leaders Summit on Sunday and the dramatic night that followed. Talks “nearly ended in a Grexit, both figuratively and literally when, at 6am Monday morning Brussels …
Read More » July 6, 2015 Economy, Politics
“The revised proposal of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker from June 27/28 plus five changes added by the Greek government will be the basis for the new negotiations between Greece and creditors,” after the Sunday’s Referendum. This was reportedly decided at the Political Leaders Council under President Pavlopoulos on Monday. …
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