Tag Archives: Troika

Athens mayor Giorgos Kaminis came under physical attack late Sunday afternoon, while he was leaving a meeting of the Confederation of Greek Municipalities (KEDE).  The mayor was beaten with fists and he was taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.  At the time of assault, several municipality unionists had …

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Greece’s public sector unions umbrella ADEDY will launch a half-day strike on Monday, July 8th 2013 to protest the upcoming mass lay-offs in the public sector. The strike will stat at 12 o’ clock noon. There will be a gathering at 12:30 at Karaiskaki Square in downtown Athens and a …

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“Cautiously optimistic”, “hard bargaining”, “anguish about the next bailout tranche”. I was not even impressed to hear this morning on television channels the reports about the “tough negotiations” between Greece’s lenders – the Troika- and the newly appointed Minister of Administrative Reform Kyriakos Mitsotakis. High on the agenda of the …

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Been there, seen that. 1000+1 times since Greece sought the aid of IMF, EU and ECB. The regular blackmailing: the notorious -and anonymous – “EU source”exhausting Greeks’ patience, putting pressure to EU beggars to give in to Troika’s demands. While the Troika’s representatives feel the pulse of several ministers in …

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The statement of Development Minister Costis Chatzidakis is not even cynical. It simply demonstrates the inability of the Greek government to proceed to so-called needed ‘structural reforms’ and lay-off the civil servants who break the law, are incapable or were hired as a political favoritism. Speaking to German daily “DIE WELT“, Chatzidakis …

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Representatives of Greece’s lenders – the “Troika” – are back in Athens and due to meet with finance minister Yiannis Stournaras and other ministers in charge of the upcoming ‘reforms’ – when ‘reforms’ are translated into cuts in public spending and privatization of state assets. New and additional austerity measures …

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With the Troika representatives back in Athens, Greece reportedly gives a battle to achieve the lowering of Value Added Tax in catering services and goods from  currently 23% down to 13%. So far the signals from the country’s main lender International Monetary Fund are not promising. Christine Lagarde was clear …

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Do you owe money to the Greek state? You have a debt to the tax office? A new circular regulates the installments that make it easier for you to pay your debts. The generosity of the Greek finance ministry and the Troika set an unprecedented example on how the poor …

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He could hardly suppress his enthusiasm. A visibly touched prime minister appeared in our TV screens on Monday noon. Antonis Samaras hailed the deal with Greece’s international lenders painting with pink colors the future of Greece. Skillfully underlining the country’s achievements with a voice that trembled with passion and pride, …

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Greece’s international lenders, representatives form EU, IMF and ECB gave the green light for the rapid disbursement of the 2.8 billion euro bailout tranche, after negotiations with the government that lasted several days. “The recent steps taken by the (Greek) authorities indicate that the March targets will be fulfilled soon, so …

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Everybody who has visited a Greek state hospital or public health facility in the last three years of austerity and expenditure cuts has often stunned about the shortages. A friend for example told me, that there was not paper to clean himself from the gel after a heart triplex examination. …

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The news fell like a bomb on Sunday night: that the much praised National Bank (NBG) – Eurobank merger was stopped by Greece’s international lenders, the Troika of EU, IMF and ECB representatives. Greek media reported that the Troika had objections about the size of the new bank to have emerged from …

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“There is work to do. Nothing will be sealed until all is settled,” Greek finance minister Yiannis Stournaras told reporters after a meeting with representatives of the Troika on Thursday adding that the two sides will hold meetings every day. “There is absolutely nothing closed. All topics are open,” Stournas …

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Renaming “meat into fish” does not change anything. It’s still meat. However, Greece’s coalition government leaders decided to invent a new formula how to keep collecting the “emergency property tax” which turns permanent after Troika pressures. On Wednesday night, Prime minister Antonis Samaras and his coalition partners Evangelos Venizelos (PASOK) …

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The office of Athens Mayor confirmed today that dog Ruby returned back to the streets near the finance ministry in downtown Athens. “Nelly” will return tomorrow, Friday,” the office said on its Twitter account. Ruby is the black dog on the right Ruby and Nelly, two of Athens stray dogs were …

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Everyone remembers  the show staged of Ruby, Sakis and Stratos beginning of the month. Together with photographers and cameramen, the three Athens strays had lurked the Troika representatives outside the Greek finance ministry and started an anti-austerity barking when they arrived. Next day, reports  in the Greek press claimed that …

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Hours of tough negotiations between Cyprus and international lenders ended in a deal at 2 a.m. on Monday morning. President Nicos Anastasiades and the head of European Union, European central Bank and International Monetary Fund agreed to a hefty haircut for deposits above 100,000 euro at Bank of Cyprus and …

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Grey smoke rose on Wednesday from the chimney of the headquarters of Greek government. The meeting between prime minister Antonis Samaras and the Troika representatives did not end in agreement. Main issues of dispute are reductions of the numbers of civil servants (lay-offs), extension of the emergency property tax in …

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Officially the meeting between Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the Troika was postponed, because the Troika’s technical teams had not concluded their work. Unofficially, the meeting scheduled for Tuesday afternoon was postponed for Wednesday due to disagreement. Greek media report that it is mainly the emergency property tax and the …

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Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras will meet representatives of the country’s  international lenders from IMF, ECB and EU on Tuesday afternoon. The meeting follows tough negotiations between Greek key ministers and high-ranking officials on one side and the Troika’s representatives as well as technical teams on the other side. Antonis Samaras …

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