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Sunday, 22 July 2018

Tsipras, Zaev in Mostar, Bosnia on Mon.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev, his counterpart from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), will be honored in the Bosnian city of Mostar on Monday at…

Flights, passengers reported by Greek airports up 7.8%, 10.5% in H1 2018

Nearly 25 million passengers passed through Greek airports in the first half of 2016, an increase of 10.5 percent compared to the same period of 2017. According to figures released…

Excavations reveal untouched grave of ancient noblewoman on isle of Sikinos

Excavations and restoration of a unique monument on the small island of Sikinos, one of the more remote and less visited Cyclades islands, have revealed an untouched grave containing the…

Greek FM defends expulsion of Russian diplomats

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias went on the offensive over the weekend in the wake of an unprecedented “cold front” in Greek-Russian relations, after Athens expelled two Russian diplomats and…

Well-known anti-state group vandalizes tax office

A tax office in north-central Athens was the latest “victim” of a notorious self-styled anarchist group, with some eight individuals vandalizing the front of the building and breaking glass. The…

Friday, 20 July 2018

Mitsotakis says he’ll honor Prespes agreement if elected and pact is ratified

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader is profiled with a lengthy interview by the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung this week, where, among others, he pledges to honor a recently concluded…

Paros makes T+L’s Top 15 list for isles to see in 2018

Travel & Leisure’s latest list for the 15 best islands in the world for 2018 includes a Greek destination, and specifically the central Cyclades island of Paros, which landed in…

FT: Second Pillarstone deal with Greek banks to service ‘bad debt’

Financial Times on Friday reported that a subsidiary of the US-based private equity group KKR has made its second foray into Greece’s massive NPL market, with reports saying it will…

Four Turks arrested in border region for illegal entry into restricted area

Four Turkish nationals were arrested along the western bank of the Evros River in extreme northeast Greece on Thursday next to the border with Turkey, which the specific waterway delineates.…

Russian site says Moscow expresses annoyance to Greek envoy

The Russian foreign ministry on Friday formally complained to Greece’s ambassador in Moscow over what the pro-Kremlin site calls “anti-Russian” statements by Athens. The development comes after an unprecedented souring…

Deal to sell 66% of Greek natgas system operator for 535 mln€ signed

A contract to sell-off 66 percent of Greece’s state-run Gas Transmission System Operator S.A. (DESFA) was signed on Friday between the country’s privatization fund (HRADF) and Hellenic Petroleum (Hel.Pe) group, on…

UN study: Greece dramatically improved position in e-governance

One apparent “silver lining” in the economic and political implosion that has plagued Greece since 20009-2010 is that e-governance has rapidly flourished in the process, bypassing much of what was…

Govt dilemma: Process to implement next round of social security cuts ongoing, along with pledges to ‘renegotiate’ measure

By G. Kampourakis gkamp@naftemporiki.gr   Political speculation in Athens this week, at least on the domestic front, centered on the upcoming cuts in social security spending, an austerity measure agreed…

Only 24 Greek businesses have so far registered ‘Macedonian’ trademark for their products

Greece’s Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) this week issued detailed instructions on how businesses and producers in the country can secure  the trademark “Macedonia” or “Macedonian” for their…

Thursday, 19 July 2018

First Greek company falling ‘victim’ to Trump admin’s tariffs Corinth Pipeworks

The first Greece-based company affected by the recent Trump administration decision to slap tariffs on a series of European products is Corinth Pipeworks, following a rejection of an application that…

IMF recommends against backsliding on Greek labor sector reforms

The IMF continued to toe a strict line vis-a-vis the Greek program, nearly a month before the third and last bailout ends on Aug. 21, with the Fund on Thursday…

Union calls 48-hour strike by casinos workers in Greece this weekend

A union in Greece representing casino workers has declared a 48-hour strike for the coming weekend, lasting until midnight on Sunday. The union (OSETYP) said the industrial action aims to…

Lavrov visit to Greece postponed; Moscow expected to retaliate over diplomats’ expulsion

The Tass news agency on Thursday reported that a scheduled visit to Greece by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been postponed. If confirmed, the development would be linked with…

Woman, 55, arrested for …scratching, slashing infants in Athens shopping malls

A 55-year-old woman was arrested by police at a shopping mall in southern Athens this week on charges of repeatedly scratching and slashing infants with her fingernails or a sharp…

Former ND labor minister: Pending social security cuts to hit public sector retirees the hardest

A former labor minister in a previous center-right government on Thursday stepped up the opposition’s burgeoning political attack on the leftist-rightist coalition government, months before another round of social security…

Glass Lewis firm recommends Kallitsantsis proposal for Ellaktor

By T. Igoumenidi  tigoum@naftemporiki.gr Corporate advisory and consulting firm Glass Lewis recommends a vote in favor of the proposals submitted by Ellaktor shareholders Anastasios and Dimitris Kallitsantsis, as a board…

Circular: Half of projected primary budget surplus in 2019 from social security sector; pension cuts assured

The now closely monitored process to draft Greece’s 2019 budget has more-or-less official begun, as an urgently issued circular by the alternate finance minister this week calls on all entities…

Wednesday, 18 July 2018

Athens angrily reacts to Russian foreign ministry rebuke

Official Athens reacted angrily on Wednesday hours after a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman warned of repercussions due to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Greece, with the former referring…

Moscow: Expulsion of Russian diplomats by Athens will have repercussions

A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman on Wednesday said the recent expulsions of two Russian diplomats from the country “cannot but have consequences”, roughly a week after press reports disclosed the…

Centeno: Greece now has tools to implement post-bailout reforms

Greece now has the tools with which to implement the reforms that will allow its economy to grow in a sustainable manner, Eurogroup president Mario Centeno was quoted on Wednesday,…

BoG: Greek primary budget surplus reached 6.494 bln € in H1 2018

The primary state budget surplus over the Jan-Jun 2018 reached 6.494 billion euros, according to provisional data released on Wednesday by the Bank of Greece (BoG). The central government cash…

Mitsotakis again promises tax, contribution rate cuts if elected; in pledge to bar association heads

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis this week promised the country’s bar association presidents that if his party wins the next elections he lower tax rates and contributions…

Reports: 2 Greek servicemen held without charges in Turkey could face up to 2 years in prison

Reports out of Turkey on Wednesday, citing sources in the prosecutor’s office in the border city of Edirne, pointed to the prospect of a maximum prison sentence of two years…

Light quake in NW Greece

A light earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale was reported at 10 a.m. (08.00 GMT) on Wednesday northwest of the lake-side city of Ioannina, in northwest Greece.  The quake’s…

National Bank unanimously votes to appoint Pavlos Mylonas as its new CEO

The board of directors of National Bank of Greece on Tuesday unanimously voted for acting CEO Pavlos Mylonas to assume the position on a permanent basis.  “Assumption of the NBG…