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Monday, 27 November 2017

Contract, construction start for new Crete airport expected in 2018, despite delays

By F. Zois [email protected] A forecast date for beginning construction of a new airport at the Kastelli site, in Crete’s Irakleio prefecture, is June 2018, with the new facility expected…

Regling echoes other European leaders in optimistic view of ongoing Greek bailout review prospects

ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling “stayed on message” over the weekend vis-a-vis the “last stretch” of ongoing third Greek bailout, saying that if the current Greek government continues with agreed…

Another body recovered in west Attica a week after flooding

Another body was reportedly discovered in the Mandra township on Monday morning, with authorities waiting to identify the body, given that one man remains missing from last week’s devastating floods…

‘Tax receipt lottery’ expected to debut this month, despite ongoing structural delays

By G. Kouros [email protected] A “glitch” in terms of undeclared company and business bank accounts is reportedly behind the lack of a specific date for debuting Greece’s first-ever “tax receipt…

Sunday, 26 November 2017

Afghan man dead in brawl with compatriots

An Afghan man was killed and another three of his compatriots injured on Sunday during a brawl between them at a residence in a village on the eastern Aegean island…

Saturday, 25 November 2017

Retail turnover skyrockets in Greece with ‘Black Friday’ promotion

“Black Friday” appears to have been a resounding commercial success in Greece for a second year in a row, as long queues outside retail stores and telecom providers’ outlets were…

Friday, 24 November 2017

Hotel group on Kos the most prominent of tourism businesses up for auction in coming period

By L. Karageorgos [email protected] Several hotel units in Greece are set to go on the auction block in the upcoming period, with most coming under foreclosure due to defaults on…

Reports: DG Comp, Athens agree to sell-off of 40% of power utility’s lignite-fired capacity

By K. Deligiannis [email protected] Negotiations between the EU’s competition watchdog, DG Comp, and representatives of Greece’s energy ministry regarding the sell-off of 40 percent of the Public Power Corp.’s (PPC)…

Greek tax bureau sets its sights on ‘Airbnb’ rentals

Proverbial modern Greek bureaucracy and a cash-strapped state have squarely set their sights on the “AirBnB” phenomenon rapidly expanding in tourism-dependent country, with the relevant head of an independent public…

Macron receives visiting Tsipras for talks

Government sources in Athens on Friday commented on the same-day meeting in Paris between French President Emmanuel Macron and visiting Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, saying talks revolved around political…

Parliament Budget Office report: ‘Social dividend’ counter-productive to growth; forecasts ‘optimistic’

The head of Parliament’s independent Budget Office struck again on Thursday during committee-level debate on the tabled 2018 draft budget, saying a “social dividend” – as its billed by the…

OECD: Crisis-bedeviled Greece takes ‘gold’ in terms of tax revenue increase

Tax revenues in Greece, as a percentage of GDP, skyrocketed in 2016 and reached at least a 30-year high, with the rate of tax revenue hikes the highest among the…

Thursday, 23 November 2017

Greek FinMin: 2018 budget not ‘completely fair’

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, speaking before members of a Parliament budget committee on Thursday, referred to a draft 2018 budget “not completely fair”, in offering up his assessment of…

Ill-fated munitions deal to Saudi Arabia continues to generate political fallout

An ill-fated attempt to sell surplus Greek military munitions to Saudi Arabia took yet another twist on Thursday, with a probe ordered by top military brass into leaks of confidential…

Greek PM picks up ‘political courage’ award in Paris

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras picked up an unexpected “Prix du Courage politique” (political courage) award in Paris on Thursday, telling an audience in the French capital that “my courage…

Commission spox cites resolution in row over extra-Schengen treatment of passengers arriving at German airports from Greece

By N. Bellos A European Commission spokeswoman on Thursday expressed satisfaction with results of a meeting between representatives of Greece and Germany, in the presence of Community experts, to resolve…

Lower losses for NBG in Q3 2017 vs. Q2

Greek lender National Bank (NBG) on Wednesday reported a loss-making period between July and September as a decline in bad debt provisions was not enough to make up for lagging…

Light earthquake in northern Greece just after midnight on Thur.

A light earthquake measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale was recorded at 00.37 (22.37 GMT) just after midnight Thursday between the cities of Thessaloniki and Katerini in northern Greece. The…

Eurostat: Greek macroeconomic indices showing a return to normalcy

Greece’s recession-battered economy is showing significant improvement in Stability Pact macroeconomic indices, 10 months before a scheduled end of the third bailout for the country. According to Eurostat, the figures…

Wednesday, 22 November 2017

BoG: Average spending per tourist on Greek holiday in 2017 at 536.3€; double for Spain

By L. Karageorgos [email protected] Figures released this week by the Bank of Greece (BoG) show that average spending per tourist on holiday in Greece over the first nine months of…

1.6 bln€ less in social spending foreseen in draft 2018 Greek state budget

By S. Papapetros [email protected] More austerity is one of the main characteristics of Greece’s 2018 draft budget – along with a higher forecast for a primary budget surplus target –…

Handelsblatt reports on ‘rekindled’ row between leftist govt, central banker

Handelsblatt picked up on a pro-government weekly’s front-page scrutiny of Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. Yannis Stournaras last Sunday, reminding of the latter’s past and very public fallout with the…

Reports: Greek PM wants rescheduling of debate on controversial deal to sell S. Arabia munitions

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday reportedly asked for a postponement of an off-the-agenda Parliament debate on Thursday regarding a controversial and ultimately collapsed deal to sell Saudi Arabia…

DW quotes German authorities as saying flights from Greek destinations scrutinized same in way as arrivals from Turkey, Egypt

German authorities have reportedly cited the increased arrival of passengers without a Schengen visa as the reason behind stepped up passport and border controls, as of Nov. 12, on flights…

E-auctions of foreclosed property in Greece debut this month; bid to reduce massive NPLs load

By N. Malliara [email protected] The long-awaited commencement of electronic auctions of foreclosed property in Greece is now set for Nov. 29, a development expected to accelerate efforts by the country’s…

Spar to return to Greek super market sector via agreement with Asteras group

By D. Alexaki [email protected] The Dutch super market chain Spar will apparently return to the Greek market year through its participation in a consortium with local retailer Asteras, a year…

Some 1.46 mln households in Greece eligible for latest ‘holiday bonus’ derived from surplus in meeting fiscal target

Nearly 1.46 million households in Greece are reportedly eligible to receive portions of a “social dividend” to be doled out by the government next month, with income and asset criteria…

Tuesday, 21 November 2017

Lampsa group purchases King George Hotel outright

The Lampsa group is the new owner of the building that houses the five-star King George Hotel on Syntagma Square in central Athens, after coming to terms with Greek lender…

Fraport Greece announces modernization of Kefalonia airport

Fraport Greece on Tuesday announced the beginning of works to modernize and upgrade the airport on the Ionian island of Kefalonia (Cephallonia), weeks after similar infrastructure works were commenced at…

12 austerity measures to debut in 2018 draft budget

By G. Kouros [email protected] No less than 12 new burdens for taxpayers in Greece are included in the draft 2018 budget that will be tabled this week, with most of…