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Thursday, 02 March 2017

Mitsotakis: Precautionary austerity measures will mean 4th memorandum

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Wednesday evening made it clear that his party will not vote for “precautionary measures”, as demanded by creditors and now considered…

85 irregular migrants taken off sail boat after SOS received

A sail boat loaded with as many as 85 irregular migrants was located overnight by the coast guard in a sea region off the harbor town of Pylos, in extreme…

Wednesday, 01 March 2017

Prosecutor recommends trial for 11 individuals linked with defense contract for attack helicopters

An appeals court prosecutor in Athens this week recommended felony charges for 11 individuals in relation to the countervailing portion of a defense contract for the purchase of 12 AH-64D…

ND support for CETA

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) party on Wednesday officially lent its support to the free trade-leaning Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which doesn’t specifically include protection of feta cheese…

Sector groups decry possibility of another surcharge on pleasure craft, yachts and tour boats

By A. Tsimplakis [email protected] Groups and associations representing recreational and pleasure craft in the country have sharply decried the prospect of yet another special surcharge being imposed on their sector,…

Tabled question alleges cronyism, preferential lending by Attica Bank to Kalogritsas group

Forty-eight main opposition New Democracy (ND) deputies on Wednesday tabled a Parliament question to a handful of ministers alleging “preferential lending” towards the local Kalogritsas construction group by non-systemic Attica…

Property auction again prevented at Athens probate-level court

Members of far-left anti-bailout movements on Wednesday again prevented the holding of property auctions at the Athens probate-level court by preventing three notaries from appearing. Under Greek law notaries are…

Asian low-cost carrier Scoot names Athens as its first European destination

Scoot, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore Airlines Group that is managed by Budget Aviation Holdings (BAH), on Wednesday officially announced that it will expand to Europe, with  four flights…

Greece sells 1.138 bln€ of 6-month T-bills

Greece sold 1.138 billion euros of six-month treasury bills on Wednesday, according to the country’s debt agency (PDMA) announced. The T-bills were priced to yield 2.97 percent. The sale’s bid-cover…

Sources refer to ‘insignificant’ differences over out-of-court settlement process

Differences between creditors and the Greek government over the final framework for an out-of-court settlement process for arrears owed by business are reportedly not significant, with economy ministry officials, at…

Report: No progress in energy-related negotiations; creditors push for sector liberalization

No progress in energy-related issues was reported on Tuesday, during the first day of resumed negotiations between top Greek government ministers and representatives of institutional creditors. According to reports, both…

3 missing fishermen turn up dead

The bodies of three missing fishermen were discovered by the coast guard on a rocky coast on the southern end of the Dodecanese island of Rhodes. The three men, aged…

Mild quake off Cephallonia

A mild earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was recorded just two minutes after midnight on Wednesday morning (00.02 or 22.02 GMT), in a sea region southwest of the…

Govt source: ‘Starting point’ in negotiations with creditors over measures at 2% of GDP

A government source late Tuesday evening said the “starting point” in negotiations with creditors is a figure worth 2 percent of GDP, roughly 3.5 billion euros, in “structural moves”. The…

Reports: Tsipras calls on Greek banks to offer relief for NPLs; avoid mass layoffs

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with the Hellenic Bank Association (HBA) on Tuesday, with subsequent press leaks claiming he asked banks’ representatives to offer “relief” to households and businesses…

Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Deposits in Greek banks continue outflow in Jan 2017

Deposits by households and businesses held in Greek banks again eased in January 2017, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Bank of Greece (BoG). Specifically, total deposits reached…

Attica Bank employees agree to a 17%-reduction in payroll costs

Non-systemic Attica Bank on Tuesday announced a new three-year labor contract with its employees, which among others, foresees a cut in payroll costs by 17 percent and a “drastic simplification”…

BoG Gov to govt: Conclude review, implement reforms and deal with NPLs

Influential Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. Yannis Stournaras  pointed directly to three major priorities that the Greek government must resolve immediately in order to ensure that an economic recovery is…

Greek FinMin confident of agreement with creditors; ND criticism over acceptance of fiscal targets

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos expressed optimism on Tuesday that an agreement paving the way for a review of the Greek program can be achieved by the next Eurogroup meeting…

New Boeing airliner for Egyptair’s Athens-Cairo route come June

Egyptair, a member of the Star Alliance, this week announced that it has received a second 737-800 NextGeneration Boeing passenger jet for service on its Athens-Cairo-Athens route. The new-state-of-the-art aircraft…

Coastal shippers say no to 3 draft provisions in under debate bill

The association representing coastal shipping in Greece, i.e. the passenger and vehicle ferry boat operators, said “no” to three out of four provisions included in a draft bill that concerns…

Govt sources: Goal of negotiations with creditors to determine ‘positive, negative’ measures

The first “unofficial leaks” circulated by the Greek government on Tuesday, the first day of renewed negotiations to conclude a delayed second review of the third bailout, pointed to a…

Property tax to remain for 2017-18; ‘fairer’ tax eyed after 2019

By. G. Palaitsakis [email protected] The Greek government is, by all accounts, aiming to retain a property tax (ENFIA) for this year and 2018, which despite its unpopularity, has proven to…

ΒοG Gov: New NPLs, NPEs appearing in 2017

Bank of Greece (BoG) Yannis Stournaras said the goal of commencing a de-escalation of non-performing loans in the country in 2016 was achieved, although recent figures show new NPLs and…

Monday, 27 February 2017

Creditors’ reps back in Athens this week; additional measures expected to dominate negotiations

The return of creditors’ representatives to Athens this week coincides with the latest unofficial deadline of March 20 in order to conclude a second review of the Greek program, months…

ND top cadre: No to new fiscal measures; ‘wait-and-see’ for reforms

A top cadre for main opposition New Democracy (ND) over the weekend announced that the party will not vote for new fiscal measures. Nevertheless, MP Christos Staikouras left open the…

Deadly car crash caught on CCTV footage

A particularly violent road crash has shocked Greece heading into a three-day weekend, with CCTV footage showing the exact moment when an out-of-control sports car slammed into a car parked…

Sunday, 26 February 2017

Regling: Successive Greek PMs signed-off on fiscal targets; no definition on length of ‘medium term’

European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Managing Director Klaus Regling stressed over the weekend that successive Greek prime ministers have agreed on the level of primary budget surplus targets stipulated in bailout…

Mass layoff law expected to dominate talks between creditors, labor ministry

By S.Papapetros [email protected] A standing demand by institutional creditors, especially the IMF, to liberalize the framework in Greece to allow for mass layoffs is expected to again dominate negotiations next…

Latest ‘tit-for-tat’ between Athens, Ankara over rock islets momentarily distracts from pressing issues

High-stakes political developments in both Greece and Turkey were momentarily but noisily distracted by a brief spate of old-style saber-rattling over the weekend, as Greece’s outspoken defense minister warned of…