Tag: Greece

Greece's financial troubles will not end in 2014 and it is therefore realistic to expect the debt-laden country will need additional money from the eurozone before it can return to markets, the head of eurozone finance ministers said today (5 September).

Crisis-hit southern countries are selling state-owned goods to reduce their budget deficits, with Spain mulling the privatisation of national heritage sites and Greece is under pressure to have historical buildings managed by a foreign holding company.

A recent government decision presented in the press as allowing supermarkets to sell “expired goods” led to massive public outrage in Greece. As EurActiv Greece took a closer look, it appeared that the decision concerned goods that were still edible, but with an expired “best before” date. 

German opposition parties accused Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday (11 August) of lying before elections next month about the risks of a new bailout for Greece, after a magazine reported the Bundesbank expects it will need more European aid in early 2014.

Greece must achieve economic growth and a budget surplus before it can return to bond markets, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Friday (9 August), adding the country would meet both conditions next year.

Brazil's executive director at the International Monetary Fund refused to back its move this week to keep bankrolling Greece, citing risks of non-repayment, and the Fund itself said Athens might need faster debt relief from Europe.

The Troika interventions in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus have generated long-lasting political damage for the image of the EU that needs to be fixed or compensated: this requires promoting a European political game organised along national and party lines, write Yves Bertoncini and Valentin Kreilinger.

Greece's shaky coalition government scraped through a vote yesterday (17 July) on a bill to sack public sector workers as thousands chanting anti-austerity slogans protested outside parliament.

A Greek court yesterday (17 June) ordered state broadcaster ERT back on air while it is restructured, allowing squabbling coalition leaders to move towards a compromise that avoids early elections.

The sudden closure of the Greek public broadcaster ERT has shattered the cohesion of the coalition government, with some political observers saying it could force early elections in the debt-ridden nation. EurActiv Greece reports.

Athens announced the surprise closure with immediate effect of its state broadcaster on Tuesday evening (11 June), in a desperate move to slash public sector jobs and meet the terms of a bailout imposed by the Troika of international creditors – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Migration policy in the EU must incorporate a human rights approach instead of solely focusing on security concerns, a UN Human Rights Council report states.

Greece's coalition government is divided over a draft law introduced by Justice Minister Antonis Roupakiotis, which aims to combat the increasing racist attacks in the debt-ridden nation. EurActiv Greece reports. 

Greek youth unemployment shot to a record 64% in February, underscoring the dire state of the recession-hit economy despite signs of improving business sentiment.

In the wake of a Commission report on Macedonia that underlines the country's "good" relations with its neighbours, the Foreign Ministry removed information from its website that was seen as irredentist by Bulgaria and Greece.

Greece's Socialist party needs to cooperate with the members of the leftist Syriza coaltion for the creation of a future alliance, said Hannes Swoboda, leader of the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. EurActiv Greece reports.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday (3 March) the financial crisis in Cyprus presented an "important opportunity" to end the division of the island, split between the Greek Cypriot south and Turkish north.

Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the two companies competing for Azerbaijani gas projects, have issued simultaneous statements today (29 March) that they have submitted the final package supporting their bids. The Shah Deniz consortium will chose between the two in June.

Nabucco West and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the two planned projects competing for Azeribaijani gas, have both signed agreements with the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP) between Turkey and Azerbaijan.