How the world sees Greece
Greek food festival draws hungry crowd Press Herald PORTLAND — Charles Antonacos sat at one end of a table filled with a dozen family and friends, back for the second day in a row to sample the fare at the annual Greek Food Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church. Tucking into the lamb shish ... |
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REGULATORY ALERTS – Noble in Cyprus & Gazprom Withdraws from Greece OilPrice.com Russian Gazprom appears to have withdrawn from bidding for Greece's Public Gas Corporation (DEPA). Bids were due on 10 June, but Gazprom's didn't make it, with the company later saying that the Greek government failed to offer enough incentives for the ... |
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Greece moves to two - party coalition government The alliance of political ... Southeast European Times Greece has also promised to shed 15,000 public-sector jobs by the end of next year to meet demands of the EU-IMF-ECB Troika, a condition that led Samaras to close national broadcaster ERT and fire all 2,656 workers. That precipitated a crisis that ... |
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Syrian refugees find little help in Greece Ammon News ATHENS (Washington Post) — Thousands of Syrians fleeing war and misery are making their way to Europe, and many are coming through Greece, whose Mediterranean islands stretch within tantalizing reach of home. Once they get here, many wish they'd ... |
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The European Union welcomed the selection of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) to ship Azerbaijani gas through the Southern Gas Corridor on 28 June.
EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said TAP would boost the bloc’s security of supply. “We have a definite commitment from Azerbaijan that gas will be directly delivered to Europe through a new dedicated gas pipeline system. Whether the system consists of two gas pipelines - TANAP and TAP - or one single pipeline as earlier projects had foreseen - does not make any difference in terms of energy security. We now have a new partner for gas, and I am confident that we will receive more gas in the future,” Oettinger said.
The consortium developing Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz gas field announced on 28 June it had chosen TAP, which links to the TANAP route across Turkey, to ship natural gas to the EU.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso also welcomed the decision by the Shah Deniz II Consortium selecting TAP as the European route of the Southern Gas Corridor. “This is a shared success for Europe and a milestone in strengthening the energy security of our Union. I am confident that today’s decision, which builds on the strategic Joint Declaration I signed with President Aliyev of Azerbaijan in January 2011, will provide further momentum to the full and rapid realization of the entire Southern Gas Corridor as a direct and dedicated link from the Caspian Sea to the European Union, which should be expanded over time,” Barroso said.
TANAP is another gas infrastructure aiming to directly link the Caspian Sea to Europe.
The Shaz Deniz II Consortium, includes the energy companies BP, Total and Azerbaijani state-owned SOCAR. The Shah Deniz II field in the Caspian Sea is set to provide an estimated 16 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year when it comes online around 2017 or 2018.
In addition, TAP will bring the gas from the Turkish border via Greece and Albania to Italy.
The EU has been looking at Azerbaijan as a way to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian gas supplies. Azerbaijan plays an essential role as an oil supplier and the country is expected to play a similar leading role in gas supplies to Europe, Oettinger said earlier in a message sent to the participants of the Caspian Oil and Gas 2013 conference in Baku.
The Shah Deniz field, which is one of the world’s largest gas-condensate fields, was discovered in 1999. Its reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic metres of gas. Overall, the field has proved to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey as well as Europe.
“We see the Southern Gas Corridor as a multistage project,” Oettinger’s message said. “The EU expects more gas from other sources like Turkmenistan to be transported through this corridor. In this regard, we will continue the negotiations with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on the Trans-Caspian pipeline. We expect agreement to be reached in the nearest future.”
The Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline running around 300 kilometres will be laid from the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, where it will be linked to the Southern Gas Corridor. The pipeline’s capacity is 30-40 billion cubic metres of gas per year. But the disputed status of the Caspian makes the project uncertain.
The message also emphasized that Azerbaijan is a partner of the EU not only in the energy sector but also is one of its key partners in the Eastern Partnership programme.
Two weeks ago, Barroso met with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. “Azerbaijan is a very important partner for us – we have achieved a reliable partnership in the energy field. We want to build on this, moving to a long-term association grounded in democracy and shared values, in particular human rights and fundamental freedoms. I stressed today my personal commitment to supporting Azerbaijan in this path.
A word on our strategic energy cooperation: We did of course discuss the way ahead on the Southern Gas Corridor in detail,” Barroso said.
“We are both extremely pleased with the progress achieved on the Southern Gas Corridor since our Joint Declaration of 2011. We have both worked hard for the realisation of this strategic project for both Azerbaijan and for Europe. I wish to thank President Aliyev for his strong and continued commitment. I remember well our discussions when we met in Baku and, in fact, Azerbaijan has been delivering all the commitments that were taken at that time. And I’m proud that this declaration that I signed together with President Aliyev was at the basis of all these developments,” he added.
“The most important message today is the following: the Southern Gas Corridor is not a theoretical project on the drawing board. It is about to be realised, to the benefit of all involved. It will bring initially 10 billion cubic meters to Europe by 2019, but we will not stop here. The Corridor could in the medium term cover more than 10% of our annual needs in Europe and thus contribute to our energy security, price stability, growth and jobs,” Barroso said. “This is our common vision as President Aliyev and I agreed in 2011. This is what we will keep working for, to enhance our mutual security of supply. We believe this is in the best interest of Europe and Azerbaijan.”
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On 26 June, Greece’s Prime Minister and New Democracy Conservative leader Antonis Samaras had good news for his new coalition government with the signing of a deal that sees Greece as a transit country for EU gas, and the Chinese company COSCO inaugurating a new container terminal at Piraeus.
On 26 June, Greece and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium officially signed the Host Government Agreement initialled two weeks ago, at an official ceremony held in Athens.
In statements after the ceremony, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras emphasised the investments and jobs that the construction of the pipeline will create, as well as Greece’s future position as an energy hub for the region. “I believe this will bring jobs to Greece … it will help Greece become an energy hub in the wider area,” Stournaras said.
TAP starts on the Greek-Turkish border and goes to Italy via Albania and an underwater section in the Adriatic Sea. Greece’s Deputy Environment, Energy and Climate Change Minister Assimakis Papageorgiou said the construction of the pipeline will place Greece on the international energy map and bring benefits on a geopolitical level, creating a positive investment climate and boosting competition for the benefit of consumers.
TAP Managing Director Kjetil Tungland thanked the government for its co-operation and the support given by Samaras, the Parliament and the ministries involved. He said the agreement was a firm basis for carrying out the €1.5-billion investment for the construction of the Greek portion of the pipeline, noting that he looked forward to long-term co-operation with Greek authorities.
TAP’s Country Director for Greece Rikard Scoufias said the agreement was an important component for securing Greece’s and TAP’s bid for the Southern Gas Corridor, but also constitutes an international benchmark for expediency in terms of establishing a positive investment climate. In Piraeus, Samaras said Greece could be a hub for trade between Europe and China as he joined Captain Wei Jiafu of COSCO to cut the red ribbon on the new container terminal at the port. Samaras called on the Chinese group to deepen its involvement in Greece.
“We invite you to more successful co-operation in transport, trains, ports and ship repair,” said Samaras, adding that further development of the port by COSCO would create 500 new jobs, ultimately making Piraeus one of the five biggest cargo ports in Europe, and employ about 3,000 people.
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Jersey Shore Greek Festival returns to Ocean Township after long hiatus NJ.com OCEAN TOWNSHIP – Homer was wrong – you don't have to beware of all Greeks bearing gifts. Hundreds of parishioners at Ocean Township's St. George Greek Orthodox Church welcomed the public to the Jersey Shore Greek Festival Friday evening. |
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Poor Crete, poor Greece Kathimerini The Vikelaia Municipal Library in Iraklio is the biggest public library on the island of Crete. A mention of its size does little credit to its real significance, however, as it is one of the most important existing arks of memory, a repository of ... |
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The Latest Greek Tragedy Barron's For instance, Greek stocks have dropped 75% during the past four years, and they're so beaten down that only one meets the size requirement ($4 billion in market value) to be included in the MSCI Greece Index, though more are included so that the index ... |
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Two Days: Waterloo Canal Day, fiber art and Greek culture The Star-Ledger - NJ.com Rotisserie lamb, gyros, grilled octopus, lemon chicken, moussaka and Greek salads are among the food choices, and there will be rides, games, raffles and dance group performances. The festival runs from noon to 11 p.m. today and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. |
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The Duchess of Cambridge could do worse than look to the Queen's long-suffering consort to learn how to play the support role
There is something primitive yet metaphysical about the moment a royal heir is minted. The Duchess of Cambridge, due to give birth in the next couple of weeks, will not suffer the indignities of, say, Mary of Modena in 1688, forced to give birth in front of an audience of 200 and still accused of a bit of business with bedpan and changeling. Indeed, there will be barriers to ensure that photographers do not so much as capture a grimace upon hospital arrival. Still, not only a nation, but a world will be watching, a private moment that is intrinsically public.
It will bring the focus on Kate the Commoner's new role into still more acute relief. How will she shape up as a parent and monarch-maker? How will it change her as a prospective princess? Who not merely is she, but whom does she intend to be? A woman forever on the make? "A jointed doll on which certain rags are hung … her only point and purpose being to give birth"? – the latter quotation from Hilary Mantel's not unsympathetic article for the London Review of Books in February.
There is one very obvious potential role model, and it is emphatically not that of her histrionic late mother-in-law – rather the Windsors' stalwart, long-serving and self-effacing patriarch. Attention has naturally fallen on the Queen during these last two plushly ceremonial years. The spotlight, as ever, has been less on the increasingly gaunt figure metaphorically at her side, but typically the regulation one step behind.
Prince Philip, recently turned 92, is currently convalescing after a hospital stay. In his capacity as the backbone of the House of Windsor, the Duke may yet outlast us all. However, as South Africa is being forced to consider a post-Mandela nation, so our thoughts are turning to the contribution made by the Queen's long-suffering consort – and it is an extremely different reaction to the one that many might have predicted in the 1970s and 80s.
The stereotype that grew up around this athletic young parvenu was a lusty one; albeit this was a parvenu who – like the cousin he was to marry – was great-great-grandoffspring of Queen Victoria. Philip of Greece may formally have issued from the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, but we knew him in his Spitting Image and Private Eye incarnations as Phil the Greek and/or Keith.
And what fun it all was with his dodgy Nazi relatives, "slitty-eyed" racism, shooting tigers while saving pandas and conspiracy theories about his offing the Princess of Wales. Believe the hype and he was a cross between a mafioso overlord and "HRH Victor Meldrew" (the epithet is David Starkey's).
The picture today is fundamentally altered. And, if one is not at the zenith of adulation of the Pacific islanders who believe the Prince to be the penis-gourd-sporting Melanesian Messiah, then, at the very least, the example of Britain's longest-serving monarchal consort is deserving of our – and, more specifically, the Duchess of Cambridge's – interest.
The Queen's husband grew up in relative normality for a royal. Much has been made of Diana, Princess of Wales's disruptive upbringing. Not only was her father-in-law's similarly a broken home, he had no home from the age of one, when he was bundled into an orange box in Corfu and set sail into a quarter-century of statelessness.
This was no starvation-type deprivation (although into adulthood friends remarked upon his frequent need of a good meal), but it was impoverished enough to mean saving for a raincoat and having school fees paid by a gambling uncle. Later, he found himself at Windsor Castle for Christmas 1943 because he had "nowhere particular to go". Such straits were, of course, by no means unusual during these years. Still, they meant the Queen's partner had an affinity with her subjects that the ducal stuffed-shirt favoured by her courtiers might not have enjoyed.
Like Diana, Prince Philip has tended to be self-deprecating on the subject of his education ("I am one of those ignorant bastards who never went to a university"). Nevertheless, again, unusually "normally" for a royal, he attended school, even if it was the notoriously spartan Gordonstoun. The army gave him a home and a wage – an unroyal accoutrement that was very much needed.
And then came the fairytale transformation. Like Kate, the 26-year-old Philip was accused of being an upstart, with Louis Mountbatten as his Carole Middleton. His lieutenant's £11 a week was supplemented with a home in the form of Clarence House, the weekend retreat of Sunninghill Park, £10,000 a year, and a chunk of Welsh gold from which to sculpt a wedding ring.
The Prince has often been criticised for his stiff upper lip, not least in contrast with Diana's tremulously pouting one. He is blamed for Prince Charles's perceived weaknesses (sensitivity, reticence, tree-hugging), which many now consider strengths. In this, Prince Philip has been no different to many of his generation. Moreover, he has been prepared to take on "feminised" aspects of what is – for all his evident testosterone – ultimately a wifely role.
A hands-on father, he taught his children to swim, sail, ride and paint, and introduced them to the painful realisation that "they're not anonymous". He styled himself as an adviser, rather than a tyrant, and was happy to take on such wifely activities as interior design and coronation planning. He has watched his figure as scrupulously, if not as neurotically, as Diana. Why, he even appears as beset by cystitis as so many of his sisters.
Without any constitutional basis, the role he has fashioned has been his own creation. He may have read up on his great great-grandfather early in his wife's reign, but Prince Albert was a (hotly resented) co-ruler, Philip's own role fundamentally passive. And so he replicated Albert's less controversial interests: rectitude, the management of royal finances, science and technology, with a hunter's respect for ecology – and the infinite charities and biscuit factories of which today's royal living is made.
Had something happened to his spouse, Prince Philip would have served as Regent until his son came of age. He is the Commonwealth realms' longest-serving consort, the oldest-ever spouse of a reigning British monarch, and the oldest-ever male member of the British royal family.
As a youth he was described as "undefeatable", and so he has proved. Service is an unfashionable concept, but service he has given, at the sacrifice of his personal freedoms and ambitions. From the giving up of smoking on the eve of his wedding, via the renunciation of his nominal religion and dropping of his name, to the abandonment of his career, Philip has proved himself the consummate royal wife.
Tirelessly active while constitutionally passive, engaged, protective, strategically reactive, (largely) uncomplaining, he has achieved the one thing that, in the end, royals are there for – leaving the monarchy on a surer footing than he found it.
Prince Philip's death – whenever it comes – will leave a void in which there will only be questions. Would the Queen continue to rule without him? Will his son succeed to her role? Still, as the Duchess of Cambridge builds castles in the air ahead of the next generation of Windsor heirs, she could do a lot worse than set her sights on emulating this most macho female role model.
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Telegraph.co.uk | Anxious? Depressed? Try Greek philosophy Telegraph.co.uk Growing up in the Nineties, my friends and I were amateur neuroscientists. Every weekend, we conducted experiments on our brains with various chemicals, to see what happened: marijuana, LSD, MDMA, amphetamine, mushrooms, all tossed into our ... |
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Paraguay, Greece reach final 16 FOXSports.com Striker Dimitrios Diamantakos gave tournament newcomer Greece the lead in the 68th minute before Brian Montenegro leveled five minutes later. Paraguay was reduced to 10 men after 24 minutes when defender Gustavo Gomez received a second yellow ... |
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