ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek cup quarterfinal between league leaders Olympiakos and second division AEK has been abandoned after a last-minute Olympiakos goal sparked crowd violence.
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How the world sees Greece
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Germany: No Negotiation on Greek Compensation Claims for Nazi Atrocities in World War II
The comments come after Greek Justice Minister Nikos Paraskevopoulos said on Tuesday that he's willing to authorize the confiscation of German ...
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Pitch invasion halts Greek Cup quarter-final
The Greek Cup quarter-final, second leg between AEK Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus was suspended in the 90th minute due to crowd trouble on ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.eurosport.com |
Students say OU's fraternities are way too segregated
Two University of Oklahoma students have been expelled after a video was leaked of them leading a racist fraternity chant, and some students say OU's entire Greek system may be to blame for racism at the school. “It’s too segregated,” Markeshia Lyon, a junior at Oklahoma, told the Associated Press, referring to the school's Greek system. “That’s something that’s passed down, and that’s something that needs to change.” In the video, SAE fraternity members were caught using racial epithets and chanting about lynchings, while boasting that black members would never be admitted into the fraternity. OU President David Boren responded swiftly following the emergence of the video, expelling the two students for their participation in the racist chants, and citing their contribution to "a hostile learning environment for others." Some students told the AP that racism is common at OU, where only 5% of students are black or African-American. Some students blame the school's largely segregated fraternities and sororities. Lyon told the AP of an incident during her freshman year where she, and other African-American classmates, tried to go to a fraternity party and were turned away because of their race. She noted that it was deeply hurtful, but not uncommon at the school. A man who claims to be the last black SAE member at OU has spoken out about the pain caused from watching that video. William Bruce James II pledged SAE in 2001, and is highly disturbed by the content on the video. “I feel like I’ve lost a family member,” James said, speaking to Oklahoma news station KFOR. “That pure bond of brotherhood, I don’t know if I’ll ever get that back.” Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do
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THI Helps Greek Startup Firms Participate in Global Tech Conference
AUSTIN, TX – Greek startup firms will participate in the SXSW Interactive, a tech conference within the larger South by Southwest festival, March 13-17 thanks to the support of The Hellenic Initiative (THI). Thirty-one people representing 22 promising Greek startups will have the opportunity to demonstrate their products and services on an international stage. They […]
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Passenger arrested at Athens Airport over undeclared cash
Authorities at Athens International Airport on Wednesday ordered the seizure of a portion of nearly 300,000 euros in cash from a Greek national who had flown in from Dubai.
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Athens bourse benchmark drops below 800 points
Investors in the Greek stock market clearly had no positive feelings about the start of talks between the technical experts of the eurozone and the Greek government in Brussels on Wednesday, with banks again leading the blue chip losers.
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Papaconstantinou to give evidence in trial
Ex-Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou will give evidence on Thursday in his trial for allegedly doctoring the Lagarde list of Greeks with deposits at the Geneva branch of HSBC with the aim of removing the names of his relatives.
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Greek demands for war reparations set creditors on edge
A provocative Greek demand for war reparations from Germany suggests that relations between the country's new hard-left government and its ...
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Prosecutor Requests Summoning Former Greek PM Simitis and Other Senior Officials in Tsochatzopoulos’ Appeal
The Greek prosecutor handling former Defense Minister Akis Tsochatzopoulos‘ appeal has requested to summon the members of the Government Council of Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) during his tenure. The prosecutor requested that the court summons former Prime Minister Costas Simitis, former Ministers Evangelos Venizelos, Giannos Papantoniou and Vaso Papandreou, as well as high rank military officers Athanasios Tzoganis, Manolis Paragioudakis and Georgios Ioannidis. Tsochatzopoulos is imprisoned for receiving millions of euros in kickbacks from Greek military armament programs. In the first-degree procedure, the Athens Court of Appeals sentenced the former PASOK Minister to 20 years in prison. This is the maximum penalty Greece allows for this particular offense. He was convicted for repeated, intentional money laundering. The court did not uncover any mitigating evidence; all others involved in the case were also found guilty, except the the former Minister’s cousin, Nikos Zigras, who confessed and provided evidence for Tsochatzopoulos’ conviction. The former Defense Minister held top government positions for more than 20 years. He has been appointed Minister for Public Works (1981–1985), Minister for the Presidency of the Government (1985–1987), Minister of Interior (1987–1989), Minister of Transport and Communication (1989–1990), Minister of Interior (1993–1995), Minister of National Defense (1996–2001) and Minister of Development (2001–2004). Additionally, in 1996, after PASOK founder Andreas Papandreou died, he lost an internal vote for the party’s leadership by Simitis, who replaced Papandreou in the country’s Premiership and called snap elections seeking a renewed public vote of confidence.
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Harvard Business Review: Greece and Cyprus Better Off Without the Euro
Greece and Cyprus might be better off out of the European common currency bloc, a Harvard Business Review report said. According to the writer, Loizos Heracleous, long-term relief for the troubled Greek economy is very unlikely, if the current situation continues. The four-month extension the country received means the Alexis Tsipras government will have to start implementing some austerity measures, contrary to election campaign promises, and it is not certain that austerity will benefit Greece. Using Cyprus — which entered a bailout program in 2012 — as an example, austerity did not help the island. The economy shrunk steadily since then and unemployment reached 16%. Worse could happen in Greece, the report said. While international creditors have refused to budge on austerity, Greece’s GDP has shrunk every year since 2008, with the biggest contraction being 9% in 2011. With unemployment at over 25%, the Greeks’ living standards have plummeted. Austerity programs, several economists argue, have lost in credibility. When governments reduce fiscal flow, it tends to lead to deeper recessions. In Greece and Cyprus, policymakers have to tackle structural issues, such as bloated public sectors and high national debt. However, that can only be done when economies are strong and can deal with reductions in state spending. Heracleous believes the exit of both Cyprus and Greece from the Eurozone is a distinct possibility. The scares about what would happen if they left are unjustified, though. Especially in the medium term. A return to the national currency, he argued, would give the governments of Greece and Cyprus control of key economic levers rather than having to bear the fiscal inflexibility and targets necessitated by a single cross-national currency. In fact, Cyprus and Greece probably don’t need to be part of the Eurozone to grow. Cyprus’ growth was higher between 1980 and 2004, before it joined the Eurozone, than between 2004 and 2014, and it has been particularly low since 2008, when it adopted the common currency. There is no reason why its economy cannot be strong without being part of the Eurozone, or that foreign currency deposits will flee the island if the local currency is not the euro. Another way forward for Greece and Cyprus would be to use higher government spending to assist vulnerable people, lend to businesses and execute projects that inject money into the economy. The state can do that in conjunction with structural reforms that will reduce the public sector size, increase the flexibility of labor, improve tax collection, invite foreign direct investment and get debt under control. The relatively cheap national currencies would provide a boost to exports, real estate, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism. Furthermore, the writer argued, business thrives under conditions of certainty, which has not been the case since Cyprus and Greece implemented the austerity agenda. A managed exit from the common currency could alter that. The report concluded that Greek and Cypriot companies can focus on globalization strategies and exports in order to capitalize on cheaper currencies. They would be forced to be more efficient and productive and would have to optimize the use of more expensive imports. Foreign companies might find the greater confidence and low costs attractive for making investments in the two countries. These options seem more desirable than the continuation of austerity with no end in sight, a situation that will leave Greece and Cyprus unable to cope with future economic crises.
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British House of Lords Discusses Cyprus’ Agreements with Russia
British Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Baroness Joyce Anne Anelay, while speaking at the House of Lords yesterday, made extended reference to Cyprus’ relations with Russia, assuring her fellow peers that the bilateral agreements signed during Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades recent official visit to Moscow were based on existing deals. “We have been and remain in regular discussion with the Republic of Cyprus about security and defense matters, and have been briefed on the agreement signed in Moscow. The Cypriot government have assured us that these agreements represent a continuation of existing arrangements,” the Baroness highlighted while responding to a question by Lord Sharkey on what discussions the British government had with the Cypriot government and other European Union member-states regarding the proposal to establish a Russian military base on the island. “When speaking to Russian media, President Anastasiades explicitly ruled out the use of Limassol’s port for military purposes. Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides also said to the press, after the February EU Foreign Affairs Committee meeting in Brussels, that there was no question of Russian air or naval military bases on Cypriot soil. It is a continuation of existing agreements,” she underlined, rejecting concerns raised by Lord Sharkey regarding the military use of Cypriot facilities by Russia. In addition, Baroness Anelay also singled out the necessity of European Union-wide “unity in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine” and agreed with Lord Hannay’s assessment that “it might be useful to say to the government of Cyprus that President Putin’s policy in the southeast of Ukraine bears a striking resemblance to the creation” of the Turkish-Cypriot regime in northern, Turkish-occupied, Cyprus. In the wake of a permission granted to Greek-Cypriots to develop areas within the British Bases in Cyprus, signed during President Anastasiades’ official visit in London in January 2014, the Baroness said it is a sign of the strong bonds of friendship and partnership between the two countries. “Non-military development is a further measure of the normalization of administrative planning laws and shows that the United Kingdom and Cyprus are serious about working together on our shared interests,” she concluded.
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European Parliament Lifts Immunity of Former Soccer Star and MEP Zagorakis
The European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs decided to lift the parliamentary immunity of New Democracy MEP Theodoros Zagorakis. The Committee accepted the request made by the Supreme Court Deputy Prosecutor and made the announcement on January 28 in the plenary of the European Parliament, where it will be tabled for approval. Zagorakis faces charges of causing bodily harm by negligence and failure to follow safety rules at his workplace in Greece. Prosecution is related to an accident happened to an employee at the PAOK soccer field on May 13, 2010, when Zagorakis was the club’s president. The charges are not related to his capacity as an MEP since the accident happened before he was elected. After the decision, Zagorakis commented on his personal Facebook account: “I thank my fellow MEPs who supported my position to waive my immunity with their vote. As I have said before, I have absolute confidence in Greek Justice.” Zagorakis was the Greek National Soccer Team captain that won the European Cup in 2004.
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Greece sours German relations further with demand for war reparations
Alexis Tspiras, the Greek prime mininster, says Berlin has ‘a moral obligation’ to make amends for years of Nazi occupation Greece’s strained relations with Germany took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when Athens’ leftist-led government raised the spectre of seizing German assets for war reparations that it claimed Berlin has stubbornly refused to honour. In an address before the Greek parliament, Alexis Tspiras, the Greek prime mininster, said Germany had “a moral obligation” to make amends for the atrocities wrought during three devastating years of Nazi occupation. Berlin, he said, had deliberately flouted its duty employing “legal tricks and delay”. Continue reading...
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L.A. city parks commission tosses out proposals to run Greek Theatre
A Los Angeles city commission decided Wednesday to toss out two competing proposals to run the Greek Theatre, the latest step in a lengthy battle between entertainment titans over who will operate the Griffith Park venue.
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The Fetishism of Economic Growth
Capitalism and Communism shared one important principle in common: an almost religious devotion to economic growth. If a Five Year Plan didn't produce the expected "great leap forward," Communist officials fudged the figures. If a capitalist economy dipped into recession, economists tried to put the best face on the resulting "creative destruction," arguing that it would prepare the ground for even greater growth in the future. Both capitalists and Communists treated natural resources as mere inputs to create larger and larger outputs. Communism has largely collapsed and the environmental movement has challenged the religion of growth at all costs, but the global economy continues to revolve around measures such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The international financial institutions are all committed to growth. Political leaders, if they can't produce a rising arrow on the graphs, worry that voters will take their revenge at the polls. Consumers expect bigger and better (or smaller and faster) things to buy every season. Ryszard Zoltaniecki is a sociologist who has also worked in the Polish foreign ministry, where he served as the ambassador to Greece. When I met him in 1990, we talked about a number of big-picture issues, like the confrontation between Byzantine and Western modes of thinking and the intellectual bankruptcy of "third ways." It was not long into our August 2013 interview in an outdoor café in Warsaw before we began to address these larger questions, like the European financial crisis. The economic setback, he pointed out, marked the end of an era. "The few decades of wellbeing, of economic boom, created a situation in which all needs could be satisfied, if not directly then through loans and credits," Zoltaniecki said. "To continue this development -- to build better schools, better hospitals, better health care, better infrastructure -- you should have 5-7 percent GDP growth, at minimum. The rest you can get through loans. But what growth rate did we have during the recession? 1-2 percent? The country that has even 3 percent growth is happy. This demanding attitude, which we've gotten used to, is the source of the present crisis. Politicians think they should listen to and respond to these demands. They promise that tomorrow will be better. Here in Europe, for decades, every generation could be perfectly sure that the next generation would be better off than the previous one. But that's over." This era of easy growth might be over - for the industrialized world at least - but the assumptions that have gone along with this era continue to maintain their hold. The global economy remains increasingly dependent on financial instruments that have become ever more removed from the production of actual goods and services. "Nobody has learned anything from the present crisis, which is much deeper than what economists say," Zoltaniecki continued. "Once again they return to the same virtual money, the same mistakes, the same false consciousness. The politicians provide new promises to the people. They say that it's just a matter of one or two years and then again we'll enter paradise. No." The world is "trapped in the fetishism of economic growth," Zoltaniecki maintained, and we have to instead "learn to live with zero." Such a commitment to zero growth will also require a transformation of the international system. "The only way is to start is to open a debate with the participation of all subjects -- banks, NGOs, states -- to create new structures," Zoltaniecki concluded. "To save our civilization, perhaps we have to go through a peaceful revolution to change everything. But those who are the most influential and who maintain control are not willing to do this. They are satisfied. From Citibank's perspective, everything is fine. It's just a cycle. The breakdown was a coincidence." The Interview What struck me when we talked in 1990 was your analysis of the division between the Byzantine and the West. Byzantine civilization is best represented by Russia, and before that by the Soviet Union. Russia -- under the tsars or the Soviets or now -- always existed in two worlds, in Asia and Europe. The two tendencies were clashing inside the system, from the time of the first Westernization of Russia, from Peter the Great, who was the first to introduce European elements into Russia. Then, in the second half of the 19th century came the development of industry and the Western sense of ideologies. Then, of course, came the break with the West under the Bolsheviks, and the takeover of Asian tendencies. The old empire, after it collapsed, was recreated in a pathological form as a new empire. The second wave of this process came at the beginning of the 1990s, in the late Gorbachev period, and then under Yeltsin. There was a research project during the Yeltsin period that polled a random sample of teenagers. They were asked what they would like to be in the future. The majority of girls said: "prostitute." Well, for them that meant money, cosmetics, good clothes. The majority of boys said: "mafioso." Now you see Mr. Putin rebuilding the empire slowly but with some success, trying to combine harmonically both tendencies, Europe and Russian. So, this dynamic is still there, and nothing has changed. You also said that there was a clash here in Poland as well between the Western and the Byzantine. Not any longer. The major problem in Poland is the collapse of social capital. Now, we have two political philosophies, and they each want their own state. They can't cooperate in the same state. It's part of our historical process. In the 19th century, when European and also American societies were maturing -- creating themselves and finding their distinctive identities - Poland had no state. The state was in our imagination. The real state, since we were partitioned, was a state usurped. For a short period between the two wars, we had an independent state. Then came World War II, and we were occupied again. After that, our state was usurped yet again, this time by the Communists. So, what was the result of all this philosophically? If we have two competing ideologies, when one wins and takes over government, it understands this process as the consequence of democratic governance. But the other ideology sees this as the usurpation of government. It doesn't see a real state. That's what you observe now. The supporters of Mr. Kaczynski don't think we have a real Polish state right now. And when they ruled the country, the opposition thought the same thing. You also identified a certain Jacobin tendency in Solidarity early on. Well, yes, Jacobinism is still here. Where would you locate Jacobinism today? All those who are dissatisfied, who feel betrayed, whose hopes were not fulfilled. It's also the result of the few decades of Communism. They think that they deserve to have secure jobs, and if they have such jobs, the rest should be provided by the state or some other institution. Someone should provide the goods to satisfy their needs. What do you think will happen with this impulse for security, politically? Look at what's happening in Europe, even in the United States. People are frustrated. They demand more. That's the question not of this country or of any other particular country. It's a certain archetype of Western culture, which we joined. It's based on the principle of total participation and total consumption. The few decades of wellbeing, of economic boom, created a situation in which all needs could be satisfied, if not directly then through loans and credits. To continue this development -- to build better schools, better hospitals, better health care, better infrastructure -- you should have 5-7 percent GDP growth, at minimum. The rest you can get through loans. But what growth rate did we have during the recession? 1-2 percent? The country that has even 3 percent growth is happy. This demanding attitude, which we've gotten used to, is the source of the present crisis. Politicians think they should listen to and respond to these demands. They promise that tomorrow will be better. Here in Europe, for decades, every generation could be perfectly sure that the next generation would be better off than the previous one. But that's over. That's the case in the United States too. Right now, Poland is getting a large amount of money from the EU, which will last at least until 2020. We invest this money in infrastructure. But later on, when this money will be stopped, and it will be stopped, then the question will be how to maintain this infrastructure. Spain, Portugal: they invested a lot in infrastructure but not in the real economy. The real economy being? I'm very primitive in this definition. I learned that money is the attribute of the product. Now money has nothing to do with the product. It's virtual. You make money without any industry. Like financial services. Some of these products I don't even understand what they are. I don't understand my minister of finance. It's a very strange jargon. Perhaps it's on purpose that they speak a language that people don't understand. The only way to repair the situation is to return to the real economy. Manufacturing? Agriculture? Services as well. But in a new way. Not in the 19th century way. It's a different kind of manufacturing. Behind your analysis, I hear a deep critique of growth economics. We have to learn how to live with zero. We are trapped in the fetishism of economic growth. If the United States has zero real growth, taking into account inflation and debt payments, what does that mean? In the collective perception, it's a tragedy. But it just means that the level is identical with the previous year. That's fantastic. It's one of the shared characteristics of capitalism and communism. They were both slavishly devoted to GDP growth. We have to liberate ourselves from that way of thinking. Is there any political formation in this country that supports that idea? When I used to talk this way, there was silence. There would be no comments from journalists on radio or from people in public meetings. They couldn't understand what I was talking about. But now more people are talking a similar way. There's simply no other way out of this situation. The parties that sometimes talk this way are environmental parties. Yes, but they are the anti-globalists, and I'm not an anti-globalist. I'm not against the market economy. I'm a liberal. But to preserve our civilization, we must find a way out. Otherwise, this civilization will collapse. We Poles witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union and Communism, which were supposed to be eternal. We witnessed the election of a Polish Pope. Perhaps we will also witness the collapse of this civilization. You expect this in your lifetime? I am afraid so. Nobody has learned anything from the present crisis, which is much deeper than what economists say. Once again they return to the same virtual money, the same mistakes, the same false consciousness. The politicians provide new promises to the people. They say that it's just a matter of one or two years and then again we'll enter paradise. No. People talk about Schumpeter and economic cycles, that we're simply down in this cycle and we'll eventually come back up. This is misleading optimism. It used to be like that when the economy was based on something real. Now it's based on financial operations. Some people call it casino capitalism. Yes, this is casino capitalism. So perhaps we have to look for a new development, a new relationship between international subjects. International conventions are based on the principle that the major subject of international relations is the state: the Vienna Convention, the UN, the EU. Still, the state is subject. Now we have big corporations. Compare the budget of Bulgaria and the budget of Exxon. These corporations act outside the system of international law. They destroyed the Gulf of Mexico. In the best case, the president of the United States may call the president of BP and ask politely for reparations. But there is no mechanism forcing the president of BP to do anything. Yes, there are civil court cases, but their lawyers can get them off. Most people, when faced with the dire prospects of your predictions or the expectation that this virtual economy will continue uncontrolled, respond that the only force that can intervene is the state. It's only the state, still, that can do anything. But we are living in a banking civilization. Because of this gap between economic needs and economic possibilities, everything is coming under the control of banks. Perhaps there is something we should do to control the banks other than to impose bureaucratic rules. We have these strange entities called rating industries. If they say a country earns a "B" instead of "A," everything collapses in that country -- in Spain, for example. These are the real movers. I asked you whether you saw any political forces on the horizon here in Poland, and you basically said no. To read the rest of the interview, click here.
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Greece district makes pitch for new stadium
Greece is the ninth-largest school district in New York, and the town is splintered into four high schools: Arcadia, Athena, Odyssey and Olympia.
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Spiegel: “Greece suffers from nepotism and corruption”
In the German magazine's recent issue
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Germany brushes off Greek calls for WW2 reparations [Update]
Germany dismissed Greek demands to pay World War Two reparations after leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Berlin of using legal tricks to avoid paying compensation for the Nazi occupation of his country.
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Greece kicks off creditor talks with ECB patience wearing thin [Update]
Creditor officials and Greek authorities began talks intended to unlock bailout funds, as some euro-area central bankers were said to raise opposition to the prospect of additional emergency cash for the country’s banks.
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Is the ECB being unfair to Greece?
The euro zone creditors have said they may advance Greece some cash if it ... In that case, he will have only himself to blame if Greece goes bust.
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New name, new luck? The “Brussels Group”: the lenders formerly known as the Troika plus Greece
The Troika is dead! Long live the Brussels Group! Or The BG according to the code books of the technical teams dealing with the Greek debt issue in Brussels. Citing Greek government sources, local media report that officials from Greece and the European Commission, the ECB, the IMF, the ESM […]
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Greek bailout crisis: Athens threatens to seize German assets 'as compensation for Nazi war crimes'
The threat, made by the Greek justice minister and reported in the daily ... help in the context of the work we need to tackle together with the Greeks.”.
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Greece Ratchets Up the Rhetoric
Syriza's leaders kept the market on tenterhooks last month as it negotiated an extension to its bailout that would allow it to stay – for now at least – in ...
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Benefits Of Greek Yogurt Do Not Include Its Whey Byproduct: New Solutions Turn Waste Into Money
Soon, an environmentally harmful byproduct, acid whey, created during the production of Greek yogurt may be transformed into useful ingredients.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.medicaldaily.com |
Greece Threatens To Send ISIS Terrorists Into Europe
Greece is the gift that keeps on giving. They are the Lucy van Pelt of countries when it comes to promising reform and then reneging at the last moment ...
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Greek Yogurt's Popularity is Harmful to the Environment
WASHINGTON (WNEW) – Its thick, creamy consistency along with a heavy dose of protein has made Greek yogurt the go-to breakfast for many and ...
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Greek justice minister: German property seizure possible as WWII compensation
According to estimates of Greek parliamentarians, Germany must pay Greece $7.1 billion in 1938 prices, which makes up €108 billion in current prices, excluding interest
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Former Italian PM Monti: Greek Govt’s Time to Play Games is Running Out
Italian economist Mario Monti, who served as the country’s Prime Minister between 2011 and 2013, leading a government of technocrats during the Italian debt crisis peak, highlighted that Greece’s time to “play games” is running out. As he said in an interview to Bloomberg TV, the time has come for Athens to implement the agreements reached with its European partners. Moreover, he expressed his certainty that Greece will not leave the single currency. “It seems to me the time for the new Greek government to play games, maybe with a genuine hope and will to change the policy framework of Europe, is coming to an end,” the Former Italian Prime Minister said. Commenting on Greece’s options, he urged that “the time has now come for them to comply with the previous commitment, maybe with some softening, particularly concerning the time of the implementation of measures.” Today is the first day European officials and Greek authorities are set to begin in-depth talks in order to conclude in a way for further bailout assistance toward Greece to avert default. According to Athens officials, representatives of the three institutions (the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) are holding meetings in Brussels with Greek Finance Ministry officials. Commenting on that, Monti said that he is confident “there will be some compromise rather closer to the initial Eurozone positions than to the initial Greek government demands.”
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Report that European Parliament Prepared Grexit Plan Shocks Athens
A recent report from Europolitics, a Brussels-based European affairs daily publication, regarding an alleged European Parliament plan over a possible Grexit, which was later annulled by European Parliament President Martin Schulz, caused Greece’s firm reaction. SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis characterized the revelation as a “very significant” one, underlining that certain circles are playing games at Greece’s expense and the Eurozone’s stability. Moreover, regarding the report, Papadimoulis requested immediate briefing from Schulz. In a written statement, the SYRIZA MEP said: “This revelation is very significant and shows the games that some circles attempt to play against the country and the stability of the Eurozone. The European Parliament administration and above all the Secretary General must keep strict political neutrality, away from political games, without the knowledge of competent institutions and relevant procedures. I ask with my letter, which will be sent tomorrow, from President Schultz, a reliable update. The matter is very serious and requires immediate and full investigation.” The article cited European Parliament officials revealing that Secretary General Klaus Welle, in a meeting of Commission Director Generals in February, asked the completion of a report on a possible Grexit. On his behalf, Schulz, when informed on the issue, requested its immediate suspension, saying that this is not the European Parliament’s job.
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Greek referendum, or early elections, more likely than in 2011
A report by US global intelligence firm Stratfor says a referendum on Greece's relationship with the European Union is more likely now than in 2011. Back then, Prime Minister George Papandreou had faced strong opposition by incredulouis EU leaders and ...
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Greece kicks off talks with 'Brussels Group'
Representatives of the European Central Bank, the European Commission, the European Stability Mechanism and International Monetary Fund are meeting in Brussels on Wednesday with Greek executives, according to a Greek government official. The formation will be collectively known as the “Brussels Group,” the official said.
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Tragedy for ancient Greek at last non-selective state school
As Camden School for Girls ponders dropping the subject due to financial pressures, teachers in its classics department have issued an appeal for help Study of ancient Greek at A-level might be abandoned at what teachers think is the last non-selective state school in England to offer the exam in the subject. Governors at Camden School for Girls in north London, which has a co-ed sixth form, are considering the move while senior staff are said to have looked too at whether GCSE might be offered as an “enrichment activity” if parents pay for their children to do it. The subject is a crucial part of the school’s academic reputation Continue reading...
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Top 20 most Googled destinations in Greece (see tables)
The powerful company released interesting data with regard to the way travelers worldwide research their trips.
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Bye-bye Troika. Hello Brussels Group.
The technical teams comprising officials from the EC, ECB, IMF, ESM/EFSM and Greece will be called Brussels Group (BG).
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Germany Won't Negotiate With Greece Over Compensation for Nazi Atrocities
BERLIN—Germany insisted on Wednesday that any compensation claims from Greece for Nazi Germany's atrocities during World War II are ...
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Greece Threatens to Confiscate German Assets Over WWII Reparations
Greece's newly-appointed Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras places his hand on his heart during a ceremony at the Kessariani shooting range site where ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.newsweek.com |
Germany Refuses to Discuss WWII Compensation With Greece
German officials said Wednesday that the matter of compensation for the Nazis' World War II occupation of Greece is closed and the government isn't ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com |
Turkish and Greek Cypriot group opposes proposed nuclear plant in southern Turkey
Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots have banded together to oppose plans to build a nuclear power station on nearby Turkey’s southern coast.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.hurriyetdailynews.com |
Street in Toronto named after popular Greek singer
The talented singer shared photo proof of this important event in his life on Instagram
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Senior EU official sees Greece deal by August
Thomas Wieser, president of the Eurogroup Working Group, which prepares decisions for meetings of eurozone finance ministers has said he believes a deal on Greece's loan arrangements will be reached by August.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Greece threatens to seize property, land and businesses belonging to Germany if Angela Merkel ...
Greece is threatening to seize property, land and businesses belonging to Germany if Berlin does not agree to compensation for Nazi wartime ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dailymail.co.uk |
Greek – German “War of Words” escalates and turns nasty
There is no cure for the Greek – German relations with insults and unacceptable descriptions to land into the minefields of both sides. There seems to be no sight of the verbal crisis diffusion, unless, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble goes home and devotes himself to his rose garden. His […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.keeptalkinggreece.com |
Greek Gov’t Spokesman Pappas Replies to Schaeuble’s Provocative Statements
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble’s latest provocative statements on Greece and the ongoing negotiations with the country’s international partners as well as on his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis, has caused a strong reaction in Athens. In what is seen as a direct response to Eurozone’s hardline group main delegate Schaeuble, the Greek government spokesman Nikos Pappas highlighted that “it is clear that the failure of the plan to suffocate Greece has brought some to embarrassment. Mr. Schaeuble is the main supporter of failed policies in Greece and in Europe.” As he explained, Mr. Schaeuble’s continuous public interventions on the Greek issue are aiming to his intraparty audience. “These statements are incompatible both with his institutional position, and with the expectation that has developed in Europe to find a new solution. His persistence and perseverance to this policy and this style are incompatible with the path towards a united and democratic Europe.” The German Finance Minister said on Tuesday no aid will be handed to Greece until international creditors agree that it has delivered on its reform commitments. “Greece must talk to the institutions to ensure that the Memorandum of Understanding is fulfilled,” he told reporters in Brussels after a meeting of European Finance Ministers. “Only when this condition has been met is there a possibility for payment to be made from the program,” he said, adding that his Greek counterpart was the only one in the Eurogroup who thought no time had been wasted. Furthermore, yesterday, Mr. Schaeuble once again sparked displeasure in Athens, insisting that the unpopular “Troika” of creditors (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) will be negotiating with the Greek government over the country’s bailout package extension, despite the latter’s objection on the matter.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Why Germany Rejects Greece’s Claims for WW II Reparations
Germany rejected Greece’s demands for World War II reparations after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Berlin of using legal tricks to avoid the issue. Greece’s prime minister has asked that Germany pays back more than 160 billion euros for the deaths and destruction caused by German occupation forces in the 1941-1944 period. Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Tsipras said the Greek government is determined “that all of the unfulfilled obligations to Greece and the Greek people are met.” He said that it is a “duty to history, to the people who fought and to the victims who gave their lives to defeat Nazism.” However, Germany thinks differently. “It is our firm belief that questions of reparations and compensation have been legally and politically resolved,” said Steffen Seibert, spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adding that “We should concentrate on current issues and, hopefully what will be a good future,” he added. Berlin has flatly denied it owes Greece any more money, claiming it has already settled its debts following reunification of Germany in 1990. The“Two Plus Four” treaty, which involved East and West Germany, as well as the four occupying nations following World War II, namely France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, saw them renounce all rights they formerly held in Germany. The document was also approved by Greece, which would effectively draw a line under any future possible claims for war reparations. Germany says it paid Greece war damages of 25 million dollars in 1953, equivalent to 220 million dollars today, and also paid out 115 million Deutschmarks (a sum worth around 230 million dollars today), to victims of Nazi crimes in the early 1960s. Athens has claimed it always considered the above sums as initial payment and expected the rest of the money to be paid back following German reunification. The war reparation claims appeared again at a time the Greek government is strapped for cash and searching for funds to pay out the 240-billion-euro sovereign debt, Germans say. A spokesperson for the German finance ministry said there is no reason to hold talks with the Greek government about reparations and that Athens is using it as a distraction from the serious financial issues Greece is facing.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Berlin's 'no' prompts Athens threat to seize German assets
Germany's refusal to pay further World War II reparations has drawn a warning from Greece's justice minister that he will authorize seizure of German assets. Berlin says compensation was long since "resolved."
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.dw.de |
ECB's Nowotny warns Greece against perils of leaving euro zone
"If you think of Greece and a big devaluation of the currency, going out of the euro and having their own currency -- would that be helpful? I doubt it ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com |
Greece to seek war reparations from Germany
He acknowledged that Germany paid 115 million deutschmarks (€59 million) to Greece in 1960, but said this went only to individual victims of Nazis ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT euobserver.com |
Greece, lenders meet on working methods to start reforms, unblock aid
It is the first such meeting between Greece and its official creditors since the new, left-led government in Greece took power at the end of January on a ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com |
College 'Rediscovers' Collection of Rare Greek, Roman Coins
A priceless cache of ancient Greek and Roman coins has been "rediscovered" at the University at Buffalo. The 40 gold and silver coins — including ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT abcnews.go.com |
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