How the world sees Greece
ATHENS, Greece – Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has requested a meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, a government source said Friday, March 6, after Athens got no help from the European Central Bank to address a cash squeeze. (READ: In blow to Greece, ECB restricts banks' access to cash ) "The prime minister called ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.rappler.com |
The next Eurogroup meeting, to be held on Monday, will examine the reforms list letter. According to an unnamed Eurozone senior official cited by the Greek news agency, AMNA, the single currency Finance Ministers expect their Greek counterpart to present ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
German holidaymakers are increasingly flocking to Greece, leaving the acrimonious wrangling between the two capitals over Athens’ debt mountain, halting reforms or fears of a “Grexit” to the politicians.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Convicted crime boss Panayiotis Vlastos was given an additional 26.5-year prison sentence on Friday after a court found him guilty of arranging for a bomb to be placed outside an apartment block in Larisa, central Greece, in July 2014, resulting in a blast that caused serious damage but no injuries.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has outlined seven key reform proposals ahead of a crucial Eurogroup meeting on Monday to decide whether the country is meeting the conditions for its next bailout instalment. In the 11-page letter to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, leaked to the Financial Times Varoufakis reveals plans for the Greek government to hire mystery-shoppers "'wired' for sound and video" to help collect evidence against tax evaders and raises the possibility of selling licenses to online gambling companies to operate in the country. The reforms envisage hiring "students, housekeepers and tourists" on short term contracts, training them in the art of subterfuge and then sending them out into "areas ripe with tax evasion" to catch perpetrators in the act. Any evidence gathered by the undercover tax agents will then be available to authorities when it comes to issue penalties and sanctions. Perhaps more unusually for a government led by the radical left Syriza coalition, Varoufakis also discusses raising revenue through selling gambling licenses to online gaming providers. He envisages each 5-year contract would cost around €3 million, with the value of tax revenues from online gambling estimated to be worth around €500 million a year to the state. More in keeping with its platform, the Greek government is proposing a food allowance of €100 a month per family, reconnecting electricity supplies to up to 150,000 households that had been cut off for non-payment of bills and giving rent assistance to a further 30,000. The letter also provides further details on the creation of a "Fiscal Council" similar to the UK's Office for Budget Responsibility, which acts as a watchdog for public spending plans, and gives details on a new law designed to improve tax collection by providing debt forgiveness in exchange for part payment of outstanding sums owed. Without a deal Greece risks running out of money to pay its bills within weeks. Greece is due to repay around €1.5 billion to the IMF over the next two weeks but has seen tax revenues fall sharply over the past few months. The state also has to find the money to meet its monthly running costs of around €4.5 billion including a wage and pension bill of €1.5 billion, according to Reuters.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Animated map of what Earth would look like if all the ice melted
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com |
European Central Bank head Mario Draghi said the ECB "stood ready" to once again permit Greek banks to use junk-rated Greek government bonds ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sltrib.com |
Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis sets out seven measures to unlock €7.2bn aid
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com |