How the world sees Greece
UT task force recommends Greek life changes WBIR-TV The group, made up of alumni, students, faculty, and staff, was formed last fall when the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was suspended for an alleged alcohol enema incident. The task force was asked to review Greek life on campus and make recommendations ... |
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 Newsday (subscription) | New Rochelle to host Greek concert Newsday (subscription) Greek Independence Day will be celebrated with a free concert of traditional Greek music and dance starting at 2 p.m. on March 23 in the Ossie Davis Theater of the New Rochelle Public Library, 1 Library Plaza. The concert is part of the Downtown ... |
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 Kathimerini | Greek government eyes sacking over 5000 state workers Kathimerini With regard to the emergency property tax, which was introduced in 2011 and is levied via electricity bills, the Greek side has not been able to convince visiting technocrats that it has an equally effective method to collect the much-needed revenue. |
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Troika of international lenders leaves country after failing to agree over future of 25,000 civil servants
Greece's "troika" of international lenders – the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF – have left the country amid a dispute over sacking 25,000 civil servants.
After extending their trip by several days, troika inspectors said they would return in April to finish their review.
Insiders confirmed that progress on an agreement to unlock the country's next €2.8bn aid instalment, vital to public coffers, had been impeded by creditors' demands to cut 25,000 civil servants from the state payroll by the end of the year.
Athens's fragile government had hoped to convince lenders of the need to gradually transfer the employees into a special labour reserve by 2014, citing record levels of unemployment, anger with austerity and growing social unease. None of the mission chiefs was persuaded, however, given the reluctance of past administrations to shed staff who under the constitution enjoy jobs for life. Other disagreements included a relief plan for overindebted households and a controversial property tax levied through electricity bills.
Although both sides put on a brave face and played down the postponement - with the Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras saying "there has been significant progress in the talks with the troika" - well-briefed sources did not share the same view. A member of one of the governing parties said there were "very real concerns" that further aid disbursements to Greece would be stopped. "The government is not going to axe civil servants. Full stop. There are very real concerns that come the summer the next loan disbursement [from the bailout] will not be made. Nothing is certain."
If Athens refuses to press ahead with redundancies, the inevitability of the government having to adopt further cuts and tax rises looms. With revenue shortfalls in January and February described as much worse than expected, there are fears that the country's reform programme will be derailed.
The Greek impasse came as European leaders joined battle in Brussels in an increasingly sterile argument over whether austerity or stimulus was the magic formula for arresting decline and spurring growth in the EU and single currency zone.
But for the first time since the sovereign debt and single currency crises ushered in the age of austerity three years ago, the leaders of the 27 countries or the 17 of the eurozone were unlikely to take any far-reaching decisions.
The summit was the first since the heads of government were stunned by the outcome of the Italian election, which delivered a resounding rejection of the harsh medicine prescribed by Germany and administered by Brussels.
"Italy is the talk of the town," said a senior EU official. "One of the things that has shifted the debate is the Italian election. People are worried," added a senior European diplomat.
But all the signs from Berlin and Brussels indicated that while voters may kick out policymakers, they cannot overturn the policies since the room for manoeuvre in the declining economies of, say, Italy or France, as well as bailout recipients, is too narrow if they want to retain the confidence of the financial markets.
"If you need to get people to lend you money, if you finance yourself in the markets, an economic policy shift is not viable," said the senior diplomat. "It's about credibility."
The Thursday evening summit focused on economic policy options and was to be followed by another meeting of the 17 eurozone leaders at which Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank, was to brief the meeting and was expected to name and blame countries failing to implement adequate structural reform.
While the draft summit communique repeatedly referred to the need to stimulate growth and deplored Europe's record levels of unemployment – more than 26 million – there was little sign of any departure from the "fiscal consolidation" that has been the preeminent response to the crisis over the past three years.
Nor was there any sign that Berlin was shifting its hard line on fiscal and budget discipline. Rather, the Germans stressed that the absolute priority was for Europe to regain competitiveness by reducing unit labour costs and through structural reforms to labour markets, pension and welfare systems.
The likeliest outcome was agreement on a set of policies that may take a little of the rough edges off the austerity packages, by delivering several billion euros to fight youth unemployment in the worst-hit areas or slightly relaxing budget deficit ceilings by allowing big public investment projects deemed eventually to be contributing to growth to be taken out of the calculation. Agreement was also expected on "flexibility" in interpreting the rules for national debt and deficit levels in the eurozone, signalling that countries like France, Spain, and the Netherlands could be given longer to observe the ceilings.
José Manuel Barroso, president of the European commission, admitted that jobless rates were nearing the tipping point of bearability and trade union leaders denounced the austerity policies as a failure.
"We are not dealing with figures, we are dealing with people who have feelings and votes," said Bernadette Ségol, head of the European trade union federation. "The policies put in place have failed."
While Berlin is reluctant to loosen the fiscal rigour, socialist-led France has become the cheerleader for a relaxation of austerity. But President François Hollande is not very persuasively challenging Chancellor Angela Merkel, said insiders at the economic debate.
Following the French, Italian, Dutch, and Maltese elections of the past nine months, all resulting in leftward shifts, there is a sense of greater resistance to German policy prescriptions which, however, has yet to have much impact.
Merkel is keen to avoid any big arguments or policy U-turns before competing for a third term in general elections in September, and little is expected to take place before that contest is settled.
"Before the German election no one will start a real debate," said the senior official.
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 News 10NBC | Four people charged with home burglaries in Greece News 10NBC 19-year-olds Thomas M. Coccitti and Danielle Coffey, 33-year-old Daniel Nicholas, of Greece are charged with burglary, grand larceny and criminal mischief. Police say they were involved in home burglaries in Greece where electronics and jewelry were ... Greece police: 4 arrested for recent burglaries |
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The Obama administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on a Greek shipping magnate accused of secretly helping Iran sell its petroleum in defiance of international restrictions on Iranian oil exports.
The Treasury Department identified Dimitris Cambis, owner of a Greek shipping company, as a central figure in a scheme that allegedly enabled Iran to disguise its oil to evade international sanctions and an oil embargo.
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 Economic Times | Greek fiscal targets are unrealistic: Bank group Economic Times Meanwhile, international creditors have suspended an audit of Greek reforms as too many technical issues persist to unlock access to a scheduled loan tranche of 2.8 billion euros ($3.7 billion). "As additional technical work will be necessary to settle ... Greek unemployment reaches record 26 percent Greek civil servants protest against austerity cuts Troika interrupts Greek bailout review, return later-fin min |
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Unemployment in Greece reaches new high of 26 percent at end of 2012 Fox News ATHENS, Greece – Unemployment in debt-crippled Greece rose to a record of 26 percent in the last quarter of 2012, as austerity measures combined with a deep recession took a harsh toll on the workforce. The figures were worse than the previous quarter ... |
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 Kathimerini | Troika says Greece makes reform progress, some issues remain Kathimerini Greece is making significant progress in reforms required to receive the next tranche of emergency loans, international lenders said in a statement on Thursday, but some issues remain and Athens needs time to complete the work. Representatives of the ... |
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 News 10NBC | Greece woman charged in connection with West Webster firefighters shooting ... News 10NBC Dawn Nguyen, 24, of Greece, was indicted for knowingly making a false statement in connection with the purchase and selling of firearms to known fellon, William Spengler Jr., and possession of firearms while being an unlawful user of marijuana. Greece Woman Indicted for Supplying Guns Used in Christmas Eve Shooting |
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 WBIR-TV | UT considering changes to improve Greek life on campus WBIR-TV The task force was asked to review Greek life on campus and make recommendations for improving a personal sense of responsibility among members and enhancing the chapters' contributions to campus life. The group focused on the positive as well as the ... |
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Israel, US, Greece launch naval exercise Jweekly.com Israeli, Greek and American vessels are conducting a two-week Mediterranean naval exercise, the Israeli army said. An Israel Defense Forces statement said the operation, named Noble Dina, was a scheduled annual exercise for its navy and is part of the ... |
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 Times of India | Restro review: The Blue Door (Greek, Mediterranean) Times of India A good place to know authentic Mediterranean (especially Greek) food, up close and personal, as in-house chefs Yannis and Stefanos have come all the way from Athens! We start with the healthy Sardines on the grill, with a tomato and parsley dressing, ... |
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 William and Mary News | W&M Greek community honored for service to the Arc William and Mary News This weekend, the sights and sounds of a carnival will fill the Sunken Garden as William & Mary's Greek community hosts the Arc of Greater Williamsburg for a day of food, fun and friendship. W&M Greek Life has been involved with the Arc for more than a ... |
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 Kathimerini | Health minister challenges critics to manage Greek hospitals for free Kathimerini Health Minister Andreas Lykourentzos on Thursday challenged government critics to work in management positions at state hospitals for free. There are 87 available positions and the deadline for applications is March 27. The minister also hit back at ... |
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