PAOK beats Veria 3-1, stays 3rd in Greek league

by  Associated Press PAOK beats Veria 3-1, stays 3rd in Greek league Associated Press - 21 February 2015 16:19-05:00 ATHENS, Greece (AP) — PAOK scored all of its goals in the first half and coasted to a 3-1 victory at Veria in the Greek league on Saturday. PAOK remained third in the standings, eight points behind leader Olympiakos, and two behind second-place Panathinaikos. The two top sides meet on Sunday at Panathinaikos. Veria was eighth in the standings. Also, Panthrakikos vs. Panetolikos ended in a scoreless draw, and Kalloni beat Giannena 1-0. News Topics: Sports, Soccer, Men's soccer, Men's sports People, Places and Companies: Greece, Western Europe, Europe Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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In surprise, Greece accepts Europe's loan conditions, sending U.S. stocks soaring

BERLIN — Greece, at least for the next four months, will remain a part of the eurozone, according to an agreement hashed out by the finance ministers ...

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5 Things To Know About Greece's Bailout Extension

After weeks of increasingly testy negotiations, Greece reached a tenuous deal with the rest of the eurozone to extend its bailout until the end of June.

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Eurogroup, Greece agree to extend loan agreement

The other 18 countries that use the euro agreed here Friday to extend Greece's loan agreement for four months after Athens committed itself to what ...

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News Analysis: A Deal That Preserves Greece’s Place in Eurozone, and Fiscal Restraints

The agreement to extend Greece's bailout for four months also committed the nation to fiscal targets and other conditions that its new leadership had vowed to scrap.

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Greek Deputy Migration Minister: Citizenship Granting Bill for Second Generation Migrants to be Tabled First

Greece’s Deputy Migration Policy Minister Tasia Christodoulopoulou, in an interview with Athens-Macedonian News Agency, declared that her first bill to be tabled in the Greek Parliament will be the one regarding granting citizenship to second generation migrants. As she said, the bill is a “country’s great obligation,” adding that previous relevant draft laws submitted by other parties too will also be taken into consideration in order to achieve the necessary parliamentary majority. She also referred to the detention centers, saying that the examination of cases and the gradual release of detainees have already started. Christodoulopoulou’s ministerial program includes, among others, the disruption of Greek Police’s “Xenios Zeus” operation for the arrest of migrants, which was introduced by the previous administration and specifically by former Public Order and Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias and continued by his successor Vassilis Kikilias. As Christodoulopoulou has already declared in the past, all children born in Greece and who have not known any other country as their homeland, will immediately be granted Greek citizenship. In addition, she appears committed to gradually shut down all operating migrant detention centers, such as the controversial Amygdaleza camp, near Athens. As she said, they will rather operate as open welcoming centers. Moreover, the Deputy Migration Policy Minister has repeatedly appeared optimistic regarding the review of the Dublin Regulation determining the European Union member-states’ responsibilities toward migrants and asylum seekers.

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Athens in race to draw up reforms to secure bailout extension

Greece's finance minister has pledged to work "day and night" to finalize economic reforms required to secure an extension to its international bailout. The prime minister has described the deal as a victory for Athens.

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Syriza’s honeymoon over as Greece strikes debt deal with EU

Alexis Tsipras says long struggle lies ahead while finance minister describes deadlines as ‘inhuman’With a deal, of sorts, to keep Greece in the eurozone, prime minister Alexis Tsipras marked his first month in office this weekend acknowledging that only now does the hard work begin.Facing a 48-hour deadline to produce a list of reforms that could make or break his insolvent country’s future, the anti-austerity leader admitted the honeymoon was over for a government that had sent ripples of hope through Europe. Continue reading...

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Greek bailout extension – as it happened

… a Greek climbdown. In one of the most significant concessions, Greek finance … says that Germany is offering Greece a Carthaginian peace. There is … , immediately slapped Tsipras down. What Greece was proposing was unacceptable, Schaeuble …

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Birmingham Indoors Athletics Results

by  Associated Press Birmingham Indoors Athletics Results Associated Press - 21 February 2015 13:27-05:00 BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Results Saturday in the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix: Men 60_1. Kim Collins, St. Kitts and Nevis, 6.50 seconds. 2. Chijindu Ujah, Britain, 6.55. 3. Trell Kimmons, United States, 6.56. 4. Justyn Warner, Canada, 6.57. 5. Akeem Haynes, Canada, 6.58. 6. Adam Harris, Guyana, 6.61. 400_1. Nigel Levine, Britain, 46.43. 2. Jarryd Dunn, Britain, 46.67. 3. Bershawn Jackson, United States, 46.98. 4. Jarrin Solomon, Trinidad and Tobago, 47.04. 5. Manteo Mitchell, United States, 47.27. 6. Calvin Smith, United States, 47.32. 800_1. Jeremiah Kipkorir Mutai, Kenya, 1 minute, 45.93 seconds. 2. Andre Olivier, South Africa, 1:46.25. 3. Timothy Kitum, Kenya, 1:46.69. 4. Andreas Almgren, Sweden, 1:46.88. 5. Erik Sowinski, United States, 1:46.92. 6. Mark English, Ireland, 1:47.17. 1,500_1. Vincent Kibet, Kenya, 3:34.91. 2. Bethwell Birgen, Kenya, 3:34.91. 3. Hillary Cheruiyot Ngetich, Kenya, 3:35.26. 4. Ben Blankenship, United States, 3:35.28. 4. Nixon Kiplimo Chepseba, Kenya, 3:35.28. .6 Lee Emanuel, Britain, 3:35.66. 2 Miles_1. Mo Farah, Britain, 8:03.40. 2. Paul Kipsiele Koech, Kenya, 8:13.46. 3. Bernard Lagat, United States, 8:17.05. 4. Suguru Osako, Japan, 8:25.76. 5. Tom Farrell, Britain, 8:26.01. 6. Philip Hurst, Britain, 8:26.56. 60 Hurdles_1. Kevin Craddock, United States, 7.58. 2. Lawrence Clarke, Britain, 7.62. 3. Jarret Eaton, United States, 7.62. 4. Aries Merritt, United States, 7.63. 5. Konstadinos Douvalidis, Greece, 7.68. 6. Mikel Thomas, Trinidad and Tobago, 7.70. High Jump_1. Allan Smith, Britain, 2.26 meters. 2. Nick Ross, United States, 2.26. 3. Chris Kandu, Britain, 2.26. 4. Donald Thomas, Bahamas, 2.26. 5. David Smith, Britain, 2.26. 6. Adonios Mastoras, Greece, 2.19. 7. Konstadinos Baniotis, Greece, 2.19. Long Jump_1. Greg Rutherford, Britain, 8.17. 2. Gao Xinglong, China, 8.12. 3. Daniel Bramble, Britain, 7.88. 4. Daniel Gardiner, Britain, 7.78. 5. Ignisious Gaisah, Netherlands, 7.77. 6. Julian Reid, Britain, 7.74. Women 60_1. Murielle Ahoure, Ivory Coast, 7.10. 2. Tianna Bartoletta, United States, 7.15. 3. Michelle-Lee Ahye, Trinidad and Tobago, 7.17. 4. Mujinga Kambundji, Switzerland, 7.18. 5. Ezinne Okparaebo, Norway, 7.19. 6. Jessica Young, United States, 7.20. 7. Carmelita Jeter, United States, 7.26. 8. Rachel Johncock, Britain, 7.29. 400_1. Seren Bundy-Davies, Britain, 51.72. 2. Francena McCorory, United States, 52.09. 3. Kirsten McAslan, Britain, 52.28. 4. Laura Maddox, Britain, 52.32. 5. Bianca Razor, Romania, 52.88. 800_1. Jenneifer Meadows, Britain, 2:01.25. 2. Charlene Lipsey, United States, 2:02.61. 3. Stina Troest, Denmark, 2:02.93. 4. Shelayna Oskan-Clarke, Britain, 2:02.96. 5. Anita Hinriksdottir, Iceland, 2:03.09. 6. Lauren Wallace, United States, 2:04.03. 7. Megan Krumpoch, United States, 2:04.29. 1 Mile_1. Axumawit Embaye, Ethiopia, 4:23.50. 2. Shannon Rowbury, United States, 4:24.12. 3. Gudaf Tsegay, Ethiopia, 4:26.84. 4. Treniere Moser, United States, 4:29.18. 5. Aisha Praught, United States, 4:32.86. 6. Rachel Schneider, United States, 4:34.83. 3,000_1. Habiba Ghribi, Tunisia, 8:46.61. 2. Senbere Teferi, Ethiopia, 8:46.84. 3. Jordan Hasay, United States, 8:50.21. 4. Maureen Koster, Netherlands, 8:51.10. 5. Gotytom Gebreslase, Ethiopia, 8:53.97. 6. Laura Muir, Britain, 8:54.07. 60 Hurdles_1. Sharika Nelvis, United States, 7.87. 2. Yvette Lewis, Panama, 8.09. 3. Lucy Hatton, Britain, 8.11. 4. Tiffany Porter, Britain, 8.13. 5. Kristi Castlin, United States, 8.19. 6. Yasmin Miller, Britain, 8.19. Pole Vault_1. Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou, Greece, 4.80 meters. 2. Fabiana Murer, Brazil, 4.70. 3. Nicole Buchler, Switzerland, 4.50. 4. Melissa Gergel, United States, 4.40. 5. Katie Nageotte, United States, 4.40. 6. Tina Sutej, Slovenia, 4.30. Long Jump_1. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Britain, 6.93. 2. Christabel Nettey, Canada, 6.84. 3. Ivana Spanovic, Serbia, 6.75. 4. Funmi Jimoh, United States, 6.60. 5. Sarah Warnock, Britain, 6.09. 6. Chantel Malone, British Virgin Islands, 6.08. News Topics: Track and field, Men's track and field, Women's track and field, Sports, Men's sports, Women's sports People, Places and Companies: Kim Collins, Trell Kimmons, Manteo Mitchell, Mo Farah, Bernard Lagat, Aries Merritt, Ignisious Gaisah, Carmelita Jeter, Francena McCorory, Shannon Rowbury, Fabiana Murer, Funmi Jimoh, Birmingham, Canada, England, Kenya, Ethiopia, Caribbean, Greece, United Kingdom, Western Europe, Europe, North America, East Africa, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Potami says Eurogroup results are positive

Potami party, the fourth largest in parliament, described the agreement achieved between the Greece and its European partners at the Eurogroup meeting on Friday evening as "positive" and urged the government to proceed with the necessary reforms required by ...

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Greek reform list to comprise mainly structural actions

Greek officials have been working on the reform list since Saturday morning and plan to submit a short list of pledges on areas such as tax evasion, ...

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Greek PM Tsipras: We Won a Battle, Not the War

In his address to the Greek people, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras stressed that yesterday’s Eurogroup agreement with the country’s European loan partners was an “important success,” signaling the end of austerity and the bailout program. Although, as he underlined, the difficult part of the negotiations still lies ahead. “We won a battle, but not the war. The difficulties lie ahead of us,” Tsipras said regarding the new agreement. This entails a four-month extension of the loan agreement without new austerity measures and a commitment that no unilateral actions will be taken. The difficulties for the Greek government seem to start from the first hours following Friday’s Eurogroup, as the country’s deadline to come up with viable reform proposals in order to secure an extension to its existing bailout package, as well as drafting a new one, is due on this coming Monday. The planning of the government’s new moves is to be tabled in today’s meeting between Tsipras and his cabinet. According to the Eurogroup statement on Greece issued yesterday, the Greek authorities will present a first list of reform measures, based on the current arrangement, by the end of Monday, February 23. The institutions will provide a first view whether this is sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review. This list will be further specified and then agreed with the institutions by the end of April. As declared, only approval of the extended arrangement’s review conclusion by the institutions will allow for any disbursement of the outstanding tranche of the current EFSF program and the transfer of the 2014 Securities Markets Program profits. Both are again subject to approval by the Eurogroup. Athens greeted the deal to extend the country’s loan agreement as the first step away from five difficult years of austerity, although others received yesterday’s announcement with skepticism. The newly elected SYRIZA-led Greek government is trying to balance between the much-needed accordance with European institutions in an attempt to avoid a liquidity crunch and Greek Prime Minister Tsipras’ promises to put an end to the previous government’s austerity policies, imposed by the EC/ECB/IMF Troika.

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What Greece Actually Got From the Eurogroup Negotiations

With Friday’s crucial Eurogroup meeting belonging to history, after what was seen as a historic compromise for both the Eurogroup and a member-state of the single currency as well as a process during which Greece –according to its Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis- had to encounter the suspiciousness of its 18 partners, let’s see what the Greek government actually got from the tight negotiation, as described in the text issued following its conclusion. As declared, the new deal entails a four-month extension of the loan agreement without new austerity measures and a commitment that no unilateral actions will be taken. Greek government’s first gain has a semiological rather a practical impact, as the EC/ECB/IMF mechanism ceases to exist as the “Troika,” a term that gained negative publicity among the Greeks, although these “institutions” are still the ones to oversee the Greek extended loan agreement progress. Similarly, yesterday’s arrangement introduced the term “Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement” (MFFA) that will replace the term “program.” Most importantly though, Greece, after avoiding the danger of a liquidity shortage that would occur at the end of February due to the current program’s expiry, has until Monday to present its own list of reform measures. These will no longer be agreed with the creditors, but will be designed by the Greek government, presented to the institutions and finally approved by the Eurogroup. This list will be further specified and then agreed with the institutions by the end of April. All the above might appear as minor gains compared to the Greek voters’ expectations from the new government, although Varoufakis claims he got the most he could from a series of meetings, during which the attitude towards the Greek government was not ideal. In addition, he can also claim he was the one pulling Greece out of its isolation in Europe after five years of suffocating Memoranda agreed to by the previous government.

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Greece's radical promises off the table as tomorrow's reform deadline looms

Greece's radical left government was yesterday trying put a positive face on an EU compromise deal that is sharply at odds with its anti-austerity ambitions.

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Greek bailout: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says a 'battle' has been won but 'not the war'

The Greek Prime Minister declared victory after reaching a new loan deal with Germany but cautioned that the country has won “a battle, not the war”.

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Greece bailout: Don't be fooled by the idea that 'Grexit' is now impossible

New members may enter – seven have done so since 2005 – but none, not even Greece, which should never have been allowed to join, may leave.

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Greece Has A Deal For Tsipras To Celebrate But Collapse Was Close

We're hearing more now about the deal that Greece was able to make with the eurozone group last night. The most important part of the deal, as far as ...

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An orderly Greek exit is the only option for Europe

The new Greek government, meanwhile, led by the radical-Left Syriza party since last month's dramatic election, pointed to its democratic mandate ...

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Greek prime minister’s statement

Official English version of Alexis Tsipras’s statement

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Germany set to approve Greek deal if promises met: Merkel ally

"The Greeks have to do their homework now," Volker Kauder, leader of Merkel's ... However, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Saturday the ...

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Tsipras declares victory as Greece dodges financial collapse

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared victory on Saturday after agreeing a last-minute conditional financial rescue deal with Europe, despite making big concessions to avert financial collapse within days.

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Fighting talk, then a rethink: Greek leaders swallow their pride in Brussels

Syriza’s ministers seem to have agreed bailout terms not very different from those they were elected to rejectAfter five years of living on the brink, Greeks have become inured to make-or-break crisis meetings in Brussels. Wrangling over the details of austerity plans is no longer enough to push irate demonstrators on to the streets of Athens in protest – even if the leftist-led government has done little else since it was catapulted into power three weeks ago.Instead, the Greek capital’s boulevards were buzzing all through last week. On Sunday, as Syriza’s outspoken finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, prepared to confront his eurozone paymasters for the first time, thousands thronged central Syntagma Square imploring the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – the bodies that have kept their bankrupt nation afloat – to “give Greece a chance”.“Greece has always managed to hold its head high. I think people will respect us, and fear us a little, after this.” Continue reading...

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From Greek warriors to battered soldiers waving the white flag – in a week

Alexis Tsipras and Yanis Varoufakis could have threatened the eurozone with default. Instead, they showed their hand early – and the troika is still in chargeGerman officials chose a suitably Greek metaphor last week as they rejected the anti-austerity Syriza government’s initial demands, accusing finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and his colleagues of wheeling out a “Trojan horse”.As the fraught talks played out, however, instead of an army of fearsome Greek warriors emerging at Varoufakis’s side, it appeared more like one weary foot-soldier, waving an enormous white flag.Debt forgiveness, much talked about during the campaign, seemed to be off the agenda Continue reading...

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The Greek Mothers of World War II

Little is known about the full spectrum of civilian programs supported by Greek immigrants during World War II. Some accounts do report on the Greek War Relief efforts and the singular role of Greeks in the war bond drives. Still, that is not the full scope, by any means, of Greek immigrant war work. Why […] The post The Greek Mothers of World War II appeared first on The National Herald.

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Tsipras Government Works on Finalizing Conditional Agreement, Warns of Future

ATHENS — Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the “important success” of Greece’s negotiations and what he called “the end of austerity and the bailout” but warned Greeks that difficult negotiations lie ahead. “We won a battle, but not the war. The difficulties lie ahead of us,” Tsipras said in a TV appearance made on very short […] The post Tsipras Government Works on Finalizing Conditional Agreement, Warns of Future appeared first on The National Herald.

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‘End of austerity’? Greece claims bailout battle victory, warns hard time not over

The Greek prime minister says a new agreement to extend the country’s bailout voids the previous administration’s austerity commitments. The politician said, “we won the battle, but not the war,” but believes further difficulties lie ahead.Read Full Article at RT.com

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The end of the dream: Greece bows to the inevitable

Greece's attempt to break the shackles of its bailout package has failed. With that, the risk of the Eurozone breaking up has receded, at least until the ...

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Greece's Negotiations Enter More Important Stage, Says Tsipras

The Greek government must by Monday come up with a list of budget cuts and economic overhauls, which will face the scrutiny of the supervisors of ...

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Benedict Cumberbatch points at Turkey, Russia, Greece for LGBT rights violations

Oscar hopeful Benedict Cumberbatch warns that 'same minorities are prejudiced and punished' as in the time of gay mathematician Alan Turing, particularly in Turkey, Russia and Greece now.

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Greece says heading to new direction after Eurogroup deal

Greece is heading toward a new direction after the Eurogroup agreement was reached in Brussels Friday on the post-bailout cooperation with international creditors, a Greek government spokesman said on Saturday.

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German FinMin Schaeuble: Greeks Will Find it Difficult to Explain the Deal to Voters

Greece and the Eurozone finally managed to bridge the gap regarding the country’s bailout program and they reached a new deal that entails a four-month extension of the loan agreement without new austerity measures and a commitment that no unilateral actions will be taken. The acceptance of Greece’s request for a grace period until the end of April -pending the approval of a list of reforms that must be submitted by Greece on Monday- was greeted as a successful combination of “logic with ideology and rules with respect for democracy” by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in the press conference held in Brussels after the meeting. As he underlined, the agreement for the process to be followed was a first step in a new direction that took Greece out of its isolation in Europe after five years of suffocating Memoranda agreed to by the country’s previous government, while Greece is building a new relationship with Europe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to truly exit the crisis and reduce its debt. On the other hand though, hardliner German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble indicated that the governing leftist SYRIZA, which won the January 25 elections in Greece with a pre-election program based on the abolition of the unpopular austerity measures, will have to back some of the measures it vowed to repeal. “The Greeks will certainly have a difficult time explaining the deal to their voters,” he said with a pinch of bitterness. While demanding “significant improvements” in Athens’ reform commitments, Schaueble accepted the loan agreement’s four-month extension, underlining though that “being a government is a date with reality, and reality is often not as nice as a dream.”

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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras: 'We've won a battle but not the war'

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said a deal with EU leaders to extend the country's huge debt bailout "cancels out austerity", but his government faced scaling back its leftist agenda

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Greece gets four-month loan extension, averts bankruptcy

Amy R. ConnollyBRUSSELS, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- Eurozone officials agreed to give Greece a four-month loan extension, giving the country more time to repay a $273 billion bailout loan.

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Greek PM warning over debt deal

… between Greece, eurozone ministers and the IMF in Brussels. The Greek cabinet … to Greece until the conditions of the deal had been met. Greek … in 60 seconds Greece's liberal daily Kathimerini warned on Saturday …

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Eurozone agrees on four-month Greek bailout extension

After two collapsed Eurogroup meetings, acrimonious public exchanges and intense discussion, the Eurozone finance ministers finally found an agreement for a four-month extension of the current financial rescue programme for Greece. The deal concluded on Friday night (February 20) will avoid Greece running out of cash to finance its economy by the end of the […]

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Greek Deal Sets Stage for More Tension

Greece’s bailout extension agreed on Friday was an “important success,” but negotiations with its international creditors are now entering a more important stage, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.

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Greece has won a battle but the real difficulties lie ahead – Alexis Tsipras

Prime minister says his anti-austerity government now faces its toughest work, in first public reaction since deal made to extend bailout for four monthsThe Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has said the country has won a significant battle but had yet to win the war, in his first public reaction to the latest deal to keep debt-stricken nation afloat financially. Addressing the nation less than 12 hours after the agreement was sealed at an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels, the leftist leader said the hardest work now lay before his anti-austerity government. Continue reading...

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Greece Strikes a Deal With the Eurozone, Pulls Off a Small Victory

But today, Greece finally reached a deal with the eurozone to extend its rescue package for the next four months, thereby staving off a potential ...

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Francois Hollande Says Greek Bailout Extension 'Good Compromise'

French President Francois Hollande today described as a "good compromise" the agreement between Brussels and debt-racked Greece for a four-month extension of its bailout.

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Greek finance minister: 'We're not short changing our partners'

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said it was a fair deal for Europe. ''We genuinely and faithfully targeted one objective, and that was the ...

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Why the Greek Debt Drama Isn't Over Yet

Stocks pushed to new record highs on Friday in response to a short-term agreement on the Greek bailout between Athens, the Eurozone, the ...

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The bogus think-tank behind Russia's 'infiltration' of Europe myth

Over the past few years a sinister story has been doing the rounds throughout the world's press — that Russia has been infiltrating Europe through deepening ties with far-right parties. It's a great headline that vividly recalls the Cold War days of Soviet moles in prominent positions across Europe and the puppet masters in the Kremlin pulling the strings. It's also (mostly) nonsense. The first thing to point out is that the story is not new. It's been written about repeatedly since at least 2009 (and very likely before that as well). But with the Ukraine crisis raising people's concerns over the possible threat posed by Russia the subject has suddenly leapt in importance. Last year, Mitchell Orensteinhe from the august title Foreign Affairs told us that "[Putin's] regime is growing closer by the month to extreme right-wing parties across Europe", while Time magazine claimed the Kremlin was "embracing the European right". And in Europe itself German newspaper Spiegel Online warned that "cooperation between the European far right and Russia has been developing for some time" while the Guardian accused the Kremlin of having "actively cultivated links with the far right in eastern Europe". Those are just a tiny sample of the wealth of coverage that this story has generated over the past 12 months. Mostly they repeat the same claims — that pro-Russian statements by these parties are proof of Russia's involvement in a plot to undermine Europe's political establishment that has been weakened by years of economic crisis and social unrest. None of these articles offer much evidence beyond a few choice quotes from Russian politicians and public relations officers expressing their broad support for nationalist movements attached to a few anecdotes. So what are the facts behind these claims? This is what we know: In 2014, French far-right party National Front party was granted approval for a €9.2 million loan from First Czech Russian Bank, based in Moscow. The funds arrived following a period of intense lobbying by leaders of the party in Russia as it sought to build up a war chest to spend on its electoral campaigns. The FCR Bank is owned by Roman Popov, a government-friendly oligarch, but it's not a specifically government-controlled bank. A visit by Gábor Vona, leader of Hungary's radical nationalist Jobbik party, to Moscow at the invitation of Moscow State University and members of Russia's parliament has been interpreted as Kremlin efforts to secure its support. The party has indeed spoken out against European sanctions against Russia and called the independence referendum in Crimea, following its annexation by Russia, "exemplary". There are also unsubstantiated rumours that Russia has also funded Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and right-wing Italian party Northern League, while Bulgaria's far-right Ataka party was alleged to have close ties with the Russian embassy in a diplomatic cable made public by Wikileaks. Even Syriza, Greece's radical left coalition that took power in last month's election, has been accused of having close ties to Moscow in recent weeks. These may be indicative of Russia fanning the flames of dissent in Europe, but they do not prove the case that Russia has actual control or genuine political influence. Here is an extract from a 2009 article by think tank Political Capital, the source often cited as the origin for the story: Recent press reports claim that extreme right-wing parties in Europe are being financed – at least in part – by Russia. While such allegations are wanting for proof, it is a fact that far-right parties in several eastern European countries have become prominent supporters of Russian interests and admirers of the Russian political-economic model. In recent months some of the evidence used to support these claims has become downright bizarre. A website for a supposed new think tank called the "Center for Eurasian Strategic Intelligence" (CESI) mysteriously appeared last year. The website claimed to "provide analysis and surveys of political, economic and security processes in Eurasia region". And so it did. In December it produced a research report showing all of the political parties in Europe that it claimed were under the thumb of Moscow. Unfortunately, a large chunk of its research appeared to have been plagiarised from other sources and its analysis appeared suspiciously superficial. Anton Shekhovtsov, a blogger and researcher of the European extreme right, looked into the story. What he found was even more interesting than the think tank's incendiary claims. The think tank listed "William Fowler" as its chairman and chief executive. A Facebook page purportedly belonging to Fowler boasted a picture of a besuited, grey-haired businessman but there was very little information on him otherwise. It turns out that the picture is actually a stock photo with the title "suited old businessman" and "grey hair man glasses", Shekhovtsov says. The only member of the think tank that appeared to exist at all was Alex Kraus, its supposed chief analyst, who appeared in videos on the site speaking with what is described as a Slavic (but not Russian) accent. Since Shekhovtsov's investigation the CESI website has been taken down, as has Fowler's Facebook page. Indeed the only evidence of the think tank's existence online appears to be a LinkedIn page here which claims that the company has 11-50 employees but lists none, and a Facebook page that was last updated in December blaming an "attack" for the website going down. It is undoubtedly true that Russia is happy to accept useful idiots who are willing to argue against what it sees as an anti-Russia consensus within the European Union. The fact that Moscow felt compelled to pressure Kiev into walking away from an integration pact with the EU — a decision that spurred the protests that ultimately led to the government's collapse — demonstrated that it now views Europe's expansion eastwards with the same level of suspicion as it previously held NATO's. However, that they are willing to indulge nationalist movements is not the same as controlling them or using them as a Trojan horse in European politics. There are nationalist factions in Moscow pleased to see how disruptive these groups are proving, many of them members of the current administration such as deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin, but it was ever thus. Their alliance is much more likely to be a tactical move rather than a strategic alignment of long term interests (e.g. their support is likely to quickly evaporate once a resolution is finally found to the Ukraine crisis). Beyond that one loan to the French National Front, there is no evidence that Moscow is funnelling huge sums of cash to fuel nationalist movements all over Europe. Much though we might like to blame the rise of the xenophobic, authoritarian right as a product of Moscow's devious plotting, the support for these parties appears to be largely organic and springs predominantly from the general disillusionment with mainstream politics that can be seen across Europe. In other words, they're our fault, not Putin's.Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 11 Facts That Show How Different Russia Is From The Rest Of The World

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New Democracy spokesman: 'We would have exited the memorandums at end-Feb.'

The positive thing about the agreement reached between Greece and the Eurogroup on the country's economic programme process is that "the worst was avoided, for the time being," Costas Karagounis, spokesman for main opposition New Democracy said on Friday ...

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Greece is now marching in a new direction, says gov't spokesman

The new Greek government negotiated and gained important benefits for the people, something which had not been done in five years, government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said in the early hours of Saturday, following a deal between Greece and the Eurozone ...

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Tsipras address on the results of the Eurogroup

Greece achieved an important success in its negotiations in Europe, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a televised public address on Saturday, commenting of Greece’s deal with its European partners at the Eurogroup. “But we won a battle but not ...

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Greek PM hails bailout negotiations

A busker plays music in front of a graffiti that refer to Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in the traditional Plaka district of Athens (AP) Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis speaks during a media conference after a meeting of eurogroup finance ...

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Greek leader Tsipras hails negotiation 'success' but warns of difficult negotiations ahead

Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the "important success" of Greece's negotiations and what he called "the end of austerity and the bailout" but warned Greeks that difficult negotiations lie ahead.

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Greek bonds declined in days before provisional deal was reached

Greece’s government bonds posted their first weekly drop this month as the nation negotiated with its euro- area creditors on its future financing plans.

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Greek Talks 'Enter More Important Stage'

Greece’s negotiations with its international creditors are now entering a more important stage, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said, a day after the country struck a tenuous agreement for a four-month extension of its bailout.

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