ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The Latest on the place name dispute between Greece and Macedonia (all times local): 10:40 p.m. Greek riot police have fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse a group that t...
Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros
Thursday, January 24, 2019
GREEK communists protest Prespes deal outside US embassy
Members of the GREEK Communist party (KKE) hold placards during a rally against the Prespes deal, near the United States embassy, background, ...
GREEK vote on Macedonia name change postponed to Friday
But for the deal to go through, the change must also be approved by GREEK MPs. Earlier on Thursday, Communist party activists draped giant banners ...
GREEK police fire teargas to disperse protesters over Prespes deal
Several thousand people had assembled outside the GREEK legislature chanting “traitors” as lawmakers debated ratification of an agreement reached ...
Government, institutions talks could extend to 27 February
The Greek governments Finance team and the institutions mission chiefs will tomorrow hold a final round of talks to close all outstanding issues with the government hoping to wr
Tsipras, Mitsotakis go head to head in parliament tonight – Prespes vote to be held tomorrow
Tomorrow at 1430 Greek MPs will vote on the Prespes Agreement in the House as decided by the parliaments committee of presidents on Thursday in order to allow time for all MPs
GREECE'S moment of truth on the name issue
The moment of truth is here for GREECE, which has been deeply divided over the past year with regard to talks for settling the name dispute with the ...
GREECE bomb plot suspect expressed anti-Muslim sentiments on Twitter account
GREECE, NY (WROC) - A social media account for bomb plot suspect Vincent Vetromile shows the suspect espoused anti-Muslim sentiments online ...
Thousands protest as Greek lawmakers debate Macedonia deal
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands demonstrated in Greece's main cities and on the Macedonian border Thursday against a historic deal to normalize relations with Macedonia, a day before lawmakers were ex...
Crucial decisions that will affect GREECE'S future
However, it also tried to ensure that no other state or nation would lay claim to the entire geographical area either, and this constituted GREECE'S steady ...
Journalists assaulted by far-right demonstrators in GREECE
A crew employed by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, GREECE'S state-owned radio and television broadcaster, was also attacked by extremists, ...
Quadraplex With Terrace, Black Marble Mantels in Heights Greek Revival Townhouse Asks $16K
Shifting from the barely affordable for the middle-income earner to how the other half lives — or like, considerably less than half — we have what may be the beau idéal historic property for rent in B...
GREECE delays Macedonia name change vote
GREECE'S Parliament had been expected to ratify the name-change late on Thursday, despite angry protests and opposition from political parties ...
Out of Crisis GREEKS Make Sports HIstory
Some GREEK athletes have defied all odds during the decade of crisis in the country to rise to the world stage and become sport legends. As the nation ...
The GREEK Sports Legends of the GREEK Crisis
Some GREEK athletes have defied all odds during the decade of Greece's financial crisis, rising to the world stage and becoming legends of sport.
GREEK parliament prepares to vote on Macedonia name deal
As GREEK MPs prepare to vote on the Prespa name deal, the UN mediator for the Macedonian name issue Matthew Nimetz has warned of “serious ...
'Playing like Zeus': Nadal powers past GREEK youngster Tsitsipas to reach Australian Open final
Rafael Nadal swept past GREEK youngster Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets as the Spaniard produced a masterful display to reach the Australian ...
Former PM says gov't should have respected GREEK sensitivities on name dispute
Former conservative prime minister Costas Karamanlis on Thursday criticised the government for its handling of the Prespes accord, saying it should ...
Greek parliament vote on Prespes deal delayed
Under the agreement signed last year, FYROM will change its name to “Republic of North Macedonia” and GREECE will drop its objections to the ...
To Steki Tis Pareas: Opa Restaurant, bringing flavors of GREECE to Philadelphia
We were in GREECE one summer at the same time but were in different spots in Gazi, Athens, GREECE. We were both at really cool rooftops and realized ...
GREECE must ratify Prespes deal or risk isolation, Potami chief warns
Stavros Theodorakis, leader of To Potami centrists, on Thursday said GREECE should endorse a name deal with neighboring Former Yugoslav ...
Protesters storm Acropolis in GREECE as opposition to Macedonia deal grows
Groups of hard-left protesters stormed the Acropolis today, unfurling a giant banner reading “No” to a controversial deal that renames neighbouring ...
Report: GREECE spent most on pensions among OECD members in 2015
GREECE had the highest among the 36 OECD member-states on expenditure in 2015 in proportion to its GDP for pensions, according to a report ...
GREECE to become oldest country in Europe by 2030
GREECE will replace Italy as the second oldest country in the world and oldest in Europe by 2030, market research provider Euromonitor International ...
Gil Dias: Winger leaves Nottingham Forest for Greek giants Olympiakos
Gil Dias scored just once for Nottingham Forest in a 3-1 win against Newcastle in the EFL Cup in November. Winger Gil Dias has left Championship club Nottingham Forest to join Greek side Olympiakos. T...
Greece Postpones Vote on Macedonia Deal
A vote in Greece's parliament to end a name dispute with neighboring Macedonia, set to take place late Thursday, has been pushed back to Friday. A deal reached between the two countries last year woul...
Prespes Agreement vote postponed for Friday, protesters outside Parliament
The voting for the Prespes Agreement has been postponed for 2:30 on Friday, Jan 25, Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis announced late on Thursday. The vote was scheduled to take place when the speakers would conclude, that is sometime between Thursday midnight and early Friday morning. However, given the fact that 200 MPs had registered to … The post Prespes Agreement vote postponed for Friday, protesters outside Parliament appeared first on Keep Talking Greece.
Heated debate delays Greek vote on Macedonian name-change deal
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers have delayed the expected ratification of a U.N brokered deal on a name-change for neighbouring Macedonia as an at times angry parliamentary debate spilled into ...
Greece’s Macedonia vote pushed to Friday as debate continues
The Greek parliament’s historic vote on the agreement with the Republic of Macedonia over the latter’s name, was pushed to Friday, with not enough time for all listed lawmakers to speak on Thursday. The accord is aimed at ending a decades-long dispute and removing an obstacle to the former Yugoslav republic joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union. About 1,500 police officers took up positions around Athens on Thursday ahead of demonstrations opposing...
Samos: grim winter leads to protests by refugees living in limbo on Greek island
Gemma Bird has in the past volunteered for Samos Volunteers. Amanda Russell Beattie has, in the past, volunteered for Samos Volunteers. University of Liverpool provides funding as a founding ...
Greek lawmakers set to vote on deal to change name of neighboring nation
Jan. 24 (UPI) --Lawmakers in Greece will vote soon on a deal between the Greek government and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to change the latter's name, resolving a dispute nearly three de...
Greek lawmakers set to vote on deal to change name of neighboring nation
Jan. 24 (UPI) --Lawmakers in Greece will vote soon on a deal between the Greek government and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to change the latter's name, resolving a dispute nearly three de...
GREECE shows interest in buying RAN FFGs
Athens has sent an expression of interest to Defence to buy the RAN's two remaining Adelaide-class FFG frigates, HMA Ships Melbourne and ...
Nadal too strong for Tsitsipas, who has done GREECE proud
World number 2 Rafael Nadal proved to be too strong for Greek tennis ace Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has managed to put GREECE on the tennis map and ...
LAOS party calls for annulment of Prespes Agreement in letter to EU
The populist party accused the Greek government of disregarding the will of the Greek people
Police Deploy Ahead of Greek Parliament Vote (Photos)
ATHENS (AP) — About 1,500 police officers took up positions around Athens Thursday ahead of demonstrations opposing Greece’s ratification of an agreement with FYROM to […] The post Police Deploy Ahead of Greek Parliament Vote (Photos) appeared first on The National Herald.
Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake Rattles Greek Island of Rhodes
ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities say an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 has struck off the Aegean Sea resort island of Rhodes. No injuries or damage immediately reported. The Athens U...
Greek vote on Macedonian name-change deal pushed back by long debate
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek lawmakers have pushed back the ratification of a U.N brokered deal on a name-change for neighboring Macedonia as speakers engaged in a heated parliamentary debate. The Prespes ...
Greece Expected to Approve Macedonia Name Change, Defying Street Protests
ATHENS — Greek lawmakers were expected on Friday to approve a pact changing the name of neighboring Macedonia, despite vehement protests inside and outside the Parliament over a contentious issue that ...
GREECE present in FITUR 2019 in Madrid on January 23-27
GREECE will take part with an official delegation from the Ministry of Tourism and the GNTO Paris office in the International Tourism Fair FITUR, held in ...
"Beautiful" Homecoming for GREECE'S DeAnne Stewart
A piece of "Beautiful" casting has brought a GREECE native home to perform. DeAnne Stewart appears in the Carole King musical "Beautiful" on stage ...
Macedonia deal: police deploy ahead of Greek parliament vote
ATHENS, GREECE — About 1,500 police officers took up positions around Athens Thursday ahead of demonstrations opposing GREECE'S ratification of ...
GREECE and Portugal: hundreds of thousand of workers and youth on the streets against the ...
Thursday morning (March 20) once the general public heard that the imperialist war against Iraq had broken out, tens of thousands of school students ...
Introductory remarks by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos at the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on National Defence and Foreign Affairs on the Prespa Agreement & Introductory intervention during the second day of d
G. KATROUGALOS: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, I shall provide answers to the questions that were put to the government. Indeed, the Greek people expect arguments from us, and not cries. Everybody notes the historical importance of the times. And precisely for this reason, we must discuss in substance and notprocedure. I shall provide answers to any questions that the parliamentary representatives posed to the government, in the order that these questions were raised. Clearly, I am submitting the Verbal Note in both languages, Greek and English, for the minutes and for distribution. With regard to the request made for the full text of the Constitution I remind -and I am speaking especially to my colleague, Mr. Loverdos- that in all constitutional orders, as well as our own, revisions are adopted by resolution, a special text of the constitutional order, always at the order of the President of Parliament. This is the main difference in democracies compared to monarchies, where the Head of State had been a key factor in the constitutional process. For comparison, I simply refer you -because from now on I am not going to say anything without referring to specific dates or documents– to our own Resolution of 6 April 2001 passed by the 5th Revisional Parliament. To facilitate the Parliament, I shall ask, tomorrow also, at the next Committee meeting, that we have a comparative table outlining how the Articles stood before, and how they stand after. Each MP, starting today, may study the Verbal Note in its official translation in Greek. The second question that was raised pertained to the letter by former Minister Kotzias. I assure you that Nikos would be especially pleased to be present today, to defend an Agreement which is, to a great extent, his own achievement, and which nobody expected that the Hellenic Republic would be able to negotiate so successfully. Mr. Mertzos, the former President of the Society for Macedonian Studies best stated what the agreement achieved: It heals wounds, and does not create new ones. It will arise from the discussion that, in essence, as a result of the Prespa Agreement, we gained, we did not cede. But let’s talk about the issues that were raised. Nikos Kotzias will be present in the Plenary, and he shall refer to everything. Issues were raised pertaining to the constitutionality of the Agreement. In accordance with Article 100 of the Regulation -I told you that, going forward, when we discuss the Regulation, we must speak precisely, with a reference to the Article- objections pertaining to constitutionality are examined by the Plenary of the Parliament and they shall be examined there, should they be raised. And that should be the objective of all of us. For all substantive and procedural or constitutional issues raised to be discussed in the Plenary of the Parliament, with sobriety and clarity. With regard to constitutionality, not of our own legal order but the legal order of the neighbouring country, which Mr Loverdos raised, it is clear that here, we are solely examining issues of constitutionality related to our own legal order. Despite this, I mention, once again addressing my colleague, that from the combined force of Articles 26 and 27 of the Vienna Convention, there are no grounds, based on domestic law, to challenge an obligation which arises from an International Treaty. And as you shall see, through the Verbal Note, expressly and in a manner that is binding to it, the Skopjan Government assures us that constitutional order has been observed. Now with regard to the question of issues related to the competence of this Committee, I repeat what the issue is: for a substantive discussion to take place in the Plenary of the Parliament. I remind something, and it is important, that the Interim Accord, which practically had the same content and settled a name issue included articles which are the same as those contained in the Prespa Agreement, such as Article 13 for example, which I hear, despite the fact that we continuously refute this, that it supposedly cedes rights that are different to those that the Law of the Sea grants to the neighbouring country. The Interim Accord, I repeat, never came for discussion and ratification before the Plenary of the Parliament. We wish, first of all - because we respect Democracy and the parliamentary principle - for this Agreement to be discussed. Let me put it otherwise; we only have something to gain from this discussion. I wonder, therefore, who would want to thwart the discussion in the natural forum of democracy, which is the Plenary. And let's assume that you turned down, Gentlemen of New Democracy, a debate of your Leader with the Prime Minister. Wouldn’t you wish for the possibility to at least exist for these things to be discussed at the temple of Democracy, at the Plenary of the Parliament? How can someone else wish the opposite? With regard to what you said, sometimes, I believe, that a problem exists with regard to reading. Article 29 (5) refers to the constitution of the sections of Parliament, not of Committees. Article 31 (3) and (5), in conjunction with Articles 70 and 72 of the Constitution, in reality grants the President of the Parliament carte blanche, super-privileges to appoint the members of the Parliamentary Committees. And to his credit, the President of the Parliament decided to hold a drawing of the names of those independent MPs who were not initially members of the Committee. And he agreed, moreover, for the name of Mr. Danellis to be removed. Clearly, he will speak about this issue himself later on. The issues that pertain to Article 74 (2) to which the honourable President, Mr Kammenos, mentioned, precisely pertains to referral, from the Committee to the Plenary for discussion of the bills. And as Mr. Pafilis very correctly stated, this always takes place, in the context of the introductory consultative functions that the Committee possesses, even if the Committee should decide otherwise, something that I assure you, as it appears from its composition, it will not decide this time. Subsequently, another issue was raised by Mr. Loverdos. The question raised was why doesn’t it come for ratification together, the Protocol of Accession to NATO together with the Prespa Agreement? This is one of the great advantages of the Agreement. We proceed towards ratification of the Agreement, provided that all the procedural steps have preceded, as well as a vote on amending the Constitution in the neighbouring country. This is, dear colleagues, what had never occurred before. In other words, without a war, for a country to agree to change its name and its Constitution, without having any other obligation beyond that which arises from an international treaty. The reason for which the Protocol of Accession does not come before us today is for the simple reason that it does not exist. Because, in order for it to exist, we must have ratified the Agreement. Therefore, this is, I am telling you, an achievement. The Agreement indeed says “together,” but precisely because it is impossible for the Protocol of Accession to exist if ratification by the Hellenic Parliament has not preceded, and I repeat, this is one of the great procedural achievements of the Agreement; only once we have concluded ratification and we have notified NATO of this, through our own Verbal Note, can the relevant procedure then begin. Indeed, the original text says “together.” This meaning of “together,” because otherwise a logical paradox exists, is for a vote on the two texts to be carried out as soon as possible, and this is in fact what will occur. Everything that was heard about concession of national sovereignty is clearly unfounded. This Agreement is not subject to Article 29 (2) and (3) of the Constitution. Finally, I don’t believe that any other issues were raised that fall under the competence of the Government.——————————————————————————————————————Introductory intervention by Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos during the 2nd day of discussionsG. KATROUGALOS: As it has been explained numerous times and is clearly referred to in the Verbal Note, the Agreement does not refer to ethnicity, but rather to nationality. Moreover, in all the international texts, from the Universal Declaration to the European Convention on Nationality, the term “ithagenia” is explicitly rendered with the term “nationality” and does not indicate the national integration of the individual. The Agreement cannot regulate issues related to a people or to a nation. The reason is simple: States recognise States, not people. Issues of nationality are legal issues that pertain to the relationship of the citizen with the State while, on the contrary, issues of national identity and integration into an ethnicity are issues of conscience and self-determination. In International Law no generally established characteristics exist, nor accepted general definitions for a nation or people. The right to self-determination is a right based in jus cogens and cannot become the subject of a contractual arrangement. Consequently, Greece does not recognise, nor would it be able to recognise a “Macedonian nation” or “people” through this Agreement. At the same time, on the basis of International Law, our country could not intervene in issues of self-determination of the neighbouring country’s citizens. The agreement nonetheless specifies that our neighbours accept that they have no relationship to Greek history and Greek cultural heritage. For this reason, is it expressly stipulated in Article 7(4) that both sides recognise that the official language and the other attributes (in other words cultural, ethnic etc.) of FYROM are not related to ancient Hellenic civilisation or the history, heritage, culture, or modern day features of Greek Macedonia.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs T. Quick's intervention at the EU-African Union ministerial meeting (Brussels, 22 January 2019)
Following his participation in the EU Foreign Affairs Council and the EU-ASEAN ministerial meeting (21/01/2019), Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Terens Quick also participated in the EU-African Union ministerial meeting (22/01/2019) on strengthening relations between the European Union and the African Union, aiming at the development of African states, an issue related to migration flows originating from that continent. During his intervention at the said meeting, the largest ever held at the headquarters of the EU in Brussels, with the participation of 80 Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Mr Quick, among other things, stressed the following:“Greece is held in high regard by the peoples of African states, whether those bordering the Mediterranean in the north, or those in sub-Saharan Africa. You see, we never colonised them.Wherever Greeks settled, since the early twentieth century, they did so in order to work, to build a future, with love and respect for their neighbours. With the invaluable assistance of the Greek community abroad, Greece has greatly upgraded its political, diplomatic and economic relations with many states of the African continent over the past two years, a fact these states appreciate.We are both a member of the European Union and an important gateway for African relations with our European family. In turn, all member states of the African Union are part of the global family of the UN, without overlooking the participation of most states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a fact that we must note for numerous reasons which need not be explained at present.I want to assure you that, by definition, the Greek government wishes to participate in all initiatives that concern relations between the European Union and the African Union. This is why we would like to congratulate the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Mrs Federica Mogherini, for this ministerial meeting following up on the EU-AU summit held in November 2017 in Abidjan.Greece has co-signed the EU's plan to support actions primarily focusing on African youth, aiming at creating jobs, providing them with education, and achieving harmonisation with the demands of the digital age. By helping young people and their families remain in their homelands, we are also greatly contributing towards reducing migration flows originating from those countries.I must also underline the need for the women of Africa to take their rightful place at the employment, social and educational level.Finally, I am in a position to announce that the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue supporting Greek business missions on the African continent, and particularly in rapidly developing states, because, regardless of whether this contributes to the extroversion of our own economy, it also helps create jobs employing the local populace, as I was saying earlier”.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Markos Bolaris meets with Turkish Ambassador Burak Özügergin
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Markos Bolaris received, in the context of a courtesy meeting, the Turkish Ambassador to Greece, Mr. Burak Özügergin.The possibilities that arise from exercising soft politics were discussed, especially with regard to issues of culture, art, religion, education, language, and tourism. Prospects that bring the peoples of the two sides into contact and, on a second level, create the prospects for further growth of the economy, commerce, entrepreneurship and, in this manner, create the trust required for essential issues of the hard core of politics to be resolved.As an example of this, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to his initiative for cooperation between the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies with the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts in Istanbul for an illustrative exhibition of the manuscript: “The Story of Alexander,” a manuscript which is decorated with high-quality illuminations, inscriptions in Greek, and notes in the margin in old Ottoman Turkish script. This text, where language and cultures are recorded, constitutes a meeting point among peoples. A second proposal by the Deputy Minister was the creation of a series of events by the aforementioned Institute, under the aegis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with the participation of an Italian Institute from Venice and a Turkish University in Istanbul which will highlight relations between the two cities.
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Greece: Parliament speaker's office says vote on Macedonia name deal delayed to Friday in order to extend debate time
Greece: Parliament speaker's office says vote on Macedonia name deal delayed to Friday in order to extend debate time