Turkey ranks third in Blue Flag beaches

In 2014, Turkey ranked third after Spain and Greece in number of beaches boasting prestigious eco-label.

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Greece Will have Huge Benefits From the Construction of Russian Natural Gas Pipeline

Huge economic, geopolitical and growth benefits for Greece can bring the construction of the pipeline for the transport of Russian natural gas from the Greek-Turkish borders to Central Europe on which focused the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin with visiting Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Wednesday in Kremlin. The outcome of the meeting was firstly to secure the 2 billion euro financing of the project, while the crucial wager afterwards will be the observance of the European legislation for the energy, mostly in terms of competitiveness in order for the Greek pipeline not to face obstacles that last year led to the cancellation of the Russian project for the construction of South Stream pipeline which provided for the distribution of natural gas to Europe via Bulgaria. South Stream was selected due to the problems created with the deliveries of Russian natural gas via the pipelines that pass through Ukraine which had started in 2009. The main idea was the deviation of Ukraine with the construction of a pipeline from Russian coasts of the Black Sea to Bulgaria and Europe. However, after the cancellation of South Stream, the Russian President announced in 2014 the construction of the so-called Turkish Stream which instead of the Bulgarian coast it would go the Greek-Turkish borders aiming at continuing via Greece to Europe. The pipeline from the Greek-Turkish borders will cross Macedonia and will pass through Fyrom, Serbia and will end in Austria. The construction of the pipeline opens a substantial “window of opportunity” for Greece to become a regional natural gas transit hub. Greece already imports natural gas from Russia via the Greek-Bulgarian pipeline, from Turkey via the Greek-Turkish pipeline and liquified gas from Revythoussa plant. Meanwhile, the construction of TAP (Trans Adriatic pipeline) that will carry natural gas from Azerbaijan via Turkey, Greece and Albania to Italy is propelled while the preparation for the construction of the Greek-Bulgarian pipeline as well as the upgrading works of Revythoussa are at an advanced stage. Apart from the direct benefits that entails the pipeline investment (GDP increase, new job positions), the Greek economy is expected to have significant benefit from the taxation and other revenues that will accrue from the operation of the works while a number of conditions for the extension of the natural gas networks and the consumers supply to new regions of Greece will be created. The new pipeline, according to all indications, will have a substantial transport capacity and creates another important supply source to the Greek market that translates into higher supply security and intensification of the competitions which results to lower rates for the natural gas consumers and for the production of electricity. (source: ana-mpa)

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Greek PM Alexis Tsipras Sends New Messages from Moscow

Our government’s goal is to remain in the euro zone, since Greece’s problem is a European problem and should be resolved within Europe, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a speech at the State University of International Relations in Moscow. The Greek Prime Minister spoke about Greek-Russian relations at the Moscow university on the second day of his visit to the Russian capital and in the aftermath of his meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Tsipras said that the issue of the currency has come up often, before and after the elections, but he believes that Greece should remain in the European common currency bloc. The Greek Prime Minister said that Greece and Cyprus should be a pole of stability inside a triangle of instability. With the war in Ukraine in the north, the war in Libya in the southwest and the advancing of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq in the southeast, Greece and Cyprus will seek the restoration of peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans. On the issue of the Balkans, the Greek PM said that Greece supports an active Balkan policy away from nationalistic plans that break the area apart. He said he believes in the solidarity of the Balkan states and the potential of becoming members of the European Union while at the same time maintaining the right to form bilateral relations with other countries in the region. Mr. Tsipras stressed the importance of peace and stability in Ukraine, adding that tens of thousands of Ukrainians of Greek origin live in Mariupol which is at the epicenter of fighting. He said that the vicious cycle of sanctions and the militarization of the area will bring the opposite results. Finally, the Greek premier said that relations between Russia and the European Union should be restored because it is impossible to have security in Europe without Russian participation. Dialogue between Russia and the EU should be restored and conflicts should be resolved with diplomatic means.

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Finland government secret memorandum examines Grexit

Greece could be forced to leave the euro zone soon if it fails to meet the conditions laid down by the Euro Group to receive further funding, the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat said, quoting a secret memorandum by the Finnish finance ministry. According to ...

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Italy FinMin Padoan sees Greek agreement by April 24

Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said he is confident an agreement on financial support for Greece will be reached by the time euro-area finance ministers meet on April 24. “Talks continue. Progress is being made. I am confident that an ...

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ECB raises liquidity for Greek banks by €1.2 bln

The European Central Bank has raised the cap on emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) that Greek banks can draw from the country's central bank by €1.2 billion. The decision was taken on Wednesday during an ECB teleconference.   The increase takes ...

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Where The Anarchists Go In Athens

By LAURA SECORUN PALET, OZY “I haven’t seen so much graffiti in my life,” says Emily Tsai, a tourist from Taiwan. “It’s like a punk Disneyland.” We are in Exarcheia, a neighborhood of Athens that few tourists dare venture into. Its half-dilapidated buildings and spray-painted walls clash with the postcard version of classical Athens. But what it lacks in photo ops, Exarcheia makes up for in dynamism. This bubble of counterculture around Athens Polytechnic and the National Archaeological Museum is home to a tight-knit community of left-wing intellectuals, activists and artists. And Exarcheia’s inhabitants don’t just talk about socialism, they live it. A “reappropriated” parking lot serves as a communal vegetable patch. There are pay-what-you-can canteens, time banks where neighbors exchange French lessons for hair cuts and a free health clinic for those who have fallen through the cracks of the country’s broken welfare system. Squats and cooperatives thrive among the youth-filled bars. The neighborhood has been a hotbed of ideological resistance for decades. "People here are genuinely open-minded,” says Ihab (no surname — he doesn’t trust the mainstream media), who works at a local bookstore. “Everybody is welcome here. Well, except the police.” The neighborhood has been a hotbed of ideological resistance for decades. Here began the student protest that, in the ’60s and ’70s, would lead to the toppling of the dictatorship. More recently, Exarcheia has been at the heart of the anti-austerity protests prompted by the country’s debt crisis. Athenians pass in front of a sign reading 'Park' on the site of a former parking lot that was reclaimed by residents of the bohemian Athens district of Exarcheia in Greece on March 17, 2009.(ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images) This spirit of defiance is written all over Exarcheia’s walls — in subtle graffiti like “F*ck the Capital,” or “We Hate the Police” — but the neighborhood has plenty to offer to non-anarchist visitors, and for very little. Historically inclined types can visit the impressive National Archaeological Museum, and adventurous travelers can explore the popular cafes, especially on weekends when youths from all over the city flock in for fun. Meanwhile, bookworms will enjoy the dozens of independent publishers who reprint the works of Russian revolutionary anarchist Mikhail Bakunin and alternative bookstores selling essays on “LSD, Marijuana, Yoga & Hypnosis.” In 2008, a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed by police, triggering a wave of riots that made headlines worldwide. To be sure, Exarcheia has its dark side. While it’s not dangerous for tourists, drug use is on the rise and the violent clashes between anarchists and the police often involve Molotov cocktails. “It’s hard to live in peace when teenagers come here just to get high or you need to run to your car because protesters are setting them on fire,” says Dioni Vougioukli, a journalist who has lived in the neighborhood for 10 years. Since the radical left-wing party Syriza was elected into power in January, fights with the police have decreased. But peace is attracting a tide of trendy entrepreneurs wanting to cash in on Exarcheia’s edginess by opening barbershops and specialty ice cream parlors. They are pushing rents up and threatening to change the face of this countercultural oasis. But it may not be a bad thing. As a Che Guevara quote reads on an abandoned building, “Let the world change you and you can change the world.” -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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