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Briefs from Greece – April 2018

Posted by estiator at 2 April, at 00 : 57 AM Print

“Thousands of people in government positions”? – Government VP Dragasakis new Economy Minister – At least 15 dead in migrant boat – “Mini crisis” is over with AHEPA – Two Greek soldiers were arrested by Turkey – FIFA warning – Greece’s jobless rate jumps to 21.2 percent in fourth quarter – New religious instruction textbooks – Animal cruelty – Metro station of Thessaloniki becoming a museum – Hellenic Petroleum collaboration – Lefkada’s long established tourist rituals – Crackdown launched on far-right extremist group – Arrests after tourist muggings on the Acropolis – €5.7 billion sub-tranche to be disbursed to Greece – Opposition’s proposal rejected – Greece is a crucial pillar – ExxonMobil will drill in the EEZ of Cyprus

“Thousands of people in government positions”?

One of the longest–standing and most debated issues affecting governance and the economy in Greece came in the spotlight when the Tsipras government introduced legislation that effectively promises the hiring of thousands of people in government positions. So far, the law saw that temporary contracts of people employed from November 2016 onward could not be renewed for more than 24 months and not before a three month pause in between. Now the coalition of Syriza and Independent Greeks abolished this provision, effectively promising those civil servants a quasi-permanent employment.

Government VP Dragasakis new Economy Minister

Alexis Tsipras moved to a mini-reform of the government in order to replace his three resigning ministers, Antonopoulou, Papadimitriou and Zourari. Dragasakis was appointed to replace Papadimitriou in a post that involves the crucial task of attracting foreign investments. The major surprise in the reshuffle was the appointment of Fotis Kouvelis as alternate defence minister. Another replacing was Bitsa who “moved” to the Ministry of Immigration Policy, to replace the removed Mouzala.

At least 15 dead in migrant boat

Fifteen people, including at least five children, drowned when the small boat they were travelling on capsized in the Aegean Sea, Greek coast guard officials said.

“Mini crisis” is over with AHEPA

Petros Galatoulas, President of the Federation of the Hellenic Societies of Greater New York, signaling the end of a sharp crisis over the participation of the AHEPA in the demonstration. Speaking during a meeting of the Federation, Petros Galatoulas described the crisis as “short lived” and welcomed the decision of the Order of the AHEPA to participate at the demonstration.

That concluded a two day “saga” that started with an announcement by the past president of the Federation of the Hellenic Societies of New York and life-long AHEPA member Elias Tsekerides, who claimed that Supreme President Carl Holliger told him that “as things stand right now, AHEPA won’t participate at the demonstration.”

AHEPA’s executive director Basil Mossaidis said “Brother Tsekerides does not represent or speak on behalf of our President and those comments were not factual” and in addition characterized as “preposterous” the remark that AHEPA is “anti-Hellenic.”

Two Greek soldiers were arrested by Turkey

Two Greek soldiers who accidentally crossed the Greek-Turkish have had their appeal to be released from custody denied by a Turkish judge. The soldiers had been kept in custody in Edirne, pending a trial on charges of illegally entering Turkey. Later, the two soldiers were jailed in a top-security prison. They were brought to court, but their trial was postponed while investigating the content of their seized mobiles. The parents of the two soldiers who visited them in prison said they were in good psychological condition.

FIFA warning

The head of a committee representing world soccer body FIFA called on authorities to take action to curb violence in Greek soccer or see Greek clubs excluded from international competition.

Greece’s jobless rate jumps to 21.2 percent in fourth quarter

Greece’s jobless rate rose by a full percentage point to 21.2 percent in October-to-December from 20.2 percent in the third quarter, data from the country’s statistics service ELSTAT showed.

New religious instruction textbooks

The release of new religious instruction textbooks in Greece from the Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs has sparked outrage, with certain sectors of the community claiming the content endangers faith in Orthodox Christianity. In response, some 2,000 people—among those protesting ware a number of Greek Orthodox priests and bishops—took to the streets of Athens in protest, marching to the Greek parliament on Sunday to deliver a petition to the parliament.

Animal cruelty

Though Greece has made significant strides in treating animal abuse as the punishable crime that it is, activists and advocates say the system is still largely dysfunctional and allows many perpetrators to get away with it.

Metro station of Thessaloniki becoming a museum

The Aghia Sofia metro train station of Thessaloniki may still be under construction, but it is already on its way to becoming a museum. As it has often been the case in most of the works for metropolitan underground railways in Greece, works revealed archaeological findings—in this case, mosaic floors dating from the 4th and 5th centuries AD.

Hellenic Petroleum collaboration

A surprise collaboration is apparently in the offing between Hellenic Petroleum (ELPE) and the Spanish energy company Repsol for hydrocarbons exploration in Greece’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) blocks in the Ionian Sea and south of Crete. The new alliance is raising questions, given Repsol’s collaboration with Energean Oil and Gas in a drilling block in the area of Ioannina, northern Greece. A 60 percent stake in Energean had been ceded to Repsol under the terms of that contract.

Lefkada’s long established tourist rituals

Anyone who has ever traveled to Lefkada has been tempted to enjoy one of the island’s long established tourist rituals; a boat trip from the small town of Nidri to the small neighbouring islands—Meganissi, Madouri and, most notably, Skorpios. Boatmen have been making a living for decades taking tourists around the island and serving them with decades-old gossip of the Onassis clan, pointing to the exact spot where Jackie O would prefer to go for swimming and sunbathing. Many of them were hoping to add new stories to this narrative, now that the small island is owned by billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, but the Russian oligarch had other plans—a multimillion investment that will turn the private island the first of its kind to be turned to a luxury resort. The project was greenlit by the Greek government, although there are still a lot of things to be settled before the €120m project is set into motion.

Crackdown launched on far-right extremist group

Counterterrorism officers launched an operation in Athens to arrest suspected members of a far-right extremist group calling itself Combat 18 Hellas. With the right-wing squad calling itself Apella, police report that the four extremists were arrested by the Anti-Terror Service for the incendiary assault in the free social space of Favela in Piraeus last August.

Arrests after tourist muggings on the Acropolis

Police announced 18 arrests on Thursday related to a string of particularly violent armed robberies and muggings of tourists and passersby around the highly popular Acropolis archaeological site in central Athens. All of the arrested individuals are Pakistani nationals, aged between 19 and 34. Police said the specific gang began its criminal activity over the past two months, usually targeting victims during evening hours, and in some instances, assaulting victims with knives.

€5.7 billion sub-tranche to be disbursed to Greece

Greece successfully complete its third bailout review, with eurozone finance ministers approving the a sub-tranche of €5.7 billion to be unlocked for Greece this month. Before the money is handed over however, the decision will first have to pass through the parliaments of individual eurozone states. The total tranche is €6.7 billion, with the additional billion euros to be given to Greece as soon as the country repays overdue debts to the private sector, and it secures full and undisturbed online home auctions.

Opposition’s proposal rejected

The opposition’s proposal to set up an interrogation committee. Another heated debate took place in the Hellenic Parliament when the opposition requested a parliamentary inquiry to determine whether government ministers have been guilty of breach of faith. New Democracy targeted Minister of Health Andreas Xanthos, Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis and former Health Minister (now serving as Minister of the Interior and Administrative Reconstruction) Panagiotis Kouroublis, for their implication in the Novartis bribery scandal the majority rejected.

Greece is a crucial pillar

“Greece is a crucial pillar of stability, not just with the big neighbor of the east but also with the Balkans, eastern Mediterranean, north Africa and the wider Black Sea region,” US Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt said on Saturday in an exclusive interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency, on the occasion of the World Economic Forum in Delphi. Pyatt underlined that a lot more discussion is being heard about Greece’s wider regional role and how Europe is moving forward with Greece.

ExxonMobil will drill in the EEZ of Cyprus

As US warships arrive in the Aegean, where the US company ExxonMobil will drill in the EEZ of Cyprus, the US State Department says that Washington’s policy regarding Nicosia’s rights within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is “longstanding and has not changed.” “The United States recognizes the right of the Republic of Cyprus to develop its resources in its exclusive economic zone,” a US State Department statement said, adding that it continues to believe that the island’s oil and gas resources, like all of its resources, “should be equitably shared between both communities in the context of an overall settlement.” Last month, Turkish warships prevented a rig from approaching Block 3 of the island’s EEZ, while Ankara has issued a string of threats against Nicosia if it seeks to exploit natural resources “unilaterally” or ignores the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

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