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The Greek Current
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The Greek Current

Κυβέρνηση Νέα

A podcast on Greece, Cyprus and the region brought to you by The Hellenic American Leadership Council and Kathimerini. Hosted by Thanos Davelis.

επεισόδια 1410
διάρκεια 358 ώρες
συχνότητα εβδομαδιαία
επεισόδιο πριν
ηλικία
προσθήκη πριν

Why local elections could be critical for Turkey's political future

In 2019 the municipal elections in Turkey garnered widespread attention both inside and outside the country, especially with Turkish President Erdogan’s handpicked AKP candidates losing Istanbul and Ankara. Erdogan is now intent on winning both back. Ayla Jean Yackley, an Istanbul-based journalist covering Turkey with stories in The Financial Times, Politico, and other major outlets, joins...

The Greek debt crisis and President Obama's foreign policy

How critical was the US role during the Greek debt crisis, and how does it fit into then President Barack Obama’s wider approach to US foreign policy, especially at a time when the US was looking to pivot to Asia? Katerina Sokou, who holds the research fellowship at ELIAMEP on “Greek-American Relations” and who covered the Greek crisis from Washington, DC as a correspondent for Kathimerini,...

Egypt and the concerns in Athens and the EU over migration

Egypt is set to receive a €7.4 billion aid package to not only shore up the country’s economy, but also curb migration. The move comes amid fears that the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan risk exacerbating financial troubles in the country while raising concerns of new waves of immigration to Europe. There are concerns that Crete, which is already seeing a spike in arrivals from north Africa, could...

A new approach to the Western Balkans? Bosnia, the EU and the US

The European Commission is set to recommend that the EU open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite lingering ethnic divisions in the Western Balkan country. This comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that it’s “not enough to just wait for the Western Balkans to move closer” to the EU. At the same time, US Special Representative to the Western...

Mitsotakis' visit to Ukraine and Greece's efforts to support Kyiv

On Wednesday international headlines all focused on the Russian ballistic missile that struck a few hundred meters from where Greece’s Prime Minister Mitsotakis was meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in Odesa. Ambassador Spiros Lambridis, Greece’s special envoy for Ukraine, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss this incident and look at the broader significance of Prime Minister Mitsotakis’...

Is Albania's Rama burning bridges with Greece in the Beleri case?

This week an Albanian court sentenced Fredi Beleri, the imprisoned mayor-elect of Himare, to 2 years in prison. Beleri slammed the trial and the court’s decision as a “sham”. This case is about much more than one individual, however, touching on deeper issues in Greek-Albanian relations. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss this latest...

China's Belt and Road Initiative and its risks for Europe and the US

When China’s Belt and Road Initiative was formally launched in 2013, it was touted as a world-spanning push to replicate the economic and political impact of the Silk Road. As it made investments across the world - including in the port of Piraeus during the depths of the financial crisis - Western capitals sought to counter Beijing’s growing influence. While it appears that the BRI is in...

SYRIZA and Greece's center left: Crisis and the challenge of unity

This past weekend SYRIZA held a 4 day convention that was filled with drama and chaos, with both its identity as well as its leadership being challenged. With a new leadership race narrowly avoided, the question remains if there is a leader in the fragmented center left that can unite the opposition. At the same time, recent polling shows an increase in support for parties to the right of New...

Greece's record year for tourism and concerns about sustainability

Last year was a record year for Greek tourism, with the latest statistics showing a remarkable comeback for the sector from the years of lockdowns during the pandemic. While these trends are welcome, there are also some worrying signs, as 2023 saw an increasing use of the term “over tourism”. Georgia Nakou, a features editor at MacroPolis - a specialist website focused on political and economic...

History in the making as Alexandroupoli FSRU receives first shipment of U.S. LNG

On February 18th the floating storage regasification unit in Alexandroupoli received its first test shipment of U.S. liquefied natural gas. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt described the successful opening of the Alexandroupolis FSRU as a ‘milestone” in “the longstanding transatlantic effort to diversify European energy routes and suppliers.” In other energy...

Are Turkey and Egypt turning a "new leaf" in their relations?

Last week Turkey’s President Erdogan traveled to Egypt, where he met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. While both leaders said they were turning a "new leaf" in their relations after over a decade of estrangement, differences remain, and it seems Cairo is still wary of Ankara. Expert Constantinos Filis, the Director of the Institute of Global Affairs and an associate professor...

Focus on Greece: From the strategic dialogue with the US to the letter of assurances

Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper just reported on the contents of the final draft of a letter from the State Department to Congress that implies that the F-16 and F-35 sales to Turkey and Greece come with conditions, refuting Ankara’s narrative that no such letter existed. This letter comes on the heels of a two week period in DC that put the spotlight on the US-Greece relationship, from the...