podlist.gr

20 years ago Greece’s then Prime Minister Kostas Simitis made the first withdrawal of a euro banknote from a Greek bank, marking the official adoption of the euro and the switch away from the drachma. Over the last 20 years, the euro has overcome initial doubts, price concerns, and a debt crisis to spread across the European continent. George Pagoulatos joins The Greek Current to look back over...

15 λεπτά

A Libyan parliamentary committee said Wednesday that it has become “impossible” to hold the long-awaited presidential election scheduled for December 24th, a major blow to international efforts to end a decade of chaos in the country. The run-up to elections has been marred by disputes over the eligibility of candidates and growing security fears, and earlier this week the UN warned of growing...

13 λεπτά

On Monday we looked at the defense angle - specifically the clause opening the way for Greece to acquire F-35s - of the US-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act, which the Senate passed in the NDAA last week. Aside from bolstering the defense cooperation between the US and Greece, this bill, which is a follow up to the landmark Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy...

11 λεπτά

Last week the US Senate voted on and passed the NDAA, which included the U.S.-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act, which was introduced by Senators Bob Menendez and Marco Rubio. The bill upgrades the defense cooperation between the US and Greece, and also includes language that would open the door for Greece to acquire F-35 fighter jets. This has revived talk in Athens about...

13 λεπτά

EU leaders held their last summit of 2021 amid heightened concerns about the spread of the omicron variant, which saw some members - including Greece and Italy - impose unilateral travel restrictions intended to control the spread of the new variant. This raised important questions about freedom of movement for European citizens. Meanwhile, Russia’s military buildup at the Ukrainian border also...

10 λεπτά

As Turkey increasingly drifts from the West, we’ve seen Turkey and Russia have moved closer. In a recently published report for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a team of experts look at Russia-Turkey relations under Presidents Putin and Erdogan, where they document how the Erdogan and Putin regimes have managed to compartmentalize their relationship, mixing competition with...

16 λεπτά

The Greek central bank is planning an appeal for the country’s bonds to remain eligible for new European Central Bank purchases after March when the vast bond-buying scheme launched in response to the pandemic is expected to end. The ECB has bought €35bn of Greek bonds over the past two years, and Greece’s borrowing costs have fallen sharply since the ECB started purchasing its bonds. There are...

8 λεπτά

Bulgaria’s parliament on Monday formally approved the country’s new centrist-led government in a bid to restore stability, tackle the coronavirus crisis, and spur economic development in the country. Lawmakers voted 134-104 to elect 41-year-old Kiril Petkov as prime minister. Petkov, a Harvard educated entrepreneur, has made transparency in public spending, tackling corruption, and reforms in...

13 λεπτά

Nikos Androulakis, a European Parliament deputy, defeated former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou by a wide margin in a runoff election on Sunday to become the new leader of Greece's third largest party, the centre-left Movement of Change (KINAL). The election of a new leader for KINAL, the former Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), has been a subject of interest not only to...

13 λεπτά

Separatist rhetoric among Bosnian Serb leadership is raising concerns about the dissolution of Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Milorad Dodik, the leader of Republika Srpska, recently ramping up talk of withdrawing from Bosnia’s military, intelligence, judicial, and tax institutions—effectively threatening secession. On Friday, a day after this interview took place, the parliament of the Serb part of...

14 λεπτά

Climate change and its impacts have been central topics of discussion in Greece, especially after a summer of intense heat waves and devastating wildfires. Aside from creating a new ministry to exclusively handle the fallout from climate change, the Greek government has also announced ambitious targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, completely faze out the use of coal powered power plants,...

17 λεπτά

It’s been a busy week in Greek diplomacy. It kicked off with Prime Minister Mitsotakis first speaking to Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the US-Greece partnership and developments in the broader region, setting the tone for the Prime Minister’s week. A day after this call, on Tuesday, Mitsotakis traveled to Jerusalem where he attended the latest trilateral summit with the leaders of...

9 λεπτά

On Monday Pope Francis wrapped up a five day trip to Cyprus and Greece. Francis' trip was dominated by the migration issue, and he called for European countries to stop building walls, stoking fears and shutting out "those in greater need who knock at our door." In a gesture of solidarity, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis would take a number of refugees and migrants back to Italy from...

13 λεπτά

Is there a new momentum for the return of Parthenon Marbles to Greece? That’s what Janet Suzman, the chair of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles, argued in her latest op-ed for Kathimerini. Her piece came after Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited the United Kingdom, where he raised the issue of the Parthenon Marbles in his meeting with Prime...

15 λεπτά

On Friday the northern Greek port city of Alexandroupolis hosted the largest transfer of US military equipment through the port to date as part of the Atlantic Resolve 2021 exercise. US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, who was in Alexandroupoli along with Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and other officials, said that the ever-growing volume of military activity at the port city...

15 λεπτά

Europe’s leading human rights body, The Council of Europe, has initiated rarely used infringement proceedings against Turkey after Ankara’s failure to release businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala despite a European Court of Human Rights’ judgement ordering his immediate release. This may eventually lead to withholding Turkey’s voting rights in the council or even suspension of its...

14 λεπτά

World leaders recently gathered in Glasgow for the COP26 summit, where they signed off on the Glasgow Climate Pact, which states that carbon emissions will have to fall by 45 percent by 2030 to keep alive the goal set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. This summit followed a summer of record breaking heat waves and intense wildfires, such as those experienced by Greece...

19 λεπτά

Under President Erdogan, Turkey has undergone a substantial degradation of its rule-of-law architecture in all relevant fields. One example of this is the continued imprisonment of philanthropist Osman Kavala, which is in violation of a 2019 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. This case could see the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers - which is meeting over the next few...

15 λεπτά

In recent months, Greece appears to have welcomed more women fleeing Afghanistan than any other country. In just a matter of weeks, Athens has become the landing place for more than 700 of Afghanistan’s female judges, lawmakers, journalists and lawyers, together with their families. They arrived in Greece with the help of NGOs, international aid groups, and several individuals who were able to...

12 λεπτά

Expert Alan Makovsky, who was recently in Greece, joins The Greek Current to talk about the progress he is seeing in Greece-US security ties, which he described in an interview in Kathimerini as “head spinning”. This expanding defense partnership was recently on full display in northern Greece, where the port of Alexandroupolis was once again at the epicenter of a major US-Greek joint exercise...

15 λεπτά