Tourism bodies and municipal authorities in the northern Aegean reacted angrily to a letter by Alternate Foreign Minister George Katrougalos informing them that the European Commission rejected the extension of a visa facilitation pilot program that allowed Turkish nationals to travel to the islands of the eastern Aegean without applying for a visa at the Greek consulate.
Greece's Central Archaeological Council has given its approval for a horseback parade through central Athens, planned as the opening event of the international exhibition 'documenta 14' on April 6. The Council drew a line, however, at the organisers' request to use miniature Skyrian ponies.
One of Greece’s most beloved musicians, Loukianos Kilaidonis has died at the age 74. SYRIZA MP and wife of the singer, Anna Vagena, informed the public of his death through a Facebook post. “Loukianos has left us today, February 7, 2017, in the morning”, she wrote.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board of Directors released a statement after a 3-hour meeting on the Greek program:
The President of the EuroGroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the report released by the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) early morning Tuesday on the progress of the Greek program was outdated.
The letter is a response to the IMF’s report published on Monday which proposed, among other measures, broadening the personal income tax base and rationalizing pension spending and reducing non-performing loans (NPLs).
The programme "Advertising - Promotion of Tourism Programmes", budgeted 8 million euros, was included in the Public Investments Programme at a decision of Alternate Economy and Development Minister Alexis Charitsis.
Authorities finalized on Tuesday a major plan to evacuate 72,000 residents from western Thessaloniki to allow bomb disposal units to safely defuse and remove an unexploded bomb dating from World War II.
The Consulate General of Greece in New York will host a reception on the occassion of the presentation of the travel documentary series "Mediterranean Blue", which is dedicated to the Greek islands and will be shown on the PBS network.
Exxon Mobil-Qatar Petroleum are talking with the Cypriot government about a 40% of the R&D rights of Block 10 inside the country’s EEZ. The colossal state energy company Qatar Petroleum (QP) is expanding especially on the LNG sector in Maroko and Cyprus.
Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias referred to the chance of a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the guarantor powers in Cyprus, the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the representative of the Turkish Cypriot community, speaking to the press in Brussels, where he took part at the External Affairs Council of the EU 28.
An inter-ministerial meeting at the Shipping and Island Policy ministry last week decided to set up a committee for the coordination of air and sea transport in efforts to ensure that remote islands remain connected with the mainland particularly in winter with the introduction of combined transport.
As summer draws near all the more airlines are introducing new flights, adding more seats or boosting the frequency of their existing routes to destinations in Greece aiming to secure a piece of the growing market with local sector professionals expecting another record year at 41 of the country’s airports.
IMF BoD approved the report on the Greek economy and the Greek debt sustainability, which retains the gap between the fund and the European creditors to Greece.