With the phrase "Now is the great moment, Prime Minister," Karolos Papoulias welcomed Antonis Samaras at the Presidential Palace, with whom he met a short while ago.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesman Gerry Rice on Monday said that talks with Greek authorities for the completion of the six review of the bailout programme will resume after the country holds general elections next month.

Special Court justice Nikolaos Passos on Monday set a date of February 25, 2015 for the trial of former finance minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou on charges relating to his handling of the so-called 'Lagarde list' - a CD supplied by French authorities giving the names of Greeks with bank accounts at a Swiss branch of HSBC.

According to latest information by the Italian authorities, 475 passengers were on board the ferry Norman Atlantic, 425 have been rescued, 10 are confirmed dead, and 40 are still missing  among them 32 Greek nationals. The same sources said that a second Greek national is included in the list of the deceased.