The Greek annual inflation rate fell to 6.5% in February from 7.3% in January, Eurostat said in its flash estimate on inflation trends. In a report released in Brussels, Eurostat said the annual inflation rate in the Eurozone was expected to ease slightly to 8.5% in February from 8.6% in January, reflecting prices increases in food, alcohol and tobacco (15% and 14.1%, respectively), followed by energy (13.7% from 18.9% in January) and non-energy industrial goods (6.8% from 6.7% in January). The consumer price index in the services sector rose 4.8% in February from 4.4% in January.
Latvia (20.1%), Estonia (17.8%) and Lithuania (17.2%) recorded the biggest inflation rates, while Luxembourg (4.8%), Belgium (5.5%), Spain (6.1%) and Greece (6.5%) had the lowest rates.

Anthony Blinken today (21/02) concludes his visit to Athens after his trip to Turkey. The US Secretary of State aimed to propose that the two countries provide weapons to Ukraine in order for Kiev to defeat Moscow.

The Economist Intelligence Unit's latest report on the quality of democracy around the world has been published, according to which Greece has moved up 9 places (25th place) in the so-called "democracy index" for 2022, registering a clear improvement and one of the best performance of the Economist index.