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ACS Athens Celebrates 80 Years of Excellence in Education

The American Community Schools of Athens (ACS Athens), proudly celebrates its 80th anniversary, marking eight decades of academic excellence, innovation, and global citizenship. Since its founding in 1944, ACS Athens has been a beacon of holistic, student-centered learning, empowering generations of students to thrive in an ever-evolving world.

Konstantinos Tasoulas was elected President of the Republic: “My responsibility is heavy; national cohesion and effort are needed”

 

Mr. Tasoulas made a call for a “national effort and social cohesion” and added that “Greece and the Greeks have claims to national security, progress, civil protection, and justice, as we see today in an expressive and justified manner.

He also emphasized that despite international upheavals, “the course remains steady: strengthening defense and diplomatic capabilities and social cohesion within the EU.

In a unifying tone, he further stressed that “regardless of specific disagreements, the invisible thread that unites us must not be broken.

Statement by Konstantinos Tasoulas

It is the highest honor but, above all, a heavy responsibility. Mr. Speaker, please convey to the national representation my sincere gratitude for my election. Having participated in public life, I am aware of the potential of politics, which is brought to light by popular sovereignty—potential for action so that our homeland, regardless of ideology, and all its people may advance.

I am also aware of the weaknesses of politics. Only through national effort and social cohesion can we confront them—seeking social consensus through dialogue and solutions that convince the majority so that critique may be transformed into reformist policy.

Greece and the Greeks have claims to national security, progress, civil protection, and justice, as we see today in an expressive and justified manner. These claims are entrusted to the political parties that assume governance based on the principle of majority rule. The effectiveness of political efforts depends on the framework and the political atmosphere in which political processes take place.

And all this happens amidst geopolitical upheavals and wars in our region. The pace of the world as we knew it no longer seems to continue at the same rhythm. Amidst this turmoil, on this rocky promontory, the course remains steady: strengthening defense and diplomatic capabilities and social cohesion within the EU. The country is called to enhance its prestige outwardly. Regardless of specific disagreements, the invisible thread that unites us must not be broken. It is the invisible thread that binds us when we mobilize for a common goal or to prevent a common misfortune.

The harmonious function and synergy of institutions, a moderate political climate, and the safeguarding of unity constitute a supportive framework for achieving political objectives. The President of the Republic, as the regulator of the polity, is called to uphold this framework, standing apart from any partisan rivalry and highlighting, from time to time, the need to preserve the invisible thread that, in great and significant matters, never ceases to bind us together.

This duty falls upon the President of the Republic institutionally, historically, and constitutionally. It is a duty to the people and to the Constitution. With the help of God, the support of the institutions of the polity, and the people, rest assured that I will make every effort toward these goals.

Dendias at Washington Delphi Forum: US needs to decide between two models in the world

Continuing to deepen the strong Greece-US defense relations built during the first term of US President Donald Trump that continued under the presidency of Joe Biden are an important part of Greece's strategy, National Defense Minister Nikos Dendias underlined in his address at the Delphi Forum in the American capital on Tuesday.

 Dendias briefly described the excessively optimistic expectations by the West at the start of the 20th century, which were disproven, and underlined that a new order of things is forming that gives rise to new challenges and increases the tension of the old ones.

"We now realize that the world we believed would exist has nearly disappeared," he said. "These challenges cannot be managed by single nations, nor even by a nation as powerful as the United States of America. We must, therefore accept a way of operating in our joint defense strategy, at least amongst us in the countries of the western world."

Dendias used the example of Greece's neighborhood in the East Mediterranean to underline the two different trends showing up on the global stage, noting that the US must choose which example of an alliance better serves its interests and the efforts it expends to stabilize the international system.

Without naming Turkey, the defense minister described it as a country that does not feel it should observe International Law and the Law of the Sea, and is a member of NATO without imposing sanctions on Russia, maintaining its strong ties with it. This is not a temporary policy, he noted, but a political direction that progresses.

He then gave the opposite example, of Greece as a country that supports International Law and the Law of the Sea, is committed to democratic values, and is a European Union member that stands by Ukraine and its rights to defend its territory. It has resolved its differences with all regional players on the basis of International Law, and has updated its Armed Forces on the basis of defense, not aggression. "These are the two different models, and it is up to the USA to decide what it wants to choose," he underlined.