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Of Greek-Turkish exploratory talks, the “5+1”Cyprus talks, the March 25/26 Summit – and well-wishers
Of Greek-Turkish exploratory talks, the “5+1”Cyprus talks, the March 25/26 Summit – and well-wishers by Antonis D. Papagiannidis All who follow the not-so-discreet pas-de-deux of the EU with Turkey have already realised that work on the promised roadmap “for enhancing relations”, aka “positive agenda”, is progressing at a fast pace. Far faster, in fact, than the preparations to set out some sort of list for potential EU sanctions (or “measures”) targeting persons or entities involved in offending sovereign rights of [...]
Greece prepares vaccine passport deals with 10 countries to ease travel
Greece has already signed a “green passport” deal with Israel. The deal allows all Israelis that have received a COVID-19 vaccine to freely travel to Greece. Now, the Greek Ministry of Tourism is in talks with 10 more countries to reach similar deals. These countries are: the United Kingdom the United States Canada Australia Serbia Russia Ukraine China the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The idea is that these countries will provide a bilaterally recognized digital vaccination certificate that [...]
Greece introduces Family Offices to attract the super -wealthy
It is the next step in Greece’s path to become a tax -friendly state for the rich of the world. The government voted a new law that will allow the operation of Family Offices in Greece. What do Family Offices do? Family offices are private wealth management advisory firms that serve high-net-worth investors. They are different from traditional wealth management shops in that they offer a total outsourced solution to managing the financial and investment side of an affluent individual [...]
Cheaper, more flexible, more unequal: The labor market in Greece
Reforming the labor market in Greece was top priority of all three Economic Adjustment Programs the country had to endure to exit its debt crisis (2010-2018). The emphasis on the labor market was dictated by the fact that the Greek labour market traditionally suffered from low productivity low participation rate high unemployment high tax wedge low use of flexible employment forms and high share of self-employed. Two major labor market reform laws in 2012 and in 2014 tried to [...]
A new version of Greek-Arab relations
A new version of Greek-Arab relations by Antonis D. Papagiannidis Greek foreign policy had a tradition of Arab-friendly positioning. This was a side-effect of the presence of large Greek communities throughout the Arab world – especially in Egypt – along European colonial rule; but even afterwards, foreign policy followed on the track of Greek trade, shipping and construction companies who had established close relations in the region. Especially from the late Seventies and up to the mid-Nineties, the (initially) radical [...]
Thessaloniki airport: Bigger and safer- Fraport completes 14 regional airports renovation
A new terminal complex has been added to the Thessaloniki airport aiming to make of the second largest airport of Greece a rival to Europe's most popular airports. The new terminal is linked via skyway bridges to the redesigned existing terminal, doubling the amount of terminal space available. It provides more check-in space, twice as many departure gates, and a wide range of restaurant and shopping facilities. Thessaloniki Makedonia New Terminal The €100 million development plan of the [...]
“Philia Forum” : East Mediterranean countries forge alliance for peace and prosperity
The Philia Forum took place for the first time in Athens, on February 11, with the participation of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Bahrain, France and Saudi Arabia and the Minister of State for International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates. The Philia Forum is an initiative of the Greek government aiming to bring together countries of the East Mediterrancean that are on the same page regarding international law and economic cooperation. Nikos Dendias met his Saudi Arabia counterpart Faisalbin Farhan to further discuss bilateral cooperation In the joint statement after the one-day Forum participants committed to “joint actions and initiatives in fields such as energy, innovation, digital economy, civil protection and transnational synergies”. They also explored possibilities for further cooperation in science, agriculture, food security, academic education and training, interfaith dialogue, culture and sports. N. Dendias met UAE Minister of State Reem Al Hashimi ahead of the Forum to share common vision for peace and prosperity in the region [...]
17+1: Hellenic Development Bank joins the China–CEEC Interbank Association
by Symela Touchtidou @stouchtidou The Board of Directors of China–CEEC Interbank Association, on February 8, gave the green light for the Hellenic Development Bank (HDB) to join the Association, saying it recognizes the contribution of HDB in financing the real economy. The China – CEEC Interbank Association was established in 2012 and its Secretariat is based at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China. It is an initiative of the Chinese government to promote relations between the 17 Central and [...]