Greece
Economy
IMF’s Thomsen Welcomes Greece’s Deal With Lenders
Poul Thomsen, director of the IMF’s European Department, welcomed on Tuesday the agreement achieved between the Greek government and its lenders saying it will allow fiscal policy to become more growth-friendly.
Speaking to journalists in a conference call, he said...
Economy
Moscovici on Debt Relief Program: Greece’s Creditors 'Shouldn’t Play With Fire’
EU Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Thursday that Greece's European creditors "shouldn't play with fire" in regards to the country's debt relief program, according to Reuters.
The statement came after Athens pleaded its case to its lenders...
Economy
Moscovici Urges Lenders to Agree on Comprehensive Deal for Greece
European commissioner in charge of Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici called on Greece’s lenders to agree on a comprehensive deal for the country, in a statement to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Friday.
“I am aware how difficult it...
Economy
Greece-Lenders Still Disagree Despite VAT Hike and Internet Levy
Greece and lenders did not come to a staff level agreement after a marathon conversation that ended early on Thursday morning to be continued later in the day.
In the talks that lasted 17 hours, the Greek side offered a...
Economy
PM Tsipras to Hollande: Deal With Lenders Should Have Concluded Long Ago
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with French President Francois Hollande in Paris on Wednesday at the Elysee presidential palace, with whom he discussed Greece’s program review.
According to reports, Tsipras explained to Hollande that a deal on the Greek...
Economy
Talks Between Greek Officials and Lenders Reveal Sharp Differences on Critical Economic Issues
The representatives of Greece’s official lenders appear to have rejected the government’s proposal for tackling the problem of “black money” by charging fines of up to 35% to those who claim they "forgot” to declare income.
Instead, it has been...
Economy
Greece’s Inability to Tackle Migrant Crisis Calls for Deeper Reform, Says President of DIW-Berlin
Greece needs to abide by the agreement for reforms as laid out in the new bailout program and the migrant crisis facing the country today should be no for deviation from the “agreed” route, said Marcel Fratzscher, President of...
Economy
Renowned U.S. Economist Says High Taxes Squash Greece’s Prospects for Recovery
A recently released study by the Economics Department at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens revealed that Greece has the third highest taxation rate among 21 European countries. Only Sweden and Denmark have a higher tax rate, countries with...
Economy
Foreign Investors in Greece’s Banks Will Seek Reassurance from Greek Government in Upcoming Visit to Athens
According to the Greek financial newspaper Kefalaio, foreign investors holding large Greek bank shares are due in Athens on February 28th for a series of meetings with high level Greek officials, which include Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
According to the same source,...
Economy
Greek FinMin: Deal with Lenders Possible by August 20
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Tuesday that based on the progress of the negotiations with Greece ’s lenders, an agreement could be achieved by August 20.
Speaking after the completion of the first part of the negotiations with...
Economy
Proposal Exchange Between Greece-Lenders Still Fruitless
Greece continues sending new proposals over the debt issue but creditors continue to reject them as lacking, thereby prolonging the impasse in negotiations, says a Financial Times report.
According to the report, European Commission officials in Brussels have called this...
Economy
Greek Gov't Officials Reassure Lenders the Country Can Meet its Obligations
In an attempt to reverse the negative climate created primarily by foreign media reports, numerous government officials are sending out the message that Greece has enough cash to make the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 450 million euros repayment, due...
Economy
Greek Govt to Lenders: 'Give Us More Time for Pension Reform'
The Greek government is pressing its international lenders to exclude the pension reform plan from the backlog of reforms that need to be completed before exiting the bailout program, Reuters reported. With the final review over its progress on the bailout...
Greece
Greece’s Success Story is Killing People
While Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his cohorts were celebrating because Greece floated a bond, a 35-year-old woman fell – without floating – to her death when she jumped off a building in the western Athens neighborhood in Peristeri.
That...
Economy
Greece’s Central Bank Chief: Banks Are Well Capitalised
Greece's lenders have enough bailout funds to cover any bad loans that may blight balance sheets in the future, according to the country's central bank.
George Provopoulos, the governor of the Bank of Greece, was referring to revelations yet to...