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Politics

Greek Cabinet Meets to Finalize Deep Budget Cuts

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ Cabinet met on Aug. 31 to rubber stamp more than $14.7 billion in cuts demanded by international lenders in return for continued aid, with salaries and pensions again at the top of the list...

Papandreou: Greece Wouldn't Have Needed A Bailout If It Wasn't For Tax Havens

Former Greece prime minister George Papandreou has said his country might have avoided a bailout if the economy had not been robbed by funds being funneled to tax havens. Papandreou told the opening of Socialist International's four-yearly conference that $21...

Samaras Cuts Deep, But Says No More

As previous governments have when they imposed austerity measures they said were the last but did it again, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that while more deep pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions are coming for Greeks,...

Depositors Cautiously Returning to Greek Banks

After several scares over whether Greece would default and go back to the drachma from the euro, which led Greeks to take out billions of dollars from the country's banks, deposits are slowly starting to come back, according to...

Facing Collapse, Greece's Postbank to be Privatized

Hellenic Postbank, a small state-controlled lender, is insolvent, Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras said, and must be sold or transferred to private investors. It was a big lender to the government, which last year imposed 74 percent losses on investors,...

Former Victoria Premier Bracks Says Badounas Was Key

A Greek-Australian businessman appears to have played a significant role in convincing Steve Bracks to claim the leading position of the Victoria Labor party and becoming Premier after winning consecutive elections. Bracks said it was Nickos Badounas' backing and strong...

Unemployment Costs Greek Economy $5 Billion Annually

With Greece's unemployment rate at a record 23.1 percent and rising, the costs are growing too. The National Confederation of Greek Commerce (ESEE) estimated that joblesness, with nearly two million people out of work, costs the economy about $5...

Samaras Fails to Sell Coalition Partners on Big Cuts

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the New Democracy Conservative leader, met on Aug. 29 with the partners in his uneasy coalition but was unable to convince them how to make $14.16 billion in cuts for 2013-2014 demanded by international lenders...

Samaras Says He Saved Greece from Drachma

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said that his trip to present German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande with details of plans to make another $14.16 billion in cuts could keep Greece in the Eurozone and prevent...

Merkel Tells Critics to Get Off Greece's Back

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has been insisting on harsh austerity measures for Greece in return for international bailout loans, has warned politicians in her ruling coalition to lay off criticism about Greece’s efforts to right its struggling economy. That...

Troika Will Keep Greece Twisting 'Til October

With Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras desperate to keep the country’s debt-laden economy from going under, he won’t get a report from international lenders on how reforms are progressing until October, when the last installment of a first series...

Hollande Tells Samaras to Wait for Troika Report

After being put on hold by German Chancellor Angela Merkel over his hope Greece could get a two-year delay to administer more reforms and austerity measures demanded by international lenders, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has been told by...

Siemens Signs Deal With Greece, Settling Scandal Contracts

The German engineering giant Siemens has concluded an agreement with Greece, agreeing to pay an eventual $212.5 million to settle a scandal in which the company admitted paying nearly $512 million in bribes to Greek politicians in return for...

Samaras Says Greece Needs Air: Merkel Keeps Him On Ice

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told visiting Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras that she will wait until a report late in September from international lenders before deciding whether Greece is meeting reform targets and should keep getting rescue loans or...

Samaras Wants to Ban MP's From Hiring Relatives

With Greeks furious over political leaders hiring their relatives while unemployment has hit 23.1 percent - 55 percent for those under 25 - Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, leader of the New Democracy Conservative party, has  asked the Justice Ministry...