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Greece to open consulate in Benghazi, Libya

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A Greek consulate will be opening in the Libyan city of Benghazi, as relations between Greece and the Libyan House of Representatives have improved, after Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias’ surprise visit to Libya yesterday.

“Today I had the pleasure, here in Libya, of visiting the President of the country’s only elected institution, the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, who has already visited us in Greece,” he said.

Dendias also emphasised that the Libyan crisis needs to be handled by the Berlin Process and the initiative by Egyptian President Al-Sisi, while also calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces.

“This is a necessary condition for peace and stability,” he added.

The Foreign Minister explained that Greece is helping in Operation “Irini” to enforce the arms embargo on Libya “and is prepared to help even more.”

He then backed up French President Emmanuel Macron who said days ago that Turkey has “criminal responsibility” for its role in the war in Libya, that includes transferring, arming and funding jihadist terrorists.

“I must also make clear that we agreed that Turkey has historical responsibilities for what is happening today in Libya, as President Macron rightly stated yesterday. The import of mercenaries from Syria and the violation of the arms embargo are elements that weigh on the Turkish stance. As I just said, they create historical responsibilities,” Dendias said.

Dendias also revealed there are discussions of opening up a Greek Consulate in Benghazi to encourage trade between Greece and Libya to replace Turkish productions.

“Beyond that, we talked about the future of Greek-Libyan relations. We came to an understanding as regards the possibility for a Greek Consulate to operate in Benghazi, which would facilitate trade transactions. Libya wants to replace Turkish products with other products that come from Europe and especially Greece,” he revealed.

In addition, Dendias discussed with Libyan officials yesterday the delimitation of maritime zones between the two Mediterranean countries that would be founded on international law and not the expansionist desires of Turkey who signed a deal to steal Greek maritime space with the Muslim Brotherhood Government of National Accords based in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and whose mandate to rule expired in 2017.

“We also talked about the delimitation of maritime zones between Greece and Libya, not in the framework of illegality as is the case with the so-called Sarraj-Turkey memorandum, but in the framework of International Law and in  follow-up to the relevant talks held between Greece and Libya in 2010,” Dendias said.

“And of course I had the pleasure of conveying to the President of the Libyan House of Representatives the decision made by the President of the Hellenic Parliament, Kostas Tassoulas, to reactivate the Hellenic Parliament’s Greek-Libyan Friendship Committee,” he concluded.

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Greece Church agreement to take 10,000 priests off payroll

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A landmark agreement has been reached in Athens that will end the status of priests and bishops as civil servants and bring Greece a step closer to separation of Church and state.

Some 10,000 Church employees will come off the payroll, although their wages will still be paid as a state subsidy.

The Orthodox Church plays a significant role in public life in Greece.

Some priests and politicians criticised the deal between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Archbishop Ieronymos.

What have they agreed?

The two leaders say the state will continue to pay the clergy’s salaries but no longer as civil servants. Greece has been trying to scale back its public sector after years of international bailouts. In 2015, 18% of the workforce was employed by the government.

Payment will be made through an annual subsidy of around €200m (£175m; $230m), and that fund will not be affected if the Church increases or reduces the number of priests.

In return, the Church will not oppose moves to make the state “religion neutral” and would drop any claim to property once taken over by the state.

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Former HPD MP seeking political asylum in Greece

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Leyla Birlik

The Associated Press

Greek authorities say a former lawmaker for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is requesting asylum in Greece after illegally crossing the border.

A police official said Turkish national Leyla Birlik, 44, surrendered to Greek police on Aug. 23 near the northeastern town of Alexandroupolis, and was in the process of requesting asylum in Greece.

He spoke on condition of anonymity on Aug. 24 because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

Meanwhile, Greek daily Ekathimerini reported on Aug. 24 that a prosecutor had ordered Birlik’s release until her asylum request has been examined.

Birlik, a former HPD lawmaker was sentenced in January to 21 months in prison for insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Birlik had also been arrested in 2016 along with HDP co-leaders on separate terror-related charges. She was released pending appeal but was banned from leaving the country.

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Greece exits bailout: Is the Greek economy strong enough?

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Greece exits bailout

Greece will exit its stability program on Monday. How has the Greek economy developed since austerity was imposed in 2010? And is Greece prepared to meet the budgetary targets? A data analysis provides answers.

Greece’s government debt is more than twice the EU28 average; the country’s market value as measured by gross domestic product has decreased by a third since the crisis started; and one in five people are unemployed: At first glance, the situation doesn’t give rise to optimism.

Traditionally, the service sector is the strongest contributor to Greece’s GDP, followed by industry and agriculture. But Greece urgently needs new sources of income to avoid slipping back into recession after the third austerity program ends on August 20. Exports are a promising source of income: Despite some tough years, goods exports rose by 35.5 percent from 2010 to 2017, a welcome relief in Athens and Brussels.

With Greek exports slowly on the rise, the big question remains whether this development is sustainable and strong enough for the country to finance its debt repayments and meet strict commitments for its primary budget surplus. To answer this question, DW analyzed trade data from 2010 to 2018. The investigation shows that the idea of trade as a panacea comes with three caveats.

Caveat 1: Labor costs shrank during the crisis

When the crisis hit hardest in 2010, labor costs were the highest they had been in at least a decade. They dropped markedly from this peak: “The fiscal restructuring that took place as part of the stability program with the EU reduced the cost of labor significantly,” says George Pagoulatos, professor of European politics and economy at the Athens University of Economics and Business.

What turned out to be beneficial for exporters came with a downside: Labor costs measure both wages and taxes paid to the state. Wages have decreased even more than labor costs as a whole, and Greek businesses now pay less for skilled workers.

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Greece sacks police and fire services chiefs after deadly wildfires

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The firing comes amid a public outcry over the government’s handling of the wildfires that killed 90 people near Athens. The minister responsible for the country’s police has already put in his papers.

The Greek government replaced the chiefs of its police force and fire service on Sunday after facing flak for its handling of the devastating fires last month.

The sacking came two days after the resignation of public order minister, Nikos Toskas.

The heads of both emergency services were replaced with their deputies, a statement from the office of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.

The statement made no direct mention of the July 23 wildfires that killed at least 90 people near Athens, with the resort town of Mati among the worst affected areas.

Greek authorities say they suspect arson was behind the deadly forest fires and blame haphazard and unlicensed building for the high number of casualties in Mati.

Conflicting reports

But opposition parties have criticized the government for failing to provide adequate warning and to evacuate people from Mati, which has seen wildfires in the past.

Both the police and the fire departments have put out conflicting reports on what went wrong.

Earlier this week, one police union said officers had not been promptly notified by the fire department of the fire’s exact location in order to set up diversions in the area. This resulted in many drivers being mistakenly diverted into the path of the fire.

ap/jm (AP, Reuters, AFP)

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Russian meddling in Greece divides traditional Orthodox allies

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As Orthodox Christian nations on the frontiers of Europe, Russia and Greece have long enjoyed close ties. The recent name dispute with Macedonia, however, has led to a falling out between the two countries.

It sounds like a plotline straight out of a James Bond film, but in reality, it’s fueled a diplomatic row between former friends. Russian diplomats in Greece were caught last month attempting to bribe local politicians, businessmen and powerful Orthodox priests from the Athos monastery to influence the outcome of the name dispute between Greece and its northern neighbor, Macedonia. In an escalation of tensions, Greece responded by denouncing the four Russian diplomats involved in the scheme.

“The Greek government seeks good relations with all states, but we will not accept behavior that violates international law and undermines the Greek authorities,” said Greek government spokesperson Dimitris Tzanakopoulos.

All eyes on the Balkans

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his dissatisfaction withthe agreement reached over the Macedonia name dispute. His opposition comes as part of the long political tug of war that the European Union and Russia have been playing for control in the Balkans.

Following the resolution reached in June, Greece will no longer block Macedonia’s EU and NATO accession. The move paves the way for Macedonia to become the latest Balkan state to align with the West.

As an economic bridge between Western Europe and Asia, the Balkans are seen as a key trade route, even more so now that Piraeus, the largest port in Greece, is under Chinese ownership.

“The new Silk Road, which will flow into the port of Piraeus, and then cross the Balkans into Central Europe, gives Greece a new weight in the region,” said German-Greek journalist Efthymis Angeloudis.

Greece’s strategic role

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been pushing for better ties with his country’s Balkan neighbors for some time, but Athens’ interest in uniting the region predates his term in office.

“Greece played a major role in Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession to the EU in 2007. The fact that the Greek government has now found partners in Macedonia is an immense step for the region,” Angeloudis said, calling the rapprochement between the two countries “a ray of hope.”

EU leaders have long overlooked the crucial role Greece can play in the Balkans, instead viewing the country primarily as as the bloc’s tax-evading black sheep. But if Brussels ignores Athens in seeking to align the Balkans with Western Europe, it risks the sort of falling out it’s now experiencing with Greece’s southern neighbor, Turkey. Ankara had long been friendly towards the EU, but the bloc was content to keep the country at arm’s length. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s winning the country’s recent presidential election, boosting his increasingly authoritarian power and rediscovering his sympathy for Russia, is clear sign that the EU missed its shot at partnering with Turkey in the long term.

When it comes to the ongoing process of rapprochement between the Western Balkan countries, the EU now has a chance to show it has learned from past mistakes.

“The EU should not squander this opportunity with shortsighted action,” said Angeloudis. “It is crucial to the future of world trade that relationships in the region are secured and that the EU’s doors to the Western Balkans remain secure and open.”

Turning away from Orthodox ally Russia

With the Macedonia name dispute agreement, the EU can at least relish in a partial victory against rival Russia in the diplomatic battle for the Balkans — thanks largely to Athens’ friendly efforts.

Traditionally, Greeks have viewed Russia, a fellow predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian country, as a spiritual ally. But for Stavros Tzimas, a journalist covering Greek-Balkan politics for the influential Kathimerini newspaper, this supposed love affair has little to do with reality. He says the fundamental Christian Orthodox tenet that connects the two states has faded into a barely recognizable alliance.

“The assumption of religious unity is based on the myth that powerful Russia is helping its Greek fellow believers in difficult times,” Tzimas said. Russia has never truly supported Greece, he explained, citing Prime Minister Tsipras’ appeal to the Kremlin in 2015 during the Greek financial crisis as just the latest example.

“When Tsipras traveled to Moscow to plead for financial help from Putin, in the hope for some respite from the fiscal hands of European donors, the Russian president sent him off on his way to Brussels instead,” Tzimas said.

Political realities aside, the positive image of Russia in Greece continues to endure. Recent polls show that Putin’s standing is high among Greeks. That is because people in the country are not fully aware of Russia’s human rights abuses, or how its foreign policy negatively impacts the Greek economy, Tzimas said

Next year, Greece will hold parliamentary elections. For Tsipras, and for the EU, the vote will be a litmus test of how his government has handled the current tensions with Russia.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/russian-meddling-in-greece-divides-traditional-orthodox-allies/a-44948712

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After 27 years, Greece and Macedonia have resolved their contentious ‘naming dispute.’ Here’s how.

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by Danilo Gjukovikj August 2 at 7:00 AM

After an astonishing 27 years at odds, in June, Macedonia and Greece reached a dramatic breakthrough in negotiations over what’s known as the Macedonia naming dispute. The dispute was, yes, over the former Yugoslavian nation’s name — but over much more as well, as we’ll see below. And after all that time, the June agreement solved the dispute simply: by renaming Macedonia as the “Republic of North Macedonia.”

What was at stake here — and why did resolving it take nearly three decades? Examining the long and complicated process can teach us a few practical lessons about international mediation.

A brief history of the naming dispute

In 1991, Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia and wrote into its constitution that its name was the Republic of Macedonia. The new nation’s southern neighbor, Greece, immediately opposed this, arguing that it implied territorial claims over Greece’s northern region — also called Macedonia.

That geographical claim has some history. Since the region was divided during the Ottoman Empire’s dissolution, various partisans have attempted to reunite broader Macedonia, which includes the present-day nation, northern Greece and southwestern Bulgaria.

But underlying this territorial dispute was one over which nation could claim the ancient Macedonian kingdom — birthplace and homeland of Alexander the Great — as its national heritage.

For almost three decades, neither side would budge from its core demands.

Greece demanded that “Macedonia” must not appear anywhere in the new nation’s name and insisted that its constitution be changed to eliminate that word as well. Macedonia was willing to take a different name for international use but refused to change its constitution.

At times, the standoff threatened the stability of the Balkans. In the 1990s, Greece blocked Macedonian attempts to join the United Nations and imposed an economic embargo. In 2008, Greece vetoed Macedonian membership in NATO, citing the stalemate over Macedonia’s name. A year later, Greece blocked Macedonia’s bid for E.U. membership.

Twice, the countries relaxed tensions slightly, but without reaching a real solution. In 1993, Macedonia agreed to use the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in return for U.N. membership. And in 1995, in an interim agreement, Macedonia agreed to change its flag and confirmed that it had no territorial ambitions over the Greek province of Macedonia. In return, Greece promised not to block Macedonian attempts to join international organizations.

But agreement over the name remained elusive — which blocked Macedonia’s membership in the European Union and NATO, despite accession support from both these institutions. The European Union and NATO fear that leaving Macedonia out might bolster Russia, which has engaged in activities aimed at preventing Balkan countries from joining NATO and succumbing to Western influence.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/02/after-27-years-greece-and-macedonia-have-resolved-the-contentious-naming-dispute-heres-how/?utm_term=.9fe3c5e6087a

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GREECE: DEVASTATED BY MAJOR FIRES, SURVIVORS URGENTLY NEED HELP

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Greece has declared a state of emergency after multiple wildfires burned out of control on either side of Athens. The fires reportedly just burst out in the forests near the seaside towns outside the Greek capital, prompting thousands of people to flee for their lives. Many jumped into the sea for survival to escape the flames. According to the Greek media, several of the dead

The wildfires have left Greece with a devastating aftermath, as the death toll has climbed to 91 people, with nearly 200 injured, and many are in critical condition. Twenty more are missing. Relatives and friends of the missing are constantly being uploaded online. One of the most publicized cases of missing people involved the nine-year-old twins, Sofia and Vasiliki Philipopoulou. After a few days passed, their distraught father thought he saw them on television, but it turned out to have been a false hope. Ultimately they were located, burned to death while hugging their grandparents.  Hundreds of homes have been destroyed or seriously damaged including an Orthodox orphanage. “Forty-five kids were forced to evacuate before the flames engulfed the premises of the foundation. They are temporarily housed in other children’s institutions in the area,” reported the news website, the Greek Reporter. “Frantic relatives headed to the Athens morgue to seek the fate of loved ones still missing. Many of the bodies were burned beyond recognition,” reported the newspaper Kathimerini.

“The procedure is difficult, harder than that of other mass disasters which we have dealt with in the past as a forensics department,” coroner Nikolaos Kalogrias said. “Here, the main cause of death was burning, in most cases the complete burning [of the body], so identification is very difficult.” The cause of the fires remains unknown. Greek officials are now investigating whether arsonists started the blazes. “Fifteen fires were started simultaneously on three different fronts in Athens,” government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said. According to Kathimerini, Greek Public Order Minister Nikos Toskas also cited arson, saying that “satellite image analysis and ground inspections provided ‘serious indications’ the fire that broke out in multiple places within a short time frame was set deliberately.” “Before Toskas’s news conference, the mayor of the area where it [the fire] broke out said it might have been sparks from a severed electricity pylon cable.”

The Greek Reporter related heart-wrenching stories from the tragedy. One of the victims, Thanasis Moraitis, “on vacation with his mother, wife and child in Mati, faced a terrible dilemma: To save his 90-year-old mother or the rest of his family? Sobbing as he went to give a DNA sample so the remains of his mother could be identified, Moraitis described how he had to leave his mother behind in the car as she could not walk easily. “He said that the flames were fast approaching the car. He grabbed his wife and child and ran to the sea. He turned back and watched for the last time as his mother engulfed in flames. ‘I did not even have the time to shout a last goodbye,’ he said. The family spent hours in the water before they were rescued.”

The incident marks Greece’s worst fire disaster since 2007 and has already become one of the deadliest fires Europe has seen this century, an AFP report says. If it is terrorism, the culprits have not yet been named. Although Islamic State (ISIS) has not claimed credit for arson, it has called for the setting of fires in the West. In an article titled “Just Terror Tactics” in the January 6, 2017 issue of ISIS monthly print publication, Rumiyah, ISIS called for its followers to use arson to spread fear. “This is a quick option for anyone intending to join the just terror campaign,” they wrote. ISIS also cited the November 22-27, 2016 fires in Israel as “an example of the effective use of fire for terrorism,” The Jerusalem Post reported. “The whole world witnessed the devastating fires that ravaged Jewish settlements in Palestine, destroying around 700 Jewish homes,” boasted the terror organization, adding that through arson, operatives can “impose terror on an entire country.” In the meanwhile, Tzanakopoulos said that the Greek government has requested drones from the United States to “detect any suspicious activity.”

It is unclear whether we will ever know the truth about how and by whom the fires got ignited. But whatever the cause of the fires is –arson, terrorism or negligence combined with weather conditions − what the survivors now urgently need is help and support. Nonprofit organizations and crowd-sourcing campaigns, such as the Hellenic Initiative, the American Hellenic Council and the Hellenic American Leadership Council, have launched emergency fundraisers in response to the tragedy. The American Jewish Committee has also announced that it is “supporting the relief efforts to help Greece.” The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) has launched the Greece Wildfire Relief Fund, in which they appeal for online donations here. The Greek Wildfire Victims campaign is collecting donations directly for the Hellenic Red Cross and Anima, a wildlife protection organization in Greece. And nonprofit foundation Desmos, which collects goods on the ground in Athens, has appealed for donations through their website and the Greece Wildfire Relief campaign. The lethal fires have left thousands of Greeks completely devastated. Now is the time to help.

About the author: Uzay Bulut, a journalist from Turkey, She is currently based in Washington D.C.

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Greece to start burying wildfire victims, government facing criticism

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ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece will this weekend begin burying the victims of a devastating wildfire near Athens which killed at least 88 people, and has prompted criticism of the government’s handling of the disaster.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday took political responsibility for the tragedy as opposition leaders said the government had failed to adequately safeguard lives.

On Sunday, three members of the same family are due to be laid to rest in the first known funeral since the blaze broke out last Monday in the seaside village of Mati, 30 km (17 miles) east of Athens.

“We will say our final goodbye to our much-loved Grigoris, Evita and Andreas … tragic victims in Mati,” the Fytrou family said in a statement published by the Athens news agency, asking media not to attend.

The search for the missing continues and many people remain in hospital, while the names of more victims have emerged.

Twin nine-year old girls Sofia and Vasiliki Filippopoulou, whose pictures have featured internationally, were confirmed dead, state broadcaster ERT reported on Saturday.

DNA tests showed the girls and their grandparents died in the blaze at Mati.

Their grandfather’s burnt-out car was located outside a plot of land where 26 people died, with some of the victims found embracing each other in death, ERT said.

Heavy downpours hit the region on Saturday, prompting fears that the work of rescue crews and efforts by locals to salvage what they can from the fire could be made more difficult.

The government has announced a long list of relief measures and promised to tackle decades-old problems, including haphazard and unlicensed residential building, to minimize the risk of a repeat disaster and to cool public anger.

A deputy mayor in Marathon, which administers some of the affected area, on Saturday became the first official to resign over the wildfire.

Editing by Andrew Bolton

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Violent Storm Hits Athens Video

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By Tasos Kokkinidis

A storm hit Athens on Thursday noon turning roads in the northern suburbs of the capital into rivers.

Traffic police closed main roads in Kifisia and Nea Erythrea as the torrents of water made driving conditions dangerous.

According to the fire brigade, they have received 140 calls for help and to pump out flood water from the two areas and in the suburbs of Vrilissia, Melissia and Penteli.

Most of the calls came from drivers trapped in vehicles in Marousi and Kifissia, while police said that some roads have closed in Kifissia and Nea Erithrea due to the floods, specifically the Erymanthou bridge in Kifissia and the Athens-Lamia national highway service road near the Vassilopoulos supermarket in Nea Erithrea.

In Marousi, dozens of cars in a parking lot were submerged under the water.

On Wednesday the Greek meteorological service issued an emergency warning, forecasting heavy rains and storms affecting parts of Greece, including the greater Athens area.

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