EU-DIGEST

Violent protests in Europe borne out of deeper frustrations - by Christine Spolar

The center-right government of Costas Karamanlis, increasingly unpopular amid mounting economic problems, didn't anticipate or understand how the anger had spiraled. The youth were suddenly lashing out at all that ails Greece: a weak government, an economy that remains one of the poorest of the European Union and their own bleak job prospects. They looted businesses, pelted police with stones and ran amok near government banks, offices and university campuses with Molotov cocktails. About 100 people have been injured. Property damage is an estimated $2 million. Talk of what happened in Athens and Thessaloniki has spread to Italy and Spain, which have had protests of their own.

Labels: EU, Greece

Greek unrest spreading in Europe

Six days of unrest in Greece is now spreading over to other European countries raising concerns that there is more violence to come. One of the main worries appears to be that the clashes could be a trigger for opponents of globalization, disaffected youth and others who are irate at the continent's economic turmoil and rising unemployment, AP reported. Because of the unrest in Athens, demonstrators in Spain, Denmark and Italy smashed shop windows, threw bottles at police and attacked banks and over in France, cars were set on fire on Thursday outside the Greek consulate in Bordeaux, where protesters scribbled graffiti about a looming 'insurrection'. The internet played a role in the protests with Greek website protesters updating each other on the locations of clashes and confirming that there had been sympathy protests in nearly 20 countries with more demonstrations planned for Friday in Italy, France and Germany.

Labels: EU, Globalization, Greece

Disorder on the Hellenic street | When nettles go ungrasped

There is something weird and frightening about the sight of a modestly prosperous European country—assumed by most outsiders to have recovered from its rocky history of coups and civil strife—that is suddenly gripped by an urban uprising that the authorities cannot contain. Greece’s travails seem all the odder after a recent economic record which, to judge by the basic numbers alone, looks tolerably good. Could this take place in any seemingly stable democracy, or does the land of democracy’s birth have special features? Well, the incident that sparked Greece’s mayhem—the killing by police of a teenager—could have happened almost anywhere. And there are many cities where an angry minority is ready to run amok: think of Budapest in 2006 or Paris in 2005. But in the Greek case a spasm of rage among youngsters and the bohemian underworld has laid bare a deeper seam of discontent: with corruption, maladministration and the sheer frustration of life at the bottom of the Athenian pile

Labels: EU, Greece

Strife-Torn Greece Begins to Show Signs of Calm - by RACHEL DONADIO and ANTHEE CARASSAVA

Life in Athens slowly returned to normal on Thursday following five days of disturbances and a general strike Wednesday. No major demonstrations were planned for the first time since Saturday, when a teenage boy was fatally shot by the police, setting off riots in the capital and other major cities that left hundreds of stores damaged and dozens of people injured. Small groups of students staged some protests, attacking police stations in Athens with rocks and bottles, the Greek media reported. Sporadic obstruction of traffic by youths was also expected.

“Things are a scale or two lower today,” said Panayotis Stathis, the national police spokesman. “There is a gradual de-escalation, and that’s how things will be going.”

Labels: EU, Greece

Greeks turn their ire on the capital's goose-stepping guards - by Nick Squires

It was the equivalent of launching an attack on the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace. Gangs of Greek protesters, incensed by Saturday's fatal shooting of a 15-year-old schoolboy by a police officer, hurled rocks and other missiles yesterday at the ceremonial guard outside Greece's parliament. The presidential guards are one of the country's most familiar tourist sights, famous for their theatrical goose-stepping, skirted tunics and distinctly unmilitary black pom-poms on the end of their hobnailed boots. Normally they stand stock-still in parliament's dazzling white marble forecourt, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Greeks accuse the centre-Right government of Mr Karamanlis of cronyism and corruption. A scandal over a property deal involving a powerful Greek Orthodox monastery led to the government's majority being reduced to just one seat in the 300-member parliament last month after Mr Karamanlis axed an MP. The economy suffers from crippling public debt and is suffering still from the budget blowout from the 2004 Olympics. The OECD predicts that Greece's economic growth rate will dip to a sluggish 2 per cent next year, as the manufacturing sector shrinks at a record pace.

Note EU-Digest: There is nothing sluggish in today's world economy about a 2% growth rate as this article of the Telegraph seems to imply. Certainly much better than Britain's economic growth at present. Fortunately also for Greece is that they are part of the Euro Zone, which has been a stabilizing factor of their economy. As usual this report by the Telegraph, like most of their articles covering the EU there is a distasteful undertone of Eurosceptisism.

Labels: Britain. EU, Eurosceptism, Greece

Bulgaria in talks to import Egyptian natural gas reducing dependence on Russian energy linking existing Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline

Sameh Fahmy the Egyptian oil minister held talks today (Thursday) in Bulgaria about selling up to 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year to the EU country, which is trying to cut its dependence on Russian energy imports. Egypt's Oil Minister said deliveries could begin in 2011-2012, starting at half a billion cubic meters per year.Dimitrov said Egyptian gas could come to Bulgaria through the existing Turkey-Greece-Italy pipeline if Turkey and Egypt were to link their gas networks. Such a link, he said, would be 'crucial to guarantee Egyptian supplies for the Nabucco gas pipeline project. The Nabucco pipeline was built to ease Europe's reliance on Russian energy. The EU gets about one-third of its oil and about 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia.

Labels: Bulgaria, Egypt, EU, Gas Supplies, Greece, Italy, Turkey

Greece -FM: Hu Jintao's visit highlights friendly ties between China, Greece and Greece - by Liang Yeqian

Chinese President Hu Jintao's ongoing official visit to Greece reflects the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries, Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said Monday in an interview with Xinhua. She said current Greek-Chinese relations, strong as they are, could be further strengthened through enhanced cooperation in the fields of commercial shipping, tourism, culture and education, and people-to-people exchanges. Bakoyannis said Greece has particular strength in the merchant shipping sector as it has the busiest ports in southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Greek ship-owners are currently the biggest and most important customers of Chinese shipyards, and nearly 50 percent of merchandise traveling to and from China are transported by Greek merchant fleets, she went on to say. She said the strategic partnership between Greece and China also includes their cooperation in international affairs, adding that her country supports increased dialogue between China and the European Union.

Note EU-Digest: Chinese President Hu Jintao has promised to expand maritime trade with Greece after finalizing a euro831.2 million (US$1b) container-port concession deal Tuesday. Under the agreement, China's Cosco Pacific Ltd. will receive a 35-year concession to manage two container terminals at Greece's main port of Piraeus.The agreement was signed after Hu met Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis for talks. Karamanlis said Greece will become a key transit point for Chinese goods bound for southeast Europe and the eastern Mediterranean.

Labels: China, EU, Greece, Ports, Shipping

Armenian, Greek worshipers come to blows at Jesus' tomb

Dozens of Greek and Armenian priests and worshipers exchanged blows in Christianity's holiest shrine on Palm Sunday, and pummeled police with palm fronds when they tried to break up the brawl. The fight is part of a growing rivalry over religious rights at Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher, built over the site where tradition says Jesus was buried and resurrected. A fist-fight broke out after Armenian clergy kicked out a Greek priest from their midst, pushed him to the ground and kicked him, according to witnesses. The Holy Sepulcher is shared by several Christian denominations according to a centuries-old arrangement known as the status quo. Each denomination jealously guards its share of the basilica, and fights over rights of worship at the church have intensified in recent years, particularly between the Armenians and Greeks.

Note EU-Digest:These unacceptable acts by Armenians and Greeks are a disgrace to Christianity and its holy places. Israel should consider banning these two factions from worshiping at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Labels: Armenia, Christianity, EU, Greece, Israel

Greece Interested in Azerbaijan’s Energy Corridor – Christos Folias Greek Minister (video)

Greece is interested in providing the availability of energy corridor to Azerbaijan, Turkey, Greece and Italy, Christos Folias- Greek Development Minister, said during the meeting with Natik Aliyev- Azerbaijani Industry and Energy Minister, in Baku. “There are common interests between Azerbaijan and Greece and these interests were discussed during the meeting,” the Greek Minister said. Folias said Greece has already ratified the energy agrement signed with Azerbaijan.

The Greek delegation to Azerbaijan includes -Creek Development Minister, as well as Secretary General of Sea Transport Ministry, president of National Strategy and Energy council, Directors Council of company DEPA, head of the Centre on Alternative Energy Sources and chairman of Greek Food organization.

Labels: Azerbaijan, EU, Greece

On Dec. 20, three days after his resignation as secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Christos Zahopoulos jumped from the fourth floor of his flat in Athens city centre. He has partly recovered but is going to face serious long-term health problems. The following day, Giannis Andrianos, press officer for Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, handed judicial authorities a DVD showing Zahopoulos engaging in intercourse with an ex-employee of the ministry. He claimed the DVD was given to him by a journalist. The material suggested that Zahopoulos attempted suicide because he was being blackmailed by Tsekou, who wanted permanent employment in the ministry. The ministry employs thousands of workers on seasonally updated contracts for long periods; as a result they face continuing insecurity about their employment status.It is still unclear who brought the DVD to the press officer of the PM, and for what purpose. But the situation has exposed an all-out war among big media tycoons connected to shadowy interests attached to political power. This has led to widespread expression of disenchantment with political life in the country. The government's handling of the case is particularly damaging Prime Minister Karamanlis who had made Zahopoulos, an old friend, his personal choice for the post. Karamanlis's New Democracy (ND) party has sought to present Karamanlis as a leader determined to fight corruption and to revive political ethics.

Labels: EU, Greece, Political, Sex

Greece wants Turkey to re-open Istanbul seminary

Greek Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis says he wants Turkey to re-open a Greek Orthodox seminary near Istanbul as a pre-condition for a Turkish EU membership. Mr Karamanlis is in Turkey for a three-day visit, the first such visit by a Greek government leader in 50 years. Turkey closed the seminary during the 1971 conflict over Cyprus. The Greek Orthodox Church says it cannot survive in Turkey without a seminary. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is working on a solution, but emphasised that Greece should respect the rights of its Muslim minority.

Labels: EU, Greece, Turkey

Greece on Serbia's EU prospect

Greece on Monday reiterated its support for "fastest possible" approach by Serbia towards the European Union, with the Greek foreign minister noting, in fact, that this is a "strategic choice" for Athens. FM Dora Bakoyannis made the statement after her meeting here with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, who arrived for an official visit to the Greek capital a day after the first round of presidential elections in Serbia. A closed-door half-hour meeting between the two foreign ministers was followed with a session that included participation of delegations from both sides. "I reiterated that Greece supports Serbia's course towards European and Euro-Atlantic institutions … We believe that a European Serbia will offer its people prosperity, so they (people) can look to the future with optimism," Bakoyannis told reporters after the meeting. She also noted that the thorny issue involving the Kosovo province's final status is at a crucial juncture.

Labels: EU, Greece, Serbia

Greece plagued by polluted waterways - by Thrasy Petropoulos who writes for the Athens News

"Led by the high-profile case of Lake Koroneia, almost all the lakes and waterways of northern Greece are suffering from serious pollution, according to research carried out by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Despite the country having an obligation to abide by to the EU's Water Framework directive (2000/60), which requires all water bodies to achieve a "good" status by 2015, a joint study by the university's biology, geology and civil engineering departments has found that a combination of untreated human and industrial waste and illegal farming practices continue to foul the vast majority of waterways of northern Greece. Only one lake, the man-made reservoir Thisavrou, in Drama, comes close to achieving this status, while some (Dipotamou, Mikri Prespa, Volvi, Verogitida, Doirani and, depending on levels of rainfall, Polyfytou) are recorded as "moderate to poor". The rest - including lakes Kastoria, Zazaris, Petron, Vistonida and Kirkini - are registered as "bad".Last month Environment Minister George Souflias announced fines totalling 715,700 euros on 20 companies polluting Koroneia, but a public prosecutor is still looking into why 27 million euros set aside for an urgent clean-up operation of the lake has still not been claimed."

Labels: EU, Greece, Pollution and the environment

Greece's Garganas urges action over high unemployment, inflation

The governor of the Bank of Greece, Nicholas Garganas, called on budgetary reforms to help counteract Greece's high inflation and unemployment levels. 'Unemployment levels continue to be high, which presents serious social and economic problem,' he said in an interview with yesterday with daily Kathimerini. Inflation remains above the euro zone average and measures to stabilise prices must also be taken, he added.

Labels: EU, Greece

Greece, Turkey open Europe's first supply of Caspian gas

Thessaloniki, Greece - The prime ministers of Greece and Turkey met along their heavily-militarised border littered with landmines to inaugurate a gas pipeline project on Sunday which will eventually ease Europe's dependency on Russian oil and gas.The 300-kilometre pipeline project is seen as an important stepping stone towards improving bilateral relations between the two traditional foes and will provide the European Union with its first supply of natural gas from the Caspian region, breaking away from Russia and the unstable Middle East. The Greek-Turkish pipeline will run from Bursa, Turkey to Komotini in Greece.

The pipeline will later be extended under the Adriatic Sea to Italy, connecting natural gas fields in Azerbaijan and Central Asia regions, to help supply energy-hungry markets in Europe by 2011.

Labels: EU, Greece, Natural Gas, Turkey

Five Greek soccer teams advance to UEFA Cup's group stage

Greek soccer has produced another surprise in Europe, this time sending all five participating teams into the group stage of the UEFA Cup. The five clubs from Greece represent the most from any country in the 40-team group stage of Europe's No. 2 competition. And, more amazingly, four of the teams got through despite losing Thursday in the second leg of the first round.

"They're all through!" Athens daily Ta Nea wrote. "It was a magic night for Greek soccer."

Labels: Europe, Greece, Soccer

Greece will veto Macedonia's NATO bid

Unless there is a compromise over its name, Macedonia's southern neighbor Greece will veto Skopje's effort to join NATO. The statement came Friday, from the Greek prime minister, Kostas Karamanlis.

"It is out of the question for Skopje to become a member of any organization, be it NATO or the EU, unless that country opts for adopting a name acceptable to all," he said during a televised debate in Athens.

Labels: EU, Greece, Macedonia, Nato

For the complete report in ANA click on this link

Greece FM's interview: 'Politicians have no gender'

"Did you at the beginning feel any awkwardness? Is it really hard to be a woman when you have political authority," journalist Antonio Ferrari asked in his opening question, to receive the reply from Bakoyannis that "No. Perhaps in the past it was like that, but today things have changed. Besides, I have always been of the conviction that politicians, like angels, have no gender".

To a question on how many Greeks acknowledged that she had the ability of vision, for example, given her encouragement of Turkey's EU course, Bakoyannis explained: "My 'yes' (to Turkey's eventual EU membership) is conditional. I don't believe that the problem lies in the fact that Turkey is a large Muslim country. I consider the crucial point to be Turkey's sharing of the common principles and values. When, in 10, 15 or 20 years' time Turkey will have made all the necessary steps, there will be no problems in its becoming accepted into the great European family. Finally, the reforms process (in Turkey) has slowed down. But, we all have the duty to encourage Ankara to proceed more quickly and more decisively".

Labels: EU, Greece, Turkey