The EU “wholeheartedly” congratulated Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras of Greece and Zoran Zaev (pictured) of FYROM (Republic of Macedonia) for their determination and leadership in reaching a “historic agreement” between their countries, which to the EU opinion will contribute to the transformation of the entire region of South-East Europe. Greece and Macedonia reach historic accord…
Tag: Greece
Greece: €180 million in aid to refugees
Today the European Commission has announced new funding of €180 million for aid projects in Greece, including to scale up the flagship ‘Emergency Support to Integration & Accommodation’ (ESTIA) programme which helps get refugees into urban accommodation and out of camps and provides them with regular cash assistance. The funding comes as Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and…
Twitter shuts microblog of Greek parliament group
Microblog social network Twitter has blocked the account of Greece’s far-right Golden Dawn party , the third-strongest in Greek parliament after winning 7% of the votes, in 2015 elections. The party also wins seats in European Parliament. According to current opinion polls, it is holding its ground among the voters, now at 6.8%. Golden Dawn…
EU to reintroduce long-term border controls
European Commission confirmed EU border controls could be extended in crisis, giving it more leeway to stem migration. We must preserve and strengthen #Schengen. Free movement and security = two sides of same coin. What do we propose? →https://t.co/Y8Hr3j4oSB pic.twitter.com/RSgELrSSTk — European Commission (@EU_Commission) September 27, 2017 The proposal by the EU executive comes as border…
Austrian politicians disapprove of Juncker’s voluntarism
Austria’s Social Democrat Chancellor Christian Kern and conservative Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz rejected European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker’s vision to expand eurozone to the East and a border control free zone. In his annual State of the European Union speech (#SOTEU2017), Juncker suggested a vision of a post-2019 EU where some 30 countries would be…
EU Commission laudits for migrant relocations
The European Commission has adopted its 14th progress report on relocation of asylum seekers within the EU and resettlement of refugees from outside the EU. The considers that that there is ‘good progress’ in the resolution of the situation. “With relocations reaching record levels in June (with over 2,000 relocated from Greece and almost 1,000…
Europeans wish migration resolved on EU level
Nearly two thirds of Europeans think decisions on migration should be taken at EU level rather than nationally, according to a Eurobarometer survey commissioned by Parliament. In addition eight out of ten people polled said asylum seekers should be “better distributed among all EU member states”. However, the answers vary considerably from country to…
Schaeuble questions ‘significant change’ in Greek bailout plan
The German parliament’s budget committee must decide if the bailout plan for Greece agreed by euro zone finance ministers and the IMF on June, 15 evening is up to the level of a significant change to the existing program, Germany’s finance minister said. In an interview with ARD television on June 15 (15.06.2017) , Finance…
Verhofstadt for investigation of refoulement of Turkish migrants
Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Liberal group in the European Parliament, has urged European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos to investigate allegations of refoulement of Turkish asylum seekers from Greece to Turkey. According to the Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR), Turkish citizens have crossed the Evros river on the border between Greece and…
Greece as a bridge between East and West
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered the Prime minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras strong support, saying the two countries should expand cooperation in infrastructure, energy and telecommunications. Xi told Tsipras that Greece is an important part in China’s new Silk Road strategy. “At present, China and Greece’s traditional friendship and cooperation continues to glow with new…
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