International

The arrogance of power is very costly, especially if you constantly claim to be incorruptible, above it all, and the judge of all else. It is in small and otherwise insignificant incidents that the credibility, morals, and consequence of politicians are often proven.

Over the past days, Zaev has made a string of statements that reject some of Athens’ basic negotiating positions, and then he immediately praises the Greek government’s political will to achieve a solution.

Data on the execution of the state budget for January, 2018, on an adjusted cash basis, indicate a surplus in the state budget balance sheet of nearly 1.58 billion euros

When hundreds of thousands of Greeks are scraping to pay real estate and other taxes, Alternate Labour Minister Rania Antonopoulou was renting a 1,000 euro a month flat in posh Kolonaki, underwritten exclusively by the state, with the approval of her own ministry and the finance ministry

“In our experience of covering shipping we have seen our share of questionable deals, but this one takes the cake, in our view, and there is not a close second,” Nolan wrote in a Stifel Research Note.

The representatives of the ESM, the ECB, the European Commission and the IMF, are expected to discuss the fiscal measures for 2019.

The resolution of the “Macedonian” issue, settling relations with Albania, management of Turkish aggressiveness and claims in the Aegean and Cyprus, and managing to secure an exit from the crisis, all demand at least good will and a sound basis for dialogue.

European Council President Donald Tusk, speaking on behalf of all 27 European Union member-states, denounced Turkey’s bellicose activity in the Aegean and Cyprus.

In effect, Zaev is arguing that Greece must be satisfied by verbal assurances of Skopje’s denunciation of decades-long irredentist propaganda, which centres on the theory, taught in school books, that the real borders of the Slavo-Macedonians are Thessaloniki and the Aegean.

In its decision, the court stressed that the contractors must “religiously abide by environmental, city planning, architectural and legislative provisions and regulations”. The planned high-rise towers approved for 'reasons of public interest' a divergence from the bans on such structures.

The Corruption Prosecutor’s Office has begun taking a fresh series of depositions from the three protected witnesses in the Novartis investigation, but it is unclear in the testimony involves politicians or doctors, state functionaries and others

Turkish aggressiveness and developments in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), EU-Turkey relations, the FYROM naming issue, and Greek-Albanian relations are the topics that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will discuss in meetings with other leaders, on the sidelines of today’s informal EU summit.

The terrain in the area of generic drugs is also problematic, due to low market penetration and pricing problems. Greece ranks fourth from last among the 27 OECD countries, as regards the use of generic drugs.

These short-term rentals will be taxed at the same rate as long-term apartment or house rentals of between 15 percent for up to 12,000 euros, and 45 percent for annual rental revenues of over 35,000 euros.

Zaev underlined the importance of confidence-building measures in laying the groundwork for mutual trust between the two peoples, which can guarantee the long-term viability of any settlement, alongside the necessary legal guarantees.

Moody’s said that Greece is expected to maintain over the coming years its improved fiscal and institutional performance, and that this will support the recovery of the economy and of the banking system.

Barring the introduction of fresh, incriminating evidence against any of the 10 politicians, legal experts say that the file will most likely be returned to the judiciary, as the crimes of bribe-taking have already been written off due to an exceptionally brief statute of limitations on crimes committed by ministers while in office

The general references to the real scandal of the increase in state spending on drugs and pharmaceuticals, does not lead to the conclusion, or justify the charge that these politicians engaged in unlawful acts.

The European Commissioner for Migration and former New Democracy health minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, has submitted a memorandum to the Greek Parliament regarding the Novartis scandal, in which he states that he took every possible step as health minister to protect public funds.

Those labouring under the allegations of protected witnesses, have stressed that the allegations against them are nothing more than a mixture of hearsay, speculations, and conjecture.