Greek Prime Minister’s First Trip Abroad

In Istanbul
On his first trip abroad to attend the informal meeting of the Southeast European Cooperation Process (SEECP) in Istanbul, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister George Papandreou, held talks, on October 9, with Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglou and discussed all issues concerning Greek-Turkish relations. Papandreou pointed out to Erdogan [...]

Greece: Political Leaders’ TV Debate

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) With pre-election fever soaring, the leaders of all political parties which are currently represented in the Hellenic and European Parliaments, competing for the October 4 national elections, will participate tonight (September 21) in a televised debate to be broadcast at 20:00 by ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation).
A panel of journalists will pose questions on six topics: the [...]

Papandreou Pledges Support to Cyprus

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Main opposition PASOK Party leader George Papandreou visited Cyprus yesterday to attend a memorial service for the late Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Yannos Kranidiotis.  Papandreou extended his gratitude for Kranidiotis’ work and his support to Cyprus’ president Demetris Christofias concerning the settlement of the Cyprus issue.  In his speech – three [...]

Greece has a Strong Case on the Name Issue

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was briefed yesterday on Foreign Yugoslav’s Republic of Macedonia’s decision to lodge an appeal with the International Court of Justice in The Hague, claiming that Greece violated the 1995 bilateral interim accord during last year’s NATO Bucharest summit.

Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis stressed that Greece has a strong case, [...]

Cyprus: A Devided Island, 35 Years After

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  35 years have elapsed since July 20th, 1974, a day which marked a turning point in the history of Cyprus. The Turkish invasion in the north of the island, which was facilitated by the then Greek totalitarian regime’s series of disastrous meddling, led to the brutal and permanent division of the island [...]

Greece – Serbia Connection

♦ Papoulias in Belgrade
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  President of the Hellenic Republic Karolos Papoulias is on a two-day official visit in Serbia. Papoulias was warmly received by his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadić in Belgrade yesterday (July 2), where they held talks on bilateral relations and the European prospect of Serbia. Tadić thanked Greece for its position [...]

Diplomacy on Migration

♦ Greek PM: Address at EPP Group Study
(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The government’s priorities are to accelerate reforms and tackle illegal immigration, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said on June 29, in his opening address to the European Peoples’ Party (EPP) Group Study Days taking place in Athens.  The premier also referred to the worsening problem of illegal [...]

Socialists’ Meetings in the Balkans

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  President of Socialist International and leader of the main opposition PASOK Party, George Papandreou will address the Socialist International Council Meeting in the Republic of Montenegro (June 29-30).  The meeting will focus on ways to deal with the economic meltdown, climate change, regional conflicts, recent developments in Iran and illegal migration.  Visiting [...]

EPP Group Convenes

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Recent European election results, the forthcoming challenges of the newly-elected European Parliament, the Swedish Presidency’s priorities and the European Parliament’s relations with the national parliaments constitute the focus of the EPP Group Study Days which is taking place in Athens from June 29 to July 2. The meeting will be attended by [...]

Greek Foreign Policy: Responsible & Confident

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)
Addressing an off-the-agenda parliamentary debate on the course of the country’s foreign affairs, Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis summarised the government’s expectations, achievements and challenges for the Greek foreign policy. On matters of primary concern for Greece, Karamanlis reiterated the government’s volition to endorse its neighbours’ European perspective on condition that the latter meet their [...]

Greek PM Meets US Lawmakers

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis met on Wednesday (18.2) with US Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias who were in Athens as part of their tour to Turkey, Greece and Cyprus. Karamanlis welcomed the two US lawmakers, the first official US delegation to visit Greece following the inauguration of [...]

Which Europe do We Want – Citizens Have Their Say

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The Office of the European Parliament in Athens in cooperation with the Citizens’ Movement “Kapodistrias-Spinelli-Europe” organisation  debated on the topic “European Elections 2009: Which Europe do we want. Citizens have their say,” on February 20, and addressed by deputies of the European Parliament. The 2009 parliamentary elections as well as a historic [...]

Greek Foreign Minister D. Bakoyannis on Foreign Policy

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis referred to the “new multi-polar balance of powers” – which has taken shape since the fall of the Berlin Wall – as well as to the political framework created by the current world economic crisis, during an address on Monday at an event organised by the Constantine Karamanlis [...]

Greek Foreign Minister on Images of Nations

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis outlined the factors that impact a country’s international image, addressing a two-day Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) international conference in Athens on the theme “Images of Nations: Strategic Communication, Soft Power and the Media,” which examines images of nations in an internationalised environment with the focus on possibilities [...]

Greek Think Tanks

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   ELIAMEP Thesis 1/2009: Attempting the Impossible? The Prospects and Limits of Mobility Partnerships and Circular Migration  In ELIAMEP Thesis 1/2009 Anna Triandafyllidou, Senior Research Fellow at ELIAMEP, argues that mobility partnerships and circular migration as proposed by the Commission in its respective Communication are not likely to work. The author holds that [...]

Opportunities for Greece

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Secretary General of Information Panos Livadas  visited the USA (Chicago, Atlanta, Washington) last  week (February 2-6). During his visit, Livadas holded a series of meetings with government officials, representatives of Greek diaspora organizations and the media. In Chicago, the Secretary General  met with the state of Illinois Finance minister, Alexi Giannoulias and the [...]

Greece: Public Administration Reform

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  “The evolution of Public Administration in Greece into a strong, reliable and efficient mechanism that guarantees high-level services to the public, is the priority for which the Interior Ministry has been striving for the past five years,” Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on January 29, addressing an event on progress in the [...]

Greece: New Deputy Minister Sworn in

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  Kostantinos Gioulekas was sworn-in on January 29 as Deputy Interior Minister, responsible for media issues, during a ceremony held at the Presidential Mansion. Gioulekas takes over one of the four new deputy minister posts created during a sweeping government reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis on January 7. Secretariat General for [...]

Greek Think Tanks

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)   In an ELIAMEP (www.eliamep.gr) paper titled “Governance in EU Social and Employment Policy – A Survey,”  G. Pagoulatos, M. Stasinopoulou and D. Sotiropoulos examine social and employment policy governance in the European Union since the launching of the European Employment Strategy (EES) and the Open Method of Coordination (OMC). The paper focuses [...]

Studying Greek Politics / A New Webside

(GREEK NEWS AGENDA)  The Greek Politics Specialist Group (GPSG) of the UK’s Political Studies Association (PSA) has just launched its new website at: www.gpsg.org.uk  The GPSG is an independent, international, non-profit network of political and social scientists with an interest in Greece. The Group has a strong record of promoting the study of Greek government [...]