Greece achieved a primary surplus of €2.164 billion euros in the January-April period this year, from a primary surplus of €1.046 billion last year and a budget target for a primary deficit of €287 million.

Net budget revenues totaled €15.816 billion, up 2.4 pct from targets, while regular budget net revenues totaled €14.291 billion, down 0.6% from targets.

The Greek state budget showed a deficit of 508 million euros in the four month period, from a deficit of 1.146 billion euros in the corresponding period in 2014 and a budget target for a deficit of 2.918 billion, official figures showed
...


The Peace Boat sailed to the port of Piraeus yesterday (May 13). The 87th Global Voyage for Peace carries a delegation of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, who call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The Japanese delegation met with the President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos and addressed the Hellenic Parliament in a special session.

The Peace Boat is a non-governmental organisation based in Japan that was established by survivors from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Holocaust with the aim to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainable
...


  • La Traviata @ Greek National Opera
La Traviata by Verdi, one of the most celebrated operas of the international repertoire, will be inaugurated at the National Opera, on May 15. The tragic tale of The Lady of the Camelias, a narrative of the love of the courtesan Violetta Valéry for the spawn of a well-to-do family, will be presented on stage under the classic direction of Nikos S. Petropoulos. Top Greek singers of international standing, soprano Myrto Papathanasiou, the baritone Dimitris Platanias, Giannis Christopoulos and Dionysis Sourbis will be starring along with acclaimed
...


Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias is in Turkey for a series of meetings with the country’s leadership. After meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (11.05), Kotzias and his counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu agreed yesterday (12.05) to intensify exploratory talks on the issue of the continental shelf, to promote confidence-building measures and to back a new round of peace talks on Cyprus.

At a joint press conference following their talks, the two diplomats voiced their intention to boost trust and strengthen bilateral ties. “It is our shared desire to resolve the problems in the
...


Published biennially by the World Economic Forum, the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Reportmeasures the set of factors and policies that enable sustainable development in the Travel & Tourism (T&T) sector, which in turn, contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country. In the 2015 report, Greece ranked 31st among 141 countries. The country scored best in the following sectors: health & hygiene, tourist service infrastructure, prioritisation of the industry by the state, level of openness to an international environment, air transport infrastructure and number of World
...


Open House Athens, an architectural tour for city dwellers taking place May 15-17, gives participants a chance to access seventy city spots, from commercial and cultural venues to educational institutions and private homes that would otherwise be inaccessible. 

The list is long and diverse: The Biomedical Research Foundation in the uptown Cholargos district, the Railway Carriage Theatre in downtown Athens, apartment buildings in the recently rebuilt district of Gazi, the Museum of Greek Gastronomy, the Autism Centre in the outskirts, the Semiramis Hotel in the serene Kifissia district, the
...


The State Literary Translation Awards for 2014, concerning publications that appeared in 2013, were announced recently by the Ministry of Culture. The award for translating a Greek literary work into a foreign language was conferred to Birgit Hildebrand for the German translation of Christos Ikonomou's collection of sixteen short stories Something will Happen You'll See (Polis Editions), featuring people going through hardship in Athens.

The award for the best translation of a foreign work into Greek was assigned to Yorgos Blanas for his work in translating the 1959 novel Life and Fate, the
...


Ennovation is an international student competition on Digital Entrepreneurship, Innovation and e Business. Running through the Ennovation Universities Network, the competition aims to educate student researchers and encourage young entrepreneurship in the fields of internet, mobile business, and digital products and services.

The deadline for business ideas submission is May 15. By July 15, the teams with the most innovative ideas selected will be invited to submit a complete business plan and prototype. The competition concludes in September when five winning teams will be selected to
...


Welcoming the progress that has been achieved in the negotiations between the Greek authorities and its creditors, according to its statement on May 11, the Eurogroup notes: “We welcomed the progress that has been achieved so far. We note that the reorganisation and streamlining of working procedures has made acceleration possible, and has contributed to a more substantial discussion”. It points out however that more time and efforts are necessary to bridge the gaps on the remaining issues.

At a press conference following the meeting, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem remarked that the
...


Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, who is visiting Turkey, met with the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in Istanbul, on Monday (May 11).

In an hour-long meeting, the two officials discussed the initiation of exploratory talks on long-standing bilateral issues. In an interview with Turkish Public Television (TRT) ahead of the meeting, Kotzias noted that “we need to open the way to cooperation in the fields of culture and education. I think it is very much in the interest of Greece and Turkey to ensure stability and security in the region, particularly in the southeastern Mediterranean.”
...

rethinking greece f1

reading greece final

filming greece banner 234768