22/07/2010

PM PAPANDREOU IN “FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE”

Prime Minister George Papandreou in an in-depth interview in the American magazine Foreign Policy (July 19) explained the reasons behind the crisis and the measures taken by his government in order to tackle it.

He stressed that with the support of the European Union, Greece decided against defaulting, which would cause insurmountable problems especially for the banking institutions in Greece and Europe alike.

He recognized that there was a lack of transparency; there was a lot of money that was lost, wasted, through a huge bureaucracy and patronage. Nevertheless, he highlighted that "we're committed to changing the situation.

My government, for example, has now brought in laws such as total transparency in all signatures in the public sector, putting more and more tax reform resources and contracts online."

The premier empathised with Greeks’ sentiments of unhappiness and pain, but "the wide majority of the people realize that we needed to make changes that were long overdue in our country, such as making governance much more responsible, and running the country much more transparent."

Finally, he debunked recent media stereotypes of Greeks being lazy and concluded saying that: "we've seen in this crisis is that we need more Europe, not less...[ ]

...We need to find global governance and we need to find it based on some common values on which we can agree - democratic values."

CURRENT ACCOUNTS SURPLUS

Greece reported a surplus of €250 million in its current accounts balance in May, after a deficit of €1.932 billion in the same month last year.

Read the Finance Ministry’s information on budget execution:

Budget Execution Bulletin & Central Government Budget Execution Data for the First Half 2010

Bank of Greece: Governor’s Annual Report: Summary of the Annual Report 2009

GREEK BANKING SYSTEM WILL PASS “THE TEST”

Addressing a discussion forum on Greek economy hosted by "Eurobank EFG," a Greek private bank, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou expressed his optimism that Greek banks will pass the European "stress tests." 91 European banks participate in the tests representing half of the European banking system (55%). In Greece, six banks, accounting for 90% of the local banking system, will be "put to the test."

Stress tests constitute a mechanism which helps banks assess the viability of their restructuring plan, in times of financial distress. The EU has so far conducted only one stress test - in 2009 for the banking sector as a whole - and the results indicated that the sector was sound.
The current stress tests will examine the status of individual banks, the results of which will be published respective EU countries.

European Central Bank: Stress Testing and Financial Stability Policies

GREEK MEDIA WORLD IN GRIEF

The Greek media world is shocked and appalled by the homicide of the 37-year-old investigative journalist Sokratis Ghiolias, who was ambushed on Monday outside his house in Athens. According to witnesses, gunmen pretending to be police or security officers lured the victim into the street and fired more than 15 times early Monday morning.

Ballistics evidence led the police to believe that the crime weapons have been used in past terrorist hits. Government Spokesman George Petalotis condemned the murderous act, stressing that "democracy and the freedom of the press cannot be strangled," while Parliamentary Speaker Philippos Petsalnikos expressed "outrage and grief." Sokratis Ghiolias was the head of a radio station and co-founder of a popular news blog.

INVALUABLE BYZANTINE ICON COLLECTION IN MOSCOW

The exhibition "Synaxis - Greek Art 15-20th century : Images in wood and paper" was inaugurated at the famous Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts on July 13, and runs until September 26.

Held under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this display will constitute a prelude to the cultural events of the "Year 2014 Greece-Russia," which will take place in 2014 as part of the special cultural exchanges between the two countries.

It is being held in cooperation with the Athens’ Benaki Museum and Moscow's Andrei Rublev Museum of Ancient Russian Art and with the support of the Onassis Foundation.

The exhibition comprises 135 important religious artworks on wood and paper, dating from the 15th to the 20th centuries, which come mainly from the Velimezis and the Margaritis Collections.
It has travelled to 20 museums internationally, over 18 years.

More information - Hermitage Museum Archive: Holy Images - the Greek Icons from the Velimezis Collection

ONE MILLION VISITORS AT PETRIFIED FOREST, LESVOS ISLAND

The Petrified Forest on the island of Lesvos is one of the most fascinating and rare monuments of geological heritage in the world. It could be compared with a quasi-natural archive that has recorded the geological history of the Aegean basin over the last 20 million years.

Some days ago, a group of scouts visited the Museum for an ordinary visit and when the last scout entered the building, it was announced that the Museum had just recorded one million visitors, since 1996.

As early as in 1985, the forest was declared a Protected Natural Monument and in 2004, it was included into the Global Geopark Network of UNESCO.

Since then, the monument has received many distinctions such as the ''Tourism and Protected Areas'' prize as a top sustainable tourism destination in Greece for 2009 by the European Commission-sponsored programme "European Destinations of Excellence" (EDEN).

To reciprocate, the scouts offered the Museum the official flag of the Greek Scout Movement centenarian.

See also: Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest

MUST SEE: MILOS CATACOMBS

Fully restored and offering its thousands of visitors full safety, the Milos Catacombs, one of the foremost Palaeo-Christian monuments in the world, are a must-see.

The site, in combination with the beauty of nature - awesome panoramic views of the deep blue of the Aegean Sea - renders a visit to the Milos Catacombs an unforgettable experience.

More information: Milos Island Info

WATER SPORTS IN GREECE

Greece is a water sports paradise, providing perfect conditions for adventures of the aquatic variety from - June to October. Water sports facilities and clubs can be found on many islands as well as in the Attica region, just an hour away from Athens.

Windsurfing

Conditions in Greece are perfect for windsurfing, especially during July and August, when the northern “meltemi” wind blows across the Aegean. The sport became extremely popular in the country in the 90s after Nikos Kaklamanakis’s gold medal in the Atlanta 1996 Olympics.

There are several windsurfing clubs around Attica – the closest to Athens being in Varkiza. On the east coast of Attica, windsurfing clubs can be found in Schinias and Loutsa. 

Kite Surfing

Kite surfing -the newest and more adrenaline-inducing surf experience- has been growing rapidly in popularity in Greece in the last few years.

In Attica the Aiolos Surf Club in Loutsa offers lessons for beginners while on the island of Paros there is a Kiteboarding Center, home of the official International Kiteboarding Organization School.

Wake-boarding & Water Skiing

Water-skiing has been around for some decades now while wake-boarding is a relatively new entry into the world of water sports.

Clubs that offer facilities and lessons on both can be found in places such as Schinias, Poros, Halkis and Kaiafa Lake 

Sea Kayaking

Sea kayaking offers the opportunity not only to enjoy practicing a water sport, but also explore surrounding areas.  In that sense, the Ionian Sea is considered to be an ideal place to practice this activity.

With dramatic coastal cliffs, fascinating sea caves, unspoiled beaches, and turquoise bays of sparsely inhabited isles, along with traditional fishing villages, Venetian fortresses, and ancient Orthodox monasteries, the region is considered one of the world’s top 10 kayaking destinations.