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Welcome, 77 artists, 40 different points of Attica welcomes you by singing Erotokritos an epic romance written at 1713 by Vitsentzos Kornaros

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Greece to 'seal' border against Syrian refugees


The Voice of Russia

Greece to 'seal' border against Syrian refugees
Southeast European Times
Greece will add 1800 guards along its northern border with Turkey and put 26 floating barriers along the river that divides the countries in an attempt to keep a potential wave of refugees fleeing Syria out of the country, officials said. Greece has ...
Greece spooked by Syrian refugeesEUobserver.com
Greece to place more guards at Turkey border to deter refugeesWorkpermit.com

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Greece's Lenders Ask for More Details on Austerity Plan -Source


Atlanta Journal Constitution

Greece's Lenders Ask for More Details on Austerity Plan -Source
Wall Street Journal
ATHENS--Greece's international creditors have called on Athens to provide more details on its 11.5 billion euro ($14.14 billion) austerity plan needed to keep open funding lines to the country, a senior Greek government official said Thursday. In the ...
Greece resumes debt talks with inspectorsAtlanta Journal Constitution
Greece resumes austerity talks with debt inspectors after coalition government ...Washington Post
Greece agrees €11.5bn spending cutsCNN

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Derek Scott obituary

Former Blair adviser who foresaw dangers from the European single currency

Derek Scott, who has died from cancer aged 65, was a former economic adviser to Tony Blair in Downing Street and a first-hand witness to the obstructive and challenging attitude displayed towards the then prime minister by Gordon Brown as chancellor. What made Scott's position unique was that more than 20 years earlier, he had been special adviser to Denis Healey when he was chancellor and witnessed his relationship with James Callaghan at No 10.

In his book Off Whitehall, published in 2004, a year after he left Downing Street, Scott wrote a chapter on Blair and Brown's explosive relationship, providing one of the most revealing accounts of the damaging schism at the centre of the Labour government. Describing his earlier experience, however, he wrote: "Callaghan and Healey generally got along well with each other and, as the latter's special adviser, my relationship with my opposite number at No 10 was one of genuine mutual trust and openness without in any way diluting our respective obligations to our political bosses."

The publication of the book was much criticised, since it came from someone who had left the political stage for a lucrative career in the City. It played into the hands of the media with a number of fruity new examples of the degree of dysfunction within the government, yet Scott's main aim had been to write about the politics and economics of the European Union, and to draw attention to the dangers of economic and monetary union and the single currency.

His problem was that he could not do this without exposing his insider's account of the interaction between Blair and Brown on such a significant issue. It is a cruel irony from which he would have gained no satisfaction that it was only in the last months of his life that Scott was proved profoundly correct in the warnings he offered of the dangers the Euro posed to the financial and political stability of Europe – with particular reference to the possible need for other member states to bail out Greece and Spain.

The episode is, in its way, characteristic of the man. Scott held forceful opinions that he did not keep to himself in the manner of a more subtle political strategist. He was not a tolerant person who was prepared to accept a political position with which he disagreed for the sake of his own future. Probably in consequence, he sacrificed his dearest ambition for a political career of his own as an MP.

He had perfect credentials for a potential Labour MP, having worked for a trade union after university and followed his first stint at the Treasury by working as economic adviser to Callaghan after Labour lost office in 1979. He had earlier spent four years on Kensington and Chelsea council from 1974, when he and I were elected as the two Labour members for Kelfield ward in deprived North Kensington.

He was intelligent, handsome, personable and unstinting in the time he was prepared to devote to politics. But the Labour party was increasingly riven by the political infighting of the period, and while Healey successfully persuaded Scott on one occasion not to leave Labour for the Social Democratic party, he eventually rejected this advice despite his respect and admiration for his former boss.

He fought Swindon for the SDP in 1983 and came a respectable third, but in doing so deprived the long-standing Labour MP David Stoddart of the seat, which went to the Tories. He made a second attempt in Swindon in 1987, but left the SDP when it merged with the Liberals, and by the early 1990s he was once again a Labour party member. His official rehabilitation was marked by a telephone call from Peter Mandelson in 1994 offering him the economic post, with Blair as the new opposition leader.

By his own account, Scott remained an outsider in Blair's entourage, however, and inevitably found many of his former Labour friendships difficult to maintain; nor did his continuing pursuit of a parliamentary seat prosper. In 1997 he lost the Pontefract selection that went to Yvette Cooper – with whose husband, Ed Balls, he then spent the next six years in direct confrontation.

Scott was the son of John, a jeweller from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and his wife, Alice. He left school without A-levels to work in the family business but, realising he had made a mistake, resumed his education. He went to Liverpool University and subsequently took two master's degrees in economics at the London School of Economics and Birkbeck College, London. He was a football enthusiast, who supported Aston Villa and played for the Guardian team in the 1970s.

In 1985 he married the political journalist and broadcaster Elinor Goodman. They divorced in 2007. In 2010 he married Gisela Stuart, the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, with whom he had worked increasingly closely on their shared antipathy to further European integration.

Gisela survives him.

Derek John Scott, economist and political adviser, born 17 January 1947; died 1 August 2012


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Morning Market Roundup: Jobless Claims Up, Greece Back in Spotlight, United ...


Morning Market Roundup: Jobless Claims Up, Greece Back in Spotlight, United ...
TheBlaze.com
Greece: Greece's coalition government has resumed austerity negotiations with international debt inspectors, after narrowly avoiding a political crisis that officials said had threatened the country's future in the eurozone. Inspectors from the ...

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Greek July Economic Sentiment Rose on New Government


Greek July Economic Sentiment Rose on New Government
Bloomberg
(Corrects to show IOBE foundation corrected its retail sector sentiment figure in last paragraph.) Greek economic sentiment improved in July after national elections in June led to the formation of a government under Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. An ...
Greek Economic Sentiment Improves on New CoalitionNASDAQ

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Greece resumes debt talks with inspectors




ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's coalition government has resumed austerity negotiations with international debt inspectors, after narrowly avoiding a political crisis that officials said had threatened the country's future in the eurozone.


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Greece Resumes Debt Talks With Inspectors


Greece Resumes Debt Talks With Inspectors
NPR
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's coalition government has resumed austerity negotiations with international debt inspectors, after narrowly avoiding a political crisis that officials said had threatened the country's future in the eurozone. Inspectors ...


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Greece resumes debt talks with inspectors


Atlanta Journal Constitution

Greece resumes debt talks with inspectors
Atlanta Journal Constitution
ATHENS, GreeceGreece's coalition government has resumed austerity negotiations with international debt inspectors, after narrowly avoiding a political crisis that officials said had threatened the country's future in the eurozone. International ...
Greece's Leaders Agree on New Austerity PlanWall Street Journal
Greece agrees €11.5bn spending cutsCNN
Greece austerity cutsUPI.com

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Greece To Issue More T-Bills, Tap Bank Fund To Cover ECB Bond-Sources


Greece To Issue More T-Bills, Tap Bank Fund To Cover ECB Bond-Sources
Wall Street Journal
Greece plans to issue more Treasury bills this month and tap its bank recapitalization fund to pay a 3.2 billion euro ($4 billion) repayment to the European Central Bank and fund its financing needs until the end of September, two senior Greek ...

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Samaras Secures Greek Budget Plan as Coalition Discord Grows


BBC News

Samaras Secures Greek Budget Plan as Coalition Discord Grows
San Francisco Chronicle
2 (Bloomberg) -- Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras overcame growing differences with his two coalition partners to secure 11.5 billion euros ($14.1 billion) of budget cuts and keep international rescue funds flowing. Samaras brokered the accord with ...
6-week-old Greek coalition government averts collapse over new austerity ...Washington Post
Greek leaders agree budget cutsReuters

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European Commission welcomes government agreement

The European Commission welcomed an agreement reached by the government on new structural reforms and called on Thursday for their determined implementation.

"The 10 priorities for structural reform announced today by the minister of development are a clear sign of the commitment of the Greek government to bring about the much-needed reform of the Greek economy. This is welcome," the Commission said in a statement.

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EU Welcomes Greece's Commitment to Structural Reforms


EU Welcomes Greece's Commitment to Structural Reforms
Wall Street Journal
BRUSSELS--The European Commission welcomed Thursday Greece's commitment to undertake structural reforms, saying the country's outline of 10 priorities is a sign of the government's intention to carry out an overhaul of the economy. "The pursuit of ...
EU Commission welcomes Greek reform pledge, wants implementationReuters

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Greece To Issue More T-Bills, Tap Bank Rescue Fund To Cover ECB Bond ...


San Francisco Chronicle

Greece To Issue More T-Bills, Tap Bank Rescue Fund To Cover ECB Bond ...
Wall Street Journal
Greece plans to issue more Treasury bills this month and tap its bank recapitalization fund to pay a 3.2 billion euro ($4 billion) repayment to the European Central Bank and fund its financing needs until the end of September, two senior Greek ...
Lagarde says IMF stands by Greece, urges euro zone actionReuters
IMF Head: We Stand by GreeceFox Business
IMF Chief Lagarde Praises Greece, Spain for EffortsBusinessweek

all 294 news articles »

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Greece agrees €11.5B spending cuts

Greece's three-party coalition has reached agreement on €11.5bn of spending cuts over the next two years after the socialist party leader dropped objections to further planned reductions in pensions and public sector wages.

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Pre Market Briefing, including 'Greek coalition leaders back budget cuts'


Pre Market Briefing, including 'Greek coalition leaders back budget cuts'
Proactive Investors UK
The two coalition partners of the conservative-led government of Greek Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, have agreed to an 11.5 billion of budget cuts which are required as a requisite to qualify for further international rescue funds. S&P affirmed ...

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Greek leaders agree on budget cuts, Italy says no to EU help


Greek leaders agree on budget cuts, Italy says no to EU help
Xinhua
BRUSSELS, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Greek political leaders agreed Wednesday on further budget cuts demanded by foreign lenders in exchange for more aid, but Italy's prime minister stressed that his country does not need any help from its eurozone partners.


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IMF Chief: Re Greece; 'The IMF Never Leaves The Table'


IMF Chief: Re Greece; 'The IMF Never Leaves The Table'
ForexLive (blog)
IMF Chief: Re Greece; 'The IMF Never Leaves The Table'. By Market News International || August 1, 2012 at 17:30 GMT. || 0 comments || Add comment. –Will Be Honest But Will Also Be Demanding With Greek Government –Global Econ Picture 'Bleak'; Does ...

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Greece agrees €11.5bn spending cuts

Greece's three-party coalition has reached agreement on €11.5bn of spending cuts over the next two years after the socialist party leader dropped objections to further planned reductions in pensions and public sector wages.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT edition.cnn.com

Greece's Leaders Agree on New Austerity Plan


AFP

Greece's Leaders Agree on New Austerity Plan
Wall Street Journal
ATHENS—Greece's government on Wednesday agreed to take fresh austerity measures of €11.5 billion ($14.1 billion) for 2013 and 2014 after junior partners in the ruling coalition dropped demands to implement the steep cuts over a longer period, paving ...
Greek coalition partners agree on spending cutsMacon Telegraph (blog)
Greece approves another €11.5 bn spending cutsNASDAQ
Greece agrees new spending cuts to keep bailoutBBC News
Financial Times -AFP -Reuters
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IMF Head: We Stand by Greece


IMF Head: We Stand by Greece
Fox Business
But with the IMF-EU program in Greece way off track and European officials already saying that the country will need further debt restructuring, questions are arising over whether IMF member countries will seek to change course on Greece. "The IMF ...


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Struggling euro nations jockey for central bank intervention


Business Insider

Struggling euro nations jockey for central bank intervention
Los Angeles Times
Greek leaders reluctantly agreed Wednesday to slash an additional $14 billion in government spending over the next two years in an attempt to show creditors their intent to remain in the Eurozone. In Spain, another of the 17-nation monetary union's ...
IMF Chief Lagarde Praises Greece, Spain for EffortsBusinessweek
Greece - Nothing Has Changed: It's Not Over Yet!Seeking Alpha
Estimate: Greek euro-exodus would cost Finland EUR 5.4 billionHelsingin Sanomat
Business Insider -YLE News
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