Since emerging from its international bailouts and a decade-long economic crisis, the Greek economy is now surging, outperforming its eurozone partners with its economy expected to grow nearly 3% this year. Despite this positive outlook, there are key challenges ahead, as some economies in the eurozone have slowed down, and many Greeks hurt by the …

Following Iran’s latest attack on Israel over the weekend Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said that Greece plans to develop a defense system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome aimed at safeguarding the country against airborne threats. Meanwhile, while Iran was also the focus of a summit in Brussels, EU leaders also highlighted relations with Turkey, lin…

Back in February, the readout from the 5th US-Greece strategic dialogue saw the US and Greece stress the importance of integrating youth in climate change mitigation and resilience, including through a youth corps exchange program that links the California Conservation Corps with Ecogenia in Greece. Thanos Davelis caught up with Larry Notheis, the …

The memoirs of former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble were recently released in Germany. As expected, Greece features heavily. All the key moments of the crisis and its main actors are sketched in his memoirs, from the times Grexit was genuinely on the table, to his dealings with prime ministers Papandreou, Samaras, and Tsipras, and finan…

Last week thought leaders, politicians, experts and the business community gathered in Delphi in Greece for the 9th Delphi Economic Forum. The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) had an important presence there as well, leading discussions on the role of the diaspora, the importance of Cyprus, the Middle East post October 7th, and the futur…

Reports indicate that a new flotilla to Gaza is being prepared out of Turkey. 14 years ago we saw a similar move take place, when the attempt to send the Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza led to a diplomatic crisis. Rich Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies with a deep expertise in sanctions policy who previously serv…

Years after its collapse in Iraq and Syria at the hands of a US-led coalition, it looks like ISIS is making a comeback. As reports indicate, ISIS has been expanding its presence in Syria, attacking regime soldiers, civilians, and the US-backed Kurdish-led SDF. An underreported element of this story is Turkey’s role in the revival of the Islamic Sta…

Greece’s government just announced the creation of two new marine parks – in the Ionian and Aegean seas. The move comes a week before Athens is set to host the 9th Our Ocean Conference on April 16 and 17, which will see key stakeholders not only put a spotlight on issues related to the protection of the seas, but also present a series of concrete p…

Turkey announced it was restricting exports on a wide range of products to Israel on Tuesday, in Ankara's first significant measure against Israel after six months of war. The decision comes after Turkish President Erdogan’s party suffered a historic defeat in the municipal elections, a result which experts Sinan Ciddi and Steven Cook argued in For…

The last decade Thucydides has moved to the center of the discussion, with concepts like the “Thucydides trap” debated in policy circles in Washington, DC when looking at how to navigate US relations with a rising China in what appears to be a new era of great power competition. So what can Thucydides tell us about our world today? This was the foc…

Migration is top of the agenda this week in Cyprus, with President Nikos Christodoulides calling for the EU to step in to help Cyprus deal with a surge in arrivals on its shores. Cyprus is pressing Brussels to designate parts of Syria as safe for returns of migrants, and also to condition EU aid to Lebanon on its preventing migrants from departing.…

Greece is ramping up its firefighting efforts, with authorities betting on a host of preventive measures - from the deployment of firefighting aircraft to increased staffing in specialized forest firefighting units - as temperatures touched 30 degrees Celsius in late March and wildfires already broke out weeks earlier than expected. On top of multi…

With the EU elections on the horizon, one party in Greece, Greek Solution, is seeing a notable surge in support. The rise of this far right nationalist party also mirrors broader trends in the far right across Europe, and many are beginning to ask whether this resurgent far-right is here to stay. Dr. Georgios Samaras, an assistant professor of publ…

Greece has just opened a new vacation visa terminal for Turkish visitors this week as part of a diplomatic effort to ease long-standing tensions between the two countries. The move follows the signing of a series of agreements between Greece and Turkey during President Erdogan’s meeting with Prime Minister Mitsotakis in Athens in December, most not…

Less than a year after securing another term, Turkish President Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party suffered its worst defeat in its 22-year history in Sunday’s municipal elections. All eyes were on Istanbul, where Ekrem Imamoglu easily won reelection and is increasingly cementing his place as Erdogan’s political challenger. Amberin Zaman, Al-M…

On Friday US and Turkish officials confirmed that Turkey’s President Erdogan will visit the White House on May 9th, a move that has been described as an apparent quid pro quo for Ankara’s decision to finally green-light Sweden’s NATO membership. Alan Makovsky, veteran Turkey analyst and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, joins Thano…

Can a small antique table give us insight into the history of an entire city and its broader connections to the region? A recent quest for such an antique sent Sean Mathews, a journalist based in Greece and covering the broader Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, on a trip to Thessaloniki that quickly revealed just how multi-layered and cosmopol…

A few weeks ago Greece passed a law allowing the operation of private, non-profit universities, including allowing foreign private universities to set up branches in the country. The move came despite weeks of demonstrations that included scores of university building occupations by students. Despite this, opinion polls indicate that most Greeks ag…

Earlier this year Kathimerini organized a three-day conference looking back at the 50 years since the restoration of democracy in Greece in 1974, or the Metapolitefsi. We saw a gathering of some of the most influential people of this period, including former prime ministers, who discussed in depth the numerous crises the country has gone through du…

As we celebrate Greek independence day today, March 25th, we’re going to take a deeper look at one of the crucial figures of the Greek Revolution of 1821, Lord Byron. Aside from his status as a world renowned poet at the time, he is also perhaps the most famous philhellene to travel to Greece and ultimately give his life for Greek independence in 1…

This past week Washington’s attention has been on Cyprus and the humanitarian corridor from Gaza, from President Biden’s letter thanking President Christodoulides, to the National Security Council’s chief of staff visiting Cyprus. Cyprus is also going to be a central theme for diaspora Greeks as celebrations for Greek independence day kick off on M…

With Ukraine facing a resurgent Russia, NATO leaders have been clear that they do not and “will never recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexations, including Crimea.” While Western leaders speak clearly when it comes to Ukraine, their uncompromising positions are unfortunately undermined when NATO remains largely silent over the preceden…

In a speech on Monday Turkey’s President Erdogan not only defended the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, but went even further, stating that if Turkish troops hadn’t stopped then all of Cyprus would be Turkish today. His comments come as a new UN special envoy is looking for ways to restart talks on Cyprus and amid efforts by Athens and Ankara to…

As in the past, the upcoming municipal elections in Turkey are playing a key role in shaping the country's economic policies. While time and resources have been wasted due to Erdogan’s political priorities, soaring inflation - which surpassed 67% earlier this year - and the cost of living crisis has made daily life increasingly difficult for most c…

The rise of the far right nationalist party Greek Solution is attracting the interest of many who follow Greek politics, especially due to its approach to issues like Athens’ support for Ukraine. If Greek Solution’s growing appeal in the opinion polls continues ahead of European elections in June, it could even end up in third place. Tom Ellis, the…

In 2019 the municipal elections in Turkey garnered widespread attention both inside and outside the country, especially with Turkish President Erdogan’s handpicked AKP candidates losing Istanbul and Ankara. Erdogan is now intent on winning both back. Ayla Jean Yackley, an Istanbul-based journalist covering Turkey with stories in The Financial Times…

How critical was the US role during the Greek debt crisis, and how does it fit into then President Barack Obama’s wider approach to US foreign policy, especially at a time when the US was looking to pivot to Asia? Katerina Sokou, who holds the research fellowship at ELIAMEP on “Greek-American Relations” and who covered the Greek crisis from Washing…

Egypt is set to receive a €7.4 billion aid package to not only shore up the country’s economy, but also curb migration. The move comes amid fears that the conflicts in Gaza and Sudan risk exacerbating financial troubles in the country while raising concerns of new waves of immigration to Europe. There are concerns that Crete, which is already seein…

The European Commission is set to recommend that the EU open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite lingering ethnic divisions in the Western Balkan country. This comes after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that it’s “not enough to just wait for the Western Balkans to move closer” to the EU. At the same tim…

We’ve just seen consecutive visits to the US by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, with both officials discussing a series of issues - from the wars in Gaza and Ukraine to trade and investments - with the White House, the State Department and Congress. This has many wondering if we are seeing a “new momentum”…

On Friday the US, EU, Cyprus, and other countries involved formally announced their backing for a sea aid corridor to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, built around a proposal developed by Cyprus last year. The move follows President Biden’s announcement in the State of the Union of a plan for the US military to establish a temporary port on the co…

On Wednesday international headlines all focused on the Russian ballistic missile that struck a few hundred meters from where Greece’s Prime Minister Mitsotakis was meeting with Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy in Odesa. Ambassador Spiros Lambridis, Greece’s special envoy for Ukraine, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss this incident and look at the broad…

This week an Albanian court sentenced Fredi Beleri, the imprisoned mayor-elect of Himare, to 2 years in prison. Beleri slammed the trial and the court’s decision as a “sham”. This case is about much more than one individual, however, touching on deeper issues in Greek-Albanian relations. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, …

When China’s Belt and Road Initiative was formally launched in 2013, it was touted as a world-spanning push to replicate the economic and political impact of the Silk Road. As it made investments across the world - including in the port of Piraeus during the depths of the financial crisis - Western capitals sought to counter Beijing’s growing influ…

In 2020 Turkey’s government changed the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. Now, Ankara is looking to repeat this with another important UNESCO World Heritage site, Chora Church. In response, HALC has launched a petition calling on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to exert pressure on Turkey f…

The US Senate put the Turkey F-16 deal back in the spotlight this week, with Senator Rand Paul initiating a debate over why this sale to Ankara was proceeding. While some key Senators stressed that a “deal is a deal”, they also voiced their deep concerns about Turkey - from its human rights record to its aggression across the region. Endy Zemenides…

This past weekend SYRIZA held a 4 day convention that was filled with drama and chaos, with both its identity as well as its leadership being challenged. With a new leadership race narrowly avoided, the question remains if there is a leader in the fragmented center left that can unite the opposition. At the same time, recent polling shows an increa…

The current crisis in the Middle East - from Gaza to the Red Sea - is threatening the stability of Egypt, one of the most important countries in the Arab world. Policymakers from Washington to Athens know that if Egypt falls the aftershocks would be felt across the region, as the ensuing social explosion would cause chaos, uncontrollable migrant fl…

In late December a petition was launched titled “Nostos for Greek Adoptees,” asking the Greek state to recognize some 4,000 Greek-born adoptees - the so-called Lost Children of Greece. While there were many legal adoptions during the post-war era, many were not. Dr. Mary Cardaras, a Greek-born adoptee, author, journalist, and founder and director o…

Last year was a record year for Greek tourism, with the latest statistics showing a remarkable comeback for the sector from the years of lockdowns during the pandemic. While these trends are welcome, there are also some worrying signs, as 2023 saw an increasing use of the term “over tourism”. Georgia Nakou, a features editor at MacroPolis - a speci…

This past week protests and politics took center stage in Greece, as farmers - like many of their European counterparts - descended on Athens with their tractors to demand that the government do more to improve their working and living conditions. As the protests were wrapping up, Greece’s main opposition party SYRIZA kicked off a convention that h…

On February 18th the floating storage regasification unit in Alexandroupoli received its first test shipment of U.S. liquefied natural gas. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt described the successful opening of the Alexandroupolis FSRU as a ‘milestone” in “the longstanding transatlantic effort to diversify European ene…

As Western leaders gathered in Munich this weekend for the Munich Security Conference, warnings about Russian President Putin’s possible next moves were mixed with Europe’s growing concerns that it could soon be abandoned by the United States as aid to Ukraine is stalled in Congress and former President Trump casts doubts on America’s commitment to…

Last week Turkey’s President Erdogan traveled to Egypt, where he met with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. While both leaders said they were turning a "new leaf" in their relations after over a decade of estrangement, differences remain, and it seems Cairo is still wary of Ankara. Expert Constantinos Filis, the Director of the Institu…

Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper just reported on the contents of the final draft of a letter from the State Department to Congress that implies that the F-16 and F-35 sales to Turkey and Greece come with conditions, refuting Ankara’s narrative that no such letter existed. This letter comes on the heels of a two week period in DC that put the spotlig…

On Thursday Greece finally approved a landmark marriage equality bill, becoming the first majority Orthodox Christian country to take such a step. This is a watershed moment for the country’s LGBTQ community, but, as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis put it, is also a milestone for human rights. Nikos Efstathiou, an Athens based journalist and aut…

2024 will see billions of people head to the polls, with a number of key elections - including in the US - on the horizon. This comes as we’ve also seen illiberal values and politicians who embrace them gain ground across the board. The eyes of the world will justifiably be on the US presidential election in November, where it is increasingly looki…

We just wrapped up the Southeastern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean conference here in Washington, DC, a forum Kathimerini English Edition, HALC, and the Delphi Economic Forum have organized now for 5 years running. During the conference we saw Greece, Greek-American relations, Cyprus, developments in the Balkans, and the wars in the Middle East a…

For many, Cyprus has largely been defined by the Turkish occupation. This view is changing, however, as Cyprus positions itself as a frontline state for Western interests and an increasingly relevant strategic partner for the United States. Evangelos Savva, the Ambassador of Cyprus to the United States, joins Thanos Davelis to discuss how Cyprus ha…

On Friday Greece and the US held their fifth Strategic Dialogue, which, among other things, also saw Greece become the 35th country to sign up to the US Artemis space cooperation accords. Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou, joins Thanos Davelis on the sidelines of the 5th Southeast Europe and Eastern Mediterranean c…