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The Athens Declaration [InTime News]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the ‘Athens Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good-Neighborliness’ following the High-Level Cooperation Council between the two countries held in Athens on Thursday. As expected, there was no major breakthrough in resolving the issues that adversely impact bilateral relations, but both leaders affirmed their commitment to maintaining the current calm in the Aegean. To this end, a roadmap of future meetings was presented that sets out the next steps to determine the level of convergence on the critical issues including the delimitation of Exclusive Economic Zones in the Aegean and the referral of differences to the international courts, the continued occupation of Cyprus, and the Muslim minority in Thrace. The two leaders agreed to meet again, and Prime Minister Mitsotakis is expected to conduct an official visit to Ankara this coming spring. Before this, the roadmap also includes continued meetings between Foreign Ministers Giorgos Gerapetritis and Hakan Fidan, who are expected to meet at least twice over the next two months either bilaterally or on the sidelines of international summits, as well as between Deputy Foreign Ministers Alexandra Papadopoulou and Burak Akcapar who, in a framework of political dialogue, will resume exploratory talks. There was a plethora of other agreements signed during the visit, focusing particularly on economic synergies. These also include a memorandum on energy cooperation and the development of a new interconnector between Greece and Turkey. On his return to Turkey, Erdogan stressed the importance of this field, even noting that the proposed Sinop Nuclear Power Plant could be used to supply Greece with energy. Spotlight
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OPINION
 [InTime News]Greece is on the right side of history with respect to the environment; and that holds true across the political spectrum. Unlike what we see in other western countries, and despite the expected criticism from opposition parties on specific acts or measures by the government, there seems to be a broad acceptance for the need to “go green” by both progressives and conservatives. Recently, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a conservative, told the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) in Dubai that Greece had “one of the best performances of any European country” in terms of renewable energy, having cut its coal use by over 80% and drastically reduced emissions, with the penetration of wind and solar being the 7th highest in the world, generating half of the country’s electricity needs. The planned increase in the capacity of offshore wind power generation systems in the Aegean “will literally redraw the energy map of the region” he declared, noting that Greek islands are “laboratories for cutting-edge sustainability”. In that context one has to ask how green the country’s “green islands” are – Astypalaia, Chalke and, soon Poros – in the sense that the focus is more on energy generation and less on polluting transportation, waste or sewage. The whole pro-environment effort has boosted the number of visitors to the small islands participating in the project, something which doesn’t really work in favor of their sustainability. At the same time, through tax and other incentives, many homes across Greece are being renovated in a more environmentally friendly way. A carbon storage and capture chain also is being built for heavy industry. Last, but not least, for a country that represents nearly 25% of the global shipping fleet, the issue of maritime decarbonization is of special significance to Greece and that is why there is an ongoing discussion with Greek shipowners about adopting new technologies that will contribute to decarbonization, in a sector which is indeed hard to decarbonize. There is obviously still a long way to go, but one can safely say that for a small to medium sized country, Greece seems to contribute its fair share in dealing with the climate crisis.
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| CHART OF THE WEEK |
 The murder of a 43-year-old woman on the island of Salamina has once again raised questions on gender-based violence and domestic violence and abuse in Greece after her 71-year-old ex-husband confessed to the act. The man had already been convicted in absentia over a charge of domestic violence, and the woman’s family has alleged failures by the local police force as she had sought help prior to her murder. Α total of 4,500 women reached out to the 44 available help centers between November 2022 and September 2023, with 256 women and 257 children being referred to hostels for their safety (65% capacity). There are also questions being raised about the delays in the Greek justice system, with cases taking years to be resolved. Indicatively, as noted by officials, cases of domestic violence in Spain are tried within 72 hours. |
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| ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL |
| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,275.09 points on Friday, shedding 0.39% from last week.” |
| “The Greek economy grew by 2.1% in the third quarter of 2023, slowing down from the 2.6% growth recorded in the second quarter, dashing the more optimistic hopes of the government and several analysts, as Greece seems to be suffering the delayed impact of fiscal tightening, European economic troubles, and widespread inflationary pressures.” |
| “The rate of inflation in Greece eased to 3% in November, down from 3.4% in October. However, the rate of food inflation remains high, at 9%, with supermarkets warning of continued price hikes for certain goods including olive oil and juices.” |
| WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA |
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Editor's Pick Even if we don’t agree on how to reduce it, we all understand that things as they stand are not working any more – (some) profound changes must be madeKostas KallitsisRead the article |
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