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Neighbourhood watch [InTime News]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is set to visit Ankara on Monday to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “The goal is simple: by solving our problems to affirm our friendship and improve the level of our bilateral relations to a historically unprecedented level,” said Erdogan in an interview to Kathimerini’s Manolis Kostidis ahead of the visit. However, in the run-up to the summit, scheduled as the next step of longstanding efforts to reduce tension in the Aegean, there have been several developments that have cast a shadow over the diplomatic visit. Most notably, Turkey’s decision to convert the Church of St. Saviour in Chora, one of the most important Byzantine houses of worship in Istanbul, into a mosque. “The conversion of the Monastery of Chora into a mosque sends a negative message,” said President Katerina Sakellaropoulou.The decision “constitutes a challenge to the international community, as it alters and insults its character as a UNESCO world cultural heritage monument belonging to humanity”, decried the Greek Foreign Ministry. At the same time, calls proliferated for Mitsotakis to postpone his planned visit in protest of the Chora decision, something the PM was quick to dismiss outright. “It is much better to go to President Erdogan myself to express my strong dissatisfaction with this choice of the Turkish government than to create a crisis in Greek-Turkish relations, which will cancel the important steps of progress we have achieved in the last year,” he said. “While not all issues will be resolved overnight, it’s better to talk than to constantly have our finger on the trigger,” reaffirmed Mitsotakis ahead of the visit. According to government sources, the prime minister will seek to highlight the positive steps to further build on the momentum. “The prime minister will talk about steps forward, but not about ‘acquis’ which is a heavier word,” they noted. They include agreements on visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to 10 Greek islands, the calm in the seas and skies of the Aegean, as well as achievements on the issue of migration. Spotlight
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OPINION
 [InTime News]Over the last year, Greece and Turkey have established what seems to be, until now at least, a relatively robust process of a serious dialogue, confirmed by the periodic meetings of the two leaders themselves and the regular consultations between ministers and officials. At the same time, contacts between journalists, businesspeople and others add to the momentum. In the last couple of days, the Greek prime minister and the Turkish president reiterated their support for the ongoing dialogue; the latter in an interview to Kathimerini. Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists on raising objections with respect to sovereignty, that Athens dismisses outright, but as he himself declared, this should not impede the ongoing dialogue. Still, as the waters in the Aegean remain “calm” and the rapprochement continues, the question arises what the endgame for each country is and if it’s the same or even similar to the other’s. In this delicate period of expectations inevitably rising, even at a slow pace, the media will be called to play a critical role in harboring an atmosphere of mutual understanding and by doing so facilitating the process of moving forward. They obviously cannot and should not replace the governments or their diplomats. What they can and should do is to act responsibly, offering objective analyses of developments and avoiding excesses. As it was noted during a Greek-Turkish conference over the weekend in Istanbul, the role of the media in building an atmosphere where cooperation prevails over threats and tensions, is crucial. |
| CHART OF THE WEEK |
 Greek banks, both large and small, increased their financing towards Greek-owned shipping companies by 12.25% in 2023. At the same time, other banks reduced their positions by over the same period with a total decrease of 2% across both Greek and international banks. This means that the overall share of Greek banks in the sector increased. Specifically, Greek banks have provided a total of 15.8 billion dollars in financing, compared to 50.9 billion dollars provided by banks internationally. The prime reason for this difference is the widespread belief in Greece that maritime shipping remains a pool of relatively low and evaluable risk clients and the existence of experienced maritime bankers in the country who can ascertain opportunities in the sector. |
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| ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL |
| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,484.08 points, up 2.19% from last week. This marks a new 13-year-high for the benchmark.” |
| “Greek households face a higher income tax than the OECD average and, in fact, most countries in the world. The category with the highest difference from the average (more than 10 percentage points) are families with children, especially those with the lowest family income.” |
| “Demand in the Greek luxury housing market remains strong, with interest from both foreign and domestic buyers as Greek property continues to offer higher yields than many of the countries of foreign investors. However, the new measures introduced by the government to limit the impact of the ‘Golden Visa’ residency program have already led to a slight decrease in new applications.” |
| WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA |
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Editor's Pick Self-assured or hesitant, angry or at peace, often sad, wise beyond words, these are the stories of children torn from their world when they were too young to understandNikos KonstandarasRead the article |
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