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Athens to Benghazi
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis met with the head of the Libyan National Army and de facto ruler of eastern Libya, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. “Geography unites us, we share part of the Mediterranean, we are friendly neighboring countries. Our cultural ties go back to antiquity and our purpose is to develop these relations even further”, said the minister during the one-hour meeting. The top issue on the agenda was the delimitation of maritime zones between Greece and Libya and the strengthening of bilateral relations, with Athens keen to present its position and persuade the Libyan House of Representatives in the east of the country to not go ahead with the ratification of the null and void Memorandum of Understanding signed by Turkey and the Tripoli government of western Libya. This is critical for Greek foreign policy in the region, and Athens had previously gone to great lengths to forge close ties with Field Marshal Haftar as he was perceived as a possible counterweight to expanding Turkish influence in Tripoli. However, relations between Greece and eastern Libya deteriorated, particularly in the face of increased migrant flows from Tobruk to Crete. Naturally, this increase was also discussed by Gerapetritis and Haftar, with the issue being particularly important to Athens. Following a meeting of the country’s top defense and foreign policy body last week, Greece was reportedly ready to discuss assisting the forces of eastern Libya in conducting maritime patrols, modelled on similar agreements reached between Italy and the Tripoli government. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also discussed the issue of migration from Libya with EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner. The commissioner will visit the country next week alongside the ministers responsible for issues of migration of Greece, Italy, and Malta, to meet with officials from both Tripoli and Benghazi. “Libya is, of course, at the top of the agenda, and we’re traveling together to Libya next week because we have to be fast, I think, and firm”, said Brunner after his meeting with the Greek PM. Forging a rapprochement with Benghazi would allow Greece to better shield itself from renewed Turkish diplomatic and strategic pressure, with Ankara looking to sign a maritime delimitation agreement with the new Syrian government in Damascus (also seen as a close Turkish ally) that will most likely impinge on Cypriot maritime rights in a similar fashion to the Libyan MoU. “We do not accept that our Memorandum of Understanding is described as ‘illegal’ as a result of the unilateral political manipulations of Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration”, reportedly said the Turkish Ministry of Defense, in response to the conclusions of the latest European Council which stated that the MoU did not comply with the Law of the Sea. Spotlight
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 [Nikolas Kominis]The human face of Angela Merkel came out during her brief visit to Athens last week, in a frank discussion with Kathimerini’s executive editor Alexis Papachelas. The former German chancellor, who came to Greece to promote her book “Freedom”, spoke about her personal life, from her childhood in East Germany to her 16 years as chancellor, but also many other issues, from her relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin to the personality of Donald Trump with whom she had worked during his first term. What was most revealing for Greeks was obviously her all-encompassing comments about the economic crisis. She opened up about some of the most difficult moments in her dealings with the former Greek Prime Ministers, from her surprise when George Papandreou floated the possibility of a referendum during the G20 Cannes summit, to the deafening “silence” during her telephone call with Alexis Tsipras when the latter decided to hold a referendum in 2015. She noted how she stood firmly against Grexit, in opposition to her finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble, she described in length the different parts of a very complex equation which included pressure from Barack Obama, constant exchanges with French Presidents Sarkozy and Hollande, the tough stance of the Bundesbank, as well as taking into account Germany’s Constitutional Court and its electorate. Maybe what stood out the most, was her reference to the “honest relationship” she developed with Greece’s leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras despite their very different ideological stands, noting how she appreciated his sincerity and the fact that, in contrast to others, he did not try to deceive her. The most emblematic figure of the economic crisis spoke with conviction and offered her account of one of the most turbulent periods in Greece’s recent history. It was a useful – one could say badly needed – contribution to the efforts to complete the historical puzzle of what exactly happened during the Greek crisis. |
 The Athens Food Bank is marking thirty years of operation, throughout which it has continued to support the most vulnerable having collected and distributed more than 32,677 tons of foodstuff. The Athens Food Bank, the first in Greece, was decisive in founding branches in other major Greek cities and regions, including Thessaloniki, Crete, and Thessaly. Greece has the eighth highest rate of food insecurity in the European Union, with 10.9% of the population being affected in 2023. However, it is worth noting that while there are tax incentives for donations from major corporations and retail chains, the Food Bank itself is not exempt from taxation (having paid more than 122,000 euros in taxes in 2024). It is among several charitable institutions trying to amend the current tax system in which they are taxed at the same rate as businesses. |
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| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,918.09 points, a new 15-year-high. On a weekly basis, the benchmark was up 2.19%.” |
| “The government is set to postpone updating property tax assessments until 2028 at least, despite large discrepancies between objective values and actual sale prices, as the country continues to grapple with an acute housing crisis. New valuations would inflate several costs, including notarial fees, land registry transfer fees, and real estate agent commissions, further driving up the overall investment for buyers.” |
| “The Greek hotel industry has one of the highest returns on investment in Europe, as the country continues to be a top destination for prospective investors. The country has the second highest average revenue per room, after Italy, at 162 euros (up from 154.30 euros last year).” |
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Editor's Pick The summer, therefore, becomes a calculable economic and geopolitical factor, which we experience in a way that is increasingly unlike what we imagined it would be, wanted it to be or had been accustomed to.Read the article |
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