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New maritime delimitation agreement in the East Med[Wael Hamzeh/EPA] Constantine CapsaskisNewsletter Editor Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. The Republic of Cyprus signed a long-awaited maritime delimitation agreement with Lebanon, the latest development in efforts to demarcate the sea borders of the Eastern Mediterranean, paving the way for further energy exploration in the region. Despite a preliminary agreement between the two countries in 2007, the Lebanese parliament had not ratified it until now. Turkey is now the only country disputing Cyprus’ maritime rights, as the island state has agreed to delimitations with Egypt, Israel, and Lebanon. “This is a historic agreement, concluding an issue pending for many years and now look forward to what our countries can jointly create”, stated Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.  As expected, there was a negative reaction from Turkey to the announcement of the delimitation. On Wednesday, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler decried what he described as “unilateral actions”, adding that Cyprus is developing “military and political relations with countries inside and outside the region” that “will increase tension and harm stability” in the region, and stated that “we continue to defend the rights and interests of our brothers in Cyprus”. This was followed on Thursday by a statement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry in which it accused the deal of undermining the rights of Turkish Cypriots. It called on regional states and the international community “not to support unilateral steps by the Greek Cypriot administration and not to be complicit in initiatives that undermine the legitimate rights and interests” of Turkish Cypriots.  President Christodoulides noted that Cyprus is ready to “sit at the same table with Turkey” and discuss the issue of maritime delimitation, and stressed that he is also ready to resume talks with Turkish Cypriots. At the same time, Turkey will not be joining the European Union’s 150-billion-euro defense loan mechanism, SAFE, despite the backing and support of key EU member-states such as Germany. A European Commission spokesperson confirmed that “these two countries [Turkey and South Korea] will not meet the Sunday deadline, as the Commission is still examining their requests”.  That is not to say that Turkey cannot participate in bilateral defense projects with EU member-states. Only 35% of SAFE-funded projects can involve third countries such as Turkey, the United Kingdom, and South Korea.  Spotlight The release of former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ memoirs, ‘Ithaca’, led, as expected, to a lot of political discourse over the legacy and choices of the former premier. In his book, Tsipras shares his account of the tumultuous negotiations following his party’s election in 2015, which culminated in the referendum of that summer, through to his decision to resign from the party’s leadership following its disastrous electoral results in 2023. The book, which sold more than 30,000 copies within hours, is widely seen by analysts as an effort by Tsipras to both differentiate his position from many of his then close partners, including former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Course for Freedom leader Zoi Konstantopoulou, as well as to set the foundations for the expected founding of a new political party. In fact, Tsipras goes to great lengths to stress how his vision for the future of Greece diverged from that of his then finance minister, noting that during an exchange he “didn’t know whether to laugh or cry”. The responses by those criticized in the book have generally been equally scathing, yet moving past the political tit for tat, questions remain about what the creation of a new political party by Tsipras would mean for an already fragmented Greek progressive spaceas well as for the political parties occupying the space.    Even as farmers are set to blockade central highways in protest at the delay in the disbursement of subsidies by under-fire European Union community agricultural payments agency OPEKEPE, the parliamentary investigation into allegations of widespread corruption in the agency continued this week. The refusal of a key figure implicated in the scandal, Cretan agricultural unionist Giorgos Xylouris, to appear before the committee ignited fierce political debate, with main opposition PASOK calling for him to be compulsorily brought in to testify. “Xylouris is a [New Democracy] party official and the prime figure in the Iraklio scandal”, said PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, something the government vehemently denies.  It is also worth noting that despite 14 convictions this week for illegally obtaining funds from the OPEKEPE agency, the misappropriated funds have yet to return to the agency.

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OPINION Tom EllisEditor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition US to act as a “bridge” between Greece and Turkey[Shutterstock] The intention of the Trump administration to mediate between Greece and Turkey, both on their bilateral relations as well as on the regional framework, was clearly reiterated by US ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, in an interview published today in Kathimerini. Barrack’s words carry extra weight as he is not only the Ambassador to Ankara and a personal friend of Donald Trump, but he also acts as the US president’s special envoy on Syria. Hence, he is working on a wider regional perspective. His statement confirms that Washington is keen in “facilitating” the establishment of a regional framework based on cooperation which would produce tangible commercial benefits for all the players involved. “It all starts with communication. And communication is driven by prosperity, more than it is with fear” he said and pointed to, among other things, the fossil fuel resources of the Caspian Sea for which Turkey and Greece are the gateway to the Mediterranean and Europe. Barrack noted that he is a close friend of the new American ambassador in Athens, Kimberly Guilfoyle, with whom he has discussed the president’s vision of bringing Greece and Turkey closer “bit by bit”, with Washington acting as a “bridge”, and at the same time creating “a new regional ordinance of dealing with each other”, part of which would be solving the Cyprus issue. A step in the broader effort of creating a more positive climate would be the reopening of the Halki Seminary, possibly in the fall of 2026, although it is not a bilateral Greek – Turkey issue, but rather one of religious freedom. It is worth noting that the interview took place on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV’s historic visit to the Greek-Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, as the heads of western and eastern Christianity pledged to work towards restored full communion, after commemorating the AD 325 Council of Nicaea.

CHART OF THE WEEK

The latest report by the OECD on the Greek healthcare system reports that the majority of Greeks are unhappy with the availability of quality healthcare services in their area, compared to an OECD average rate of satisfaction of 64%. This is particularly noticeable when it comes to healthcare needs that were not met, with more than 12% of Greeks responding that they did not receive the healthcare services they needed compared to an OECD average of 3.4%. At the same time, out-of-pocket costs for Greeks remain very high (more than a third of the overall cost). Additionally, other key factors revealed include the emphasis of the Greek healthcare system on hospital treatment, with 40% of the overall budget being directed there compared to an OECD average of 28%, illustrating a lack of pre-emptive medical interventions and the failure to adopt more contemporary practices like day surgeries that would reduce costs and waiting times.

ESCAPADE Evangelos Gerovassiliou: In love with the vineyard The Thessaloniki-born winemaker welcomes us to his estate in Epanomi and shares his story – which is also, in many ways, the story of modern Greek wine. Go to article >

ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL

“The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,083.15 points, up 1.04% for the week and 4.4% for the month of November.”

“An agreement to restore key aspects of collective labor law and expand the coverage of collective bargaining agreements was signed by labor unions and Greek employers at the Labor Ministry, with negotiations reportedly taking place over seven months. One of the goals of the new agreement, hailed as historic, is raising the percentage of private sector employees covered by collective labor agreements from 20% to 80%.”

“Greece has been included in the European Commission’s list of seven member-states with economic imbalances in its ‘Alert Mechanism Report’. In particular, it focuses on key negative aspects including the country’s trade deficit (7.2% of GDP), negative net investment (-137.5% of GDP), high public debt as a ratio of GDP (154.2%), and the increase in property prices.”

WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA

02/12/2025Taxi strike: The union representing taxi drivers in the capital region of Attica has announced a new two-day strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, with several demands including a delay in the mandatory transition to an electric vehicle fleet and a renegotiation on the use of bus lanes. 02/12/2025AmCham: The American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce will host its 36th Greek Economic Summit over two days in the center of Athens, bringing together political and business leaders. 03/12/2025Tsipras: Former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to hold a launch event for his book, “Ithaca”, where he is expected to respond to the many criticisms he has received this week and indicate what his next steps may be. 04/12/2025Winter Olympics: Italy will receive the Olympic Flame lit this week for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics at a handover ceremony in Athens.

Editor's PickMultidimensional foreign policy these days is, however, a very difficult task, if not impossible.Alexis PapachelasRead the article

PODCAST

26/11/2025 • 11:05Are Greece and Israel’s deepening defense ties an opportunity for Washington?The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Ryan Brobst and Justin Leopold-Cohen join Thanos Davelis as we take a closer look at Greece and Israel’s growing defense ties and the opportunities it presents for the region and the US.

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