Greece looks to shield East Med [Reuters]
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. As strikes against Iran continue, resulting in widespread instability in the region, Greece’s defense posture remains vigilant. A drone attack on RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus, sovereign territory of the United Kingdom on the Mediterranean island, caused significant concern in both Nicosia and Athens, over fears that Cyprus would find itself embroiled in the war with Iran. In response, Greece immediately took steps to contribute to the island’s defense. “These are difficult times for our wider region, but Greece wants to declare in the most categorical way – which involves both symbolism and substance – its intention to provide, as far as possible, within the framework of its forces and capabilities, whatever assistance it can to Cyprus and the Cypriot people”, said Defense Minister Nikos Dendias who travelled to the island to meet with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. “Our attention is also turning to Cyprus, which is a pillar of Hellenism and lies closer to the war zone”, later said Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a parliamentary session, stressing that “our mission is defensive and peaceful”. Two frigates were dispatched to the island, including the cutting edge FDI HN frigate Kimon which boasts significant anti-air capabilities, and four F-16 fighter jets. The jets, in particular, were involved in several sorties to intercept further possible drone strikes. Greece’s decision to reinforce the defense of Cyprus was then followed by several other European countries, including France, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands, which also deployed naval assets. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will also travel to Cyprus on Monday where he will participate in a meeting with Christodoulides and French President Emmanuel Macron. The leadership of the Hellenic Armed Forces also deployed a battery of Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system on the island of Karpathos, located between Crete and Rhodes, to increase Greece’s anti-air capabilities against potential threats from the region. A second Patriot battery was also moved to northern Greece to contribute to the defense of critical energy infrastructure in Bulgaria, particularly along its Black Sea coastline. On Thursday, in response to this activity, the Turkish government released a statement raising the issue of the demilitarization of the islands of the eastern Aegean, without, however, referring directly to the Patriot battery on Karpathos. This was accompanied by eight airspace violations in the Aegean, widely interpreted as manifestations of Ankara’s irritation.Turkey is also reportedly considering the deployment of its own F-16 fighter jets on the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island. “Greece’s defensive posture is non-negotiable. The state of war in our wider neighborhood requires the country to maintain the necessary defensive preparedness”, responded the Greek foreign ministry. Greece has also repatriated hundreds of nationals from the region, with special flights from Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Spotlight
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 [InTime News]It was long overdue. For a country with millions of expatriates – widely seen, and correctly so, as one of our major strengths – it was unacceptable that they were unable to vote in Greek elections. The first step to ameliorate the situation was taken in 2024 when a process was established for them to participate in the European Parliament elections. Last week we moved to the next step when the Greek Parliament narrowly approved legislation granting Greeks registered abroad the right to vote by mail in national elections. The measure passed with between 201 and 207 votes (depending on the relative articles but in all cases above the 2/3 constitutional minimum needed for the law to be immediately implemented), hence, expats will vote in the upcoming elections that will be held by the spring of 2027. A separate provision, creating a unified electoral constituency to elect three diaspora MPs, received only 162 votes, which means it cannot be implemented until later; in elections that take place at least 18 months after the upcoming one. That was rather unfortunate as such a development – electing diaspora MPs in a specific electoral constituency (one could argue that a numerically larger one is more appropriate) – is consistent with the aim of politically empowering and further strengthening the diaspora’s ties to Greece. Still, and despite failing to attain a cross-party agreement on the latter, it is heartening that a process bringing the Greeks abroad closer to their motherland is moving along. |
 Businesses in Greece seem hesitant to embark on any major investment drive necessary to cover the investment gap they will face in 2026, as they balance any optimism with a healthy dose of concern over the prevailing global geopolitical instability. This means that, in a survey conducted by Grant Thornton, only 5 in 10 businesses responded that they would be looking to invest in new technologies and just 4 in 10 would be looking to renew or replace equipment. This is even more apparent when looking at small and medium sized businesses, which are even less likely to invest in innovation. When it came to the issue of funding, only 5 in 10 companies stated that they would be looking for new sources of funding, out of which only 3 would be using these for investments, with 2 looking to cover current capital requirements. |
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| “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 2,122.60 points on Friday, down 6.81% from last week with the benchmark being adversely affected by the developments in Iran.” |
| “GrowthFund, Greece’s National Investment Fund, is in a difficult position to set, and adhere to, timetables for the utilization of state assets, particularly as its portfolio is spread across several distinct sectors and includes several particularly challenging assets such as struggling Hellenic Post.” |
| “Greek wine exports to several major markets, including Germany, France, the United States, and Canada, declined in 2025, often both in terms of value and quantity. Indicatively, the value of Greek wine exports decreased by 5.38% to Germany, 28.97% to France, and 13.86% to the United States.” |
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