humanitarian crisis
Europe
Russia Gives Conditions for Ceasefire in Ukraine
A Russian spokesman spoke about a possible ceasefire on Monday, stating that Russia told Ukraine it is prepared to halt its military operations "in a moment" if Kyiv fulfills several conditions.
Among them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, was that...
Greece
Greek Government Continues to Worry About Intention of Visegrad Group Over Borders
The Greek government has asked to have an explicit commitment from Europe’s leaders that the borders will not be sealed off prior to the emergency EU summit meeting on March 6. The focus of this summit will be the...
Greece
Closing Borders to the Balkans Would Trigger a 'Major Humanitarian Crisis' in Greece, Says Minister Mouzalas
Greece's Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said that if the plan of the Visegrad states -- the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia -- goes through and Balkan countries seal off their borders, his country would end up facing “a...
Art
Greek Island of Lesvos: Peace Symbol Made from Refugee Life Jackets
Volunteers from various non-governmental organizations located on the Greek island of Lesvos sent their own New Year message in a unique fashion. They collected more than 2,500 life jackets left behind by the refugees arriving on the island in...
Economy
Martin Schulz: Difficult Times Ahead for Greece
Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament called for people to respect Sunday's NO vote in the referendum, but also expressed his pessimism regarding Greece's future and warned of a humanitarian crisis in the country.
"This is a difficult day: there's a broad majority in...
Economy
Varoufakis to NYTimes: 'I am Terrified of the Greek Crisis'
A new article about Yanis Varoufakis, the "pugnacious economist" with the sardonic smile who has been screaming of the dangers of a humanitarian crisis in Europe, entitled "A Finance Minister Fit for a Greek Tragedy?", was published in the New...
Economy
Piraeus Bank Writes Off Debts Under €20,000 for Poverty-Stricken Greeks
Piraeus Bank, one of the four major Greek banks, has decided to write off debts of up to 20,000 euros and freeze debts from mortgages for poverty-stricken Greeks.
The program aims at Greek citizens who fall in the category of...
Economy
EU Commission President Juncker: I'm Still Worried About Greece
Yet another concern was expressed by the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker regarding Greece's track on reforms. As he characteristically said, Athens needs to do more with its reforms program.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting with the...
Greece
Greek Parliament Adopts Anti-Poverty Law Despite EU Row
The Greek Parliament has passed a SYRIZA-proposed draft law to address the country's long-standing humanitarian crisis, despite objections expressed from the international creditors. This first package of social measures put forward by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' leftist government drew...
Economy
EU Considers Greek Bill on Humanitarian Crisis a Unilateral Action
The Mission Chief for the European Commission's team working on Greece, Declan Costello, appears to view the Greek government's bill to address the humanitarian crisis -- currently under discussion in Parliament -- as a unilateral action, according to British...