[{"type":"top_articles","posts":[{"id":525985,"date":"2026-07-14T18:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525985"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:56:50","slug":"greek-inflation-to-hit-3-8-in-2026-bank-of-greece-governor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/greek-inflation-to-hit-3-8-in-2026-bank-of-greece-governor-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek Inflation to Hit 3.8% in 2026, Bank of Greece Governor Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:219;255-473\">Greece&#8217;s economy is still expanding faster than the rest of the eurozone, but a fresh jump in energy prices is set to push inflation further up this year, the governor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/bank-of-greece-ties-stronger-growth-to-mideast-peace\/\">Bank of Greece<\/a> has told the country&#8217;s lenders.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:245;475-719\">Governor Yannis Stournaras set out his projections for the global, European and Greek economies at the annual general assembly of the Hellenic Bank Association, the body that represents Greece&#8217;s banks, and laid out the main risks he sees ahead.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"9:1-9:46;721-766\">Energy shock pushes Greek inflation higher<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"11:1-11:472;768-1239\">Inflation had slowed to 2.9% by December 2025, and the central bank had expected it to keep easing through 2026. However, the war between Iran and the United States, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the steep rise in fuel prices that followed upended these more optimistic projections. The Bank of Greece now expects headline inflation to average 3.8% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025, before slowing to 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028 as energy and food pressures gradually ease.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:258;1241-1498\">The governor warned that higher energy costs will not stay contained. Stournaras stated that he expects them to feed into the prices of services and industrial goods, while food inflation is likely to remain high because energy works its way into every stage of production and supply.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"15:1-15:29;1500-1528\">A riskier global backdrop<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"17:1-17:427;1530-1956\">Stournaras described 2026 as the start of a new period of heightened uncertainty and rising geoeconomic risk for the world economy, after several years of unpredictable shocks. He pointed to escalating tensions in the Middle East and to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane that carries much of the world&#8217;s oil and gas, which he said had disrupted global energy flows and driven prices sharply higher.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"19:1-19:405;1958-2362\">Trade is adding to the pressure. Stournaras cited the high tariffs still in place in the United States, the growing use of non-tariff barriers and the continued reshaping of global supply chains as forces squeezing world commerce and deepening uncertainty. Together with the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market, he said, these are slowing global growth while keeping inflation elevated.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"21:1-21:239;2364-2602\">The eurozone is not immune. Growth across the currency bloc is expected to stay weak, with higher energy prices weighing on spending and investment, and inflation, though falling, is still running above the European Central Bank&#8217;s target.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"23:1-23:29;2604-2632\">Why Greece is still ahead<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"25:1-25:426;2634-3059\">Greece continues to grow faster than the eurozone average despite that backdrop, Stournaras said, with investment the main engine of growth. Public finances remain strong, helped by high primary surpluses, the budget balance before interest payments, and public debt keeps falling as a share of gross domestic product, a marked shift for a country that spent much of the past decade at the center of the eurozone debt crisis.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"27:1-27:49;3061-3109\">Greek banks in their strongest shape in years<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"29:1-29:476;3111-3586\">Greece&#8217;s banking sector is in particularly good health, according to the governor. He pointed to strong profitability, solid capital and liquidity, a sharp fall in non-performing loans, meaning loans that borrowers have stopped repaying, and rising credit to businesses and households. That progress has been rewarded with a run of upgrades from the international ratings agencies, and the country&#8217;s four systemic banks now hold a BBB+ rating, one notch below the A category.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"31:1-31:337;3588-3924\">Net interest income, the money banks make on loans after paying for deposits, was supported mainly by continued credit growth, including higher lending alongside funds from the European Union&#8217;s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the bloc&#8217;s post-pandemic investment program. The margin banks earn on that lending stayed broadly unchanged.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"33:1-33:216;3926-4141\">Lending to households strengthened further, driven by stronger consumer credit and a further pickup in mortgages. Stournaras tied that to rising house prices, an improving labor market and firmer household spending.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"35:1-35:55;4143-4197\">The structural weaknesses still holding Greece back<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"37:1-37:704;4199-4902\">Greece still carries a heavy set of structural problems, the governor stressed, despite the progress of recent years. He listed nine. The domestic economy is held back by low productivity, demographic pressures, skills shortages in the workforce, the slow spread of innovation and the difficulty many Greeks face in finding affordable housing. Weighing on the wider picture are weaknesses in public administration and the justice system, public debt that remains high, a persistent current account deficit and the negative international investment position that comes with it, meaning Greece owes more to the rest of the world than it owns abroad, and inflation that is still above the eurozone average.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"39:1-39:31;4904-4934\">A push for the digital euro<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"41:1-41:388;4936-5323\">Europe needs to move faster on modernizing its financial infrastructure, Stournaras argued. He called for progress on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/pierrakakis-digital-euro-will-be-reality-by-2029\/\">digital euro<\/a>, the digital form of the currency the European Central Bank is developing, wider use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, closer links between European payment systems and the use of artificial intelligence in central banks&#8217; own operations.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">The international environment, he warned, is only becoming more demanding. Geopolitical tension, energy uncertainty, the fragmentation of global trade, rapid technological change and the economic fallout from climate change are all creating fresh challenges across Europe.<\/p> <p data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/14\/oikonomia\/stournaras-sto-38-o-plithorismos-to-2026\/\">OT.gr<\/a><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investment and strong public finances keep Greece ahead of the eurozone, even as a Middle East energy shock and stubborn structural weaknesses cloud the outlook for households and businesses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":444700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30579,996,17],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:219;255-473\">Greece&#8217;s economy is still expanding faster than the rest of the eurozone, but a fresh jump in energy prices is set to push inflation further up this year, the governor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/bank-of-greece-ties-stronger-growth-to-mideast-peace\/\">Bank of Greece<\/a> has told the country&#8217;s lenders.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:245;475-719\">Governor Yannis Stournaras set out his projections for the global, European and Greek economies at the annual general assembly of the Hellenic Bank Association, the body that represents Greece&#8217;s banks, and laid out the main risks he sees ahead.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"9:1-9:46;721-766\">Energy shock pushes Greek inflation higher<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"11:1-11:472;768-1239\">Inflation had slowed to 2.9% by December 2025, and the central bank had expected it to keep easing through 2026. However, the war between Iran and the United States, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the steep rise in fuel prices that followed upended these more optimistic projections. The Bank of Greece now expects headline inflation to average 3.8% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025, before slowing to 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028 as energy and food pressures gradually ease.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:258;1241-1498\">The governor warned that higher energy costs will not stay contained. Stournaras stated that he expects them to feed into the prices of services and industrial goods, while food inflation is likely to remain high because energy works its way into every stage of production and supply.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"15:1-15:29;1500-1528\">A riskier global backdrop<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"17:1-17:427;1530-1956\">Stournaras described 2026 as the start of a new period of heightened uncertainty and rising geoeconomic risk for the world economy, after several years of unpredictable shocks. He pointed to escalating tensions in the Middle East and to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane that carries much of the world&#8217;s oil and gas, which he said had disrupted global energy flows and driven prices sharply higher.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"19:1-19:405;1958-2362\">Trade is adding to the pressure. Stournaras cited the high tariffs still in place in the United States, the growing use of non-tariff barriers and the continued reshaping of global supply chains as forces squeezing world commerce and deepening uncertainty. Together with the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market, he said, these are slowing global growth while keeping inflation elevated.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"21:1-21:239;2364-2602\">The eurozone is not immune. Growth across the currency bloc is expected to stay weak, with higher energy prices weighing on spending and investment, and inflation, though falling, is still running above the European Central Bank&#8217;s target.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"23:1-23:29;2604-2632\">Why Greece is still ahead<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"25:1-25:426;2634-3059\">Greece continues to grow faster than the eurozone average despite that backdrop, Stournaras said, with investment the main engine of growth. Public finances remain strong, helped by high primary surpluses, the budget balance before interest payments, and public debt keeps falling as a share of gross domestic product, a marked shift for a country that spent much of the past decade at the center of the eurozone debt crisis.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"27:1-27:49;3061-3109\">Greek banks in their strongest shape in years<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"29:1-29:476;3111-3586\">Greece&#8217;s banking sector is in particularly good health, according to the governor. He pointed to strong profitability, solid capital and liquidity, a sharp fall in non-performing loans, meaning loans that borrowers have stopped repaying, and rising credit to businesses and households. That progress has been rewarded with a run of upgrades from the international ratings agencies, and the country&#8217;s four systemic banks now hold a BBB+ rating, one notch below the A category.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"31:1-31:337;3588-3924\">Net interest income, the money banks make on loans after paying for deposits, was supported mainly by continued credit growth, including higher lending alongside funds from the European Union&#8217;s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the bloc&#8217;s post-pandemic investment program. The margin banks earn on that lending stayed broadly unchanged.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"33:1-33:216;3926-4141\">Lending to households strengthened further, driven by stronger consumer credit and a further pickup in mortgages. Stournaras tied that to rising house prices, an improving labor market and firmer household spending.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"35:1-35:55;4143-4197\">The structural weaknesses still holding Greece back<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"37:1-37:704;4199-4902\">Greece still carries a heavy set of structural problems, the governor stressed, despite the progress of recent years. He listed nine. The domestic economy is held back by low productivity, demographic pressures, skills shortages in the workforce, the slow spread of innovation and the difficulty many Greeks face in finding affordable housing. Weighing on the wider picture are weaknesses in public administration and the justice system, public debt that remains high, a persistent current account deficit and the negative international investment position that comes with it, meaning Greece owes more to the rest of the world than it owns abroad, and inflation that is still above the eurozone average.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"39:1-39:31;4904-4934\">A push for the digital euro<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"41:1-41:388;4936-5323\">Europe needs to move faster on modernizing its financial infrastructure, Stournaras argued. He called for progress on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/pierrakakis-digital-euro-will-be-reality-by-2029\/\">digital euro<\/a>, the digital form of the currency the European Central Bank is developing, wider use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, closer links between European payment systems and the use of artificial intelligence in central banks&#8217; own operations.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">The international environment, he warned, is only becoming more demanding. Geopolitical tension, energy uncertainty, the fragmentation of global trade, rapid technological change and the economic fallout from climate change are all creating fresh challenges across Europe.<\/p> <p data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/14\/oikonomia\/stournaras-sto-38-o-plithorismos-to-2026\/\">OT.gr<\/a><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":4,"name":"Finance","slug":"finance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news on the Greek and international economy, jobs market, stock market, real estate industry and workplace, by <a class=\"notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover\" href=\"http:\/\/tovima.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-token-index=\"1\"><span class=\"link-annotation-unknown-block-id--756905112\">tovima.com<\/span><\/a> and Wall Street Journal. Includes the latest news and analysis of government spending and Central Banking.<!-- notionvc: f0c84efe-4643-45a0-ab3f-cdeb41fed5d0 -->","parent":0,"count":2943,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":30579,"name":"Bank of Greece (Gov) Yannis Stournaras","slug":"bank-of-greece-gov-yannis-stournaras","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":30579,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":996,"name":"greek economy","slug":"greek-economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":996,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":241,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":17,"name":"Inflation","slug":"inflation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":97,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1-300x197.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1-768x504.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526087,"date":"2026-07-14T17:31:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526087"},"modified":"2026-07-14T17:31:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:31:23","slug":"two-jailed-pending-trial-over-fatal-thessaloniki-firebombing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/two-jailed-pending-trial-over-fatal-thessaloniki-firebombing\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Jailed Pending Trial Over Fatal Thessaloniki Firebombing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Two of the three suspects arrested over the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/incendiary-devices-target-homes-of-nd-politicians-in-thessaloniki\/\"> deadly firebombing attack in Thessaloniki earlier this month<\/a>, which resulted in the death of Vagia Nestora, have been placed in pretrial detention following decisions by an investigating magistrate and prosecutor on Tuesday.<\/p> <p>The third suspect is scheduled to appear before investigators on Wednesday.<\/p> <p>The two detained suspects, aged 29 and 26, gave brief statements but declined to answer questions during their testimony. According to public broadcaster ERT, they claimed they are the victims of a conspiracy and invoked their right to remain silent. They also reportedly refused to cooperate with police.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The third suspect, aged 24, requested through his lawyers additional time before appearing before the investigating officer.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_526099\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526099\" class=\"wp-image-526099 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Firebombing\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526099\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of antiauthoritarian activists gathered outside the Thessaloniki courthouse on Tuesday to express support for the suspects.<\/p><\/div> <p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/three-arrested-over-fatal-arson-attacks-on-nd-officials\/\">three suspects were arrested last week<\/a> in connection with the attack on the home of New Democracy (ND) parliamentary candidate Afroditi Nestora. Her mother, Vagia Nestora, later died from injuries sustained in the firebombing.<\/p> <p>Authorities allege that the 29-year-old and 26-year-old suspects were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/new-details-emerge-on-suspects-in-fatal-nestora-firebombing\/\">involved in planting the explosive device<\/a>, while the 24-year-old is accused of owning the apartment where the other two allegedly sought shelter following the attack.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>All three suspects face the same charges, including participation in a terrorist organization, homicide with possible intent, attempted and completed acts of violence, explosion, arson, and violations of weapons legislation related to the possession of explosives.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Squad continues its investigation into the attacks, seeking to identify the person or persons believed to have orchestrated the three arson incidents in Thessaloniki.<\/p> <p>The other two attacks targeted the homes of former ND lawmaker Savvas Anastasiadis and Zisis Ioakimovic, president of the ND’s Thessaloniki Administrative Committee.<\/p> <p>A group of antiauthoritarian activists gathered outside the Thessaloniki courthouse on Tuesday to express support for the suspects.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The three suspects face terrorism and homicide charges, as investigators continue to search for attack masterminds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":526096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4371,96211],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Two of the three suspects arrested over the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/incendiary-devices-target-homes-of-nd-politicians-in-thessaloniki\/\"> deadly firebombing attack in Thessaloniki earlier this month<\/a>, which resulted in the death of Vagia Nestora, have been placed in pretrial detention following decisions by an investigating magistrate and prosecutor on Tuesday.<\/p> <p>The third suspect is scheduled to appear before investigators on Wednesday.<\/p> <p>The two detained suspects, aged 29 and 26, gave brief statements but declined to answer questions during their testimony. According to public broadcaster ERT, they claimed they are the victims of a conspiracy and invoked their right to remain silent. They also reportedly refused to cooperate with police.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The third suspect, aged 24, requested through his lawyers additional time before appearing before the investigating officer.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_526099\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526099\" class=\"wp-image-526099 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Firebombing\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526099\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A group of antiauthoritarian activists gathered outside the Thessaloniki courthouse on Tuesday to express support for the suspects.<\/p><\/div> <p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/three-arrested-over-fatal-arson-attacks-on-nd-officials\/\">three suspects were arrested last week<\/a> in connection with the attack on the home of New Democracy (ND) parliamentary candidate Afroditi Nestora. Her mother, Vagia Nestora, later died from injuries sustained in the firebombing.<\/p> <p>Authorities allege that the 29-year-old and 26-year-old suspects were <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/new-details-emerge-on-suspects-in-fatal-nestora-firebombing\/\">involved in planting the explosive device<\/a>, while the 24-year-old is accused of owning the apartment where the other two allegedly sought shelter following the attack.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>All three suspects face the same charges, including participation in a terrorist organization, homicide with possible intent, attempted and completed acts of violence, explosion, arson, and violations of weapons legislation related to the possession of explosives.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Meanwhile, the Anti-Terrorism Squad continues its investigation into the attacks, seeking to identify the person or persons believed to have orchestrated the three arson incidents in Thessaloniki.<\/p> <p>The other two attacks targeted the homes of former ND lawmaker Savvas Anastasiadis and Zisis Ioakimovic, president of the ND’s Thessaloniki Administrative Committee.<\/p> <p>A group of antiauthoritarian activists gathered outside the Thessaloniki courthouse on Tuesday to express support for the suspects.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":4371,"name":"terrorist attacks","slug":"terrorist-attacks","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4371,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":96211,"name":"Thessaloniki Arson Attack","slug":"thessaloniki-arson-attack","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":96211,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/arson-1-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526120,"date":"2026-07-14T18:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526120"},"modified":"2026-07-14T17:48:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:48:23","slug":"the-battle-for-hormuz-trump-shifts-into-dangerous-new-phase-in-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/the-battle-for-hormuz-trump-shifts-into-dangerous-new-phase-in-iran-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle for Hormuz: Trump Shifts Into Dangerous New Phase in Iran War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/search\/Hormuz\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> by resuming strikes and <a>reimposing the blockade<\/a> is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war.<\/p> <p>Trump has tried air and missile attacks, a naval quarantine and now the calibrated use of firepower to try to coerce Tehran to agree to his terms, in addition to diplomatic inducements.<\/p> <p>But Iran has exploited its proximity to a major oil export route to defy Washington and joust for influence across the Middle East.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say, as each side is calculating that it can win the long game in a test of wills that may haunt the rest of Trump’s presidency, including through the midterm elections in November.<\/p> <p>“We are now locked in a coercive war of attrition. Both sides are trying to push the other past some unknowable pain threshold,” said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analyst. “Coercive wars can go on and on.”<\/p> <p>As the fighting continues, the course of the war will be shaped by Iran’s attempts to reconstitute its missile force and air defenses and by the U.S. ability to continue to strike targets, making the most of its declining weapons inventories.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The Trump administration wasn’t bargaining for an open-ended conflict when it rolled the dice in late February and joined Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Iran’s leadership and cripple its arsenal of ballistic missiles and launchers.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Trump acclaimed the prospects for a decisive victory on the opening night of the operation when he touted the might of the American military and called on the Iranian security forces to lay down their arms or face “certain death.”<\/p> <p>Trump said the brunt of the fighting could be over in four to six weeks as Iranian forces found themselves outclassed by the more technologically advanced American military that was able to penetrate the country’s airspace at will. For analysts, it was Trump’s version of “shock and awe.”<\/p> <p>Even so, there were limits on the scope of the Pentagon’s actions. The use of ground forces was never an appealing option for a president who had decried the forever wars in which the U.S. military has spent long years in Afghanistan and Iraq. If Iran was to be defeated or driven to the negotiating table, the battles would need to be won in the air and at sea, U.S. officials have said.<\/p> <p>Following five weeks of intensive airstrikes, the White House declared a ceasefire with Iran to begin talks between Vice President JD Vance and top Iranian officials in Islamabad in April. But after those talks failed, Trump shifted to an economic siege: a maritime blockade.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in social-media post that month.<\/p> <p>That step was intended to pressure Iran to abandon its own efforts to interfere with oil traffic in the Persian Gulf and meet the American demands that Tehran curtail its nuclear program.<\/p> <p>But the White House soon discovered that its blockade could be a double-edged sword. Twenty percent of the world’s oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz. With the waterway closed, oil stockpiles around the world were declining as countries dipped into their reserves.<\/p> <p>That raised the possibility of <a>a perfect political storm i<\/a> n which oil prices would increase as the midterm elections approached in the U.S. and opinion polls indicated many Americans were unhappy about the Iran war.<\/p> <p>The memorandum of understanding that the U.S. concluded with Iran in June to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the stage for nuclear talks appeared at first to avert those political risks. One of the Trump administration’s goals in forging that agreement, Vance said in a television appearance was to “refill some stocks” before considering further foreign policy steps.<\/p> <p>But within days of signing the interim peace agreement, the U.S. and Iran were clashing over how to <a>interpret the memorandum. <\/a>While Trump officials saw the deal as unlocking oil traffic through the strait, Iran insisted that it gave it control over the waterway. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps repeatedly fired at commercial ships transiting the strait, triggering U.S. strikes in retaliation.<\/p> <p>By Monday, Trump proclaimed yet another strategy shift: stepped-up airstrikes and the reimposition of a U.S. military blockade that would block ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports. He also declared that the U.S. would be a “guardian” of the strait, imposing an extraordinary 20% fee for cargo passing through the waterway.<\/p> <p>Trump orders for open-ended strikes went beyond the tit-for-tat blows Tehran and Washington have exchanged in recent weeks, hitting Iranian radars, antiship missiles and drones that Tehran has used to try to control the strait. Those U.S. attacks also include the first American use of unmanned surface vessels to attack the port at Bandar Abbar and a strike against a rail bridge in northern Iran that is used for trade with Russia and China.<\/p> <p>So far, those blows are less intense than the opening weeks of the U.S. military campaign, marking a more calibrated use of American military power as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Iran to abandon its goal of controlling the strait. A half a dozen B-52s that had been deployed in Britain for use against Iran have flown back to the U.S.<\/p> <p>While the prospects for a nuclear accord have faded, Trump administration officials are keeping open the option to strike against at the supplies of enriched uranium that American B-2s bombers and cruise missiles hit a year ago.<\/p> <p>Iran has continued to strike oil tankers and Gulf states in the region, killing and wounding some sailors. But it has refrained from fresh attacks on Israeli or Saudi targets, as Tehran seems to calibrate its policy in the region.<\/p> <p>With this new phase of the war, the prospects for a quick win or an enduring peace have faded.<\/p> <p>“Both sides are escalating in a dangerous way in order to increase leverage and weaken the other, and eventually return to the negotiating table preferably with a stronger hand,” said Sanam Vakil, a Middle East director at London think tank Chatham House. But the showdown could backfire and spark a bigger conflict if they don’t find an off ramp, she said.<\/p> <p>Former military officials say the U.S. can weaken the regime if it is persistent but warn there is a long road ahead.<\/p> <p>“The U.S. will need to identify and pursue a longer term strategy that addresses Iran’s focus on controlling the Strait of Hormuz, threatening its neighbors with missiles and drones and the nuclear weapons program,” said Joseph Votel, the retired Army general who led Central Command from 2016 to 2019. “This is going to be a long-term effort.”<\/p> <p>Write to Michael R. Gordon at <a>michael.gordon@wsj.com<\/a><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. and Iranian calibrated use of force carries a risk of escalation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":526129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[261,39043],"tags":[94867,65995,47],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/search\/Hormuz\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> by resuming strikes and <a>reimposing the blockade<\/a> is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war.<\/p> <p>Trump has tried air and missile attacks, a naval quarantine and now the calibrated use of firepower to try to coerce Tehran to agree to his terms, in addition to diplomatic inducements.<\/p> <p>But Iran has exploited its proximity to a major oil export route to defy Washington and joust for influence across the Middle East.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say, as each side is calculating that it can win the long game in a test of wills that may haunt the rest of Trump’s presidency, including through the midterm elections in November.<\/p> <p>“We are now locked in a coercive war of attrition. Both sides are trying to push the other past some unknowable pain threshold,” said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analyst. “Coercive wars can go on and on.”<\/p> <p>As the fighting continues, the course of the war will be shaped by Iran’s attempts to reconstitute its missile force and air defenses and by the U.S. ability to continue to strike targets, making the most of its declining weapons inventories.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The Trump administration wasn’t bargaining for an open-ended conflict when it rolled the dice in late February and joined Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Iran’s leadership and cripple its arsenal of ballistic missiles and launchers.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Trump acclaimed the prospects for a decisive victory on the opening night of the operation when he touted the might of the American military and called on the Iranian security forces to lay down their arms or face “certain death.”<\/p> <p>Trump said the brunt of the fighting could be over in four to six weeks as Iranian forces found themselves outclassed by the more technologically advanced American military that was able to penetrate the country’s airspace at will. For analysts, it was Trump’s version of “shock and awe.”<\/p> <p>Even so, there were limits on the scope of the Pentagon’s actions. The use of ground forces was never an appealing option for a president who had decried the forever wars in which the U.S. military has spent long years in Afghanistan and Iraq. If Iran was to be defeated or driven to the negotiating table, the battles would need to be won in the air and at sea, U.S. officials have said.<\/p> <p>Following five weeks of intensive airstrikes, the White House declared a ceasefire with Iran to begin talks between Vice President JD Vance and top Iranian officials in Islamabad in April. But after those talks failed, Trump shifted to an economic siege: a maritime blockade.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in social-media post that month.<\/p> <p>That step was intended to pressure Iran to abandon its own efforts to interfere with oil traffic in the Persian Gulf and meet the American demands that Tehran curtail its nuclear program.<\/p> <p>But the White House soon discovered that its blockade could be a double-edged sword. Twenty percent of the world’s oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz. With the waterway closed, oil stockpiles around the world were declining as countries dipped into their reserves.<\/p> <p>That raised the possibility of <a>a perfect political storm i<\/a> n which oil prices would increase as the midterm elections approached in the U.S. and opinion polls indicated many Americans were unhappy about the Iran war.<\/p> <p>The memorandum of understanding that the U.S. concluded with Iran in June to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the stage for nuclear talks appeared at first to avert those political risks. One of the Trump administration’s goals in forging that agreement, Vance said in a television appearance was to “refill some stocks” before considering further foreign policy steps.<\/p> <p>But within days of signing the interim peace agreement, the U.S. and Iran were clashing over how to <a>interpret the memorandum. <\/a>While Trump officials saw the deal as unlocking oil traffic through the strait, Iran insisted that it gave it control over the waterway. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps repeatedly fired at commercial ships transiting the strait, triggering U.S. strikes in retaliation.<\/p> <p>By Monday, Trump proclaimed yet another strategy shift: stepped-up airstrikes and the reimposition of a U.S. military blockade that would block ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports. He also declared that the U.S. would be a “guardian” of the strait, imposing an extraordinary 20% fee for cargo passing through the waterway.<\/p> <p>Trump orders for open-ended strikes went beyond the tit-for-tat blows Tehran and Washington have exchanged in recent weeks, hitting Iranian radars, antiship missiles and drones that Tehran has used to try to control the strait. Those U.S. attacks also include the first American use of unmanned surface vessels to attack the port at Bandar Abbar and a strike against a rail bridge in northern Iran that is used for trade with Russia and China.<\/p> <p>So far, those blows are less intense than the opening weeks of the U.S. military campaign, marking a more calibrated use of American military power as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Iran to abandon its goal of controlling the strait. A half a dozen B-52s that had been deployed in Britain for use against Iran have flown back to the U.S.<\/p> <p>While the prospects for a nuclear accord have faded, Trump administration officials are keeping open the option to strike against at the supplies of enriched uranium that American B-2s bombers and cruise missiles hit a year ago.<\/p> <p>Iran has continued to strike oil tankers and Gulf states in the region, killing and wounding some sailors. But it has refrained from fresh attacks on Israeli or Saudi targets, as Tehran seems to calibrate its policy in the region.<\/p> <p>With this new phase of the war, the prospects for a quick win or an enduring peace have faded.<\/p> <p>“Both sides are escalating in a dangerous way in order to increase leverage and weaken the other, and eventually return to the negotiating table preferably with a stronger hand,” said Sanam Vakil, a Middle East director at London think tank Chatham House. But the showdown could backfire and spark a bigger conflict if they don’t find an off ramp, she said.<\/p> <p>Former military officials say the U.S. can weaken the regime if it is persistent but warn there is a long road ahead.<\/p> <p>“The U.S. will need to identify and pursue a longer term strategy that addresses Iran’s focus on controlling the Strait of Hormuz, threatening its neighbors with missiles and drones and the nuclear weapons program,” said Joseph Votel, the retired Army general who led Central Command from 2016 to 2019. “This is going to be a long-term effort.”<\/p> <p>Write to Michael R. Gordon at <a>michael.gordon@wsj.com<\/a><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":261,"name":"The Wall Street Journal","slug":"wsj","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":261,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":2502,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":94867,"name":"Iran US","slug":"iran-us","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":94867,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":44,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65995,"name":"Strait of Hormuz","slug":"strait-of-hormuz","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65995,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":161,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":47,"name":"War","slug":"war","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":47,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":22,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz-300x170.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz-768x436.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526216,"date":"2026-07-14T19:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526216"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:27:18","slug":"two-42-year-olds-jailed-pending-trial-in-marfin-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/two-42-year-olds-jailed-pending-trial-in-marfin-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Two 42-Year-Olds Jailed Pending Trial in Marfin Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The two 42-year-old defendants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/marfin\/\">Marfin case<\/a> have been ordered held in pre-trial detention.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The men were arrested last Friday under warrants issued by Athens&#8217; 3rd investigating judge, based on evidence gathered by the Hellenic Police&#8217;s Homicide Division. A third warrant, tied to the same case, led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in London.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to reports, both defendants denied any connection to the unrest outside the Marfin bank when questioned by the investigating judge. One of the two, whom the police investigation identifies as the person who smashed the building&#8217;s window, reportedly said he took part in the May 5, 2010 march but left once the disturbances began. The other reportedly said he was also at the march, but in a different location.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Reports indicate the investigating judge and prosecutor concluded that the specific nature of the acts attributed to the two defendants raised concerns they could commit further offenses, and therefore ordered them held pending trial.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Dozens of friends and supporters of the two men gathered outside the courthouse from early on, chanting slogans in their support.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both deny involvement as investigators cite risk of further offenses in ordering detention<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8040,61205],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The two 42-year-old defendants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/marfin\/\">Marfin case<\/a> have been ordered held in pre-trial detention.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The men were arrested last Friday under warrants issued by Athens&#8217; 3rd investigating judge, based on evidence gathered by the Hellenic Police&#8217;s Homicide Division. A third warrant, tied to the same case, led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in London.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to reports, both defendants denied any connection to the unrest outside the Marfin bank when questioned by the investigating judge. One of the two, whom the police investigation identifies as the person who smashed the building&#8217;s window, reportedly said he took part in the May 5, 2010 march but left once the disturbances began. The other reportedly said he was also at the march, but in a different location.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Reports indicate the investigating judge and prosecutor concluded that the specific nature of the acts attributed to the two defendants raised concerns they could commit further offenses, and therefore ordered them held pending trial.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Dozens of friends and supporters of the two men gathered outside the courthouse from early on, chanting slogans in their support.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":8040,"name":"arson","slug":"arson","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8040,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":31,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":61205,"name":"Marfin","slug":"marfin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61205,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-150x150.webp","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case.webp","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-300x150.webp","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-768x384.webp","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525811,"date":"2026-07-14T18:15:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525811"},"modified":"2026-07-14T17:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:48:40","slug":"why-the-wiretapping-scandal-isnt-closing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/why-the-wiretapping-scandal-isnt-closing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is There no End to the Wiretapping Scandal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&:has([data-writing-block])>*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-334\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"ff811fcf-b33f-4fcf-8a97-86dbdf7bd02e\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"101\" data-end=\"474\">Those who predicted that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">wiretapping scanda<\/a>l involving the illegal surveillance of politicians, businesspeople, journalists, judges, and others would not come to an end with the case being shelved two years ago, following the publication of the widely discussed findings by Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Achilleas Zisis, are now, in effect, being proven right.<\/p> <p data-start=\"476\" data-end=\"810\">Even after the second decision to shelve the case by Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas, who retired just two weeks ago, the wiretapping affair continues to be a subject of intense political confrontation, institutional friction, and judicial scrutiny, despite the two successive prosecutorial decisions to close the investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"812\" data-end=\"1055\">But what is it that keeps the wiretapping affair—an issue inherently serious from both an institutional and substantive standpoint—at the center of judicial and political developments, despite the decisions by the judiciary to shelve the case?<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"vm6yv7\" data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1083\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1083\">A Boiling Cauldron<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"1085\" data-end=\"1408\">Legal experts following developments in the case believe that the absence, both politically and judicially, of satisfactory answers as to what actually happened and who was responsible has turned the wiretapping affair into &#8220;a boiling cauldron,&#8221; as a legal source familiar with the developments emphatically told <em data-start=\"1398\" data-end=\"1407\">To Vima<\/em>.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1660\">&#8220;So long as convincing answers are not provided, so long as the tension generated by such a serious case is not defused,&#8221; the same source said, &#8220;the matter will not be closed. Quite the opposite—questions continue to multiply, as do new revelations.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1804\">But let us look at where things stand today, almost four years after the allegations of illegal wiretapping exploded like a bombshell in 2022.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1806\" data-end=\"2232\">Following a series of judicial proceedings, which initially began at the Court of First Instance Prosecutor&#8217;s Office before being elevated, because of the seriousness of the case, to the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office, as well as parliamentary procedures that failed to produce results due to the responsibility of the government majority, the case ultimately led to two prosecutorial decisions to shelve the investigation.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12rsyu7\" data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2283\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2238\" data-end=\"2283\">The Decisions to Shelve the Investigation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2285\" data-end=\"2631\">Those decisions were issued at the highest prosecutorial level—by the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office. The first came from Deputy<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/top-greek-prosecutor-ends-predator-spyware-probe-rejecting-new-inquiryq\/\"> Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis<\/a> in August 2024 (followed later by another), while more recently the case was once again placed in the archives through the findings of Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2633\" data-end=\"2954\">The decisions prompted reactions not only from opposition parties but also from victims of the wiretapping, among whom the most prominent participants in the judicial proceedings from the outset were PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, journalist Thanasis Koukakis, former minister Christos Spirtzis, and a handful of others.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1193phq\" data-start=\"2956\" data-end=\"2980\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2960\" data-end=\"2980\">Samaras&#8217; Request<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2982\" data-end=\"3464\">Since then—and after the conviction of four private individuals, who received prison sentences totaling 126 years after being found guilty for their role in the illegal surveillance (they had remained outside the scope of the earlier prosecutorial decision by Deputy Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis, which had excluded them from the archived part of the investigation as those responsible for the unlawful monitoring)—three requests remain pending before the Supreme Court.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"3466\" data-end=\"3917\">The most recent request, which reinforced the need for further judicial investigation of the wiretapping affair, came from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/former-pm-antonis-samaras-files-motion-over-predator-spyware-case\/\">former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras,<\/a> who called for &#8220;the full clarification of how he was entrapped,&#8221; thereby increasing the responsibility of the prosecutorial authorities to examine the case in its entirety. Before Samaras&#8217; request—which significantly added to the judicial backlog—other requests had already been submitted.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3919\" data-end=\"4222\">Despite the recent decision to shelve the investigation, Christos Spirtzis has requested further inquiry, as has lawyer Zacharias Kesses, who represents victims of the wiretapping scandal, relying on the contents of the conviction against the four defendants, among whom was Israeli national Tal Dilian.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4224\" data-end=\"4699\">Tal Dilian, who marketed the spyware known as Predator—which is illegal under Greek law—did not attend his trial, did not testify in his own defense, and also failed to appear before Parliament when summoned. However, following his heavy conviction and ahead of his appeal trial, scheduled for December, he has publicly stated that he had no involvement in the use of the software. According to his own claims, he marketed it not to private individuals but to state agencies.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4701\" data-end=\"4992\">The summons issued to him, as well as to former close associate of the Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, by Parliament&#8217;s Committee on Institutions and Transparency produced no result, as the government majority ruled that neither of the two held a public office requiring them to testify.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4994\" data-end=\"5104\">Objections from opposition parties were insufficient to reverse that decision or compel the two men to appear.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5106\" data-end=\"5255\">It should be noted, however, that Grigoris Dimitriadis has testified twice before similar parliamentary committees and once before the Supreme Court.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12z6jgt\" data-start=\"5257\" data-end=\"5295\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"5261\" data-end=\"5295\">Civil Lawsuits Seeking Damages<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"5297\" data-end=\"5537\">There is also another equally significant development beyond the criminal proceedings currently under judicial assessment, especially since the parliamentary process has, for the time being, failed to open the door to further investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5539\" data-end=\"5777\">Victims of the wiretapping—not political figures but private individuals—have filed civil lawsuits seeking compensation for the unlawful surveillance to which they were subjected, the violation of their personal data, and related damages.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5779\" data-end=\"6191\">According to legal sources, their decision to broaden the judicial process through civil claims against private individuals—including all four convicted defendants—who are entangled in the wiretapping affair increases the pressure to reopen the investigation. Beyond criminal penalties (that is, imprisonment), those involved now face the significant prospect of having to pay substantial financial compensation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"6193\" data-end=\"6675\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Given these developments, and with other aspects of the investigation still open and expected to produce important new findings, the observation by lawyer Zacharias Kesses that &#8220;the case cannot be considered closed unless the victims are examined and their mobile phones are examined&#8221; reflects the breadth of the judicial proceedings, which, by all indications, are likely to continue for some time. At this stage, no one can predict where this judicial journey will ultimately end.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal experts following developments in the case believe that the absence, both politically and judicially, of satisfactory answers as to what actually happened and who was responsible has turned the wiretapping affair into &#8220;a boiling cauldron,&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[51347,6942,65,6654,19192,63],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-334\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"ff811fcf-b33f-4fcf-8a97-86dbdf7bd02e\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"101\" data-end=\"474\">Those who predicted that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">wiretapping scanda<\/a>l involving the illegal surveillance of politicians, businesspeople, journalists, judges, and others would not come to an end with the case being shelved two years ago, following the publication of the widely discussed findings by Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Achilleas Zisis, are now, in effect, being proven right.<\/p> <p data-start=\"476\" data-end=\"810\">Even after the second decision to shelve the case by Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas, who retired just two weeks ago, the wiretapping affair continues to be a subject of intense political confrontation, institutional friction, and judicial scrutiny, despite the two successive prosecutorial decisions to close the investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"812\" data-end=\"1055\">But what is it that keeps the wiretapping affair—an issue inherently serious from both an institutional and substantive standpoint—at the center of judicial and political developments, despite the decisions by the judiciary to shelve the case?<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"vm6yv7\" data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1083\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1083\">A Boiling Cauldron<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"1085\" data-end=\"1408\">Legal experts following developments in the case believe that the absence, both politically and judicially, of satisfactory answers as to what actually happened and who was responsible has turned the wiretapping affair into &#8220;a boiling cauldron,&#8221; as a legal source familiar with the developments emphatically told <em data-start=\"1398\" data-end=\"1407\">To Vima<\/em>.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1660\">&#8220;So long as convincing answers are not provided, so long as the tension generated by such a serious case is not defused,&#8221; the same source said, &#8220;the matter will not be closed. Quite the opposite—questions continue to multiply, as do new revelations.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1804\">But let us look at where things stand today, almost four years after the allegations of illegal wiretapping exploded like a bombshell in 2022.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1806\" data-end=\"2232\">Following a series of judicial proceedings, which initially began at the Court of First Instance Prosecutor&#8217;s Office before being elevated, because of the seriousness of the case, to the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office, as well as parliamentary procedures that failed to produce results due to the responsibility of the government majority, the case ultimately led to two prosecutorial decisions to shelve the investigation.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12rsyu7\" data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2283\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2238\" data-end=\"2283\">The Decisions to Shelve the Investigation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2285\" data-end=\"2631\">Those decisions were issued at the highest prosecutorial level—by the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office. The first came from Deputy<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/top-greek-prosecutor-ends-predator-spyware-probe-rejecting-new-inquiryq\/\"> Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis<\/a> in August 2024 (followed later by another), while more recently the case was once again placed in the archives through the findings of Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2633\" data-end=\"2954\">The decisions prompted reactions not only from opposition parties but also from victims of the wiretapping, among whom the most prominent participants in the judicial proceedings from the outset were PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, journalist Thanasis Koukakis, former minister Christos Spirtzis, and a handful of others.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1193phq\" data-start=\"2956\" data-end=\"2980\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2960\" data-end=\"2980\">Samaras&#8217; Request<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2982\" data-end=\"3464\">Since then—and after the conviction of four private individuals, who received prison sentences totaling 126 years after being found guilty for their role in the illegal surveillance (they had remained outside the scope of the earlier prosecutorial decision by Deputy Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis, which had excluded them from the archived part of the investigation as those responsible for the unlawful monitoring)—three requests remain pending before the Supreme Court.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"3466\" data-end=\"3917\">The most recent request, which reinforced the need for further judicial investigation of the wiretapping affair, came from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/former-pm-antonis-samaras-files-motion-over-predator-spyware-case\/\">former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras,<\/a> who called for &#8220;the full clarification of how he was entrapped,&#8221; thereby increasing the responsibility of the prosecutorial authorities to examine the case in its entirety. Before Samaras&#8217; request—which significantly added to the judicial backlog—other requests had already been submitted.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3919\" data-end=\"4222\">Despite the recent decision to shelve the investigation, Christos Spirtzis has requested further inquiry, as has lawyer Zacharias Kesses, who represents victims of the wiretapping scandal, relying on the contents of the conviction against the four defendants, among whom was Israeli national Tal Dilian.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4224\" data-end=\"4699\">Tal Dilian, who marketed the spyware known as Predator—which is illegal under Greek law—did not attend his trial, did not testify in his own defense, and also failed to appear before Parliament when summoned. However, following his heavy conviction and ahead of his appeal trial, scheduled for December, he has publicly stated that he had no involvement in the use of the software. According to his own claims, he marketed it not to private individuals but to state agencies.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4701\" data-end=\"4992\">The summons issued to him, as well as to former close associate of the Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, by Parliament&#8217;s Committee on Institutions and Transparency produced no result, as the government majority ruled that neither of the two held a public office requiring them to testify.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4994\" data-end=\"5104\">Objections from opposition parties were insufficient to reverse that decision or compel the two men to appear.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5106\" data-end=\"5255\">It should be noted, however, that Grigoris Dimitriadis has testified twice before similar parliamentary committees and once before the Supreme Court.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12z6jgt\" data-start=\"5257\" data-end=\"5295\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"5261\" data-end=\"5295\">Civil Lawsuits Seeking Damages<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"5297\" data-end=\"5537\">There is also another equally significant development beyond the criminal proceedings currently under judicial assessment, especially since the parliamentary process has, for the time being, failed to open the door to further investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5539\" data-end=\"5777\">Victims of the wiretapping—not political figures but private individuals—have filed civil lawsuits seeking compensation for the unlawful surveillance to which they were subjected, the violation of their personal data, and related damages.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5779\" data-end=\"6191\">According to legal sources, their decision to broaden the judicial process through civil claims against private individuals—including all four convicted defendants—who are entangled in the wiretapping affair increases the pressure to reopen the investigation. Beyond criminal penalties (that is, imprisonment), those involved now face the significant prospect of having to pay substantial financial compensation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"6193\" data-end=\"6675\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Given these developments, and with other aspects of the investigation still open and expected to produce important new findings, the observation by lawyer Zacharias Kesses that &#8220;the case cannot be considered closed unless the victims are examined and their mobile phones are examined&#8221; reflects the breadth of the judicial proceedings, which, by all indications, are likely to continue for some time. At this stage, no one can predict where this judicial journey will ultimately end.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":51347,"name":"Greek Justice","slug":"greek-justice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51347,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6942,"name":"Intellexa","slug":"intellexa","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6942,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65,"name":"Predator","slug":"predator","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":85,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6654,"name":"Spyware","slug":"spyware","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6654,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19192,"name":"Surveillance scandal Greece","slug":"surveillance-scandal-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19192,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":63,"name":"Wiretapping","slug":"wiretapping","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1-150x150.webp","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1.webp","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1-300x200.webp","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1-768x512.webp","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525982,"date":"2026-07-14T16:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T13:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525982"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:58:40","slug":"iconic-zakynthos-navagio-beach-closed-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/travel\/iconic-zakynthos-navagio-beach-closed-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Zakynthos Navagio Beach Closed This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/search\/Navagio\">Navagio, the iconic beach on the Greek island of Zakynthos<\/a>, will remain closed to the public throughout the summer, after local authorities banned access by boat or swimming due to ongoing safety concerns.<\/p> <p>The world-famous beach, also known as Shipwreck Beach, will be off limits until October 31 following a decision by Greece&#8217;s Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP), which found that the cliffs surrounding the cove posed a landslide risk.<\/p> <p>One of Greece&#8217;s most photographed locations and among the world&#8217;s most Instagrammed beaches, Navagio has faced repeated closures in recent years following rockfalls and seismic activity.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Local authorities this week unveiled plans aimed at protecting the site and improving visitor safety. The project includes extending the beach by 30 meters using gravel to help combat coastal erosion, as well as additional stabilization works in the surrounding area.<\/p> <p>Navagio has remained largely inaccessible during several recent summer seasons. In 2018, a section of the cliff collapsed onto the beach, injuring seven visitors and prompting its closure. In 2022, a magnitude-5.4 earthquake struck off Zakynthos, once again raising concerns over the stability of the cliffs and leading to further restrictions.<\/p> <p>Although visitors will not be able to access the beach this summer, they will still be able to see and photograph the cove from the designated clifftop viewing platform above.<\/p> <p>The secluded bay was originally known as Agios Georgios (St. George) before becoming famous as Navagio Beach after cargo ship MV Panagiotis ran aground there during a storm in the early 1980s. The Greek word “navagio” means &#8220;shipwreck&#8221;.<\/p> <p><\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Local authorities presented a plan that includes long-term safety improvements and stabilization works at Navagio beach<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":525988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[20893,24156,5418],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/search\/Navagio\">Navagio, the iconic beach on the Greek island of Zakynthos<\/a>, will remain closed to the public throughout the summer, after local authorities banned access by boat or swimming due to ongoing safety concerns.<\/p> <p>The world-famous beach, also known as Shipwreck Beach, will be off limits until October 31 following a decision by Greece&#8217;s Earthquake Planning and Protection Organization (OASP), which found that the cliffs surrounding the cove posed a landslide risk.<\/p> <p>One of Greece&#8217;s most photographed locations and among the world&#8217;s most Instagrammed beaches, Navagio has faced repeated closures in recent years following rockfalls and seismic activity.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Local authorities this week unveiled plans aimed at protecting the site and improving visitor safety. The project includes extending the beach by 30 meters using gravel to help combat coastal erosion, as well as additional stabilization works in the surrounding area.<\/p> <p>Navagio has remained largely inaccessible during several recent summer seasons. In 2018, a section of the cliff collapsed onto the beach, injuring seven visitors and prompting its closure. In 2022, a magnitude-5.4 earthquake struck off Zakynthos, once again raising concerns over the stability of the cliffs and leading to further restrictions.<\/p> <p>Although visitors will not be able to access the beach this summer, they will still be able to see and photograph the cove from the designated clifftop viewing platform above.<\/p> <p>The secluded bay was originally known as Agios Georgios (St. George) before becoming famous as Navagio Beach after cargo ship MV Panagiotis ran aground there during a storm in the early 1980s. The Greek word “navagio” means &#8220;shipwreck&#8221;.<\/p> <p><\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":11,"name":"Travel","slug":"travel","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":11,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest travel news, guides, vacation tips and photography of the best places to visit in Greece and around the world.","parent":0,"count":1093,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":20893,"name":"Navagio Beach","slug":"navagio-beach","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20893,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":24156,"name":"travel Greece","slug":"travel-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":24156,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":5418,"name":"Zakynthos","slug":"zakynthos","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5418,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":33,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-300x199.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-768x510.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526186,"date":"2026-07-14T19:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526186"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:31:02","slug":"greek-americans-protest-astorias-omission-from-nyc-immigrant-enclaves-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-americans-protest-astorias-omission-from-nyc-immigrant-enclaves-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek-Americans Protest Astoria’s Omission from NYC Immigrant Enclaves Map"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The omission of Astoria&#8217;s historic Greektown from New York City&#8217;s official Immigrant Enclaves Map has sparked criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/stories\/from-crisis-to-catalyst-how-diaspora-greeks-are-sparking-change\/\">Greek-American<\/a> leaders, who say the exclusion overlooks generations of contributions by one of the city&#8217;s most prominent immigrant communities.<\/p> <p>The map, released by the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, identifies 30 immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Little Africa, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Yemen, Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Haiti, Little India, Little Palestine and Little Mexico.<\/p> <p>However, it does not include Astoria, long recognized as the cultural heart of Greek America, where generations of Greek immigrants established churches, schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/faros-athens-breaking-down-the-barriers-for-greeces-blind\/\">community organizations<\/a>, businesses, restaurants and charitable institutions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_526192\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-image-526192 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png\" alt=\"NYC Enclaves Map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-768x729.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York City Immigrant Enclaves map featuring 30 city neighborhoods.<\/p><\/div> <p>The map also drew criticism for omitting other historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Italy, as well as traditional Irish and Jewish communities.<\/p> <p>AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) Empire State District 6 Governor Konstantinos G. Prentzas said he was &#8220;deeply disappointed&#8221; by the exclusion of Astoria and its historic Hellenic-American community.<\/p> <p>&#8220;It is especially troubling because we have also witnessed similar treatment toward Little Italy and the Italian-American community,&#8221; Prentzas said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>&#8220;These historic neighborhoods are not simply locations on a map. They represent generations of sacrifice, faith, family, hard work, entrepreneurship and devotion to the American Dream.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said Greek Americans helped create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-diaspora-summer-student-programs-ignite-greek-american-heritage-a-path-to-revitalizing-the-u-s-diaspora\/\">support education<\/a> and contribute significantly to New York City&#8217;s civic, economic and cultural life.<\/p> <p>&#8220;We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot erase history,&#8221; Prentzas said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to preserve it, honor it, teach it and share it with future generations.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Calling the omission &#8220;more than a minor oversight,&#8221; he said it disregards the sacrifices, achievements and legacy of generations of Greek immigrants and their descendants, adding that the same recognition should be extended to every historic ethnic community that helped build New York City.<\/p> <p>Senate candidate, Greek-American Pamela Michos also criticized the omission, describing it as &#8220;outrageous, but unfortunately not unexpected&#8221;.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-526195 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png\" alt=\"Ahepa\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-696x1024.png 696w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09.png 894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p> <p>&#8220;The history and contributions of Greek Americans cannot be erased,&#8221; Michos said, adding that the community has preserved its language, faith and traditions through successive generations of immigrants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>She described Astoria&#8217;s absence from the map as &#8220;deeply offensive and unacceptable&#8221; and urged City Hall to correct what she called a significant historical omission.<\/p> <h3><strong>Mayor Says Map Will Be Updated<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Following widespread criticism, particularly from Italian-American organizations over the exclusion of Little Italy, Mayor Mamdani said changes would be made to the map.<\/p> <p>His office confirmed that Little Italy will be added, noting that the map was originally created in 2023. It remains unclear whether Astoria&#8217;s Greektown or other historic ethnic neighborhoods will also be included in the revised version.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would review the map&#8217;s omissions after facing backlash from leaders of several historic immigrant communities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":526189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2871,2313,36457,78226],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The omission of Astoria&#8217;s historic Greektown from New York City&#8217;s official Immigrant Enclaves Map has sparked criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/stories\/from-crisis-to-catalyst-how-diaspora-greeks-are-sparking-change\/\">Greek-American<\/a> leaders, who say the exclusion overlooks generations of contributions by one of the city&#8217;s most prominent immigrant communities.<\/p> <p>The map, released by the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, identifies 30 immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Little Africa, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Yemen, Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Haiti, Little India, Little Palestine and Little Mexico.<\/p> <p>However, it does not include Astoria, long recognized as the cultural heart of Greek America, where generations of Greek immigrants established churches, schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/faros-athens-breaking-down-the-barriers-for-greeces-blind\/\">community organizations<\/a>, businesses, restaurants and charitable institutions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_526192\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-image-526192 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png\" alt=\"NYC Enclaves Map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-768x729.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York City Immigrant Enclaves map featuring 30 city neighborhoods.<\/p><\/div> <p>The map also drew criticism for omitting other historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Italy, as well as traditional Irish and Jewish communities.<\/p> <p>AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) Empire State District 6 Governor Konstantinos G. Prentzas said he was &#8220;deeply disappointed&#8221; by the exclusion of Astoria and its historic Hellenic-American community.<\/p> <p>&#8220;It is especially troubling because we have also witnessed similar treatment toward Little Italy and the Italian-American community,&#8221; Prentzas said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>&#8220;These historic neighborhoods are not simply locations on a map. They represent generations of sacrifice, faith, family, hard work, entrepreneurship and devotion to the American Dream.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said Greek Americans helped create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-diaspora-summer-student-programs-ignite-greek-american-heritage-a-path-to-revitalizing-the-u-s-diaspora\/\">support education<\/a> and contribute significantly to New York City&#8217;s civic, economic and cultural life.<\/p> <p>&#8220;We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot erase history,&#8221; Prentzas said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to preserve it, honor it, teach it and share it with future generations.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Calling the omission &#8220;more than a minor oversight,&#8221; he said it disregards the sacrifices, achievements and legacy of generations of Greek immigrants and their descendants, adding that the same recognition should be extended to every historic ethnic community that helped build New York City.<\/p> <p>Senate candidate, Greek-American Pamela Michos also criticized the omission, describing it as &#8220;outrageous, but unfortunately not unexpected&#8221;.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-526195 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png\" alt=\"Ahepa\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-696x1024.png 696w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09.png 894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p> <p>&#8220;The history and contributions of Greek Americans cannot be erased,&#8221; Michos said, adding that the community has preserved its language, faith and traditions through successive generations of immigrants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>She described Astoria&#8217;s absence from the map as &#8220;deeply offensive and unacceptable&#8221; and urged City Hall to correct what she called a significant historical omission.<\/p> <h3><strong>Mayor Says Map Will Be Updated<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Following widespread criticism, particularly from Italian-American organizations over the exclusion of Little Italy, Mayor Mamdani said changes would be made to the map.<\/p> <p>His office confirmed that Little Italy will be added, noting that the map was originally created in 2023. It remains unclear whether Astoria&#8217;s Greektown or other historic ethnic neighborhoods will also be included in the revised version.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":2871,"name":"Greek Diaspora","slug":"greek-diaspora","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2871,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":51,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2313,"name":"greek-american community","slug":"greek-american-community","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2313,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":36457,"name":"Greek-American Heritage","slug":"greek-american-heritage","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":36457,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":78226,"name":"New York City","slug":"new-york-city","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":78226,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525946,"date":"2026-07-14T14:36:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525946"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:36:03","slug":"kesses-files-petition-to-reopen-greek-predator-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/kesses-files-petition-to-reopen-greek-predator-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Kesses Files Petition to Reopen Greek Predator Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The lawyer representing victims of Greece&#8217;s wiretapping scandal filed a fresh petition on Tuesday to reopen the shelved Predator case, citing as new evidence Tal Dilian&#8217;s admission, in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dilians-court-filing-admits-selling-predator-to-greece\/\">Israeli court filing<\/a>, that he sold the Predator spyware to Greek authorities.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses filed the petition with the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office, asking that the shelved case be reopened and reinvestigated. The significance of Dilian&#8217;s filing, he said, is that an official court document now has him admitting he sold Predator to the Greek state, while denying any role in how it was used.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The petition rests on the lawsuit Dilian, the founder of Intellexa, has brought against one of his Greek victims, seeking damages for defamation before a court in Israel. From the wording of that filing, Kesses argued, Dilian himself draws a clear and unambiguous distinction between the facts he treats as true and those he casts as false and defamatory. Dilian invokes the sale of Predator to Greek state authorities as a fact he does not dispute, and indeed calls &#8220;entirely legal,&#8221; setting it against the claim he deems defamatory: that he was personally involved in using Predator for illegal surveillance in Greece, in cooperation with the national intelligence service, the EYP.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">On that basis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">Kesses said<\/a>, the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office must act at once, retrieving the file, requesting certified copies of the Israeli documents through international judicial assistance, and weighing them within the criminal investigation. It should also summon Dilian to testify, he said, and if his standing as a defendant is treated as a reason to doubt his credibility, the prosecutor can instead call Intellexa&#8217;s technical director, its administrative head and three technicians, none of whom has ever testified and whose roles surfaced in the first-instance trial over the wiretaps.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses cast the move as a matter of principle, saying the code of values held by his clients and by himself demands the non-negotiable defense of the rule of law, the constant pursuit of truth and accountability against every form of cover-up in the case.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">He pressed the point on the prosecutor directly. Evangelos Bakelas, as the official handling the case, is obliged to rise to the occasion, safeguard the standing of the justice system and investigate what Kesses called the largest scandal of Greece&#8217;s Third Republic, the democratic era that began with the fall of the military junta in 1974. Anything less, he said, would perpetuate the institutional wound.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Asked about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">recent interview given by Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, Kesses noted that Dimitriadis had said he knows a great deal but chooses not to speak. Defendants have the right to silence, Kesses observed, while witnesses have a duty to tell the truth.<\/p> <p>The new petition comes after a series of related requests on the same case and will be joined with them before the Supreme Court prosecutor. The most recent was filed by former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, himself a target of Predator, who has called for a thorough investigation.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zacharias Kesses lodged the request at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, citing Tal Dilian&#8217;s Israeli court filing as new evidence that the Intellexa founder sold Predator to Greek authorities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":168815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51347,65,6654,8853,19192],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The lawyer representing victims of Greece&#8217;s wiretapping scandal filed a fresh petition on Tuesday to reopen the shelved Predator case, citing as new evidence Tal Dilian&#8217;s admission, in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dilians-court-filing-admits-selling-predator-to-greece\/\">Israeli court filing<\/a>, that he sold the Predator spyware to Greek authorities.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses filed the petition with the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office, asking that the shelved case be reopened and reinvestigated. The significance of Dilian&#8217;s filing, he said, is that an official court document now has him admitting he sold Predator to the Greek state, while denying any role in how it was used.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The petition rests on the lawsuit Dilian, the founder of Intellexa, has brought against one of his Greek victims, seeking damages for defamation before a court in Israel. From the wording of that filing, Kesses argued, Dilian himself draws a clear and unambiguous distinction between the facts he treats as true and those he casts as false and defamatory. Dilian invokes the sale of Predator to Greek state authorities as a fact he does not dispute, and indeed calls &#8220;entirely legal,&#8221; setting it against the claim he deems defamatory: that he was personally involved in using Predator for illegal surveillance in Greece, in cooperation with the national intelligence service, the EYP.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">On that basis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">Kesses said<\/a>, the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office must act at once, retrieving the file, requesting certified copies of the Israeli documents through international judicial assistance, and weighing them within the criminal investigation. It should also summon Dilian to testify, he said, and if his standing as a defendant is treated as a reason to doubt his credibility, the prosecutor can instead call Intellexa&#8217;s technical director, its administrative head and three technicians, none of whom has ever testified and whose roles surfaced in the first-instance trial over the wiretaps.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses cast the move as a matter of principle, saying the code of values held by his clients and by himself demands the non-negotiable defense of the rule of law, the constant pursuit of truth and accountability against every form of cover-up in the case.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">He pressed the point on the prosecutor directly. Evangelos Bakelas, as the official handling the case, is obliged to rise to the occasion, safeguard the standing of the justice system and investigate what Kesses called the largest scandal of Greece&#8217;s Third Republic, the democratic era that began with the fall of the military junta in 1974. Anything less, he said, would perpetuate the institutional wound.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Asked about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">recent interview given by Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, Kesses noted that Dimitriadis had said he knows a great deal but chooses not to speak. Defendants have the right to silence, Kesses observed, while witnesses have a duty to tell the truth.<\/p> <p>The new petition comes after a series of related requests on the same case and will be joined with them before the Supreme Court prosecutor. The most recent was filed by former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, himself a target of Predator, who has called for a thorough investigation.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":51347,"name":"Greek Justice","slug":"greek-justice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51347,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65,"name":"Predator","slug":"predator","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":85,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6654,"name":"Spyware","slug":"spyware","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6654,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8853,"name":"Supreme Court","slug":"supreme-court","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8853,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19192,"name":"Surveillance scandal Greece","slug":"surveillance-scandal-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19192,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2-300x216.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2-768x552.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525577,"date":"2026-07-14T17:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525577"},"modified":"2026-07-14T10:05:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:05:52","slug":"greece-extends-limited-use-of-old-id-cards-until-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greece-extends-limited-use-of-old-id-cards-until-2027\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece Extends Limited Use of Old ID Cards Until 2027"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"273\" data-end=\"442\">Greece has extended the limited use of older <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/what-changes-for-greek-id-cards-from-aug-3\/\">national identity cards<\/a> until September 25, 2027, giving citizens more time to transition to the country&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/new-greek-id-cards-what-you-need-to-know\/\">new ID cards.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"444\" data-end=\"697\">Under a ministerial decision, the extension does not restore the full validity of the older IDs. Instead, they will only be accepted for specific remote electronic identity verification procedures related to the issuance of trusted digital certificates.<\/p> <p data-start=\"699\" data-end=\"845\">The measure is intended to address delays in the rollout of the new identity cards, as many citizens have yet to complete the replacement process.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"1hojwcs\" data-start=\"847\" data-end=\"882\">Where old ID cards remain valid<\/h3> <p data-start=\"884\" data-end=\"1110\">Until September 25, 2027, older identity cards may only be used for designated online verification services. They will not be accepted as general proof of identity for all public sector transactions or as travel documents.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1112\" data-end=\"1452\">The extension applies to older Greek identity cards that display the holder&#8217;s name in both Greek and Latin characters. It also covers identity cards issued to members of the armed forces and security services, as well as valid residence permits held by third-country nationals, but only within the scope defined by the ministerial decision.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"w9pxae\" data-start=\"1454\" data-end=\"1482\">Old IDs to be phased out<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1484\" data-end=\"1720\">The government plans to complete the withdrawal of the old identity cards from public transactions by September 2027. After that date, citizens will be required to use the new national identity card for dealings with public authorities.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"1gvb5e6\" data-start=\"1722\" data-end=\"1755\">How to obtain the new ID card<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1757\" data-end=\"1954\">Applicants must pay the required fees before visiting a police station. The standard electronic fee is €10, covering the issuance, printing, personalization and secure delivery of the new card.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"1956\" data-end=\"2114\">Large families are eligible for a reduced €5 fee upon presenting the necessary documentation. An additional €0.50 Greek Police stamp is also required.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2116\" data-end=\"2360\">The process begins by booking an appointment online with the appropriate issuing authority based on the applicant&#8217;s place of residence or temporary address. If no appointments are available locally, applicants may choose another police station.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2362\" data-end=\"2703\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Applicants must appear in person at the police station, where their information is verified using Greece&#8217;s Civil Registry. Photographs can either be taken at the issuing office or uploaded through the government&#8217;s myPhoto platform by a certified photographer, with a unique code used to retrieve the image during the application process.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The extension applies only to specific online identity verification procedures, while older identity cards will no longer be accepted as general proof of identity or travel documents<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525586,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[59879,59873],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"273\" data-end=\"442\">Greece has extended the limited use of older <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/what-changes-for-greek-id-cards-from-aug-3\/\">national identity cards<\/a> until September 25, 2027, giving citizens more time to transition to the country&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/new-greek-id-cards-what-you-need-to-know\/\">new ID cards.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"444\" data-end=\"697\">Under a ministerial decision, the extension does not restore the full validity of the older IDs. Instead, they will only be accepted for specific remote electronic identity verification procedures related to the issuance of trusted digital certificates.<\/p> <p data-start=\"699\" data-end=\"845\">The measure is intended to address delays in the rollout of the new identity cards, as many citizens have yet to complete the replacement process.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"1hojwcs\" data-start=\"847\" data-end=\"882\">Where old ID cards remain valid<\/h3> <p data-start=\"884\" data-end=\"1110\">Until September 25, 2027, older identity cards may only be used for designated online verification services. They will not be accepted as general proof of identity for all public sector transactions or as travel documents.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1112\" data-end=\"1452\">The extension applies to older Greek identity cards that display the holder&#8217;s name in both Greek and Latin characters. It also covers identity cards issued to members of the armed forces and security services, as well as valid residence permits held by third-country nationals, but only within the scope defined by the ministerial decision.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"w9pxae\" data-start=\"1454\" data-end=\"1482\">Old IDs to be phased out<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1484\" data-end=\"1720\">The government plans to complete the withdrawal of the old identity cards from public transactions by September 2027. After that date, citizens will be required to use the new national identity card for dealings with public authorities.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"1gvb5e6\" data-start=\"1722\" data-end=\"1755\">How to obtain the new ID card<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1757\" data-end=\"1954\">Applicants must pay the required fees before visiting a police station. The standard electronic fee is €10, covering the issuance, printing, personalization and secure delivery of the new card.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"1956\" data-end=\"2114\">Large families are eligible for a reduced €5 fee upon presenting the necessary documentation. An additional €0.50 Greek Police stamp is also required.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2116\" data-end=\"2360\">The process begins by booking an appointment online with the appropriate issuing authority based on the applicant&#8217;s place of residence or temporary address. If no appointments are available locally, applicants may choose another police station.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2362\" data-end=\"2703\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Applicants must appear in person at the police station, where their information is verified using Greece&#8217;s Civil Registry. Photographs can either be taken at the issuing office or uploaded through the government&#8217;s myPhoto platform by a certified photographer, with a unique code used to retrieve the image during the application process.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":59879,"name":"Greece digital ID card","slug":"greece-digital-id-card","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":59879,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":59873,"name":"new Greek ID cards","slug":"new-greek-id-cards","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":59873,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/tautotita-1024x683-1.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/tautotita-1024x683-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/tautotita-1024x683-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/tautotita-1024x683-1.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525634,"date":"2026-07-14T11:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525634"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:41:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:41:40","slug":"minister-defends-new-breakthrough-in-marfin-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/minister-defends-new-breakthrough-in-marfin-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Defends New Breakthrough in Marfin Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&:has([data-writing-block])>*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-176\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"b44b76ce-2aa9-4748-b05e-dcf6f2325adc\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"565\">Greece&#8217;s Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/chrysochoidis-police-should-arrest-killers-not-kill-children\/\">Chrisochoidis<\/a>, has defended the police investigation that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">led to three arrests<\/a> 16 years after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/marfin-15-years-since-the-deadly-firebombing\/\">deadly Marfin bank<\/a> attack, saying the evidence had long existed but had not been properly utilized because of mistakes in the original investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"567\" data-end=\"805\">Speaking to Greek broadcaster SKAI, Chrisochoidis said police investigators were able to systematically review and evaluate the available material, ultimately gathering what they believe is sufficient evidence to support criminal charges.<\/p> <p data-start=\"807\" data-end=\"982\">&#8220;The material was already in the police archives,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A large volume of evidence had to be reassessed using all the investigative methods available to the authorities.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"984\" data-end=\"1273\">According to the minister, senior police officers signed off on the investigation&#8217;s conclusions before the case file was submitted to judicial authorities. He stressed that it is now up to investigating judges and prosecutors to assess the evidence within the framework of the rule of law.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1mx9dd0\" data-start=\"1275\" data-end=\"1320\">Anonymous email not the decisive evidence<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1322\" data-end=\"1449\">Chrisochoidis also rejected claims that the renewed investigation was based primarily on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">anonymous email sent to the police.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"1451\" data-end=\"1680\">&#8220;The case file contains thousands of pages,&#8221; he said. &#8220;An anonymous email cannot convict anyone. A conviction requires convincing evidence and supporting material, and that evidence has been submitted to the investigating judge.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1682\" data-end=\"1824\">His comments came after defense lawyers argued that the case was initiated by an anonymous message and questioned the quality of the evidence.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"130kn05\" data-start=\"1826\" data-end=\"1856\">Multi-agency investigation<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1858\" data-end=\"2098\">The minister said the investigation had been underway for years and involved close cooperation between several police departments, including the Homicide Division, the Counterterrorism Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"2100\" data-end=\"2291\">He said experienced investigators combined evidence from different sources while forensic specialists used modern technology and legally available investigative tools to analyze the material.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2293\" data-end=\"2449\">Responding to criticism over whether photographs taken 16 years ago could reliably identify suspects, Chrisochoidis said every side was fulfilling its role.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2451\" data-end=\"2679\">&#8220;Lawyers are doing their job, the police are doing theirs, and so are the investigating judges and prosecutors. That is how democracy works,&#8221; he said, adding that Greece&#8217;s judicial system provides the necessary legal safeguards.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"zes21c\" data-start=\"2681\" data-end=\"2717\">Comments on other investigations<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2719\" data-end=\"2886\">The minister also commented on the recent death of a 20-year-old man during a police pursuit in Argos, saying that &#8220;the police exist to arrest murderers, not to kill.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"2888\" data-end=\"2988\">He acknowledged that criminal proceedings would follow, describing the incident as deeply troubling.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2990\" data-end=\"3329\">Chrisochoidis also addressed the recent arrests over a fatal arson attack in Thessaloniki that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/deadly-thessaloniki-arson-suspects-appear-before-judge\/\">claimed the life of Vagia Nestora<\/a>. Praising the officers involved in the investigation, he described the suspects as acting in a professional and premeditated manner, while adding that he could not say whether they intended to kill the victims.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"pointer-events-none -mt-px h-px translate-y-(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom)\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greece&#8217;s public order minister says investigators built the case using long-available evidence that had previously gone unused, insisting the final judgment now rests with the courts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":239117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8040,61205],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-176\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"b44b76ce-2aa9-4748-b05e-dcf6f2325adc\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"565\">Greece&#8217;s Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/chrysochoidis-police-should-arrest-killers-not-kill-children\/\">Chrisochoidis<\/a>, has defended the police investigation that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">led to three arrests<\/a> 16 years after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/marfin-15-years-since-the-deadly-firebombing\/\">deadly Marfin bank<\/a> attack, saying the evidence had long existed but had not been properly utilized because of mistakes in the original investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"567\" data-end=\"805\">Speaking to Greek broadcaster SKAI, Chrisochoidis said police investigators were able to systematically review and evaluate the available material, ultimately gathering what they believe is sufficient evidence to support criminal charges.<\/p> <p data-start=\"807\" data-end=\"982\">&#8220;The material was already in the police archives,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A large volume of evidence had to be reassessed using all the investigative methods available to the authorities.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"984\" data-end=\"1273\">According to the minister, senior police officers signed off on the investigation&#8217;s conclusions before the case file was submitted to judicial authorities. He stressed that it is now up to investigating judges and prosecutors to assess the evidence within the framework of the rule of law.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1mx9dd0\" data-start=\"1275\" data-end=\"1320\">Anonymous email not the decisive evidence<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1322\" data-end=\"1449\">Chrisochoidis also rejected claims that the renewed investigation was based primarily on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">anonymous email sent to the police.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"1451\" data-end=\"1680\">&#8220;The case file contains thousands of pages,&#8221; he said. &#8220;An anonymous email cannot convict anyone. A conviction requires convincing evidence and supporting material, and that evidence has been submitted to the investigating judge.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1682\" data-end=\"1824\">His comments came after defense lawyers argued that the case was initiated by an anonymous message and questioned the quality of the evidence.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"130kn05\" data-start=\"1826\" data-end=\"1856\">Multi-agency investigation<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1858\" data-end=\"2098\">The minister said the investigation had been underway for years and involved close cooperation between several police departments, including the Homicide Division, the Counterterrorism Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"2100\" data-end=\"2291\">He said experienced investigators combined evidence from different sources while forensic specialists used modern technology and legally available investigative tools to analyze the material.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2293\" data-end=\"2449\">Responding to criticism over whether photographs taken 16 years ago could reliably identify suspects, Chrisochoidis said every side was fulfilling its role.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2451\" data-end=\"2679\">&#8220;Lawyers are doing their job, the police are doing theirs, and so are the investigating judges and prosecutors. That is how democracy works,&#8221; he said, adding that Greece&#8217;s judicial system provides the necessary legal safeguards.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"zes21c\" data-start=\"2681\" data-end=\"2717\">Comments on other investigations<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2719\" data-end=\"2886\">The minister also commented on the recent death of a 20-year-old man during a police pursuit in Argos, saying that &#8220;the police exist to arrest murderers, not to kill.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"2888\" data-end=\"2988\">He acknowledged that criminal proceedings would follow, describing the incident as deeply troubling.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2990\" data-end=\"3329\">Chrisochoidis also addressed the recent arrests over a fatal arson attack in Thessaloniki that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/deadly-thessaloniki-arson-suspects-appear-before-judge\/\">claimed the life of Vagia Nestora<\/a>. Praising the officers involved in the investigation, he described the suspects as acting in a professional and premeditated manner, while adding that he could not say whether they intended to kill the victims.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"pointer-events-none -mt-px h-px translate-y-(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom)\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":8040,"name":"arson","slug":"arson","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8040,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":31,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":61205,"name":"Marfin","slug":"marfin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61205,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2-300x263.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"politics","header":"Πολιτική","ID":"1","posts":[{"id":525946,"date":"2026-07-14T14:36:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525946"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:36:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:36:03","slug":"kesses-files-petition-to-reopen-greek-predator-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/kesses-files-petition-to-reopen-greek-predator-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Kesses Files Petition to Reopen Greek Predator Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The lawyer representing victims of Greece&#8217;s wiretapping scandal filed a fresh petition on Tuesday to reopen the shelved Predator case, citing as new evidence Tal Dilian&#8217;s admission, in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dilians-court-filing-admits-selling-predator-to-greece\/\">Israeli court filing<\/a>, that he sold the Predator spyware to Greek authorities.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses filed the petition with the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office, asking that the shelved case be reopened and reinvestigated. The significance of Dilian&#8217;s filing, he said, is that an official court document now has him admitting he sold Predator to the Greek state, while denying any role in how it was used.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The petition rests on the lawsuit Dilian, the founder of Intellexa, has brought against one of his Greek victims, seeking damages for defamation before a court in Israel. From the wording of that filing, Kesses argued, Dilian himself draws a clear and unambiguous distinction between the facts he treats as true and those he casts as false and defamatory. Dilian invokes the sale of Predator to Greek state authorities as a fact he does not dispute, and indeed calls &#8220;entirely legal,&#8221; setting it against the claim he deems defamatory: that he was personally involved in using Predator for illegal surveillance in Greece, in cooperation with the national intelligence service, the EYP.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">On that basis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">Kesses said<\/a>, the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office must act at once, retrieving the file, requesting certified copies of the Israeli documents through international judicial assistance, and weighing them within the criminal investigation. It should also summon Dilian to testify, he said, and if his standing as a defendant is treated as a reason to doubt his credibility, the prosecutor can instead call Intellexa&#8217;s technical director, its administrative head and three technicians, none of whom has ever testified and whose roles surfaced in the first-instance trial over the wiretaps.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses cast the move as a matter of principle, saying the code of values held by his clients and by himself demands the non-negotiable defense of the rule of law, the constant pursuit of truth and accountability against every form of cover-up in the case.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">He pressed the point on the prosecutor directly. Evangelos Bakelas, as the official handling the case, is obliged to rise to the occasion, safeguard the standing of the justice system and investigate what Kesses called the largest scandal of Greece&#8217;s Third Republic, the democratic era that began with the fall of the military junta in 1974. Anything less, he said, would perpetuate the institutional wound.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Asked about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">recent interview given by Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, Kesses noted that Dimitriadis had said he knows a great deal but chooses not to speak. Defendants have the right to silence, Kesses observed, while witnesses have a duty to tell the truth.<\/p> <p>The new petition comes after a series of related requests on the same case and will be joined with them before the Supreme Court prosecutor. The most recent was filed by former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, himself a target of Predator, who has called for a thorough investigation.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Zacharias Kesses lodged the request at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, citing Tal Dilian&#8217;s Israeli court filing as new evidence that the Intellexa founder sold Predator to Greek authorities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":168815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51347,65,6654,8853,19192],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The lawyer representing victims of Greece&#8217;s wiretapping scandal filed a fresh petition on Tuesday to reopen the shelved Predator case, citing as new evidence Tal Dilian&#8217;s admission, in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dilians-court-filing-admits-selling-predator-to-greece\/\">Israeli court filing<\/a>, that he sold the Predator spyware to Greek authorities.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses filed the petition with the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office, asking that the shelved case be reopened and reinvestigated. The significance of Dilian&#8217;s filing, he said, is that an official court document now has him admitting he sold Predator to the Greek state, while denying any role in how it was used.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The petition rests on the lawsuit Dilian, the founder of Intellexa, has brought against one of his Greek victims, seeking damages for defamation before a court in Israel. From the wording of that filing, Kesses argued, Dilian himself draws a clear and unambiguous distinction between the facts he treats as true and those he casts as false and defamatory. Dilian invokes the sale of Predator to Greek state authorities as a fact he does not dispute, and indeed calls &#8220;entirely legal,&#8221; setting it against the claim he deems defamatory: that he was personally involved in using Predator for illegal surveillance in Greece, in cooperation with the national intelligence service, the EYP.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">On that basis, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">Kesses said<\/a>, the Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office must act at once, retrieving the file, requesting certified copies of the Israeli documents through international judicial assistance, and weighing them within the criminal investigation. It should also summon Dilian to testify, he said, and if his standing as a defendant is treated as a reason to doubt his credibility, the prosecutor can instead call Intellexa&#8217;s technical director, its administrative head and three technicians, none of whom has ever testified and whose roles surfaced in the first-instance trial over the wiretaps.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses cast the move as a matter of principle, saying the code of values held by his clients and by himself demands the non-negotiable defense of the rule of law, the constant pursuit of truth and accountability against every form of cover-up in the case.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">He pressed the point on the prosecutor directly. Evangelos Bakelas, as the official handling the case, is obliged to rise to the occasion, safeguard the standing of the justice system and investigate what Kesses called the largest scandal of Greece&#8217;s Third Republic, the democratic era that began with the fall of the military junta in 1974. Anything less, he said, would perpetuate the institutional wound.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Asked about a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">recent interview given by Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, Kesses noted that Dimitriadis had said he knows a great deal but chooses not to speak. Defendants have the right to silence, Kesses observed, while witnesses have a duty to tell the truth.<\/p> <p>The new petition comes after a series of related requests on the same case and will be joined with them before the Supreme Court prosecutor. The most recent was filed by former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, himself a target of Predator, who has called for a thorough investigation.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":51347,"name":"Greek Justice","slug":"greek-justice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51347,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65,"name":"Predator","slug":"predator","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":85,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6654,"name":"Spyware","slug":"spyware","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6654,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8853,"name":"Supreme Court","slug":"supreme-court","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8853,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19192,"name":"Surveillance scandal Greece","slug":"surveillance-scandal-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19192,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2-300x216.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/24\/predator2-768x552.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525808,"date":"2026-07-14T13:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525808"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:33:59","slug":"mitsotakis-joins-bastille-day-parade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/mitsotakis-joins-bastille-day-parade\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitsotakis Joins Bastille Day Parade"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">France marked Bastille Day on Tuesday with its traditional military parade down the Champs-Élysées, and among the visiting leaders was Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece&#8217;s participation extended to the flypast: two Rafale fighter jets from the Hellenic Air Force&#8217;s 332nd Combat Wing flew above the avenue, meant to underscore the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/macron-visit-reinforces-greece-france-strategic-alliance\/\">historic ties<\/a> between the two countries.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_525835\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525835\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525835\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525835\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet, President of the Senate Gerard Larcher speak with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before the start of the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Tom Nicholson<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Bastille Day, celebrated on July 14, commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison, a turning point in the French Revolution. The military parade is its centerpiece and one of the largest in Europe. This year&#8217;s edition was substantial: more than 6,500 soldiers, 315 military vehicles, 98 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 193 horses.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_525832\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525832\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525832\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vehicles of the French 9th Marine Infantry Brigade drive down the Champs-Elysees avenue during the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Benoit Tessier<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Opening the procession was a contingent of 500 troops drawn from countries in the &#8220;Coalition of the Willing,&#8221; the French-British initiative that has pledged military support to Ukraine. Their presence was a deliberate signal, meant to project deeper European defense cooperation and the strategic autonomy championed by French President Emmanuel Macron. It also tied the parade to the summit unfolding the same day in Paris, where Mitsotakis and other leaders had gathered.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Macron received Mitsotakis at the start of the day, and the two leaders spoke briefly. The Greek prime minister was expected to reiterate Athens&#8217; consistent support for Ukraine, while stressing that European security, close coordination with allies, and the preservation of transatlantic cooperation remain preconditions for that support.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>A summit focused on Kyiv<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">That message aligned with the broader purpose of the gathering.  The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/allies-push-more-air-defense-for-ukraine-as-eu-backs-moldova\/\">coalition brings together<\/a> mostly European nations that have committed to backing Ukraine militarily, including the potential deployment of troops on the ground once the war ends, as a deterrent against any renewed Russian attack. The 37 countries that took part reaffirmed their intention to support Kyiv &#8220;faster and more strongly,&#8221; in order to pressure Russia toward negotiations.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">&#8220;We are determined to keep supporting Ukraine even faster and more strongly,&#8221; Macron said as the summit closed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added that it was time to end what he called the needless bloodshed in Ukraine. Around 20 heads of state and government gathered in Paris, among them outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Poland&#8217;s Donald Tusk, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also present.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_525838\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525838\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">French President Emmanuel Macron shakes greets Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet looks on during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Tom Nicholson<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Nine European countries went further, forming what they described as a purely defensive coalition with Ukraine to develop anti-ballistic capabilities. In a joint statement, the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Britain said the aim was to build a shared European capability against ballistic missiles, adding that the effort was not directed against any people but intended for their own defense.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Zelensky presses for air defenses now<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Zelensky called it a historic day and repeated his appeal for more air-defense systems to counter the Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles striking his country daily. He said Ukraine and its partners could produce an anti-ballistic missile within 12 months, promising mass, low-cost production, but insisted Kyiv needs defensive means immediately. He explained that Ukraine requires 100 Patriot missiles each month, a figure that rises to 300 during winter.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Macron announced that France would deliver 16 Rafale fighter jets to Ukraine, with the first ready in 2028 to 2029. He said Kyiv would also receive radar and a first battery of the new-generation SAMP\/T air-defense system, a French-Italian design, and that Ukraine would be licensed to manufacture AASM bombs and Aster 30 and Scalp missiles.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The multinational force to be deployed in Ukraine after the war would hold military exercises in neighboring countries in the coming months, Macron said. He added that European nations would step up cooperation against Russia&#8217;s so-called shadow fleet, the network of vessels that allows Moscow to bypass sanctions and finance its war effort.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the Paris parade as leaders of the &#8220;Coalition of the Willing&#8221; met the same day and pledged faster military support for Ukraine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":525814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[213,78598,96,42779,1734,52688],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">France marked Bastille Day on Tuesday with its traditional military parade down the Champs-Élysées, and among the visiting leaders was Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Greece&#8217;s participation extended to the flypast: two Rafale fighter jets from the Hellenic Air Force&#8217;s 332nd Combat Wing flew above the avenue, meant to underscore the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/macron-visit-reinforces-greece-france-strategic-alliance\/\">historic ties<\/a> between the two countries.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_525835\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525835\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525835\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T075813Z_130882497_RC2JDMAAJ9F8_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525835\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet, President of the Senate Gerard Larcher speak with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before the start of the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Tom Nicholson<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Bastille Day, celebrated on July 14, commemorates the 1789 storming of the Bastille prison, a turning point in the French Revolution. The military parade is its centerpiece and one of the largest in Europe. This year&#8217;s edition was substantial: more than 6,500 soldiers, 315 military vehicles, 98 aircraft, 31 helicopters and 193 horses.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_525832\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525832\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525832\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T100543Z_1850751239_RC2MDMA7POTX_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525832\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vehicles of the French 9th Marine Infantry Brigade drive down the Champs-Elysees avenue during the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Benoit Tessier<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Opening the procession was a contingent of 500 troops drawn from countries in the &#8220;Coalition of the Willing,&#8221; the French-British initiative that has pledged military support to Ukraine. Their presence was a deliberate signal, meant to project deeper European defense cooperation and the strategic autonomy championed by French President Emmanuel Macron. It also tied the parade to the summit unfolding the same day in Paris, where Mitsotakis and other leaders had gathered.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Macron received Mitsotakis at the start of the day, and the two leaders spoke briefly. The Greek prime minister was expected to reiterate Athens&#8217; consistent support for Ukraine, while stressing that European security, close coordination with allies, and the preservation of transatlantic cooperation remain preconditions for that support.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>A summit focused on Kyiv<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">That message aligned with the broader purpose of the gathering.  The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/allies-push-more-air-defense-for-ukraine-as-eu-backs-moldova\/\">coalition brings together<\/a> mostly European nations that have committed to backing Ukraine militarily, including the potential deployment of troops on the ground once the war ends, as a deterrent against any renewed Russian attack. The 37 countries that took part reaffirmed their intention to support Kyiv &#8220;faster and more strongly,&#8221; in order to pressure Russia toward negotiations.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">&#8220;We are determined to keep supporting Ukraine even faster and more strongly,&#8221; Macron said as the summit closed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz added that it was time to end what he called the needless bloodshed in Ukraine. Around 20 heads of state and government gathered in Paris, among them outgoing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Poland&#8217;s Donald Tusk, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also present.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_525838\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525838\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-14T084847Z_1946790585_RC2KDMAZH68M_RTRMADP_5_FRANCE-NATIONALDAY-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525838\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">French President Emmanuel Macron shakes greets Ukraine&#8217;s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as President of the National Assembly Yael Braun-Pivet looks on during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, July 14, 2026. REUTERS\/Tom Nicholson<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Nine European countries went further, forming what they described as a purely defensive coalition with Ukraine to develop anti-ballistic capabilities. In a joint statement, the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Britain said the aim was to build a shared European capability against ballistic missiles, adding that the effort was not directed against any people but intended for their own defense.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Zelensky presses for air defenses now<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Zelensky called it a historic day and repeated his appeal for more air-defense systems to counter the Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles striking his country daily. He said Ukraine and its partners could produce an anti-ballistic missile within 12 months, promising mass, low-cost production, but insisted Kyiv needs defensive means immediately. He explained that Ukraine requires 100 Patriot missiles each month, a figure that rises to 300 during winter.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Macron announced that France would deliver 16 Rafale fighter jets to Ukraine, with the first ready in 2028 to 2029. He said Kyiv would also receive radar and a first battery of the new-generation SAMP\/T air-defense system, a French-Italian design, and that Ukraine would be licensed to manufacture AASM bombs and Aster 30 and Scalp missiles.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The multinational force to be deployed in Ukraine after the war would hold military exercises in neighboring countries in the coming months, Macron said. He added that European nations would step up cooperation against Russia&#8217;s so-called shadow fleet, the network of vessels that allows Moscow to bypass sanctions and finance its war effort.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":213,"name":"French President Emmanuel Macron","slug":"french-president-emmanuel-macron","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":213,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":67,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":78598,"name":"military parade","slug":"military-parade","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":78598,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":96,"name":"Paris","slug":"paris","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":96,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":42779,"name":"Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis","slug":"prime-minister-kyriakos-mitsotakis","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":42779,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":180,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1734,"name":"Ukraine","slug":"ukraine","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1734,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":111,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":52688,"name":"Volodymyr Zelensky","slug":"volodymyr-zelensky","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":52688,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":84,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T193729Z_1761906640_RC26DMAUPWI3_RTRMADP_5_UKRAINE-CRISIS-COALITION-FRANCE-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T193729Z_1761906640_RC26DMAUPWI3_RTRMADP_5_UKRAINE-CRISIS-COALITION-FRANCE.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T193729Z_1761906640_RC26DMAUPWI3_RTRMADP_5_UKRAINE-CRISIS-COALITION-FRANCE-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T193729Z_1761906640_RC26DMAUPWI3_RTRMADP_5_UKRAINE-CRISIS-COALITION-FRANCE-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525703,"date":"2026-07-14T12:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525703"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:34:09","slug":"predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/","title":{"rendered":"Predator Victims’ Lawyer Presses Prosecutor to Call on Dilian to Testify"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The lawyer representing some of the victims of Greece&#8217;s wiretapping scandal says he will submit Tal Dilian&#8217;s Israeli court filing to the country&#8217;s Supreme Court prosecutor and press for the shelved case to be reopened, arguing there is no reason to wait for a foreign court to rule first.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Zacharias Kesses was responding to a defamation lawsuit that Dilian, the founder of the surveillance firm Intellexa and the man internationally identified with the Predator spyware, has<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dilians-court-filing-admits-selling-predator-to-greece\/\"> filed in Israel<\/a> against one of the Greek victims of that same software. In the filing, Dilian states for the first time in a court document that he personally sold Predator to Greek state authorities, insisting the sale was lawful while denying any role in its use for illegal surveillance.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses said the admission cannot be left to the Israeli proceedings alone. He will submit the lawsuit and its specific claims to the office of Supreme Court prosecutor Evangelos Bakelas, he said, and bring them to the prosecutor&#8217;s attention directly.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">&#8220;There is no reason to wait for a decision from the Israeli court,&#8221; Kesses wrote in a post on X, arguing that Bakelas can assess the filing now, request certified copies of the relevant Israeli documents through international judicial assistance, fold them into the Greek criminal file, and take whatever investigative steps are needed to examine claims that appear for the first time in an official court document.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The prosecutor can also summon Dilian to testify, Kesses said. And if Dilian&#8217;s status as a defendant is treated as a reason to doubt his credibility, Kesses said, Bakelas can instead call five people connected to Intellexa who have never testified: technical director Merom Harpaz, administrative head Einat Semama, and technicians Dimitrios Xypteras, Ioannis Toumpis and Ioannis Boliaris.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">During an interview with TV station MEGA Kesses said he would go to the prosecutor&#8217;s office himself, as he has done before, and would file a request to retrieve the case from the archive and reopen the investigation. Bakelas, he argued, should already have intervened on his own initiative, and should act now after Dilian&#8217;s public statements and the court filing.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Kesses also addressed the obvious question of why Dilian, who has long said he supplied the software to governments and holds the documents to prove his account, did not produce them before his first-instance conviction. Until the court&#8217;s ruling on Feb. 26, 2026, Kesses argued, Dilian had reason to regard Greece as a favorable environment: from the 2020 to 2022 period when the surveillance took place, and on through the February verdict, no one moved against him. The Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office, Kesses said, did not dare refer Dilian on felony charges despite what he characterized as serious offenses. Police inspections were pre-arranged, he claimed, with Dilian tipped off in advance and given time to clear out his equipment, and when Dilian appeared before a parliamentary inquiry in 2023 he had been briefed beforehand on the questions. He was referred to trial only on minor misdemeanor charges, Kesses said, on a case weak enough to risk at most a suspended sentence of one to two years. That, in his account, changed with the February ruling.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>The Predator case is not a private dispute, Kesses said, but a matter of the rule of law and the confidentiality of communications. Every new piece of official evidence, he argued, should be acted on immediately by prosecutors, all the more so because those who held public office and brought Predator into Greece have chosen silence and arrogance over accountability.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">He also turned the question of reticence back on the victims themselves. Just as some ask why Dilian has waited to produce his evidence, Kesses said, others might ask why, apart from PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, former minister Christos Spirtzis and, most recently, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, no political figure among those targeted has come forward to testify.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Israeli lawsuit remains pending, with a hearing expected once preliminary proceedings conclude in the coming months, at which point Dilian will be required to substantiate the claims in his own filing. In Greece, a separate appeal is scheduled for December, though Kesses noted it will deal only with the misdemeanor charges at second instance, leaving the central questions untouched: who ordered the surveillance, where the intercepted data is held, and who paid for it.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Intellexa founder admitted in a court filing in Israel that he sold the Predator spyware to the Greek state. His victims&#8217; lawyer is calling for the Greek Supreme Court prosecutor to act on the new information now, without waiting for an Israeli court to rule<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":519832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51347,6942,65,6654,8853,19192],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The lawyer representing some of the victims of Greece&#8217;s wiretapping scandal says he will submit Tal Dilian&#8217;s Israeli court filing to the country&#8217;s Supreme Court prosecutor and press for the shelved case to be reopened, arguing there is no reason to wait for a foreign court to rule first.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Zacharias Kesses was responding to a defamation lawsuit that Dilian, the founder of the surveillance firm Intellexa and the man internationally identified with the Predator spyware, has<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dilians-court-filing-admits-selling-predator-to-greece\/\"> filed in Israel<\/a> against one of the Greek victims of that same software. In the filing, Dilian states for the first time in a court document that he personally sold Predator to Greek state authorities, insisting the sale was lawful while denying any role in its use for illegal surveillance.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kesses said the admission cannot be left to the Israeli proceedings alone. He will submit the lawsuit and its specific claims to the office of Supreme Court prosecutor Evangelos Bakelas, he said, and bring them to the prosecutor&#8217;s attention directly.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">&#8220;There is no reason to wait for a decision from the Israeli court,&#8221; Kesses wrote in a post on X, arguing that Bakelas can assess the filing now, request certified copies of the relevant Israeli documents through international judicial assistance, fold them into the Greek criminal file, and take whatever investigative steps are needed to examine claims that appear for the first time in an official court document.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The prosecutor can also summon Dilian to testify, Kesses said. And if Dilian&#8217;s status as a defendant is treated as a reason to doubt his credibility, Kesses said, Bakelas can instead call five people connected to Intellexa who have never testified: technical director Merom Harpaz, administrative head Einat Semama, and technicians Dimitrios Xypteras, Ioannis Toumpis and Ioannis Boliaris.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">During an interview with TV station MEGA Kesses said he would go to the prosecutor&#8217;s office himself, as he has done before, and would file a request to retrieve the case from the archive and reopen the investigation. Bakelas, he argued, should already have intervened on his own initiative, and should act now after Dilian&#8217;s public statements and the court filing.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Kesses also addressed the obvious question of why Dilian, who has long said he supplied the software to governments and holds the documents to prove his account, did not produce them before his first-instance conviction. Until the court&#8217;s ruling on Feb. 26, 2026, Kesses argued, Dilian had reason to regard Greece as a favorable environment: from the 2020 to 2022 period when the surveillance took place, and on through the February verdict, no one moved against him. The Supreme Court prosecutor&#8217;s office, Kesses said, did not dare refer Dilian on felony charges despite what he characterized as serious offenses. Police inspections were pre-arranged, he claimed, with Dilian tipped off in advance and given time to clear out his equipment, and when Dilian appeared before a parliamentary inquiry in 2023 he had been briefed beforehand on the questions. He was referred to trial only on minor misdemeanor charges, Kesses said, on a case weak enough to risk at most a suspended sentence of one to two years. That, in his account, changed with the February ruling.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>The Predator case is not a private dispute, Kesses said, but a matter of the rule of law and the confidentiality of communications. Every new piece of official evidence, he argued, should be acted on immediately by prosecutors, all the more so because those who held public office and brought Predator into Greece have chosen silence and arrogance over accountability.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">He also turned the question of reticence back on the victims themselves. Just as some ask why Dilian has waited to produce his evidence, Kesses said, others might ask why, apart from PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, former minister Christos Spirtzis and, most recently, former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, no political figure among those targeted has come forward to testify.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Israeli lawsuit remains pending, with a hearing expected once preliminary proceedings conclude in the coming months, at which point Dilian will be required to substantiate the claims in his own filing. In Greece, a separate appeal is scheduled for December, though Kesses noted it will deal only with the misdemeanor charges at second instance, leaving the central questions untouched: who ordered the surveillance, where the intercepted data is held, and who paid for it.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":51347,"name":"Greek Justice","slug":"greek-justice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51347,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6942,"name":"Intellexa","slug":"intellexa","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6942,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65,"name":"Predator","slug":"predator","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":85,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6654,"name":"Spyware","slug":"spyware","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6654,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8853,"name":"Supreme Court","slug":"supreme-court","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8853,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":23,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19192,"name":"Surveillance scandal Greece","slug":"surveillance-scandal-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19192,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/6951334-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/6951334.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/6951334-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/6951334-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525460,"date":"2026-07-14T12:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525460"},"modified":"2026-07-14T08:43:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T05:43:40","slug":"no-wind-turbines-planned-for-oreokastro-minister-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/no-wind-turbines-planned-for-oreokastro-minister-says\/","title":{"rendered":"No Wind Turbines Planned for Oraiokastro, Minister Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"313\" data-end=\"532\">Greece&#8217;s Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou has denied claims that wind turbines are planned for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/toxic-smoke-plume-from-n-greece-fire-raises-health-concerns\/\">the Oraiokastro area near<\/a> Thessaloniki, describing such reports as misinformation and conspiracy theories.<\/p> <p data-start=\"534\" data-end=\"797\">Speaking during a visit to northern Greece, Papastavrou said the government&#8217;s new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greece-unveils-new-planning-framework-for-sustainable-growth\/\">Special Spatial Planning Framework<\/a>, which is currently under public consultation until the end of the month, does not permit wind turbines within the Thessaloniki metropolitan area.<\/p> <p data-start=\"799\" data-end=\"869\">&#8220;We support renewable energy, but not at any cost,&#8221; the minister said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"871\" data-end=\"1110\">Addressing speculation following a recent wildfire in the area, Papastavrou stressed that no wind turbines exist in Oraiokastro, no applications have been submitted for such projects, and no future developments of that kind will be allowed.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1112\" data-end=\"1350\">&#8220;We are here to give a clear answer to conspiracy theories and misinformation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are no wind turbines in Oraiokastro, there are no applications or plans for wind turbines there, and most importantly, they are not permitted.&#8221;<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"15ce9go\" data-start=\"1352\" data-end=\"1379\">Focus on water security<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1381\" data-end=\"1522\">Papastavrou&#8217;s visit also centered on projects designed to address <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-islands-ration-water-as-summer-tourist-season-peaks\/\">water scarcity<\/a> and improve water infrastructure in the Thessaloniki region.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1524\" data-end=\"1876\">One of the main initiatives, with a budget of €12.5 million, aims to secure a reliable water supply for several communities northeast of Thessaloniki. The project is expected to provide an additional 20,000 cubic meters of water per day, meeting the needs of around 20,000 residents while having the capacity to serve up to 40,000 people in the future.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"1878\" data-end=\"2082\">The project is intended to support population growth, eliminate the need for groundwater drilling, and ensure sufficient water supplies for a new pediatric university hospital currently under development.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2084\" data-end=\"2313\">Papastavrou also visited Oreokastro to inspect ongoing water infrastructure works worth €1.55 million, which include replacing aging water supply networks in nearby communities. He also toured areas recently affected by wildfire.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"pt1uo4\" data-start=\"2315\" data-end=\"2356\">&#8220;Safe and affordable access to water&#8221;<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2358\" data-end=\"2541\">The minister said the government&#8217;s long-term objective is to guarantee uninterrupted, affordable and safe access to water while strengthening the public management of water resources.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2543\" data-end=\"2717\">He added that improving water networks, making better use of the technical expertise of Greece&#8217;s major water utilities, and maintaining high water quality are key priorities.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2719\" data-end=\"2919\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Papastavrou said Greece has some of Europe&#8217;s highest-quality water resources and emphasized that preserving this standard remains a central goal of the government&#8217;s national water management strategy.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Environment Minister Stavros Papastavrou dismissed claims about planned wind turbines near Oraiokastro, while highlighting new water infrastructure projects aimed at tackling water scarcity in northern Greece<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[82984,17028],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"313\" data-end=\"532\">Greece&#8217;s Environment and Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou has denied claims that wind turbines are planned for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/toxic-smoke-plume-from-n-greece-fire-raises-health-concerns\/\">the Oraiokastro area near<\/a> Thessaloniki, describing such reports as misinformation and conspiracy theories.<\/p> <p data-start=\"534\" data-end=\"797\">Speaking during a visit to northern Greece, Papastavrou said the government&#8217;s new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greece-unveils-new-planning-framework-for-sustainable-growth\/\">Special Spatial Planning Framework<\/a>, which is currently under public consultation until the end of the month, does not permit wind turbines within the Thessaloniki metropolitan area.<\/p> <p data-start=\"799\" data-end=\"869\">&#8220;We support renewable energy, but not at any cost,&#8221; the minister said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"871\" data-end=\"1110\">Addressing speculation following a recent wildfire in the area, Papastavrou stressed that no wind turbines exist in Oraiokastro, no applications have been submitted for such projects, and no future developments of that kind will be allowed.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1112\" data-end=\"1350\">&#8220;We are here to give a clear answer to conspiracy theories and misinformation,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are no wind turbines in Oraiokastro, there are no applications or plans for wind turbines there, and most importantly, they are not permitted.&#8221;<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"15ce9go\" data-start=\"1352\" data-end=\"1379\">Focus on water security<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1381\" data-end=\"1522\">Papastavrou&#8217;s visit also centered on projects designed to address <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-islands-ration-water-as-summer-tourist-season-peaks\/\">water scarcity<\/a> and improve water infrastructure in the Thessaloniki region.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1524\" data-end=\"1876\">One of the main initiatives, with a budget of €12.5 million, aims to secure a reliable water supply for several communities northeast of Thessaloniki. The project is expected to provide an additional 20,000 cubic meters of water per day, meeting the needs of around 20,000 residents while having the capacity to serve up to 40,000 people in the future.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"1878\" data-end=\"2082\">The project is intended to support population growth, eliminate the need for groundwater drilling, and ensure sufficient water supplies for a new pediatric university hospital currently under development.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2084\" data-end=\"2313\">Papastavrou also visited Oreokastro to inspect ongoing water infrastructure works worth €1.55 million, which include replacing aging water supply networks in nearby communities. He also toured areas recently affected by wildfire.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"pt1uo4\" data-start=\"2315\" data-end=\"2356\">&#8220;Safe and affordable access to water&#8221;<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2358\" data-end=\"2541\">The minister said the government&#8217;s long-term objective is to guarantee uninterrupted, affordable and safe access to water while strengthening the public management of water resources.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2543\" data-end=\"2717\">He added that improving water networks, making better use of the technical expertise of Greece&#8217;s major water utilities, and maintaining high water quality are key priorities.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2719\" data-end=\"2919\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Papastavrou said Greece has some of Europe&#8217;s highest-quality water resources and emphasized that preserving this standard remains a central goal of the government&#8217;s national water management strategy.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":82984,"name":"Energy Minister Stavros Papastavrou","slug":"energy-minister-stavros-papastavrou","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":82984,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":61,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":17028,"name":"renewable energy","slug":"renewable-energy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17028,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":37,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/papastavrou5-1024x681-1.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/papastavrou5-1024x681-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/papastavrou5-1024x681-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/papastavrou5-1024x681-1.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525634,"date":"2026-07-14T11:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525634"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:41:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:41:40","slug":"minister-defends-new-breakthrough-in-marfin-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/minister-defends-new-breakthrough-in-marfin-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Minister Defends New Breakthrough in Marfin Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&:has([data-writing-block])>*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-176\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"b44b76ce-2aa9-4748-b05e-dcf6f2325adc\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"565\">Greece&#8217;s Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/chrysochoidis-police-should-arrest-killers-not-kill-children\/\">Chrisochoidis<\/a>, has defended the police investigation that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">led to three arrests<\/a> 16 years after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/marfin-15-years-since-the-deadly-firebombing\/\">deadly Marfin bank<\/a> attack, saying the evidence had long existed but had not been properly utilized because of mistakes in the original investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"567\" data-end=\"805\">Speaking to Greek broadcaster SKAI, Chrisochoidis said police investigators were able to systematically review and evaluate the available material, ultimately gathering what they believe is sufficient evidence to support criminal charges.<\/p> <p data-start=\"807\" data-end=\"982\">&#8220;The material was already in the police archives,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A large volume of evidence had to be reassessed using all the investigative methods available to the authorities.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"984\" data-end=\"1273\">According to the minister, senior police officers signed off on the investigation&#8217;s conclusions before the case file was submitted to judicial authorities. He stressed that it is now up to investigating judges and prosecutors to assess the evidence within the framework of the rule of law.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1mx9dd0\" data-start=\"1275\" data-end=\"1320\">Anonymous email not the decisive evidence<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1322\" data-end=\"1449\">Chrisochoidis also rejected claims that the renewed investigation was based primarily on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">anonymous email sent to the police.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"1451\" data-end=\"1680\">&#8220;The case file contains thousands of pages,&#8221; he said. &#8220;An anonymous email cannot convict anyone. A conviction requires convincing evidence and supporting material, and that evidence has been submitted to the investigating judge.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1682\" data-end=\"1824\">His comments came after defense lawyers argued that the case was initiated by an anonymous message and questioned the quality of the evidence.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"130kn05\" data-start=\"1826\" data-end=\"1856\">Multi-agency investigation<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1858\" data-end=\"2098\">The minister said the investigation had been underway for years and involved close cooperation between several police departments, including the Homicide Division, the Counterterrorism Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"2100\" data-end=\"2291\">He said experienced investigators combined evidence from different sources while forensic specialists used modern technology and legally available investigative tools to analyze the material.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2293\" data-end=\"2449\">Responding to criticism over whether photographs taken 16 years ago could reliably identify suspects, Chrisochoidis said every side was fulfilling its role.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2451\" data-end=\"2679\">&#8220;Lawyers are doing their job, the police are doing theirs, and so are the investigating judges and prosecutors. That is how democracy works,&#8221; he said, adding that Greece&#8217;s judicial system provides the necessary legal safeguards.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"zes21c\" data-start=\"2681\" data-end=\"2717\">Comments on other investigations<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2719\" data-end=\"2886\">The minister also commented on the recent death of a 20-year-old man during a police pursuit in Argos, saying that &#8220;the police exist to arrest murderers, not to kill.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"2888\" data-end=\"2988\">He acknowledged that criminal proceedings would follow, describing the incident as deeply troubling.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2990\" data-end=\"3329\">Chrisochoidis also addressed the recent arrests over a fatal arson attack in Thessaloniki that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/deadly-thessaloniki-arson-suspects-appear-before-judge\/\">claimed the life of Vagia Nestora<\/a>. Praising the officers involved in the investigation, he described the suspects as acting in a professional and premeditated manner, while adding that he could not say whether they intended to kill the victims.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"pointer-events-none -mt-px h-px translate-y-(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom)\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greece&#8217;s public order minister says investigators built the case using long-available evidence that had previously gone unused, insisting the final judgment now rests with the courts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":239117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8040,61205],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a4f5f5c-6ef0-83ed-8fb7-cce056471352-0\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-176\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"b44b76ce-2aa9-4748-b05e-dcf6f2325adc\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"268\" data-end=\"565\">Greece&#8217;s Minister of Citizen Protection, Michalis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/chrysochoidis-police-should-arrest-killers-not-kill-children\/\">Chrisochoidis<\/a>, has defended the police investigation that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">led to three arrests<\/a> 16 years after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/marfin-15-years-since-the-deadly-firebombing\/\">deadly Marfin bank<\/a> attack, saying the evidence had long existed but had not been properly utilized because of mistakes in the original investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"567\" data-end=\"805\">Speaking to Greek broadcaster SKAI, Chrisochoidis said police investigators were able to systematically review and evaluate the available material, ultimately gathering what they believe is sufficient evidence to support criminal charges.<\/p> <p data-start=\"807\" data-end=\"982\">&#8220;The material was already in the police archives,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A large volume of evidence had to be reassessed using all the investigative methods available to the authorities.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"984\" data-end=\"1273\">According to the minister, senior police officers signed off on the investigation&#8217;s conclusions before the case file was submitted to judicial authorities. He stressed that it is now up to investigating judges and prosecutors to assess the evidence within the framework of the rule of law.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1mx9dd0\" data-start=\"1275\" data-end=\"1320\">Anonymous email not the decisive evidence<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1322\" data-end=\"1449\">Chrisochoidis also rejected claims that the renewed investigation was based primarily on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/anonymous-tip-led-to-marfin-arson-arrest-warrants\/\">anonymous email sent to the police.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"1451\" data-end=\"1680\">&#8220;The case file contains thousands of pages,&#8221; he said. &#8220;An anonymous email cannot convict anyone. A conviction requires convincing evidence and supporting material, and that evidence has been submitted to the investigating judge.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1682\" data-end=\"1824\">His comments came after defense lawyers argued that the case was initiated by an anonymous message and questioned the quality of the evidence.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"130kn05\" data-start=\"1826\" data-end=\"1856\">Multi-agency investigation<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1858\" data-end=\"2098\">The minister said the investigation had been underway for years and involved close cooperation between several police departments, including the Homicide Division, the Counterterrorism Service and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"2100\" data-end=\"2291\">He said experienced investigators combined evidence from different sources while forensic specialists used modern technology and legally available investigative tools to analyze the material.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2293\" data-end=\"2449\">Responding to criticism over whether photographs taken 16 years ago could reliably identify suspects, Chrisochoidis said every side was fulfilling its role.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2451\" data-end=\"2679\">&#8220;Lawyers are doing their job, the police are doing theirs, and so are the investigating judges and prosecutors. That is how democracy works,&#8221; he said, adding that Greece&#8217;s judicial system provides the necessary legal safeguards.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"zes21c\" data-start=\"2681\" data-end=\"2717\">Comments on other investigations<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2719\" data-end=\"2886\">The minister also commented on the recent death of a 20-year-old man during a police pursuit in Argos, saying that &#8220;the police exist to arrest murderers, not to kill.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"2888\" data-end=\"2988\">He acknowledged that criminal proceedings would follow, describing the incident as deeply troubling.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2990\" data-end=\"3329\">Chrisochoidis also addressed the recent arrests over a fatal arson attack in Thessaloniki that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/deadly-thessaloniki-arson-suspects-appear-before-judge\/\">claimed the life of Vagia Nestora<\/a>. Praising the officers involved in the investigation, he described the suspects as acting in a professional and premeditated manner, while adding that he could not say whether they intended to kill the victims.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <div class=\"pointer-events-none -mt-px h-px translate-y-(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom)\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":2,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news and analysis on Greek politics, including the latest coverage of the Greek Parliament, government, opposition parties and more.","parent":0,"count":3771,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":8040,"name":"arson","slug":"arson","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8040,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":31,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":61205,"name":"Marfin","slug":"marfin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61205,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2-300x263.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/05\/marfin2.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"roi_eidhseon","header":"Τελευταία Νέα","posts":[{"id":526165,"date":"2026-07-14T21:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526165"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:54:02","slug":"zakynthos-shipwreck-rescue-plan-sparks-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/zakynthos-shipwreck-rescue-plan-sparks-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Zakynthos Shipwreck Rescue Plan Sparks Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">A Greek professor has raised objections to the intervention plan for the famous &#8220;Navagio&#8221; (Shipwreck) beach on Zakynthos, which remains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/travel\/iconic-zakynthos-navagio-beach-closed-this-summer\/\">closed to the public<\/a> again this year over landslide risk, in comments to the German newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to the paper, specialists from the National Technical University of Athens have developed a plan meant to slow the site&#8217;s deterioration. The beach would be widened by roughly 30 meters through the addition of 45,000 cubic meters of gravel and sand, aimed at blocking the winter storm waves that batter the wreck site directly and cause further damage.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The project&#8217;s budget comes to 3.9 million euros. Materials would be delivered to the cove by cargo ship and placed into the water using floating cranes. In a second phase, the Municipality of Zakynthos plans to rebuild the shipwreck itself for around 2.5 million euros and maintain it to prevent further deterioration.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The German outlet notes the project has stirred controversy. Manolis Vasilakis, a geology professor at the University of Athens, considers it a massive intervention in nature and questions whether it makes sense to spend several million euros transporting tens of thousands of tons of gravel that will very quickly be swept away by the sea.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Navagio plan was first presented in January, when the Ministry of National Economy assigned the Municipality of Zakynthos the &#8220;Restoration of Zakynthos Shipwreck&#8221; project. The beach-widening and maintenance plans are based on NTUA studies.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">In June, the government imposed a tourist access ban, via a Joint Ministerial Decision, covering both the &#8220;Prohibited Zone&#8221; and the &#8220;Controlled Access Zone&#8221; at Navagio beach. Access is only permitted from the existing observation platform.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Experts warn tens of thousands of cubic meters of sand and gravel will wash away fast at Navagio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20086,95770,5418],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">A Greek professor has raised objections to the intervention plan for the famous &#8220;Navagio&#8221; (Shipwreck) beach on Zakynthos, which remains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/travel\/iconic-zakynthos-navagio-beach-closed-this-summer\/\">closed to the public<\/a> again this year over landslide risk, in comments to the German newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to the paper, specialists from the National Technical University of Athens have developed a plan meant to slow the site&#8217;s deterioration. The beach would be widened by roughly 30 meters through the addition of 45,000 cubic meters of gravel and sand, aimed at blocking the winter storm waves that batter the wreck site directly and cause further damage.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The project&#8217;s budget comes to 3.9 million euros. Materials would be delivered to the cove by cargo ship and placed into the water using floating cranes. In a second phase, the Municipality of Zakynthos plans to rebuild the shipwreck itself for around 2.5 million euros and maintain it to prevent further deterioration.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The German outlet notes the project has stirred controversy. Manolis Vasilakis, a geology professor at the University of Athens, considers it a massive intervention in nature and questions whether it makes sense to spend several million euros transporting tens of thousands of tons of gravel that will very quickly be swept away by the sea.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Navagio plan was first presented in January, when the Ministry of National Economy assigned the Municipality of Zakynthos the &#8220;Restoration of Zakynthos Shipwreck&#8221; project. The beach-widening and maintenance plans are based on NTUA studies.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">In June, the government imposed a tourist access ban, via a Joint Ministerial Decision, covering both the &#8220;Prohibited Zone&#8221; and the &#8220;Controlled Access Zone&#8221; at Navagio beach. Access is only permitted from the existing observation platform.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":20086,"name":"landslide","slug":"landslide","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20086,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":95770,"name":"shipwreck","slug":"shipwreck","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":95770,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":5418,"name":"Zakynthos","slug":"zakynthos","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5418,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":33,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526144,"date":"2026-07-14T20:30:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526144"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:00:48","slug":"foreign-worker-exodus-deepens-greeces-labor-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/foreign-worker-exodus-deepens-greeces-labor-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Worker Exodus Deepens Greece’s Labor Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greece&#8217;s labor market faces a growing contradiction that is turning into a serious drag on growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The economy keeps generating new jobs that businesses cannot fill, while the pool of available workers keeps shrinking, not just from an aging population but from the mass departure of foreign workers who for decades propped up critical sectors.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Vacancies rise as the workforce shrinks<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The latest study from the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) shows job vacancies topped 31,000 by the end of 2025, up roughly 2,700 in a single year, a sign the labor shortage may be resurfacing.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The worst gaps are in education, with an estimated 6,900 unfilled positions, followed by health and social care, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade, sectors that keep the economy&#8217;s daily operations running and are struggling more each year to meet their staffing needs.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The exodus of foreign workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The study&#8217;s most alarming finding is the sharp drop in the number of foreign nationals living and working in Greece. Their numbers fell by 140,500 in a single year, a decline of more than 51%, with women accounting for the steepest drop.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">As a result, Greece&#8217;s total population fell by 12,700, despite a small rise in the number of Greek citizens.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The trend looks even starker over the long run. In 2008, foreign nationals made up 6% of the total population and 8.2% of both the labor force and total employment. Today those shares have shrunk to roughly a third of their former levels, and the total foreign population in the country has fallen by more than 65%.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Employment growth now rests entirely on Greek workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Despite the shrinking pool of available labor, total employment kept growing in 2025, up by 73,700 positions, but that increase came entirely from Greek workers, whose numbers rose by 126,600. Legally employed foreign nationals, by contrast, fell by 53,000, or 37.1%.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The labor force tells the same story: its overall growth of 19,500 people came entirely from greater participation by Greek nationals, particularly women, who are entering the workforce at a growing pace. In short, Greece&#8217;s labor market is still drawing on domestic reserves, but those reserves are not unlimited.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Foreign workers work more but don&#8217;t stay<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">One of the study&#8217;s more striking findings is that foreign nationals who do remain in Greece show unusually high labor market participation. More than 88% of foreign men over 15 are in the labor force, compared with about 60% of Greek nationals, and nearly 84% are employed, almost 30 percentage points higher than the rate for Greeks.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Unemployment among foreign nationals stands at 7.6%, versus 8.3% for Greeks, and drops to just 4.9% among foreign men. Foreign workers who stay clearly find jobs relatively easily and participate actively in the economy, yet that alone isn&#8217;t enough to keep them in the country.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Low pay and working conditions push people out<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to KEPE, the decision to leave isn&#8217;t only about job availability. Pay levels, working conditions, the quality of available jobs, and sharp regional imbalances push many workers to look for better opportunities elsewhere in Europe, where wages are higher and career prospects better.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">This is happening even as the Greek economy keeps expanding: from 2014 through the end of 2025, more than 803,000 new jobs were created, mainly in trade, professional and scientific activities, and hospitality and food service.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The challenge is no longer unemployment<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">For years, the central goal was cutting unemployment. Increasingly, the key question is who will fill the jobs being created. Demographic decline, an aging population, and the departure of thousands of foreign workers are reshaping the labor market, with the shortage of workers becoming a core constraint on economic growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">If the trend continues, KEPE suggests Greece will need more than investment and new jobs, it will need a comprehensive strategy to retain and attract workers, so growth doesn&#8217;t stall for lack of people to sustain it.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foreign workers, once 8.2% of the workforce in 2008, now make up roughly a third of that share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[996,39241,5220],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greece&#8217;s labor market faces a growing contradiction that is turning into a serious drag on growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The economy keeps generating new jobs that businesses cannot fill, while the pool of available workers keeps shrinking, not just from an aging population but from the mass departure of foreign workers who for decades propped up critical sectors.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Vacancies rise as the workforce shrinks<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The latest study from the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) shows job vacancies topped 31,000 by the end of 2025, up roughly 2,700 in a single year, a sign the labor shortage may be resurfacing.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The worst gaps are in education, with an estimated 6,900 unfilled positions, followed by health and social care, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade, sectors that keep the economy&#8217;s daily operations running and are struggling more each year to meet their staffing needs.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The exodus of foreign workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The study&#8217;s most alarming finding is the sharp drop in the number of foreign nationals living and working in Greece. Their numbers fell by 140,500 in a single year, a decline of more than 51%, with women accounting for the steepest drop.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">As a result, Greece&#8217;s total population fell by 12,700, despite a small rise in the number of Greek citizens.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The trend looks even starker over the long run. In 2008, foreign nationals made up 6% of the total population and 8.2% of both the labor force and total employment. Today those shares have shrunk to roughly a third of their former levels, and the total foreign population in the country has fallen by more than 65%.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Employment growth now rests entirely on Greek workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Despite the shrinking pool of available labor, total employment kept growing in 2025, up by 73,700 positions, but that increase came entirely from Greek workers, whose numbers rose by 126,600. Legally employed foreign nationals, by contrast, fell by 53,000, or 37.1%.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The labor force tells the same story: its overall growth of 19,500 people came entirely from greater participation by Greek nationals, particularly women, who are entering the workforce at a growing pace. In short, Greece&#8217;s labor market is still drawing on domestic reserves, but those reserves are not unlimited.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Foreign workers work more but don&#8217;t stay<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">One of the study&#8217;s more striking findings is that foreign nationals who do remain in Greece show unusually high labor market participation. More than 88% of foreign men over 15 are in the labor force, compared with about 60% of Greek nationals, and nearly 84% are employed, almost 30 percentage points higher than the rate for Greeks.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Unemployment among foreign nationals stands at 7.6%, versus 8.3% for Greeks, and drops to just 4.9% among foreign men. Foreign workers who stay clearly find jobs relatively easily and participate actively in the economy, yet that alone isn&#8217;t enough to keep them in the country.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Low pay and working conditions push people out<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to KEPE, the decision to leave isn&#8217;t only about job availability. Pay levels, working conditions, the quality of available jobs, and sharp regional imbalances push many workers to look for better opportunities elsewhere in Europe, where wages are higher and career prospects better.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">This is happening even as the Greek economy keeps expanding: from 2014 through the end of 2025, more than 803,000 new jobs were created, mainly in trade, professional and scientific activities, and hospitality and food service.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The challenge is no longer unemployment<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">For years, the central goal was cutting unemployment. Increasingly, the key question is who will fill the jobs being created. Demographic decline, an aging population, and the departure of thousands of foreign workers are reshaping the labor market, with the shortage of workers becoming a core constraint on economic growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">If the trend continues, KEPE suggests Greece will need more than investment and new jobs, it will need a comprehensive strategy to retain and attract workers, so growth doesn&#8217;t stall for lack of people to sustain it.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":996,"name":"greek economy","slug":"greek-economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":996,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":241,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":39241,"name":"Greek wages","slug":"greek-wages","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39241,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":5220,"name":"migration","slug":"migration","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5220,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":120,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work-300x176.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work-768x450.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":524347,"date":"2026-07-14T20:00:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=524347"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:24:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:24:43","slug":"greece-approves-balcony-solar-panels-for-home-energy-savings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/climate\/greece-approves-balcony-solar-panels-for-home-energy-savings\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece Approves Balcony Solar Panels for Home Energy Savings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Greece is set to allow households to install s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/greece-opens-door-to-balcony-solar-panels-for-all\/\">mall balcony-mounted solar panel systems<\/a> for the first time under a new regulatory framework designed to expand renewable energy self-consumption and help consumers reduce electricity costs.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Ministry of Environment and Energy has launched a public consultation on a ministerial decision governing the development, installation and grid connection of self-consumption renewable energy systems. The consultation will remain open until July 20.<\/p> <h3>Balcony solar systems introduced<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A key feature of the proposal is the introduction of balcony solar systems with a maximum capacity of 800 watts.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The systems will be intended exclusively for covering a household&#8217;s own electricity needs and will not be allowed to feed electricity back into the grid. The framework also includes safety requirements aimed at protecting both the electricity network and residential electrical installations.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ministry said the changes address practical issues that emerged under the existing self-consumption framework while giving consumers greater flexibility and new opportunities to generate their own renewable electricity.<\/p> <h3>Easier shared self-consumption<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The proposed rules also make it easier to develop collective self-consumption schemes, allowing apartment buildings and residential complexes to share renewable energy production more efficiently.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Consumers participating in self-consumption schemes would be able to be represented by different electricity suppliers. The proposal also allows, under certain conditions, transitions between different self-consumption models and enables a single electricity connection to participate in more than one renewable energy installation.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Transitional provisions are included to ensure existing self-consumption systems can move to the new framework without additional costs while allowing users to continue benefiting from their installations.<\/p> <h3>Smart meters and digital services<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The new framework is accompanied by measures aimed at modernizing the self-consumption system.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">These include accelerating the rollout of smart electricity meters for participants and establishing an Electronic Self-Consumption Registry to digitize procedures and improve information sharing between the authorities involved.<\/p> <h3>Strong growth in self-consumption<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to figures from the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Greece has installed 37,407 self-consumption renewable energy systems since 2020, with a combined capacity of 1,070 megawatts.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ministry said this represents significant growth compared with the 2015-2019 period, when only 1,772 systems with a combined capacity of 36 megawatts entered operation.<\/p> <p>The public consultation on the proposed regulation will run until July 20, 2026, before the framework is finalized.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A proposed regulation would allow households to install small balcony solar systems for self-consumption while simplifying renewable energy rules and expanding shared solar options for apartment buildings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":524395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[33780],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Greece is set to allow households to install s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/greece-opens-door-to-balcony-solar-panels-for-all\/\">mall balcony-mounted solar panel systems<\/a> for the first time under a new regulatory framework designed to expand renewable energy self-consumption and help consumers reduce electricity costs.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Ministry of Environment and Energy has launched a public consultation on a ministerial decision governing the development, installation and grid connection of self-consumption renewable energy systems. The consultation will remain open until July 20.<\/p> <h3>Balcony solar systems introduced<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A key feature of the proposal is the introduction of balcony solar systems with a maximum capacity of 800 watts.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The systems will be intended exclusively for covering a household&#8217;s own electricity needs and will not be allowed to feed electricity back into the grid. The framework also includes safety requirements aimed at protecting both the electricity network and residential electrical installations.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ministry said the changes address practical issues that emerged under the existing self-consumption framework while giving consumers greater flexibility and new opportunities to generate their own renewable electricity.<\/p> <h3>Easier shared self-consumption<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The proposed rules also make it easier to develop collective self-consumption schemes, allowing apartment buildings and residential complexes to share renewable energy production more efficiently.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Consumers participating in self-consumption schemes would be able to be represented by different electricity suppliers. The proposal also allows, under certain conditions, transitions between different self-consumption models and enables a single electricity connection to participate in more than one renewable energy installation.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Transitional provisions are included to ensure existing self-consumption systems can move to the new framework without additional costs while allowing users to continue benefiting from their installations.<\/p> <h3>Smart meters and digital services<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The new framework is accompanied by measures aimed at modernizing the self-consumption system.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">These include accelerating the rollout of smart electricity meters for participants and establishing an Electronic Self-Consumption Registry to digitize procedures and improve information sharing between the authorities involved.<\/p> <h3>Strong growth in self-consumption<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to figures from the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Greece has installed 37,407 self-consumption renewable energy systems since 2020, with a combined capacity of 1,070 megawatts.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ministry said this represents significant growth compared with the 2015-2019 period, when only 1,772 systems with a combined capacity of 36 megawatts entered operation.<\/p> <p>The public consultation on the proposed regulation will run until July 20, 2026, before the framework is finalized.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":7,"name":"Climate","slug":"climate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":7,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news and analysis on the climate crisis and its impact on Greece and internationally, including coverage of natural disasters, climate summits, scientific research and experts’ opinions on the way forward.","parent":0,"count":769,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":33780,"name":"Greek solar panels","slug":"greek-solar-panels","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":33780,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/ot_fotovoltaika_mpalkoni5-1024x600-1.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/ot_fotovoltaika_mpalkoni5-1024x600-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/ot_fotovoltaika_mpalkoni5-1024x600-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/ot_fotovoltaika_mpalkoni5-1024x600-1.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526186,"date":"2026-07-14T19:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526186"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:31:02","slug":"greek-americans-protest-astorias-omission-from-nyc-immigrant-enclaves-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-americans-protest-astorias-omission-from-nyc-immigrant-enclaves-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek-Americans Protest Astoria’s Omission from NYC Immigrant Enclaves Map"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The omission of Astoria&#8217;s historic Greektown from New York City&#8217;s official Immigrant Enclaves Map has sparked criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/stories\/from-crisis-to-catalyst-how-diaspora-greeks-are-sparking-change\/\">Greek-American<\/a> leaders, who say the exclusion overlooks generations of contributions by one of the city&#8217;s most prominent immigrant communities.<\/p> <p>The map, released by the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, identifies 30 immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Little Africa, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Yemen, Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Haiti, Little India, Little Palestine and Little Mexico.<\/p> <p>However, it does not include Astoria, long recognized as the cultural heart of Greek America, where generations of Greek immigrants established churches, schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/faros-athens-breaking-down-the-barriers-for-greeces-blind\/\">community organizations<\/a>, businesses, restaurants and charitable institutions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_526192\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-image-526192 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png\" alt=\"NYC Enclaves Map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-768x729.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York City Immigrant Enclaves map featuring 30 city neighborhoods.<\/p><\/div> <p>The map also drew criticism for omitting other historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Italy, as well as traditional Irish and Jewish communities.<\/p> <p>AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) Empire State District 6 Governor Konstantinos G. Prentzas said he was &#8220;deeply disappointed&#8221; by the exclusion of Astoria and its historic Hellenic-American community.<\/p> <p>&#8220;It is especially troubling because we have also witnessed similar treatment toward Little Italy and the Italian-American community,&#8221; Prentzas said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>&#8220;These historic neighborhoods are not simply locations on a map. They represent generations of sacrifice, faith, family, hard work, entrepreneurship and devotion to the American Dream.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said Greek Americans helped create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-diaspora-summer-student-programs-ignite-greek-american-heritage-a-path-to-revitalizing-the-u-s-diaspora\/\">support education<\/a> and contribute significantly to New York City&#8217;s civic, economic and cultural life.<\/p> <p>&#8220;We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot erase history,&#8221; Prentzas said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to preserve it, honor it, teach it and share it with future generations.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Calling the omission &#8220;more than a minor oversight,&#8221; he said it disregards the sacrifices, achievements and legacy of generations of Greek immigrants and their descendants, adding that the same recognition should be extended to every historic ethnic community that helped build New York City.<\/p> <p>Senate candidate, Greek-American Pamela Michos also criticized the omission, describing it as &#8220;outrageous, but unfortunately not unexpected&#8221;.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-526195 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png\" alt=\"Ahepa\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-696x1024.png 696w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09.png 894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p> <p>&#8220;The history and contributions of Greek Americans cannot be erased,&#8221; Michos said, adding that the community has preserved its language, faith and traditions through successive generations of immigrants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>She described Astoria&#8217;s absence from the map as &#8220;deeply offensive and unacceptable&#8221; and urged City Hall to correct what she called a significant historical omission.<\/p> <h3><strong>Mayor Says Map Will Be Updated<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Following widespread criticism, particularly from Italian-American organizations over the exclusion of Little Italy, Mayor Mamdani said changes would be made to the map.<\/p> <p>His office confirmed that Little Italy will be added, noting that the map was originally created in 2023. It remains unclear whether Astoria&#8217;s Greektown or other historic ethnic neighborhoods will also be included in the revised version.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would review the map&#8217;s omissions after facing backlash from leaders of several historic immigrant communities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":526189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2871,2313,36457,78226],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The omission of Astoria&#8217;s historic Greektown from New York City&#8217;s official Immigrant Enclaves Map has sparked criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/stories\/from-crisis-to-catalyst-how-diaspora-greeks-are-sparking-change\/\">Greek-American<\/a> leaders, who say the exclusion overlooks generations of contributions by one of the city&#8217;s most prominent immigrant communities.<\/p> <p>The map, released by the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, identifies 30 immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Little Africa, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Yemen, Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Haiti, Little India, Little Palestine and Little Mexico.<\/p> <p>However, it does not include Astoria, long recognized as the cultural heart of Greek America, where generations of Greek immigrants established churches, schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/faros-athens-breaking-down-the-barriers-for-greeces-blind\/\">community organizations<\/a>, businesses, restaurants and charitable institutions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_526192\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-image-526192 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png\" alt=\"NYC Enclaves Map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-768x729.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York City Immigrant Enclaves map featuring 30 city neighborhoods.<\/p><\/div> <p>The map also drew criticism for omitting other historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Italy, as well as traditional Irish and Jewish communities.<\/p> <p>AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) Empire State District 6 Governor Konstantinos G. Prentzas said he was &#8220;deeply disappointed&#8221; by the exclusion of Astoria and its historic Hellenic-American community.<\/p> <p>&#8220;It is especially troubling because we have also witnessed similar treatment toward Little Italy and the Italian-American community,&#8221; Prentzas said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>&#8220;These historic neighborhoods are not simply locations on a map. They represent generations of sacrifice, faith, family, hard work, entrepreneurship and devotion to the American Dream.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said Greek Americans helped create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-diaspora-summer-student-programs-ignite-greek-american-heritage-a-path-to-revitalizing-the-u-s-diaspora\/\">support education<\/a> and contribute significantly to New York City&#8217;s civic, economic and cultural life.<\/p> <p>&#8220;We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot erase history,&#8221; Prentzas said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to preserve it, honor it, teach it and share it with future generations.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Calling the omission &#8220;more than a minor oversight,&#8221; he said it disregards the sacrifices, achievements and legacy of generations of Greek immigrants and their descendants, adding that the same recognition should be extended to every historic ethnic community that helped build New York City.<\/p> <p>Senate candidate, Greek-American Pamela Michos also criticized the omission, describing it as &#8220;outrageous, but unfortunately not unexpected&#8221;.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-526195 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png\" alt=\"Ahepa\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-696x1024.png 696w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09.png 894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p> <p>&#8220;The history and contributions of Greek Americans cannot be erased,&#8221; Michos said, adding that the community has preserved its language, faith and traditions through successive generations of immigrants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>She described Astoria&#8217;s absence from the map as &#8220;deeply offensive and unacceptable&#8221; and urged City Hall to correct what she called a significant historical omission.<\/p> <h3><strong>Mayor Says Map Will Be Updated<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Following widespread criticism, particularly from Italian-American organizations over the exclusion of Little Italy, Mayor Mamdani said changes would be made to the map.<\/p> <p>His office confirmed that Little Italy will be added, noting that the map was originally created in 2023. It remains unclear whether Astoria&#8217;s Greektown or other historic ethnic neighborhoods will also be included in the revised version.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":2871,"name":"Greek Diaspora","slug":"greek-diaspora","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2871,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":51,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2313,"name":"greek-american community","slug":"greek-american-community","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2313,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":36457,"name":"Greek-American Heritage","slug":"greek-american-heritage","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":36457,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":78226,"name":"New York City","slug":"new-york-city","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":78226,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526216,"date":"2026-07-14T19:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526216"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:27:18","slug":"two-42-year-olds-jailed-pending-trial-in-marfin-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/two-42-year-olds-jailed-pending-trial-in-marfin-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Two 42-Year-Olds Jailed Pending Trial in Marfin Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The two 42-year-old defendants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/marfin\/\">Marfin case<\/a> have been ordered held in pre-trial detention.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The men were arrested last Friday under warrants issued by Athens&#8217; 3rd investigating judge, based on evidence gathered by the Hellenic Police&#8217;s Homicide Division. A third warrant, tied to the same case, led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in London.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to reports, both defendants denied any connection to the unrest outside the Marfin bank when questioned by the investigating judge. One of the two, whom the police investigation identifies as the person who smashed the building&#8217;s window, reportedly said he took part in the May 5, 2010 march but left once the disturbances began. The other reportedly said he was also at the march, but in a different location.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Reports indicate the investigating judge and prosecutor concluded that the specific nature of the acts attributed to the two defendants raised concerns they could commit further offenses, and therefore ordered them held pending trial.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Dozens of friends and supporters of the two men gathered outside the courthouse from early on, chanting slogans in their support.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both deny involvement as investigators cite risk of further offenses in ordering detention<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8040,61205],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The two 42-year-old defendants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/marfin\/\">Marfin case<\/a> have been ordered held in pre-trial detention.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The men were arrested last Friday under warrants issued by Athens&#8217; 3rd investigating judge, based on evidence gathered by the Hellenic Police&#8217;s Homicide Division. A third warrant, tied to the same case, led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in London.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to reports, both defendants denied any connection to the unrest outside the Marfin bank when questioned by the investigating judge. One of the two, whom the police investigation identifies as the person who smashed the building&#8217;s window, reportedly said he took part in the May 5, 2010 march but left once the disturbances began. The other reportedly said he was also at the march, but in a different location.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Reports indicate the investigating judge and prosecutor concluded that the specific nature of the acts attributed to the two defendants raised concerns they could commit further offenses, and therefore ordered them held pending trial.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Dozens of friends and supporters of the two men gathered outside the courthouse from early on, chanting slogans in their support.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":8040,"name":"arson","slug":"arson","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8040,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":31,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":61205,"name":"Marfin","slug":"marfin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61205,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-150x150.webp","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case.webp","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-300x150.webp","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-768x384.webp","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525451,"date":"2026-07-14T19:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525451"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:37:06","slug":"trump-administration-pushes-to-isolate-the-icc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/trump-administration-pushes-to-isolate-the-icc\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Pushes to Isolate the ICC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Trump administration has launched a new campaign aimed at isolating the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the court as a threat to U.S. sovereignty and signaling that Washington is prepared to use diplomatic and economic measures against it.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In a video message released on Monday, Rubio said the ICC, originally created to prosecute the world&#8217;s gravest crimes, had evolved into &#8220;something far more radical and extreme.&#8221; He said the administration would not allow the court to threaten American military personnel or government officials.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;The Trump administration is launching an effort to dismantle what it calls the threat to U.S. sovereignty posed by the International Criminal Court,&#8221; Rubio said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>New sanctions under consideration<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to a U.S. State Department official, the administration is considering a broad range of actions against the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, expanded sanctions targeting the court and affiliated organizations, and a diplomatic campaign encouraging countries to withdraw from the institution.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans,&#8221; the State Department said in a statement.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ICC declined to comment on the developments.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>Pressure on U.S. allies<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The diplomatic effort also extends to U.S. allies and partner countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A State Department official said Rubio and other senior U.S. officials are urging governments to reject what Washington considers the ICC&#8217;s authority to prosecute American officials and service members.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to the official, countries that cooperate closely with U.S. law enforcement, host American military forces or rely on U.S. security assistance are being encouraged to oppose the court&#8217;s jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The official added that countries benefiting from U.S. assistance while refusing to reject the ICC&#8217;s authority could face increased scrutiny.<\/p> <h3>Long-standing opposition to the court<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The United States has never been a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although Washington is not a party to the court, the ICC maintains that it can prosecute nationals of non-member states if alleged crimes are committed on the territory of one of its member countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Opposition to the court has been a longstanding position for President Donald Trump. Reuters reported that the administration has supported sanctions against ICC officials in part to prevent any future attempts to hold Trump or members of his administration accountable for U.S. military actions overseas.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The administration&#8217;s stance intensified after the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-benjamin-netanyahu-and-yoav-gallant\/\"> ICC issued an arrest warran<\/a>t in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Last month, three ICC judges filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing that the measures were unlawful.<\/p> <h3>Rubio cites concerns over future prosecutions<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In an opinion article published in <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Rubio argued that activists had called for the ICC to investigate U.S. personnel over issues including the administration&#8217;s migrant deportation policies and military operations targeting vessels suspected of carrying narcotics.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets and missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law,&#8221; Rubio said, warning that Border Patrol agents, Marines and terrorism prosecutors could become targets of future prosecutions.<\/p> <p>Reuters noted that the ICC has taken no recent steps to investigate U.S. personnel. While prosecutors opened an investigation into possible crimes committed in Afghanistan in 2020, the court shifted its focus in 2021 toward alleged crimes by the Taliban and the former Afghan government, deprioritizing the role of U.S. forces.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington is weighing new sanctions and diplomatic measures against the International Criminal Court, while urging allies to reject its authority over U.S. personnel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39043],"tags":[22273,42463],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Trump administration has launched a new campaign aimed at isolating the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the court as a threat to U.S. sovereignty and signaling that Washington is prepared to use diplomatic and economic measures against it.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In a video message released on Monday, Rubio said the ICC, originally created to prosecute the world&#8217;s gravest crimes, had evolved into &#8220;something far more radical and extreme.&#8221; He said the administration would not allow the court to threaten American military personnel or government officials.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;The Trump administration is launching an effort to dismantle what it calls the threat to U.S. sovereignty posed by the International Criminal Court,&#8221; Rubio said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>New sanctions under consideration<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to a U.S. State Department official, the administration is considering a broad range of actions against the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, expanded sanctions targeting the court and affiliated organizations, and a diplomatic campaign encouraging countries to withdraw from the institution.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans,&#8221; the State Department said in a statement.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ICC declined to comment on the developments.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>Pressure on U.S. allies<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The diplomatic effort also extends to U.S. allies and partner countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A State Department official said Rubio and other senior U.S. officials are urging governments to reject what Washington considers the ICC&#8217;s authority to prosecute American officials and service members.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to the official, countries that cooperate closely with U.S. law enforcement, host American military forces or rely on U.S. security assistance are being encouraged to oppose the court&#8217;s jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The official added that countries benefiting from U.S. assistance while refusing to reject the ICC&#8217;s authority could face increased scrutiny.<\/p> <h3>Long-standing opposition to the court<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The United States has never been a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although Washington is not a party to the court, the ICC maintains that it can prosecute nationals of non-member states if alleged crimes are committed on the territory of one of its member countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Opposition to the court has been a longstanding position for President Donald Trump. Reuters reported that the administration has supported sanctions against ICC officials in part to prevent any future attempts to hold Trump or members of his administration accountable for U.S. military actions overseas.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The administration&#8217;s stance intensified after the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-benjamin-netanyahu-and-yoav-gallant\/\"> ICC issued an arrest warran<\/a>t in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Last month, three ICC judges filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing that the measures were unlawful.<\/p> <h3>Rubio cites concerns over future prosecutions<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In an opinion article published in <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Rubio argued that activists had called for the ICC to investigate U.S. personnel over issues including the administration&#8217;s migrant deportation policies and military operations targeting vessels suspected of carrying narcotics.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets and missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law,&#8221; Rubio said, warning that Border Patrol agents, Marines and terrorism prosecutors could become targets of future prosecutions.<\/p> <p>Reuters noted that the ICC has taken no recent steps to investigate U.S. personnel. While prosecutors opened an investigation into possible crimes committed in Afghanistan in 2020, the court shifted its focus in 2021 toward alleged crimes by the Taliban and the former Afghan government, deprioritizing the role of U.S. forces.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":22273,"name":"International Criminal Court (ICC)","slug":"international-criminal-court-icc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22273,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":42463,"name":"Trump Administration","slug":"trump-administration","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":42463,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":46,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-e1784009779436.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"finance","header":"Ανάπτυξη","ID":"2","posts":[{"id":525985,"date":"2026-07-14T18:30:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:30:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525985"},"modified":"2026-07-14T15:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:56:50","slug":"greek-inflation-to-hit-3-8-in-2026-bank-of-greece-governor-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/greek-inflation-to-hit-3-8-in-2026-bank-of-greece-governor-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek Inflation to Hit 3.8% in 2026, Bank of Greece Governor Says"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:219;255-473\">Greece&#8217;s economy is still expanding faster than the rest of the eurozone, but a fresh jump in energy prices is set to push inflation further up this year, the governor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/bank-of-greece-ties-stronger-growth-to-mideast-peace\/\">Bank of Greece<\/a> has told the country&#8217;s lenders.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:245;475-719\">Governor Yannis Stournaras set out his projections for the global, European and Greek economies at the annual general assembly of the Hellenic Bank Association, the body that represents Greece&#8217;s banks, and laid out the main risks he sees ahead.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"9:1-9:46;721-766\">Energy shock pushes Greek inflation higher<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"11:1-11:472;768-1239\">Inflation had slowed to 2.9% by December 2025, and the central bank had expected it to keep easing through 2026. However, the war between Iran and the United States, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the steep rise in fuel prices that followed upended these more optimistic projections. The Bank of Greece now expects headline inflation to average 3.8% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025, before slowing to 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028 as energy and food pressures gradually ease.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:258;1241-1498\">The governor warned that higher energy costs will not stay contained. Stournaras stated that he expects them to feed into the prices of services and industrial goods, while food inflation is likely to remain high because energy works its way into every stage of production and supply.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"15:1-15:29;1500-1528\">A riskier global backdrop<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"17:1-17:427;1530-1956\">Stournaras described 2026 as the start of a new period of heightened uncertainty and rising geoeconomic risk for the world economy, after several years of unpredictable shocks. He pointed to escalating tensions in the Middle East and to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane that carries much of the world&#8217;s oil and gas, which he said had disrupted global energy flows and driven prices sharply higher.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"19:1-19:405;1958-2362\">Trade is adding to the pressure. Stournaras cited the high tariffs still in place in the United States, the growing use of non-tariff barriers and the continued reshaping of global supply chains as forces squeezing world commerce and deepening uncertainty. Together with the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market, he said, these are slowing global growth while keeping inflation elevated.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"21:1-21:239;2364-2602\">The eurozone is not immune. Growth across the currency bloc is expected to stay weak, with higher energy prices weighing on spending and investment, and inflation, though falling, is still running above the European Central Bank&#8217;s target.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"23:1-23:29;2604-2632\">Why Greece is still ahead<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"25:1-25:426;2634-3059\">Greece continues to grow faster than the eurozone average despite that backdrop, Stournaras said, with investment the main engine of growth. Public finances remain strong, helped by high primary surpluses, the budget balance before interest payments, and public debt keeps falling as a share of gross domestic product, a marked shift for a country that spent much of the past decade at the center of the eurozone debt crisis.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"27:1-27:49;3061-3109\">Greek banks in their strongest shape in years<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"29:1-29:476;3111-3586\">Greece&#8217;s banking sector is in particularly good health, according to the governor. He pointed to strong profitability, solid capital and liquidity, a sharp fall in non-performing loans, meaning loans that borrowers have stopped repaying, and rising credit to businesses and households. That progress has been rewarded with a run of upgrades from the international ratings agencies, and the country&#8217;s four systemic banks now hold a BBB+ rating, one notch below the A category.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"31:1-31:337;3588-3924\">Net interest income, the money banks make on loans after paying for deposits, was supported mainly by continued credit growth, including higher lending alongside funds from the European Union&#8217;s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the bloc&#8217;s post-pandemic investment program. The margin banks earn on that lending stayed broadly unchanged.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"33:1-33:216;3926-4141\">Lending to households strengthened further, driven by stronger consumer credit and a further pickup in mortgages. Stournaras tied that to rising house prices, an improving labor market and firmer household spending.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"35:1-35:55;4143-4197\">The structural weaknesses still holding Greece back<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"37:1-37:704;4199-4902\">Greece still carries a heavy set of structural problems, the governor stressed, despite the progress of recent years. He listed nine. The domestic economy is held back by low productivity, demographic pressures, skills shortages in the workforce, the slow spread of innovation and the difficulty many Greeks face in finding affordable housing. Weighing on the wider picture are weaknesses in public administration and the justice system, public debt that remains high, a persistent current account deficit and the negative international investment position that comes with it, meaning Greece owes more to the rest of the world than it owns abroad, and inflation that is still above the eurozone average.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"39:1-39:31;4904-4934\">A push for the digital euro<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"41:1-41:388;4936-5323\">Europe needs to move faster on modernizing its financial infrastructure, Stournaras argued. He called for progress on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/pierrakakis-digital-euro-will-be-reality-by-2029\/\">digital euro<\/a>, the digital form of the currency the European Central Bank is developing, wider use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, closer links between European payment systems and the use of artificial intelligence in central banks&#8217; own operations.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">The international environment, he warned, is only becoming more demanding. Geopolitical tension, energy uncertainty, the fragmentation of global trade, rapid technological change and the economic fallout from climate change are all creating fresh challenges across Europe.<\/p> <p data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/14\/oikonomia\/stournaras-sto-38-o-plithorismos-to-2026\/\">OT.gr<\/a><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investment and strong public finances keep Greece ahead of the eurozone, even as a Middle East energy shock and stubborn structural weaknesses cloud the outlook for households and businesses<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":444700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30579,996,17],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"5:1-5:219;255-473\">Greece&#8217;s economy is still expanding faster than the rest of the eurozone, but a fresh jump in energy prices is set to push inflation further up this year, the governor of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/bank-of-greece-ties-stronger-growth-to-mideast-peace\/\">Bank of Greece<\/a> has told the country&#8217;s lenders.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"7:1-7:245;475-719\">Governor Yannis Stournaras set out his projections for the global, European and Greek economies at the annual general assembly of the Hellenic Bank Association, the body that represents Greece&#8217;s banks, and laid out the main risks he sees ahead.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"9:1-9:46;721-766\">Energy shock pushes Greek inflation higher<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"11:1-11:472;768-1239\">Inflation had slowed to 2.9% by December 2025, and the central bank had expected it to keep easing through 2026. However, the war between Iran and the United States, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the steep rise in fuel prices that followed upended these more optimistic projections. The Bank of Greece now expects headline inflation to average 3.8% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025, before slowing to 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028 as energy and food pressures gradually ease.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"13:1-13:258;1241-1498\">The governor warned that higher energy costs will not stay contained. Stournaras stated that he expects them to feed into the prices of services and industrial goods, while food inflation is likely to remain high because energy works its way into every stage of production and supply.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"15:1-15:29;1500-1528\">A riskier global backdrop<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"17:1-17:427;1530-1956\">Stournaras described 2026 as the start of a new period of heightened uncertainty and rising geoeconomic risk for the world economy, after several years of unpredictable shocks. He pointed to escalating tensions in the Middle East and to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane that carries much of the world&#8217;s oil and gas, which he said had disrupted global energy flows and driven prices sharply higher.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"19:1-19:405;1958-2362\">Trade is adding to the pressure. Stournaras cited the high tariffs still in place in the United States, the growing use of non-tariff barriers and the continued reshaping of global supply chains as forces squeezing world commerce and deepening uncertainty. Together with the impact of artificial intelligence on the labor market, he said, these are slowing global growth while keeping inflation elevated.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"21:1-21:239;2364-2602\">The eurozone is not immune. Growth across the currency bloc is expected to stay weak, with higher energy prices weighing on spending and investment, and inflation, though falling, is still running above the European Central Bank&#8217;s target.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"23:1-23:29;2604-2632\">Why Greece is still ahead<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"25:1-25:426;2634-3059\">Greece continues to grow faster than the eurozone average despite that backdrop, Stournaras said, with investment the main engine of growth. Public finances remain strong, helped by high primary surpluses, the budget balance before interest payments, and public debt keeps falling as a share of gross domestic product, a marked shift for a country that spent much of the past decade at the center of the eurozone debt crisis.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"27:1-27:49;3061-3109\">Greek banks in their strongest shape in years<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"29:1-29:476;3111-3586\">Greece&#8217;s banking sector is in particularly good health, according to the governor. He pointed to strong profitability, solid capital and liquidity, a sharp fall in non-performing loans, meaning loans that borrowers have stopped repaying, and rising credit to businesses and households. That progress has been rewarded with a run of upgrades from the international ratings agencies, and the country&#8217;s four systemic banks now hold a BBB+ rating, one notch below the A category.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"31:1-31:337;3588-3924\">Net interest income, the money banks make on loans after paying for deposits, was supported mainly by continued credit growth, including higher lending alongside funds from the European Union&#8217;s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the bloc&#8217;s post-pandemic investment program. The margin banks earn on that lending stayed broadly unchanged.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"33:1-33:216;3926-4141\">Lending to households strengthened further, driven by stronger consumer credit and a further pickup in mortgages. Stournaras tied that to rising house prices, an improving labor market and firmer household spending.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"35:1-35:55;4143-4197\">The structural weaknesses still holding Greece back<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"37:1-37:704;4199-4902\">Greece still carries a heavy set of structural problems, the governor stressed, despite the progress of recent years. He listed nine. The domestic economy is held back by low productivity, demographic pressures, skills shortages in the workforce, the slow spread of innovation and the difficulty many Greeks face in finding affordable housing. Weighing on the wider picture are weaknesses in public administration and the justice system, public debt that remains high, a persistent current account deficit and the negative international investment position that comes with it, meaning Greece owes more to the rest of the world than it owns abroad, and inflation that is still above the eurozone average.<\/p> <h3 class=\"text-text-100 mt-3 -mb-1 text-[1.125rem] font-bold\" data-sourcepos=\"39:1-39:31;4904-4934\">A push for the digital euro<\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"41:1-41:388;4936-5323\">Europe needs to move faster on modernizing its financial infrastructure, Stournaras argued. He called for progress on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/pierrakakis-digital-euro-will-be-reality-by-2029\/\">digital euro<\/a>, the digital form of the currency the European Central Bank is developing, wider use of blockchain and distributed ledger technology, closer links between European payment systems and the use of artificial intelligence in central banks&#8217; own operations.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">The international environment, he warned, is only becoming more demanding. Geopolitical tension, energy uncertainty, the fragmentation of global trade, rapid technological change and the economic fallout from climate change are all creating fresh challenges across Europe.<\/p> <p data-sourcepos=\"43:1-43:273;5325-5597\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/14\/oikonomia\/stournaras-sto-38-o-plithorismos-to-2026\/\">OT.gr<\/a><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":4,"name":"Finance","slug":"finance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news on the Greek and international economy, jobs market, stock market, real estate industry and workplace, by <a class=\"notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover\" href=\"http:\/\/tovima.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-token-index=\"1\"><span class=\"link-annotation-unknown-block-id--756905112\">tovima.com<\/span><\/a> and Wall Street Journal. Includes the latest news and analysis of government spending and Central Banking.<!-- notionvc: f0c84efe-4643-45a0-ab3f-cdeb41fed5d0 -->","parent":0,"count":2943,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":30579,"name":"Bank of Greece (Gov) Yannis Stournaras","slug":"bank-of-greece-gov-yannis-stournaras","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":30579,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":996,"name":"greek economy","slug":"greek-economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":996,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":241,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":17,"name":"Inflation","slug":"inflation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":97,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1-300x197.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/31\/stournaras-1-1024x672-1-768x504.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525736,"date":"2026-07-14T12:27:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525736"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:27:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:27:16","slug":"pantelakis-securities-raises-alter-ego-media-target-price-to-e7-50","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/pantelakis-securities-raises-alter-ego-media-target-price-to-e7-50\/","title":{"rendered":"Pantelakis Securities Raises Alter Ego Media Target Price to €7.50"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pantelakis Securities has reaffirmed its confidence in Alter Ego Media&#8217;s investment strategy by raising its target price to €7.50 per share, up from €6.90, while maintaining its Overweight recommendation. Based on the closing share price of €5.47 on 13 July, the new valuation implies a 37% upside potential. The brokerage also estimates that the successful development of the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/new-streaming-subscription-platform-by-alter-ego-media-ant1-and-motor-oil\/\">ANT1+ platform<\/a> could add a further €0.60 per share to the company&#8217;s fair value.<\/p> <p>In its report, Pantelakis describes Alter Ego Media as a group undergoing a profound transformation, evolving from a traditional media company into an integrated media and entertainment group.<\/p> <h3>Live Entertainment: The Third Growth Pillar<\/h3> <p>A key driver behind the valuation upgrade is Alter Ego Media&#8217;s strategic expansion into the fast-growing Live Entertainment sector through its investments in more.com and Stages Network.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Pantelakis expects this business to become the Group&#8217;s most important growth engine over the coming years, contributing 24% of incremental revenue growth and 44% of incremental EBIT growth during the 2025–2028 period. At the same time, the brokerage forecasts that EBIT generated by the Live Entertainment segment will increase by 51% in 2027, reinforcing the view that the Group&#8217;s entry into ticketing and live events represents a highly value-accretive strategic move.<\/p> <p>The report places particular emphasis on more.com, describing it as the leading online ticketing platform in Greece and Cyprus, with approximately 1.85 million registered users. According to Pantelakis, this business provides Alter Ego Media with a new high-margin revenue stream while simultaneously reducing its dependence on the cyclical nature of the advertising market.<\/p> <h3>ANT1+: Strategic Entry into Subscription Streaming<\/h3> <p>The report also places significant emphasis on Alter Ego Media&#8217;s agreement to acquire a 33.3% stake in the new ANT1+ platform, describing the transaction as the company&#8217;s long-awaited strategic entry into the subscription television market. According to Pantelakis, the new platform enjoys substantial competitive advantages, launching with an existing subscriber base of approximately 70,000 subscribers and a business that is already close to break-even, significantly reducing execution risk compared with similar international streaming platforms. Furthermore, the partnership between Alter Ego Media, ANTENNA Group and Motor Oil creates a new content production and distribution ecosystem within the Greek market.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The brokerage estimates that, should the venture develop in line with its expectations, Alter Ego Media&#8217;s stake in ANT1+ could add €0.60 per share to the company&#8217;s valuation—a benefit that has not yet been incorporated into the base target price of €7.50.<\/p> <h3>Strategic Acquisitions Continue to Create Value<\/h3> <p>Pantelakis believes that the Group&#8217;s recent acquisitions do more than simply increase its scale—they fundamentally reshape its business model. The integration of the digital media assets acquired in 2025, together with the investments in more.com, Stages Network, and ANT1+, creates a more diversified business portfolio with stronger recurring earnings and significant synergies across content, distribution, data and commercial monetisation. According to the brokerage, this strategy makes Alter Ego Media less dependent on the advertising cycle while substantially strengthening its long-term growth prospects.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3>Strong Earnings Outlook<\/h3> <p>For 2026, Pantelakis forecasts revenue growth of 22.7% to €171.9 million, EBITDA of €67.4 million (+25.5%), and EBIT of €38.7 million (+32.7%). Net profit is expected to reach €25.1 million, while earnings per share are projected to grow at a 24% compound annual growth rate (EPS CAGR) over the 2025–2028 period.<\/p> <p>Pantelakis also notes that, even after raising its target price, Alter Ego Media continues to trade at a significant discount to comparable international peers. Combined with the Group&#8217;s strong growth trajectory, robust cash position and proven track record of executing successful acquisitions, the brokerage believes the current valuation remains compelling and therefore reiterates its Overweight recommendation.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>37% Upside Driven by Live Entertainment and Strategic Acquisitions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":344248,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[49079],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Pantelakis Securities has reaffirmed its confidence in Alter Ego Media&#8217;s investment strategy by raising its target price to €7.50 per share, up from €6.90, while maintaining its Overweight recommendation. Based on the closing share price of €5.47 on 13 July, the new valuation implies a 37% upside potential. The brokerage also estimates that the successful development of the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/new-streaming-subscription-platform-by-alter-ego-media-ant1-and-motor-oil\/\">ANT1+ platform<\/a> could add a further €0.60 per share to the company&#8217;s fair value.<\/p> <p>In its report, Pantelakis describes Alter Ego Media as a group undergoing a profound transformation, evolving from a traditional media company into an integrated media and entertainment group.<\/p> <h3>Live Entertainment: The Third Growth Pillar<\/h3> <p>A key driver behind the valuation upgrade is Alter Ego Media&#8217;s strategic expansion into the fast-growing Live Entertainment sector through its investments in more.com and Stages Network.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Pantelakis expects this business to become the Group&#8217;s most important growth engine over the coming years, contributing 24% of incremental revenue growth and 44% of incremental EBIT growth during the 2025–2028 period. At the same time, the brokerage forecasts that EBIT generated by the Live Entertainment segment will increase by 51% in 2027, reinforcing the view that the Group&#8217;s entry into ticketing and live events represents a highly value-accretive strategic move.<\/p> <p>The report places particular emphasis on more.com, describing it as the leading online ticketing platform in Greece and Cyprus, with approximately 1.85 million registered users. According to Pantelakis, this business provides Alter Ego Media with a new high-margin revenue stream while simultaneously reducing its dependence on the cyclical nature of the advertising market.<\/p> <h3>ANT1+: Strategic Entry into Subscription Streaming<\/h3> <p>The report also places significant emphasis on Alter Ego Media&#8217;s agreement to acquire a 33.3% stake in the new ANT1+ platform, describing the transaction as the company&#8217;s long-awaited strategic entry into the subscription television market. According to Pantelakis, the new platform enjoys substantial competitive advantages, launching with an existing subscriber base of approximately 70,000 subscribers and a business that is already close to break-even, significantly reducing execution risk compared with similar international streaming platforms. Furthermore, the partnership between Alter Ego Media, ANTENNA Group and Motor Oil creates a new content production and distribution ecosystem within the Greek market.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The brokerage estimates that, should the venture develop in line with its expectations, Alter Ego Media&#8217;s stake in ANT1+ could add €0.60 per share to the company&#8217;s valuation—a benefit that has not yet been incorporated into the base target price of €7.50.<\/p> <h3>Strategic Acquisitions Continue to Create Value<\/h3> <p>Pantelakis believes that the Group&#8217;s recent acquisitions do more than simply increase its scale—they fundamentally reshape its business model. The integration of the digital media assets acquired in 2025, together with the investments in more.com, Stages Network, and ANT1+, creates a more diversified business portfolio with stronger recurring earnings and significant synergies across content, distribution, data and commercial monetisation. According to the brokerage, this strategy makes Alter Ego Media less dependent on the advertising cycle while substantially strengthening its long-term growth prospects.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3>Strong Earnings Outlook<\/h3> <p>For 2026, Pantelakis forecasts revenue growth of 22.7% to €171.9 million, EBITDA of €67.4 million (+25.5%), and EBIT of €38.7 million (+32.7%). Net profit is expected to reach €25.1 million, while earnings per share are projected to grow at a 24% compound annual growth rate (EPS CAGR) over the 2025–2028 period.<\/p> <p>Pantelakis also notes that, even after raising its target price, Alter Ego Media continues to trade at a significant discount to comparable international peers. Combined with the Group&#8217;s strong growth trajectory, robust cash position and proven track record of executing successful acquisitions, the brokerage believes the current valuation remains compelling and therefore reiterates its Overweight recommendation.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":4,"name":"Finance","slug":"finance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news on the Greek and international economy, jobs market, stock market, real estate industry and workplace, by <a class=\"notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover\" href=\"http:\/\/tovima.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-token-index=\"1\"><span class=\"link-annotation-unknown-block-id--756905112\">tovima.com<\/span><\/a> and Wall Street Journal. Includes the latest news and analysis of government spending and Central Banking.<!-- notionvc: f0c84efe-4643-45a0-ab3f-cdeb41fed5d0 -->","parent":0,"count":2943,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":49079,"name":"Alter Ego Media","slug":"alter-ego-media","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":49079,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/21\/ot_alter_ego_media_all_logos2-smaller-1-150x150.png","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/21\/ot_alter_ego_media_all_logos2-smaller-1.png","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/21\/ot_alter_ego_media_all_logos2-smaller-1-300x176.png","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/21\/ot_alter_ego_media_all_logos2-smaller-1-768x450.png","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525631,"date":"2026-07-14T11:30:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525631"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:20:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:20:53","slug":"greece-bucks-eu-trend-leaning-ever-harder-on-vat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/greece-bucks-eu-trend-leaning-ever-harder-on-vat\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece Bucks EU Trend, Leaning Ever Harder on VAT"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greece now leans on value-added tax (VAT) to fund its public spending more heavily than any other country in the European Union, and it has been tilting that way for years while the rest of the bloc moves in the opposite direction, according to the European Commission&#8217;s Annual Report on Taxation 2026.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Between 2014 and 2024, VAT&#8217;s share of the country&#8217;s total tax take climbed 3.1 percentage points, the biggest increase anywhere in the EU. Hungary was next at 2.3 points, then Italy at 1.8. This trend runs directly against the European grain: while most member states have been working to loosen their dependence on consumption taxes, Greece has moved the other way. Luxembourg cut its VAT reliance by 4.1 points over the same period, Romania by 3.5 and Lithuania by 2.7.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Why does the mix matter? Because VAT is blind to what you earn. It is charged at the same rate on a loaf of bread whether the buyer is a pensioner or a shipping magnate, which is exactly why economists treat it as a heavier burden, proportionally, on lower-income households. Those households spend a larger slice of what they have on daily necessities, so a tax on spending eats deeper into their budgets. As grocery and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/fuel-price-cut-in-greece-faces-questions-over-real-impact\/\">energy prices<\/a> keep straining household finances across Greece, a tax system tilting further toward consumption tilts further toward the people least able to absorb it.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Taxed on the way in, taxed on the way out<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greeks are taxed when they earn and taxed again when they spend, and on the first count the country is already an outlier. In 2024 Greece posted the highest implicit tax rate on labor in the EU, at 44.8%, ahead of Italy at 43.9% and Belgium at 40.7%. (The implicit rate is a measure of how much tax actually lands on wages once the full web of levies and social contributions is accounted for, rather than the figure printed on any single tax band.) High labor taxes on one side, heavy consumption taxes on the other. It is a combination few of Greece&#8217;s peers carry at the same time.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Consumption taxes, the family that includes VAT plus excise duties on fuel, tobacco and alcohol, made up 37.8% of Greece&#8217;s total tax revenue in 2024, against an EU average of 26.8%. That puts Greece some 11 points above the norm. A couple of countries lean even harder on spending, notably Croatia at 48.1% and Bulgaria, but neither pairs that with labor taxes as steep as Greece&#8217;s, which is what makes the Greek case distinctive.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">And Greece is swimming against the tide. Across the EU, consumption taxes have been quietly losing ground, their share of total revenue slipping from 28.3% in 2014 to 26.8% in 2024, with the burden easing in every member state but three. Those three holdouts were Greece, Hungary and France. The sharpest retreats came in Ireland and Malta, each down 8.5 points, and Bulgaria, down 6.8.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The number that complicates the story<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">However even as VAT&#8217;s slice of revenue grew, the effective rate at which Greece actually taxes consumption fell, by 2.6 percentage points between 2014 and 2024. That was among the largest drops in the EU, matched by Belgium and trailing only Slovenia.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The effective rate is not the same as the headline VAT rate you see on a receipt. It measures the tax genuinely collected against the total value of what people buy, so it moves with exemptions, reduced rates, evasion and shifts in what a country spends its money on. The decline in the effective rate alongside rising VAT receipts points to a clear explanation: the additional revenue stemmed largely from higher prices and increased spending rather than from improved collection.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">That distinction carries a practical upshot. When the effective rate is low relative to what a country charges on paper, it usually signals  revenue lost to evasion, fraud, business failures, filing errors, or to the patchwork of reduced rates and exemptions built into the system. The gap between what Greece would collect under perfect compliance and what it actually banks is known as the VAT compliance gap, and this year&#8217;s report stops short of putting a fresh standalone figure on it for Greece. But the implication is clear enough: there is scope to raise revenue. The Greek government could achieve that without touching a single rate, simply by collecting more of what it is already owed.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Commission credits Greece with reforming how businesses report their taxes, principally through mandatory electronic invoicing and a digital platform, myDATA, which transmits the transaction data of companies and the self-employed directly to the tax authority. The aim is to curb evasion, improve transparency and make fuller use of digital records.<\/p> <p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/14\/forologia\/forologia-eidiseis\/fpa-i-ellada-protathlitria-stin-eksartisi-apo-ton-fpa\/\">OT.gr<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/op.europa.eu\/en\/publication-detail\/-\/publication\/5799485b-7c05-11f1-bf5e-01aa75ed71a1\/language-en\">European Commission<\/a><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While most of Europe eases its dependence on consumption taxes, Greece has gone the other way, posting the bloc&#8217;s steepest rise in VAT&#8217;s share of revenue over the past decade, a shift that lands hardest on ordinary shoppers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":525655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[208,26157,996,348],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greece now leans on value-added tax (VAT) to fund its public spending more heavily than any other country in the European Union, and it has been tilting that way for years while the rest of the bloc moves in the opposite direction, according to the European Commission&#8217;s Annual Report on Taxation 2026.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Between 2014 and 2024, VAT&#8217;s share of the country&#8217;s total tax take climbed 3.1 percentage points, the biggest increase anywhere in the EU. Hungary was next at 2.3 points, then Italy at 1.8. This trend runs directly against the European grain: while most member states have been working to loosen their dependence on consumption taxes, Greece has moved the other way. Luxembourg cut its VAT reliance by 4.1 points over the same period, Romania by 3.5 and Lithuania by 2.7.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Why does the mix matter? Because VAT is blind to what you earn. It is charged at the same rate on a loaf of bread whether the buyer is a pensioner or a shipping magnate, which is exactly why economists treat it as a heavier burden, proportionally, on lower-income households. Those households spend a larger slice of what they have on daily necessities, so a tax on spending eats deeper into their budgets. As grocery and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/fuel-price-cut-in-greece-faces-questions-over-real-impact\/\">energy prices<\/a> keep straining household finances across Greece, a tax system tilting further toward consumption tilts further toward the people least able to absorb it.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Taxed on the way in, taxed on the way out<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greeks are taxed when they earn and taxed again when they spend, and on the first count the country is already an outlier. In 2024 Greece posted the highest implicit tax rate on labor in the EU, at 44.8%, ahead of Italy at 43.9% and Belgium at 40.7%. (The implicit rate is a measure of how much tax actually lands on wages once the full web of levies and social contributions is accounted for, rather than the figure printed on any single tax band.) High labor taxes on one side, heavy consumption taxes on the other. It is a combination few of Greece&#8217;s peers carry at the same time.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Consumption taxes, the family that includes VAT plus excise duties on fuel, tobacco and alcohol, made up 37.8% of Greece&#8217;s total tax revenue in 2024, against an EU average of 26.8%. That puts Greece some 11 points above the norm. A couple of countries lean even harder on spending, notably Croatia at 48.1% and Bulgaria, but neither pairs that with labor taxes as steep as Greece&#8217;s, which is what makes the Greek case distinctive.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">And Greece is swimming against the tide. Across the EU, consumption taxes have been quietly losing ground, their share of total revenue slipping from 28.3% in 2014 to 26.8% in 2024, with the burden easing in every member state but three. Those three holdouts were Greece, Hungary and France. The sharpest retreats came in Ireland and Malta, each down 8.5 points, and Bulgaria, down 6.8.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The number that complicates the story<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">However even as VAT&#8217;s slice of revenue grew, the effective rate at which Greece actually taxes consumption fell, by 2.6 percentage points between 2014 and 2024. That was among the largest drops in the EU, matched by Belgium and trailing only Slovenia.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The effective rate is not the same as the headline VAT rate you see on a receipt. It measures the tax genuinely collected against the total value of what people buy, so it moves with exemptions, reduced rates, evasion and shifts in what a country spends its money on. The decline in the effective rate alongside rising VAT receipts points to a clear explanation: the additional revenue stemmed largely from higher prices and increased spending rather than from improved collection.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">That distinction carries a practical upshot. When the effective rate is low relative to what a country charges on paper, it usually signals  revenue lost to evasion, fraud, business failures, filing errors, or to the patchwork of reduced rates and exemptions built into the system. The gap between what Greece would collect under perfect compliance and what it actually banks is known as the VAT compliance gap, and this year&#8217;s report stops short of putting a fresh standalone figure on it for Greece. But the implication is clear enough: there is scope to raise revenue. The Greek government could achieve that without touching a single rate, simply by collecting more of what it is already owed.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Commission credits Greece with reforming how businesses report their taxes, principally through mandatory electronic invoicing and a digital platform, myDATA, which transmits the transaction data of companies and the self-employed directly to the tax authority. The aim is to curb evasion, improve transparency and make fuller use of digital records.<\/p> <p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/14\/forologia\/forologia-eidiseis\/fpa-i-ellada-protathlitria-stin-eksartisi-apo-ton-fpa\/\">OT.gr<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/op.europa.eu\/en\/publication-detail\/-\/publication\/5799485b-7c05-11f1-bf5e-01aa75ed71a1\/language-en\">European Commission<\/a><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":4,"name":"Finance","slug":"finance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news on the Greek and international economy, jobs market, stock market, real estate industry and workplace, by <a class=\"notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover\" href=\"http:\/\/tovima.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-token-index=\"1\"><span class=\"link-annotation-unknown-block-id--756905112\">tovima.com<\/span><\/a> and Wall Street Journal. Includes the latest news and analysis of government spending and Central Banking.<!-- notionvc: f0c84efe-4643-45a0-ab3f-cdeb41fed5d0 -->","parent":0,"count":2943,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":208,"name":"European Commission","slug":"european-commission","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":208,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":125,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":26157,"name":"Greece VAT","slug":"greece-vat","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":26157,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":996,"name":"greek economy","slug":"greek-economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":996,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":241,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":348,"name":"taxation","slug":"taxation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":348,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/fpa1.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/fpa1.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/fpa1.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/fpa1.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525019,"date":"2026-07-13T21:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T18:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525019"},"modified":"2026-07-13T16:52:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T13:52:38","slug":"greek-inflation-to-stay-above-ecb-target-through-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/greek-inflation-to-stay-above-ecb-target-through-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek Inflation to Stay Above ECB Target Through 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div role=\"feed\" aria-label=\"Chat messages\" aria-describedby=\"_r_d4a_\" aria-busy=\"false\" data-find-provider-scope=\"\"> <div data-sizer-excess=\"0\"> <div data-index=\"1\" data-last-message=\"true\"> <div tabindex=\"0\" role=\"article\" aria-setsize=\"2\" aria-posinset=\"2\" aria-label=\"Message 2 of 2\"> <div data-test-render-count=\"1\"> <div class=\"group\"> <div class=\"contents\"> <div class=\"group relative relative pb-[var(--msg-assistant-pb,0.75rem)]\" data-is-streaming=\"false\"> <div class=\"font-claude-response relative leading-[1.65rem] [&_pre>div]:bg-bg-000\/50 [&_pre>div]:border-0.5 [&_pre>div]:border-border-400 [&_.ignore-pre-bg>div]:bg-transparent [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8\"> <div> <div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&_>_*]:min-w-0 gap-3 standard-markdown\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/greek-inflation\/\">Inflation<\/a> in Greece will remain well above the European Central Bank&#8217;s 2% target through 2026 before drifting lower over the following two years, according to the latest projections from the Bank of Greece.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">In its new Inflation Monitor, the central bank forecasts that harmonized inflation, the EU-standardized measure known as the HICP, will reach 3.8% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025. From there, it expects a gradual descent to 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028. The figures are unchanged from the bank&#8217;s previous report.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Bank of Greece attributes this year&#8217;s pickup mainly to higher energy prices, persistent inflation in the services sector, rising rents and the strong pressures generated by tourism demand.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, is proving equally sticky. The central bank expects it to run at 3% in 2026 before easing to 2.5% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028, a trajectory that confirms price pressures in services are unlikely to fade quickly.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>A first sign of relief<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Despite the downbeat annual outlook, the most recent data point to an early cooling. Harmonized inflation in Greece fell to 3.9% in June from 4.9% in May, bringing the first-half average to 3.8%. The decline is driven largely by softer energy costs, a reflection of lower international oil prices, along with a slowdown in price increases across services, chiefly accommodation, air travel and rents.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Even so, Greece continues to run hotter than the rest of the currency bloc. Eurozone inflation stood at 2.8% in June, against 3.9% in Greece, though the gap between the two narrowed compared with May.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The services headache<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The report underscores that, despite the sharp rise in energy prices during the first half of the year, services remain the primary force keeping inflation elevated in both Greece and the eurozone. In Greece, wage increases, higher rents and buoyant tourism demand are sustaining pressure on services prices, making a faster decline in the headline rate harder to achieve.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Energy risks have not gone away<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Bank of Greece cautions that the energy crisis is far from over. While oil prices retreated over the past month as flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalized, renewed tensions in the Middle East have pushed them back up. At the same time, natural gas is becoming more expensive as European demand rises to build storage ahead of winter.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The central bank expects energy inflation in Greece to surge to 11% in 2026 before collapsing to 1% in 2027. A modest reacceleration to 2.4% is projected for 2028, tied to the rollout of the EU&#8217;s new ETS2 emissions trading system, which extends carbon pricing to fuels used in buildings and road transport.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Businesses and markets brace for lasting pressure<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Although increases in manufacturing production costs slowed in June, they remain high on the back of costlier raw materials, transport and energy, the report notes. Businesses&#8217; selling prices, in turn, are still climbing, even if at a more moderate pace.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Analysts have revised their expectations for Greek inflation upward. Drawing on Consensus Forecasts data cited by the Bank of Greece, estimates rose by 0.6 percentage points for 2026 and 0.4 points for 2027, with the average projection for 2026 now standing at 2.9%.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Rate outlook<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The easing of global inflation expectations has not materially changed the market&#8217;s view of the ECB&#8217;s next moves. Following the central bank&#8217;s rate increase in June, markets are still pricing in one more hike of 25 basis points by the end of 2026, while the renewed tension in the Middle East has raised the odds of a further increase in early 2027.<\/p> <p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/13\/oikonomia\/plithorismos-sto-38-gia-fetos-ektima-i-tte\/\">ot.gr <\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bank of Greece expects consumer prices to accelerate to 3.8% next year, driven by energy, tourism and stubborn services costs, before easing gradually toward 2028<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":514972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[453,17],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<div role=\"feed\" aria-label=\"Chat messages\" aria-describedby=\"_r_d4a_\" aria-busy=\"false\" data-find-provider-scope=\"\"> <div data-sizer-excess=\"0\"> <div data-index=\"1\" data-last-message=\"true\"> <div tabindex=\"0\" role=\"article\" aria-setsize=\"2\" aria-posinset=\"2\" aria-label=\"Message 2 of 2\"> <div data-test-render-count=\"1\"> <div class=\"group\"> <div class=\"contents\"> <div class=\"group relative relative pb-[var(--msg-assistant-pb,0.75rem)]\" data-is-streaming=\"false\"> <div class=\"font-claude-response relative leading-[1.65rem] [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:bg-bg-000\/50 [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:border-0.5 [&amp;_pre&gt;div]:border-border-400 [&amp;_.ignore-pre-bg&gt;div]:bg-transparent [&amp;_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&amp;_.standard-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8 [&amp;_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pl-2 [&amp;_.progressive-markdown_:is(p,blockquote,ul,ol,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6)]:pr-8\"> <div> <div class=\"standard-markdown grid-cols-1 grid [&amp;_&gt;_*]:min-w-0 gap-3 standard-markdown\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/greek-inflation\/\">Inflation<\/a> in Greece will remain well above the European Central Bank&#8217;s 2% target through 2026 before drifting lower over the following two years, according to the latest projections from the Bank of Greece.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">In its new Inflation Monitor, the central bank forecasts that harmonized inflation, the EU-standardized measure known as the HICP, will reach 3.8% in 2026, up from 2.9% in 2025. From there, it expects a gradual descent to 2.6% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028. The figures are unchanged from the bank&#8217;s previous report.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Bank of Greece attributes this year&#8217;s pickup mainly to higher energy prices, persistent inflation in the services sector, rising rents and the strong pressures generated by tourism demand.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, is proving equally sticky. The central bank expects it to run at 3% in 2026 before easing to 2.5% in 2027 and 2.3% in 2028, a trajectory that confirms price pressures in services are unlikely to fade quickly.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>A first sign of relief<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Despite the downbeat annual outlook, the most recent data point to an early cooling. Harmonized inflation in Greece fell to 3.9% in June from 4.9% in May, bringing the first-half average to 3.8%. The decline is driven largely by softer energy costs, a reflection of lower international oil prices, along with a slowdown in price increases across services, chiefly accommodation, air travel and rents.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Even so, Greece continues to run hotter than the rest of the currency bloc. Eurozone inflation stood at 2.8% in June, against 3.9% in Greece, though the gap between the two narrowed compared with May.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The services headache<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The report underscores that, despite the sharp rise in energy prices during the first half of the year, services remain the primary force keeping inflation elevated in both Greece and the eurozone. In Greece, wage increases, higher rents and buoyant tourism demand are sustaining pressure on services prices, making a faster decline in the headline rate harder to achieve.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Energy risks have not gone away<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Bank of Greece cautions that the energy crisis is far from over. While oil prices retreated over the past month as flows through the Strait of Hormuz normalized, renewed tensions in the Middle East have pushed them back up. At the same time, natural gas is becoming more expensive as European demand rises to build storage ahead of winter.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The central bank expects energy inflation in Greece to surge to 11% in 2026 before collapsing to 1% in 2027. A modest reacceleration to 2.4% is projected for 2028, tied to the rollout of the EU&#8217;s new ETS2 emissions trading system, which extends carbon pricing to fuels used in buildings and road transport.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Businesses and markets brace for lasting pressure<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Although increases in manufacturing production costs slowed in June, they remain high on the back of costlier raw materials, transport and energy, the report notes. Businesses&#8217; selling prices, in turn, are still climbing, even if at a more moderate pace.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Analysts have revised their expectations for Greek inflation upward. Drawing on Consensus Forecasts data cited by the Bank of Greece, estimates rose by 0.6 percentage points for 2026 and 0.4 points for 2027, with the average projection for 2026 now standing at 2.9%.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Rate outlook<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The easing of global inflation expectations has not materially changed the market&#8217;s view of the ECB&#8217;s next moves. Following the central bank&#8217;s rate increase in June, markets are still pricing in one more hike of 25 basis points by the end of 2026, while the renewed tension in the Middle East has raised the odds of a further increase in early 2027.<\/p> <p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ot.gr\/2026\/07\/13\/oikonomia\/plithorismos-sto-38-gia-fetos-ektima-i-tte\/\">ot.gr <\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":4,"name":"Finance","slug":"finance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news on the Greek and international economy, jobs market, stock market, real estate industry and workplace, by <a class=\"notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover\" href=\"http:\/\/tovima.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-token-index=\"1\"><span class=\"link-annotation-unknown-block-id--756905112\">tovima.com<\/span><\/a> and Wall Street Journal. Includes the latest news and analysis of government spending and Central Banking.<!-- notionvc: f0c84efe-4643-45a0-ab3f-cdeb41fed5d0 -->","parent":0,"count":2943,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":453,"name":"Bank of Greece","slug":"bank-of-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":453,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":126,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":17,"name":"Inflation","slug":"inflation","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":97,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01\/Inflation-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01\/Inflation.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01\/Inflation-300x192.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01\/Inflation-768x492.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":524410,"date":"2026-07-13T18:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=524410"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:37:18","slug":"beach-day-in-athens-can-cost-families-over-e100","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/finance\/beach-day-in-athens-can-cost-families-over-e100\/","title":{"rendered":"Beach Day in Athens Can Cost Families Over €100"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">While residents and tourists continue to seek relief from the summer heat along the coast, many beachgoers say organized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/beach-costs-soar-as-summer-begins-in-athens\/\">beaches are becoming unaffordable<\/a> for the average household.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Admission to organized beaches typically ranges from €8 to €12 per person. Renting a set of sunbeds and an umbrella starts at around €15 but can reach €40, depending on the beach. Once food and drinks are added, the overall cost for a family or group can easily exceed €100 for a single day.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">As a result, many people are choosing free public beaches instead, bringing their own equipment to reduce costs.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">However, even a budget-friendly beach trip comes with expenses. A basic &#8220;beach basket&#8221; of essentials can cost around €48, according to local estimates.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The list includes sunscreen for the body (€14), facial sunscreen (€12), after-sun lotion (€9), a coffee (€2.80), a cheese pie (€3), fruit (€5) and wet wipes (€2). Transport costs, fuel, beach umbrellas, mats and other accessories are not included in this total.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although products such as sunscreen can be used on multiple trips, the overall cost of a day by the sea has become a growing concern for many households.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The increase in beach-related expenses comes as inflation remains elevated. According to Greece&#8217;s statistical authority, the annual consumer price index rose by 4.4% in June 2026, up from 2.8% a year earlier, while the average annual inflation rate over the past 12 months reached 3.3%.<\/p> <p>For many beachgoers, the rising cost of a seaside escape means weighing the comfort of organized facilities against the savings offered by free public beaches and bringing their own supplies.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A summer day at the beach is becoming an increasingly costly outing in the Athens region, as higher entrance fees, sunbed rentals and food expenses push the total cost for a family well above €100.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":524437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5349,2304],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">While residents and tourists continue to seek relief from the summer heat along the coast, many beachgoers say organized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/beach-costs-soar-as-summer-begins-in-athens\/\">beaches are becoming unaffordable<\/a> for the average household.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Admission to organized beaches typically ranges from €8 to €12 per person. Renting a set of sunbeds and an umbrella starts at around €15 but can reach €40, depending on the beach. Once food and drinks are added, the overall cost for a family or group can easily exceed €100 for a single day.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">As a result, many people are choosing free public beaches instead, bringing their own equipment to reduce costs.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">However, even a budget-friendly beach trip comes with expenses. A basic &#8220;beach basket&#8221; of essentials can cost around €48, according to local estimates.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The list includes sunscreen for the body (€14), facial sunscreen (€12), after-sun lotion (€9), a coffee (€2.80), a cheese pie (€3), fruit (€5) and wet wipes (€2). Transport costs, fuel, beach umbrellas, mats and other accessories are not included in this total.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although products such as sunscreen can be used on multiple trips, the overall cost of a day by the sea has become a growing concern for many households.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The increase in beach-related expenses comes as inflation remains elevated. According to Greece&#8217;s statistical authority, the annual consumer price index rose by 4.4% in June 2026, up from 2.8% a year earlier, while the average annual inflation rate over the past 12 months reached 3.3%.<\/p> <p>For many beachgoers, the rising cost of a seaside escape means weighing the comfort of organized facilities against the savings offered by free public beaches and bringing their own supplies.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":4,"name":"Finance","slug":"finance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news on the Greek and international economy, jobs market, stock market, real estate industry and workplace, by <a class=\"notion-link-token notion-focusable-token notion-enable-hover\" href=\"http:\/\/tovima.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-token-index=\"1\"><span class=\"link-annotation-unknown-block-id--756905112\">tovima.com<\/span><\/a> and Wall Street Journal. Includes the latest news and analysis of government spending and Central Banking.<!-- notionvc: f0c84efe-4643-45a0-ab3f-cdeb41fed5d0 -->","parent":0,"count":2943,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":5349,"name":"Greek beaches","slug":"greek-beaches","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5349,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":34,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2304,"name":"prices","slug":"prices","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2304,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_2758222623-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_2758222623-e1783927423595.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_2758222623-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_2758222623-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"apopsi","header":"Γνώμες","ID":"3","posts":[{"id":525949,"date":"2026-07-14T14:30:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525949"},"modified":"2026-07-14T14:29:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:29:37","slug":"broken-faucets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/broken-faucets\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken Faucets"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"211\" data-end=\"697\">In one of Europe&#8217;s republics, Italy, governments used to change as often as shirts. In another, the United Kingdom, they have recently been changing prime ministers just as frequently. Belgium once needed 541 days to agree on a new coalition government, and throughout that entire period the outgoing prime minister remained in office in a caretaker capacity, even though his government had collapsed before the election—without, astonishingly enough, the country itself collapsing.<\/p> <p data-start=\"699\" data-end=\"1145\">In Portugal, meanwhile, the party that finished second governed with the support of the parties that came third and fourth, in an arrangement dubbed <em data-start=\"848\" data-end=\"860\">geringonça<\/em>—which, interestingly enough, means <em data-start=\"896\" data-end=\"909\">contraption<\/em> or <em data-start=\"913\" data-end=\"928\">makeshift fix<\/em>, not <em data-start=\"934\" data-end=\"962\">government of the defeated<\/em>. Many other countries are governed through coalitions. The Scandinavians, for example, are as seasoned in coalition governments as their Viking ancestors were in the salt of the sea.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1853\">Many of these cases amount to what we call <em data-start=\"1190\" data-end=\"1209\">government crises<\/em>. Yet nowhere is such a crisis regarded as an existential threat to the country itself—to its democracy and economy, its institutions, its public administration, and the other pillars of its political system. Nowhere has <em data-start=\"1430\" data-end=\"1437\">chaos<\/em> been invented as the only alternative to a particular individual. It was never <em data-start=\"1517\" data-end=\"1531\">May or chaos<\/em>, <em data-start=\"1533\" data-end=\"1551\">Johnson or chaos<\/em>, <em data-start=\"1553\" data-end=\"1569\">Truss or chaos<\/em>, or <em data-start=\"1574\" data-end=\"1590\">Sunak or chaos<\/em>, until the latest prime minister happened to take office. It was simply one after another. Next, please. Not to keep the country standing, as Churchill did in wartime, but to make it better—which is every politician&#8217;s job in a democratic system during peacetime.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1855\" data-end=\"2111\">Above all, nowhere have all these <em data-start=\"1889\" data-end=\"1903\">contraptions<\/em> been described as a <em data-start=\"1924\" data-end=\"1948\">constitutional anomaly<\/em>, a <em data-start=\"1952\" data-end=\"1984\">distortion of the popular will<\/em>, or anything similarly grandiose. Nowhere else—but here, in the country supposedly obsessed with constitutional sensitivities.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2113\" data-end=\"2466\">A prominent public figure remarked in a private conversation that if PASOK, which came third in the elections, were to make cooperation with the election-winning New Democracy conditional on appointing someone other than the current prime minister to head the government, that would amount to a <em data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2434\">constitutional deviation<\/em>. Yes, something akin to a coup.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2468\" data-end=\"2977\">What if the second- and third-placed parties formed a government? <em data-start=\"2534\" data-end=\"2562\">Government of the defeated<\/em> would be the mildest and most politically charitable description. After that, the rhetoric would escalate. One public figure would claim that <em data-start=\"2705\" data-end=\"2788\">such a government constitutes a clear violation of the principle of majority rule<\/em>. Another would argue that <em data-start=\"2815\" data-end=\"2889\">the principle of the declared parliamentary majority is being undermined<\/em>. A third would inevitably invoke the <em data-start=\"2927\" data-end=\"2938\">Apostasia<\/em>—surely, somehow, it must be connected.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"2979\" data-end=\"3015\">And that is the heart of the matter.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3017\" data-end=\"3326\">Elsewhere in democratic Europe, a government crisis has all the force of a firecracker or all the insignificance of a broken faucet. Life does not freeze in terror. The entire political system does not grind to a halt. It is not as though a nuclear bomb has exploded and a tsunami has struck at the same time.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3328\" data-end=\"3337\">Not here.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3339\" data-end=\"3650\">Seeing <em data-start=\"3346\" data-end=\"3373\">constitutional deviations<\/em> everywhere, we still live in the era of Konstantinos Karamanlis famous post-dictatorship remark that <em data-start=\"3476\" data-end=\"3540\">&#8220;you don&#8217;t send a prime minister to prison—you send him home.&#8221;<\/em> Politically, it was a witty line, but since then the toolbox has been enriched with all sorts of sophistries.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3652\" data-end=\"3987\">Should prime ministers and ministers face criminal investigations over cases of corruption or abuse of power? No, no—that would be <em data-start=\"3783\" data-end=\"3805\">government by judges<\/em>. Besides, <em data-start=\"3816\" data-end=\"3865\">&#8220;vested interests are trying to bring him down&#8221;<\/em> (the colloquial omission of the final syllable in the Greek word for <em data-start=\"3935\" data-end=\"3946\">interests<\/em> is, in this context, almost obligatory).<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"3989\" data-end=\"4293\"><em data-start=\"3989\" data-end=\"4015\">&#8220;Political persecution,&#8221;<\/em> declared two politicians in one of Europe&#8217;s democracies—France—who now wear electronic monitoring bracelets: former president Nicolas Sarkozy and far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen. Yet nobody batted an eyelid, nor did the institutions begin melting like wax.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4295\" data-end=\"4585\"><em data-start=\"4295\" data-end=\"4394\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve already been buried ten times during my career. Perhaps the eleventh funeral will be free,&#8221;<\/em> the far-right candidate eventually quipped, perhaps realizing that it is better to joke about your personal drama than to identify yourself with democracy itself—as though you were Marianne.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4587\" data-end=\"4742\">Must individuals here continue to identify themselves with democracy, normality, and stability? Must even Le Pen be the one giving us lessons in democracy?<\/p> <p data-start=\"4744\" data-end=\"4755\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Surely not.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Elsewhere in democratic Europe, a government crisis has all the force of a firecracker or all the significance of a broken faucet. Not here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7416,81,1788],"nea_authors":[80149],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"Periklis Dimitrolopoulos","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"211\" data-end=\"697\">In one of Europe&#8217;s republics, Italy, governments used to change as often as shirts. In another, the United Kingdom, they have recently been changing prime ministers just as frequently. Belgium once needed 541 days to agree on a new coalition government, and throughout that entire period the outgoing prime minister remained in office in a caretaker capacity, even though his government had collapsed before the election—without, astonishingly enough, the country itself collapsing.<\/p> <p data-start=\"699\" data-end=\"1145\">In Portugal, meanwhile, the party that finished second governed with the support of the parties that came third and fourth, in an arrangement dubbed <em data-start=\"848\" data-end=\"860\">geringonça<\/em>—which, interestingly enough, means <em data-start=\"896\" data-end=\"909\">contraption<\/em> or <em data-start=\"913\" data-end=\"928\">makeshift fix<\/em>, not <em data-start=\"934\" data-end=\"962\">government of the defeated<\/em>. Many other countries are governed through coalitions. The Scandinavians, for example, are as seasoned in coalition governments as their Viking ancestors were in the salt of the sea.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1147\" data-end=\"1853\">Many of these cases amount to what we call <em data-start=\"1190\" data-end=\"1209\">government crises<\/em>. Yet nowhere is such a crisis regarded as an existential threat to the country itself—to its democracy and economy, its institutions, its public administration, and the other pillars of its political system. Nowhere has <em data-start=\"1430\" data-end=\"1437\">chaos<\/em> been invented as the only alternative to a particular individual. It was never <em data-start=\"1517\" data-end=\"1531\">May or chaos<\/em>, <em data-start=\"1533\" data-end=\"1551\">Johnson or chaos<\/em>, <em data-start=\"1553\" data-end=\"1569\">Truss or chaos<\/em>, or <em data-start=\"1574\" data-end=\"1590\">Sunak or chaos<\/em>, until the latest prime minister happened to take office. It was simply one after another. Next, please. Not to keep the country standing, as Churchill did in wartime, but to make it better—which is every politician&#8217;s job in a democratic system during peacetime.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1855\" data-end=\"2111\">Above all, nowhere have all these <em data-start=\"1889\" data-end=\"1903\">contraptions<\/em> been described as a <em data-start=\"1924\" data-end=\"1948\">constitutional anomaly<\/em>, a <em data-start=\"1952\" data-end=\"1984\">distortion of the popular will<\/em>, or anything similarly grandiose. Nowhere else—but here, in the country supposedly obsessed with constitutional sensitivities.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2113\" data-end=\"2466\">A prominent public figure remarked in a private conversation that if PASOK, which came third in the elections, were to make cooperation with the election-winning New Democracy conditional on appointing someone other than the current prime minister to head the government, that would amount to a <em data-start=\"2408\" data-end=\"2434\">constitutional deviation<\/em>. Yes, something akin to a coup.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2468\" data-end=\"2977\">What if the second- and third-placed parties formed a government? <em data-start=\"2534\" data-end=\"2562\">Government of the defeated<\/em> would be the mildest and most politically charitable description. After that, the rhetoric would escalate. One public figure would claim that <em data-start=\"2705\" data-end=\"2788\">such a government constitutes a clear violation of the principle of majority rule<\/em>. Another would argue that <em data-start=\"2815\" data-end=\"2889\">the principle of the declared parliamentary majority is being undermined<\/em>. A third would inevitably invoke the <em data-start=\"2927\" data-end=\"2938\">Apostasia<\/em>—surely, somehow, it must be connected.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"2979\" data-end=\"3015\">And that is the heart of the matter.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3017\" data-end=\"3326\">Elsewhere in democratic Europe, a government crisis has all the force of a firecracker or all the insignificance of a broken faucet. Life does not freeze in terror. The entire political system does not grind to a halt. It is not as though a nuclear bomb has exploded and a tsunami has struck at the same time.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3328\" data-end=\"3337\">Not here.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3339\" data-end=\"3650\">Seeing <em data-start=\"3346\" data-end=\"3373\">constitutional deviations<\/em> everywhere, we still live in the era of Konstantinos Karamanlis famous post-dictatorship remark that <em data-start=\"3476\" data-end=\"3540\">&#8220;you don&#8217;t send a prime minister to prison—you send him home.&#8221;<\/em> Politically, it was a witty line, but since then the toolbox has been enriched with all sorts of sophistries.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3652\" data-end=\"3987\">Should prime ministers and ministers face criminal investigations over cases of corruption or abuse of power? No, no—that would be <em data-start=\"3783\" data-end=\"3805\">government by judges<\/em>. Besides, <em data-start=\"3816\" data-end=\"3865\">&#8220;vested interests are trying to bring him down&#8221;<\/em> (the colloquial omission of the final syllable in the Greek word for <em data-start=\"3935\" data-end=\"3946\">interests<\/em> is, in this context, almost obligatory).<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"3989\" data-end=\"4293\"><em data-start=\"3989\" data-end=\"4015\">&#8220;Political persecution,&#8221;<\/em> declared two politicians in one of Europe&#8217;s democracies—France—who now wear electronic monitoring bracelets: former president Nicolas Sarkozy and far-right presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen. Yet nobody batted an eyelid, nor did the institutions begin melting like wax.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4295\" data-end=\"4585\"><em data-start=\"4295\" data-end=\"4394\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve already been buried ten times during my career. Perhaps the eleventh funeral will be free,&#8221;<\/em> the far-right candidate eventually quipped, perhaps realizing that it is better to joke about your personal drama than to identify yourself with democracy itself—as though you were Marianne.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4587\" data-end=\"4742\">Must individuals here continue to identify themselves with democracy, normality, and stability? Must even Le Pen be the one giving us lessons in democracy?<\/p> <p data-start=\"4744\" data-end=\"4755\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Surely not.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":8,"name":"Opinions","slug":"opinions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8,"taxonomy":"category","description":"To Vima and Wall Street Journal Opinion columnists, editorials and guest essays.","parent":0,"count":618,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":7416,"name":"democracy","slug":"democracy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":7416,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":81,"name":"Europe","slug":"europe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":81,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":112,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1788,"name":"New Democracy","slug":"new-democracy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1788,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":179,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Psimithia_1207-1-1024x645-1.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Psimithia_1207-1-1024x645-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Psimithia_1207-1-1024x645-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Psimithia_1207-1-1024x645-1.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":524893,"date":"2026-07-13T15:40:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=524893"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:40:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:40:32","slug":"europes-scale-up-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/europes-scale-up-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe’s scale-up problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The European Union (EU) has spent decades establishing a legal order for market integration. The economic freedoms enshrined in the Treaties, harmonisation through secondary legislation, mutual recognition and enforcement mechanisms have transformed the economic map of Europe. Yet the current competitiveness debate points to a more precise question. Market access exists in EU law. Can European firms use that access in practice, with enough speed and predictability to grow across the Union?<\/p> <p>This is the difference between formal access and operational scale. It matters because Single Market fragmentation has multiple sources. It comes mainly from incomplete regulatory convergence and uneven implementation. In areas such as company law, insolvency, tax procedures, capital markets and supervision, national differences still raise costs for cross-border activity. Even when EU rules are in place, businesses encounter different administrations, registration procedures, compliance expectations, regulators and courts.<\/p> <p>The services sector shows the persistence of this problem. EU action to remove barriers to cross-border services is still insufficient. The European Court of Auditors has noted that approximately 60% of barriers to the Single Market for services identified more than two decades ago remain in place. This is a useful reminder that legal integration can coexist with practical fragmentation.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>There is now a narrow window for further Single Market integration. The “One Europe, One Market” roadmap gives the EU a political timetable through the end of 2027. This window may be smaller than it appears. Political will exists at the level of broad objectives. It becomes harder to sustain when reform reaches national legal systems, tax procedures, supervisory powers, insolvency rules or administrative practice. As several Member States enter electoral cycles in 2027, maintaining momentum around Single Market reform requires visible progress.<\/p> <p>The proposed ‘EU Inc.’ corporate legal framework, part of the broader debate on a ‘28th regime’, should be read in this context. It seeks to reduce fragmentation without full harmonisation, by offering an optional EU-level corporate framework alongside national systems. Its significance lies in the attempt to design a company form for firms expected to grow across borders from the start. Digital formation, a central EU interface, flexible share structures and employee stock options reflect the practical needs of start-ups and scale-ups. In that sense, EU Inc. is more about the conditions for European growth, bringing venture-capital logic into company law.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>The European Commission’s proposal for a regulation also reveals the limits of the current method of integration. The Commission opted for Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), i.e. the general internal market legal basis, since it allows adoption through qualified majority voting and makes the proposal politically feasible. Yet, Article 352 TFEU, commonly known as the ‘flexibility clause’, could arguably support a more autonomous and fully-fledged EU-level corporate regime, but would require unanimity among Member States and would make the legislative process more vulnerable to political deadlocks and delays.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p><strong>EU Inc. should be judged by whether founders, investors and employees perceive it as more predictable, more financeable and more credible than the existing complexity of navigating 27 national legal orders and over 60 different national company forms.<\/strong><\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>The wider lesson is simple. The EU should not count legislative acts. It should count the barriers that are actually removed. An EU-level corporate form can help in some areas (e.g. low-cost formation, fundraising, talent access). It cannot, by itself, solve tax complexity, insolvency differences, labour law questions, weak enforcement or shallow capital markets.<\/p> <p>In a global economy more visibly shaped by geopolitics and continental-scale competition, European firms have stronger reasons to treat the Single Market as their first scale market. For this to happen, transparency and pace matter. Monitoring delivery can increase accountability. Faster implementation can make reform visible to firms.<\/p> <p>The strategic test ahead of 2027 is delivery, visible delivery. Can the EU transform the Single Market into a working environment in which companies can establish, finance themselves and grow on a European scale?<\/p> <hr \/> <p><em>Dr. Apostolos Samaras holds a Ph.D. in European Law from the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is a Research Fellow at the European Program ‘Ariane Condellis’ of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). <\/em><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Market access exists in EU law. Can European firms use that access in practice, with enough speed and predictability to grow across the Union?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":524905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1644,29715,206],"nea_authors":[95794],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"Dr Apostolos Samaras","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The European Union (EU) has spent decades establishing a legal order for market integration. The economic freedoms enshrined in the Treaties, harmonisation through secondary legislation, mutual recognition and enforcement mechanisms have transformed the economic map of Europe. Yet the current competitiveness debate points to a more precise question. Market access exists in EU law. Can European firms use that access in practice, with enough speed and predictability to grow across the Union?<\/p> <p>This is the difference between formal access and operational scale. It matters because Single Market fragmentation has multiple sources. It comes mainly from incomplete regulatory convergence and uneven implementation. In areas such as company law, insolvency, tax procedures, capital markets and supervision, national differences still raise costs for cross-border activity. Even when EU rules are in place, businesses encounter different administrations, registration procedures, compliance expectations, regulators and courts.<\/p> <p>The services sector shows the persistence of this problem. EU action to remove barriers to cross-border services is still insufficient. The European Court of Auditors has noted that approximately 60% of barriers to the Single Market for services identified more than two decades ago remain in place. This is a useful reminder that legal integration can coexist with practical fragmentation.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>There is now a narrow window for further Single Market integration. The “One Europe, One Market” roadmap gives the EU a political timetable through the end of 2027. This window may be smaller than it appears. Political will exists at the level of broad objectives. It becomes harder to sustain when reform reaches national legal systems, tax procedures, supervisory powers, insolvency rules or administrative practice. As several Member States enter electoral cycles in 2027, maintaining momentum around Single Market reform requires visible progress.<\/p> <p>The proposed ‘EU Inc.’ corporate legal framework, part of the broader debate on a ‘28th regime’, should be read in this context. It seeks to reduce fragmentation without full harmonisation, by offering an optional EU-level corporate framework alongside national systems. Its significance lies in the attempt to design a company form for firms expected to grow across borders from the start. Digital formation, a central EU interface, flexible share structures and employee stock options reflect the practical needs of start-ups and scale-ups. In that sense, EU Inc. is more about the conditions for European growth, bringing venture-capital logic into company law.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>The European Commission’s proposal for a regulation also reveals the limits of the current method of integration. The Commission opted for Article 114 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), i.e. the general internal market legal basis, since it allows adoption through qualified majority voting and makes the proposal politically feasible. Yet, Article 352 TFEU, commonly known as the ‘flexibility clause’, could arguably support a more autonomous and fully-fledged EU-level corporate regime, but would require unanimity among Member States and would make the legislative process more vulnerable to political deadlocks and delays.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p><strong>EU Inc. should be judged by whether founders, investors and employees perceive it as more predictable, more financeable and more credible than the existing complexity of navigating 27 national legal orders and over 60 different national company forms.<\/strong><\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>The wider lesson is simple. The EU should not count legislative acts. It should count the barriers that are actually removed. An EU-level corporate form can help in some areas (e.g. low-cost formation, fundraising, talent access). It cannot, by itself, solve tax complexity, insolvency differences, labour law questions, weak enforcement or shallow capital markets.<\/p> <p>In a global economy more visibly shaped by geopolitics and continental-scale competition, European firms have stronger reasons to treat the Single Market as their first scale market. For this to happen, transparency and pace matter. Monitoring delivery can increase accountability. Faster implementation can make reform visible to firms.<\/p> <p>The strategic test ahead of 2027 is delivery, visible delivery. Can the EU transform the Single Market into a working environment in which companies can establish, finance themselves and grow on a European scale?<\/p> <hr \/> <p><em>Dr. Apostolos Samaras holds a Ph.D. in European Law from the Law School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He is a Research Fellow at the European Program ‘Ariane Condellis’ of the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP). <\/em><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":8,"name":"Opinions","slug":"opinions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8,"taxonomy":"category","description":"To Vima and Wall Street Journal Opinion columnists, editorials and guest essays.","parent":0,"count":618,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":1644,"name":"economic growth","slug":"economic-growth","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1644,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":29715,"name":"EU economy","slug":"eu-economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":29715,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":20,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":206,"name":"European Union","slug":"european-union","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":206,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":120,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-09T125153Z_135642660_RC2JTJAB9UOR_RTRMADP_5_EU-INDUSTRY-PUBLICPROCUREMENT-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-09T125153Z_135642660_RC2JTJAB9UOR_RTRMADP_5_EU-INDUSTRY-PUBLICPROCUREMENT-e1783946404295.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-09T125153Z_135642660_RC2JTJAB9UOR_RTRMADP_5_EU-INDUSTRY-PUBLICPROCUREMENT-300x203.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-09T125153Z_135642660_RC2JTJAB9UOR_RTRMADP_5_EU-INDUSTRY-PUBLICPROCUREMENT-768x521.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":524749,"date":"2026-07-13T14:35:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=524749"},"modified":"2026-07-13T14:42:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:42:25","slug":"goodbye-nato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/goodbye-nato\/","title":{"rendered":"Goodbye, NATO!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone who remembers the NATO we once knew had best forget it. Brought into being in the post-war period by the Cold War, the North Atlantic alliance was a model of moderation, cohesion and effectiveness in its confrontation with the Soviet bloc.<\/p> <p>It won. Victory was followed by its transformation into a peaceable organization which, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, expanded into Eastern Europe. It was now more of a bureaucratic regional structure than a war machine.<\/p> <p>The primary pillar of the NATO to which we bid farewell was the US and its military capabilities. Tagging along, the European member countries got away with contributing as little as they could when it came to defense spending.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Of course, the free ride had to come to an end some time. Which isn’t a bad thing; quite the opposite, in fact. It is only logical that Europe should safeguard its own defense, rather than relying on third parties.<\/p> <p>Except that this isn’t what the Trump administration is demanding. Washington is attempting to reduce its allies from sovereign entities into vassals and mercenaries. Which is exactly how it treats them in its dealings with Russia, its demands regarding Greenland, or a potential conflict with Iran.<\/p> <p>I can’t imagine this came as a surprise to anyone. What kind of alliance could possibly accommodate a President who lacks any concept of alliances, or an internal compass of values or rules?<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>His personal universe distinguishes between &#8220;good people&#8221;—the &#8220;friends&#8221; who &#8220;support&#8221; whatever erratic whim pops into his head. Even if those friends happen to be Erdogan or Putin.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>And the &#8220;others,&#8221; who do not support him or fail to flatter his ego enough to earn his approval. Even if they comprise the majority of Europe’s democracies, or Canada.<\/p> <p>What sort of alliance could survive in such a universe?  None.<\/p> <p>And it will not survive, regardless of how many humiliating genuflections the NATO Secretary General performs for Trump.<\/p> <p>But what can you expect from a Secretary General who claims he is &#8216;not a commentator&#8217; when asked to weigh in on one member state (Turkey) threatening another (Greece) with war?<\/p> <p>Who simply asks us to keep our voices down, in case anyone hears?<\/p> <p>There is no doubt that Euro-Atlantic ties are robust and have weathered many a storm down the decades. Nor can there be any doubt that the &#8220;Trump era&#8221; won’t last forever.<\/p> <p>But no one can predict the scars it will leave behind. Nor what kind of normalcy we’ll have when it’s finally restored.<\/p> <p>In any case, the NATO we once knew is finished.<\/p> <p>It remains to be seen what sort of alliance system will succeed it.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What sort of alliance could survive in such a universe?  None<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":524767,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[276,1275],"nea_authors":[591],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"Yannis Pretenteris","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Anyone who remembers the NATO we once knew had best forget it. Brought into being in the post-war period by the Cold War, the North Atlantic alliance was a model of moderation, cohesion and effectiveness in its confrontation with the Soviet bloc.<\/p> <p>It won. Victory was followed by its transformation into a peaceable organization which, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, expanded into Eastern Europe. It was now more of a bureaucratic regional structure than a war machine.<\/p> <p>The primary pillar of the NATO to which we bid farewell was the US and its military capabilities. Tagging along, the European member countries got away with contributing as little as they could when it came to defense spending.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Of course, the free ride had to come to an end some time. Which isn’t a bad thing; quite the opposite, in fact. It is only logical that Europe should safeguard its own defense, rather than relying on third parties.<\/p> <p>Except that this isn’t what the Trump administration is demanding. Washington is attempting to reduce its allies from sovereign entities into vassals and mercenaries. Which is exactly how it treats them in its dealings with Russia, its demands regarding Greenland, or a potential conflict with Iran.<\/p> <p>I can’t imagine this came as a surprise to anyone. What kind of alliance could possibly accommodate a President who lacks any concept of alliances, or an internal compass of values or rules?<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>His personal universe distinguishes between &#8220;good people&#8221;—the &#8220;friends&#8221; who &#8220;support&#8221; whatever erratic whim pops into his head. Even if those friends happen to be Erdogan or Putin.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>And the &#8220;others,&#8221; who do not support him or fail to flatter his ego enough to earn his approval. Even if they comprise the majority of Europe’s democracies, or Canada.<\/p> <p>What sort of alliance could survive in such a universe?  None.<\/p> <p>And it will not survive, regardless of how many humiliating genuflections the NATO Secretary General performs for Trump.<\/p> <p>But what can you expect from a Secretary General who claims he is &#8216;not a commentator&#8217; when asked to weigh in on one member state (Turkey) threatening another (Greece) with war?<\/p> <p>Who simply asks us to keep our voices down, in case anyone hears?<\/p> <p>There is no doubt that Euro-Atlantic ties are robust and have weathered many a storm down the decades. Nor can there be any doubt that the &#8220;Trump era&#8221; won’t last forever.<\/p> <p>But no one can predict the scars it will leave behind. Nor what kind of normalcy we’ll have when it’s finally restored.<\/p> <p>In any case, the NATO we once knew is finished.<\/p> <p>It remains to be seen what sort of alliance system will succeed it.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":8,"name":"Opinions","slug":"opinions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8,"taxonomy":"category","description":"To Vima and Wall Street Journal Opinion columnists, editorials and guest essays.","parent":0,"count":618,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":276,"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":276,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":821,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1275,"name":"NATO","slug":"nato","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1275,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":170,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-08T170815Z_1645123323_RC2T9MAN402V_RTRMADP_5_NATO-SUMMIT-TRUMP-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-08T170815Z_1645123323_RC2T9MAN402V_RTRMADP_5_NATO-SUMMIT-TRUMP-e1783942424728.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-08T170815Z_1645123323_RC2T9MAN402V_RTRMADP_5_NATO-SUMMIT-TRUMP-300x209.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/2026-07-08T170815Z_1645123323_RC2T9MAN402V_RTRMADP_5_NATO-SUMMIT-TRUMP-768x535.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":524173,"date":"2026-07-13T07:45:38","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T04:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=524173"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:31:24","slug":"a-eulogy-for-paola","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/a-eulogy-for-paola\/","title":{"rendered":"A Eulogy for Paola"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It is the 1970s. Suddenly, everyone is chasing you. You are expelled from the Greek Navy after being caught having sex with another boy. At just sixteen, you find yourself living alone in Omonia, in downtown Athens. You begin navigating the city&#8217;s nightlife, from Exarchia and Plaka to Siggrou Avenue. You learn what it means to live on society&#8217;s margins—and that the margins are your only refuge. Everyone has a name for you, a way to pity you, a way to exclude you: <em>faggot<\/em>, <em>travestí<\/em>, <em>cross-dresser<\/em>. Society has already written a fantasy about you and people like you, one in which you are beaten, humiliated, raped, or dead.<\/p> <p>And then, faced with this tidal wave of hatred, you do something extraordinary. You look back. You begin speaking a language you were never allowed to speak. You begin answering back. At the precise moment when everything around you insists that you will never be allowed to tell your own story—that you will never become the narrator of your own life, you decide to speak, and never stop. You are powerless, marginalized, pushed outside society, yet you rise and declare, &#8220;But I&#8230;&#8221;<\/p> <p>That is the moment when you refuse, as the saying goes, to accept defeat. And Paola, you became the ultimate embodiment of those words. Someone else may have written the phrase, but you rewrote its meaning. Not simply, &#8220;I did not accept defeat.&#8221; You overturned it.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>There are two ways to speak about Paola Revenioti, one of the most significant figures of modern Greece, who passed away last week at the age of 68.<\/p> <p>The first is to focus on the past—to revisit the defining moments of this charismatic transgender activist, sex worker, and artist whose interventions have illuminated the past five decades. There was “Paola the travestí-for-sale” as she described herself, appropriating the term used in Greece in the 1970s for trans women sex workers. This is how she signed her own zine, <em>Kraximo<\/em> (“Bashing”), in 1981, which she subtitled a “newspaper-magazine of self-expression and social criticism.”<\/p> <p>Rather than offering the confessional narrative many expected from someone in her position, she transformed her life into a fearless exercise in speaking truth without restraint. Paola became the symbol of an entire counterculture—a role beautifully captured in portraits taken of her by artist Dimitris Papaioannou. As she once wrote, &#8220;A travestí—especially a politically conscious one—is a bomb that demolishes and ridicules the role of the male chauvinist on which patriarchal, oppressive society is built.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>In 1990, Paola ran for Parliament with the Ecologist Alternatives party, becoming the first transgender parliamentary candidate in Greek history. Had Greece&#8217;s electoral system distributed one seat differently, she would have been elected. More than three decades later, in 2019 and in 2023, she again ran for office, this time on the national party list of MeRA25.<\/p> <p>She was also among the founders of Greece&#8217;s ACT UP movement in the 1990s and organized Athens&#8217; first improvised Pride event in 1992. During the 1990s she became a recognizable television figure, including through what has since become a landmark interview with journalist Malvina Karali.<\/p> <p>A photographer, self-taught documentary filmmaker, poet, and singular chronicler of urban life, Paola found a new audience in the 21st century, largely through social media. When she eventually launched her own podcast, she proved herself capable of conducting refreshingly uninhibited and deeply engaging interviews.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Throughout all of this, her compass remained the same: an honest willingness to admit what she did not know, a determination to understand the political stakes of every moment—even if she was not always right—confidence in her own voice, a clear class consciousness, unwavering support for minorities and migrants, and a fierce anti-fascism.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Politics is the way you choose to live,&#8221; she repeatedly wrote in <em>Kraximo<\/em>. For nearly half a century, that is precisely what she tried to show us.<\/p> <p>The second way to speak about Paola is to look at the passion and respect with which a younger generation embraced her over recent decades, engaging her as an equal in a fruitful dialogue.<\/p> <p>To them, Paola was a <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">trans<\/span> woman who, as Panos Michail aptly wrote, &#8220;turned her body into an archive.&#8221; They saw an activist who had carved out public space by speaking openly about rights, desire, and pleasure all at once. New generations drew inspiration from her example for their own social movements—a development that occasionally left her somewhat uneasy.<\/p> <p>Yet through that dialogue, she also came to understand how her presence and oral testimony had become catalysts for new narratives and for the collective preservation of memory. Outstanding examples of this work are the videos she created and shared online alongside a dynamic group of younger collaborators through the Paola Project.<\/p> <p>Together with her feature-length documentaries <em>Kaliarda<\/em> (2015)—named after the secret slang once used by Greece&#8217;s LGBTQ+ community—and <em>Oleanders<\/em> (<em>Pikrodafnes<\/em>, 2021), she became, fortunately, an internationally recognized figure in queer history. Galleries, festivals, and museums dedicated exhibitions to her. Universities and activist spaces around the world hosted discussions about her work. It was recognition she genuinely enjoyed, even if it still made her a little uncomfortable.<\/p> <p>There is, however, a tragic irony here. As much as Paola came to symbolize Greece&#8217;s recent effort to recover and preserve minority history, she also represented an era in which queer and minority archives were destined to be lost, fragmented, or erased. Until the end of her life, it was clear that although she had transformed her entire existence into a living archive of memory and emotion, she never had the privilege of building a complete, organized archive documenting her own journey.<\/p> <p>I wanted to conclude this piece by repeating how profoundly Paola&#8217;s example shaped my own life—as a model of resistance, perseverance, queer survival, and remarkable civic courage.<\/p> <p>Yet I would also like to end with a reflection made from the slightly different perspective of a much younger colleague, political scientist Ervin Kondakciu.<\/p> <p>Ervin writes:<\/p> <blockquote><p>&#8220;The first time I saw and heard Paola Revenioti, I was seven or eight years old. [&#8230;] I remember feeling an unusual sense of familiarity toward her. [&#8230;] Looking back on that memory today, I think I understand a little better why. Perhaps because Paola defended otherness in a completely uncompromising way. She stood up for people pushed to the margins, for society&#8217;s outcasts. And she did so without the slightest trace of apology. Her solidarity seemed to be a way of existing. [&#8230;] We all owe her a great deal for the way she lived in this world. Farewell, Paola.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote> <p><em>Dimitris Papanikolaou is Professor of Modern Greek and Cultural Studies at the University of Oxford.<\/em><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The death of pioneering Greek transgender activist Paola Revenioti marks the end of an extraordinary life of resistance, political struggle, and unapologetic self-expression that helped reshape Greece&#8217;s LGBTQ+ movement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":524176,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[28887,50459],"nea_authors":[91702],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"Dimitris Papanikolaou","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>It is the 1970s. Suddenly, everyone is chasing you. You are expelled from the Greek Navy after being caught having sex with another boy. At just sixteen, you find yourself living alone in Omonia, in downtown Athens. You begin navigating the city&#8217;s nightlife, from Exarchia and Plaka to Siggrou Avenue. You learn what it means to live on society&#8217;s margins—and that the margins are your only refuge. Everyone has a name for you, a way to pity you, a way to exclude you: <em>faggot<\/em>, <em>travestí<\/em>, <em>cross-dresser<\/em>. Society has already written a fantasy about you and people like you, one in which you are beaten, humiliated, raped, or dead.<\/p> <p>And then, faced with this tidal wave of hatred, you do something extraordinary. You look back. You begin speaking a language you were never allowed to speak. You begin answering back. At the precise moment when everything around you insists that you will never be allowed to tell your own story—that you will never become the narrator of your own life, you decide to speak, and never stop. You are powerless, marginalized, pushed outside society, yet you rise and declare, &#8220;But I&#8230;&#8221;<\/p> <p>That is the moment when you refuse, as the saying goes, to accept defeat. And Paola, you became the ultimate embodiment of those words. Someone else may have written the phrase, but you rewrote its meaning. Not simply, &#8220;I did not accept defeat.&#8221; You overturned it.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>There are two ways to speak about Paola Revenioti, one of the most significant figures of modern Greece, who passed away last week at the age of 68.<\/p> <p>The first is to focus on the past—to revisit the defining moments of this charismatic transgender activist, sex worker, and artist whose interventions have illuminated the past five decades. There was “Paola the travestí-for-sale” as she described herself, appropriating the term used in Greece in the 1970s for trans women sex workers. This is how she signed her own zine, <em>Kraximo<\/em> (“Bashing”), in 1981, which she subtitled a “newspaper-magazine of self-expression and social criticism.”<\/p> <p>Rather than offering the confessional narrative many expected from someone in her position, she transformed her life into a fearless exercise in speaking truth without restraint. Paola became the symbol of an entire counterculture—a role beautifully captured in portraits taken of her by artist Dimitris Papaioannou. As she once wrote, &#8220;A travestí—especially a politically conscious one—is a bomb that demolishes and ridicules the role of the male chauvinist on which patriarchal, oppressive society is built.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>In 1990, Paola ran for Parliament with the Ecologist Alternatives party, becoming the first transgender parliamentary candidate in Greek history. Had Greece&#8217;s electoral system distributed one seat differently, she would have been elected. More than three decades later, in 2019 and in 2023, she again ran for office, this time on the national party list of MeRA25.<\/p> <p>She was also among the founders of Greece&#8217;s ACT UP movement in the 1990s and organized Athens&#8217; first improvised Pride event in 1992. During the 1990s she became a recognizable television figure, including through what has since become a landmark interview with journalist Malvina Karali.<\/p> <p>A photographer, self-taught documentary filmmaker, poet, and singular chronicler of urban life, Paola found a new audience in the 21st century, largely through social media. When she eventually launched her own podcast, she proved herself capable of conducting refreshingly uninhibited and deeply engaging interviews.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Throughout all of this, her compass remained the same: an honest willingness to admit what she did not know, a determination to understand the political stakes of every moment—even if she was not always right—confidence in her own voice, a clear class consciousness, unwavering support for minorities and migrants, and a fierce anti-fascism.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Politics is the way you choose to live,&#8221; she repeatedly wrote in <em>Kraximo<\/em>. For nearly half a century, that is precisely what she tried to show us.<\/p> <p>The second way to speak about Paola is to look at the passion and respect with which a younger generation embraced her over recent decades, engaging her as an equal in a fruitful dialogue.<\/p> <p>To them, Paola was a <span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">trans<\/span> woman who, as Panos Michail aptly wrote, &#8220;turned her body into an archive.&#8221; They saw an activist who had carved out public space by speaking openly about rights, desire, and pleasure all at once. New generations drew inspiration from her example for their own social movements—a development that occasionally left her somewhat uneasy.<\/p> <p>Yet through that dialogue, she also came to understand how her presence and oral testimony had become catalysts for new narratives and for the collective preservation of memory. Outstanding examples of this work are the videos she created and shared online alongside a dynamic group of younger collaborators through the Paola Project.<\/p> <p>Together with her feature-length documentaries <em>Kaliarda<\/em> (2015)—named after the secret slang once used by Greece&#8217;s LGBTQ+ community—and <em>Oleanders<\/em> (<em>Pikrodafnes<\/em>, 2021), she became, fortunately, an internationally recognized figure in queer history. Galleries, festivals, and museums dedicated exhibitions to her. Universities and activist spaces around the world hosted discussions about her work. It was recognition she genuinely enjoyed, even if it still made her a little uncomfortable.<\/p> <p>There is, however, a tragic irony here. As much as Paola came to symbolize Greece&#8217;s recent effort to recover and preserve minority history, she also represented an era in which queer and minority archives were destined to be lost, fragmented, or erased. Until the end of her life, it was clear that although she had transformed her entire existence into a living archive of memory and emotion, she never had the privilege of building a complete, organized archive documenting her own journey.<\/p> <p>I wanted to conclude this piece by repeating how profoundly Paola&#8217;s example shaped my own life—as a model of resistance, perseverance, queer survival, and remarkable civic courage.<\/p> <p>Yet I would also like to end with a reflection made from the slightly different perspective of a much younger colleague, political scientist Ervin Kondakciu.<\/p> <p>Ervin writes:<\/p> <blockquote><p>&#8220;The first time I saw and heard Paola Revenioti, I was seven or eight years old. [&#8230;] I remember feeling an unusual sense of familiarity toward her. [&#8230;] Looking back on that memory today, I think I understand a little better why. Perhaps because Paola defended otherness in a completely uncompromising way. She stood up for people pushed to the margins, for society&#8217;s outcasts. And she did so without the slightest trace of apology. Her solidarity seemed to be a way of existing. [&#8230;] We all owe her a great deal for the way she lived in this world. Farewell, Paola.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote> <p><em>Dimitris Papanikolaou is Professor of Modern Greek and Cultural Studies at the University of Oxford.<\/em><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":8,"name":"Opinions","slug":"opinions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8,"taxonomy":"category","description":"To Vima and Wall Street Journal Opinion columnists, editorials and guest essays.","parent":0,"count":618,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":28887,"name":"LGBTQ Greece","slug":"lgbtq-greece-2","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":28887,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":50459,"name":"transgender","slug":"transgender","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":50459,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":4,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/KAPA11342-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/KAPA11342.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/KAPA11342-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/KAPA11342-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":523405,"date":"2026-07-12T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T12:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=523405"},"modified":"2026-07-12T15:37:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T12:37:03","slug":"european-corporate-worlds-med-blind-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/european-corporate-worlds-med-blind-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"European Corporate World’s ‘Med Blind Spot’"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Ask any board director to locate the Mediterranean on their strategic map and you will find it stranded between categories—too Southern for Europe, too Northern for Africa, too Western for the Gulf. This categorical failure is costing companies real money and compounding geopolitical risk in ways boards are not yet registering.<\/p> <p>The Mediterranean basin is home to half a billion people, a market the size of the EU&#8217;s internal market, producing roughly 10% of global GDP. Yet intra-regional trade accounts for barely a quarter of that economic weight—making it one of the least economically integrated regions on the planet. That gap between potential and connectivity is not to be ignored. It is a strategic opportunity and, for those who continue to ignore it, a vulnerability.<\/p> <p>China has not ignored it. Through port concessions, fiber-optic cables, energy agreements, and logistics corridors, Beijing has systematically positioned the Mediterranean as the pivot of its Africa and Europe play. In Algeria alone, approximately 1,000 Chinese companies operate across construction, telecoms, energy, and infrastructure. In Morocco, $5.6 billion in Chinese-backed battery gigafactory investment in 2025 is positioning the country as a manufacturing bridge to European and US markets. The Med is not China&#8217;s frontier. It is China&#8217;s gateway.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Gulf sovereign wealth funds are the other actor boards cannot afford to miss. From Libya to Israel, from Egypt to Cyprus, Gulf capital is the most active investment force across the Mediterranean—frequently the access mechanism that unlocks upstream positions, the co-investor that provides political legitimacy, and the financial partner that bridges the gap between what European institutional finance will fund and what projects actually require. Understanding where Gulf capital is flowing, and on what terms, is not a secondary consideration—it is a prerequisite for any credible EMEA growth strategy.<\/p> <p>Europe, by contrast, still treats the Mediterranean through a post-colonial lens—a neighborhood to be managed rather than a market to be integrated. The EU has built investment frameworks focused on energy security, but without connecting energy to trade, digital infrastructure, financial inclusion, or supply chain resilience. When the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 took one-quarter of global LNG export capacity offline, the result was a bilateral scramble—Spain&#8217;s Foreign Minister to Algiers, Italy accelerating its Eni-Libya partnerships—rather than the activation of a coherent framework. Meanwhile a UN-led Cyprus reunification process is moving toward a conference this summer that could unlock EEZ demarcation across the Eastern Mediterranean and reshape offshore energy licensing for a generation. Greece illustrates what serious Mediterranean positioning looks like: its €30 billion energy investment program, with PPC and IPTO completing combined capital raises of approximately €5 billion in 2026 alone, is transforming the country into the primary hub for Southeast European power and gas supply—connecting Eastern Mediterranean energy flows to broader European networks and positioning Greek infrastructure as the natural landing point for offshore gas pipelines and sub-Mediterranean power cable interconnectors. It is precisely the kind of anchor role that a coherent EU Mediterranean strategy would formalise, rather than leave to bilateral improvisation. The architecture of the Mediterranean is being decided, on both its western and eastern flanks, largely without boards in the room.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>This is where boards have a role that goes beyond governance of their own exposure. The tools that would make the Mediterranean commercially viable at scale— political risk hedging mechanisms, capital co-investment frameworks, governance and transparency standards for producing and interconnector states—do not yet exist in the form the region requires. European and US private sectors, acting through their boards, are among the few constituencies with both the commercial credibility and the strategic interest to urge governments to build them. European boards should be asking why EU investment frameworks are not connecting energy security to the broader geoeconomic picture, and what their companies&#8217; position is on that gap. US boards should be asking whether their Middle East and Africa strategies account for the Mediterranean as the connective geography between them—because their competitors, state-backed and otherwise, already have an answer.<\/p> <p>The architecture of the Mediterranean is still open. That is not a risk to be noted and filed. It is an invitation—to the boards willing to ask the questions others have not yet thought to raise.<\/p> <hr \/> <p><em>Cleopatra Kitti is an INSEAD-certified independent director specializing in geoeconomics, corporate governance, and sustainable finance and a Senior Policy Advisor, ELIAMEP.<\/em><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Europe still treats the Mediterranean through a post-colonial lens—a neighborhood to be managed rather than a market to be integrated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":523414,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[174,154,81,95260,27249],"nea_authors":[94630],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"Cleopatra Kitti","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Ask any board director to locate the Mediterranean on their strategic map and you will find it stranded between categories—too Southern for Europe, too Northern for Africa, too Western for the Gulf. This categorical failure is costing companies real money and compounding geopolitical risk in ways boards are not yet registering.<\/p> <p>The Mediterranean basin is home to half a billion people, a market the size of the EU&#8217;s internal market, producing roughly 10% of global GDP. Yet intra-regional trade accounts for barely a quarter of that economic weight—making it one of the least economically integrated regions on the planet. That gap between potential and connectivity is not to be ignored. It is a strategic opportunity and, for those who continue to ignore it, a vulnerability.<\/p> <p>China has not ignored it. Through port concessions, fiber-optic cables, energy agreements, and logistics corridors, Beijing has systematically positioned the Mediterranean as the pivot of its Africa and Europe play. In Algeria alone, approximately 1,000 Chinese companies operate across construction, telecoms, energy, and infrastructure. In Morocco, $5.6 billion in Chinese-backed battery gigafactory investment in 2025 is positioning the country as a manufacturing bridge to European and US markets. The Med is not China&#8217;s frontier. It is China&#8217;s gateway.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Gulf sovereign wealth funds are the other actor boards cannot afford to miss. From Libya to Israel, from Egypt to Cyprus, Gulf capital is the most active investment force across the Mediterranean—frequently the access mechanism that unlocks upstream positions, the co-investor that provides political legitimacy, and the financial partner that bridges the gap between what European institutional finance will fund and what projects actually require. Understanding where Gulf capital is flowing, and on what terms, is not a secondary consideration—it is a prerequisite for any credible EMEA growth strategy.<\/p> <p>Europe, by contrast, still treats the Mediterranean through a post-colonial lens—a neighborhood to be managed rather than a market to be integrated. The EU has built investment frameworks focused on energy security, but without connecting energy to trade, digital infrastructure, financial inclusion, or supply chain resilience. When the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz in early 2026 took one-quarter of global LNG export capacity offline, the result was a bilateral scramble—Spain&#8217;s Foreign Minister to Algiers, Italy accelerating its Eni-Libya partnerships—rather than the activation of a coherent framework. Meanwhile a UN-led Cyprus reunification process is moving toward a conference this summer that could unlock EEZ demarcation across the Eastern Mediterranean and reshape offshore energy licensing for a generation. Greece illustrates what serious Mediterranean positioning looks like: its €30 billion energy investment program, with PPC and IPTO completing combined capital raises of approximately €5 billion in 2026 alone, is transforming the country into the primary hub for Southeast European power and gas supply—connecting Eastern Mediterranean energy flows to broader European networks and positioning Greek infrastructure as the natural landing point for offshore gas pipelines and sub-Mediterranean power cable interconnectors. It is precisely the kind of anchor role that a coherent EU Mediterranean strategy would formalise, rather than leave to bilateral improvisation. The architecture of the Mediterranean is being decided, on both its western and eastern flanks, largely without boards in the room.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>This is where boards have a role that goes beyond governance of their own exposure. The tools that would make the Mediterranean commercially viable at scale— political risk hedging mechanisms, capital co-investment frameworks, governance and transparency standards for producing and interconnector states—do not yet exist in the form the region requires. European and US private sectors, acting through their boards, are among the few constituencies with both the commercial credibility and the strategic interest to urge governments to build them. European boards should be asking why EU investment frameworks are not connecting energy security to the broader geoeconomic picture, and what their companies&#8217; position is on that gap. US boards should be asking whether their Middle East and Africa strategies account for the Mediterranean as the connective geography between them—because their competitors, state-backed and otherwise, already have an answer.<\/p> <p>The architecture of the Mediterranean is still open. That is not a risk to be noted and filed. It is an invitation—to the boards willing to ask the questions others have not yet thought to raise.<\/p> <hr \/> <p><em>Cleopatra Kitti is an INSEAD-certified independent director specializing in geoeconomics, corporate governance, and sustainable finance and a Senior Policy Advisor, ELIAMEP.<\/em><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":8,"name":"Opinions","slug":"opinions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8,"taxonomy":"category","description":"To Vima and Wall Street Journal Opinion columnists, editorials and guest essays.","parent":0,"count":618,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":174,"name":"Business","slug":"business","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":174,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":154,"name":"Economy","slug":"economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":154,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":72,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":81,"name":"Europe","slug":"europe","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":81,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":112,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":95260,"name":"geopolitics","slug":"geopolitics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":95260,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":27249,"name":"strategic agenda","slug":"strategic-agenda","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":27249,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10\/shutterstock_2557911783-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10\/shutterstock_2557911783-e1783677815168.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10\/shutterstock_2557911783-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/10\/shutterstock_2557911783-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"World","header":"Κόσμος","ID":"4","posts":[{"id":525451,"date":"2026-07-14T19:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525451"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:37:06","slug":"trump-administration-pushes-to-isolate-the-icc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/trump-administration-pushes-to-isolate-the-icc\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Administration Pushes to Isolate the ICC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Trump administration has launched a new campaign aimed at isolating the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the court as a threat to U.S. sovereignty and signaling that Washington is prepared to use diplomatic and economic measures against it.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In a video message released on Monday, Rubio said the ICC, originally created to prosecute the world&#8217;s gravest crimes, had evolved into &#8220;something far more radical and extreme.&#8221; He said the administration would not allow the court to threaten American military personnel or government officials.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;The Trump administration is launching an effort to dismantle what it calls the threat to U.S. sovereignty posed by the International Criminal Court,&#8221; Rubio said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>New sanctions under consideration<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to a U.S. State Department official, the administration is considering a broad range of actions against the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, expanded sanctions targeting the court and affiliated organizations, and a diplomatic campaign encouraging countries to withdraw from the institution.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans,&#8221; the State Department said in a statement.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ICC declined to comment on the developments.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>Pressure on U.S. allies<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The diplomatic effort also extends to U.S. allies and partner countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A State Department official said Rubio and other senior U.S. officials are urging governments to reject what Washington considers the ICC&#8217;s authority to prosecute American officials and service members.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to the official, countries that cooperate closely with U.S. law enforcement, host American military forces or rely on U.S. security assistance are being encouraged to oppose the court&#8217;s jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The official added that countries benefiting from U.S. assistance while refusing to reject the ICC&#8217;s authority could face increased scrutiny.<\/p> <h3>Long-standing opposition to the court<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The United States has never been a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although Washington is not a party to the court, the ICC maintains that it can prosecute nationals of non-member states if alleged crimes are committed on the territory of one of its member countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Opposition to the court has been a longstanding position for President Donald Trump. Reuters reported that the administration has supported sanctions against ICC officials in part to prevent any future attempts to hold Trump or members of his administration accountable for U.S. military actions overseas.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The administration&#8217;s stance intensified after the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-benjamin-netanyahu-and-yoav-gallant\/\"> ICC issued an arrest warran<\/a>t in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Last month, three ICC judges filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing that the measures were unlawful.<\/p> <h3>Rubio cites concerns over future prosecutions<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In an opinion article published in <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Rubio argued that activists had called for the ICC to investigate U.S. personnel over issues including the administration&#8217;s migrant deportation policies and military operations targeting vessels suspected of carrying narcotics.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets and missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law,&#8221; Rubio said, warning that Border Patrol agents, Marines and terrorism prosecutors could become targets of future prosecutions.<\/p> <p>Reuters noted that the ICC has taken no recent steps to investigate U.S. personnel. While prosecutors opened an investigation into possible crimes committed in Afghanistan in 2020, the court shifted its focus in 2021 toward alleged crimes by the Taliban and the former Afghan government, deprioritizing the role of U.S. forces.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington is weighing new sanctions and diplomatic measures against the International Criminal Court, while urging allies to reject its authority over U.S. personnel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525544,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39043],"tags":[22273,42463],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Trump administration has launched a new campaign aimed at isolating the International Criminal Court (ICC), with Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the court as a threat to U.S. sovereignty and signaling that Washington is prepared to use diplomatic and economic measures against it.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In a video message released on Monday, Rubio said the ICC, originally created to prosecute the world&#8217;s gravest crimes, had evolved into &#8220;something far more radical and extreme.&#8221; He said the administration would not allow the court to threaten American military personnel or government officials.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;The Trump administration is launching an effort to dismantle what it calls the threat to U.S. sovereignty posed by the International Criminal Court,&#8221; Rubio said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>New sanctions under consideration<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to a U.S. State Department official, the administration is considering a broad range of actions against the ICC, including travel bans, visa revocations, expanded sanctions targeting the court and affiliated organizations, and a diplomatic campaign encouraging countries to withdraw from the institution.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;No diplomatic option will be off-limits in the campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the ICC to Americans,&#8221; the State Department said in a statement.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The ICC declined to comment on the developments.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3>Pressure on U.S. allies<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The diplomatic effort also extends to U.S. allies and partner countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">A State Department official said Rubio and other senior U.S. officials are urging governments to reject what Washington considers the ICC&#8217;s authority to prosecute American officials and service members.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">According to the official, countries that cooperate closely with U.S. law enforcement, host American military forces or rely on U.S. security assistance are being encouraged to oppose the court&#8217;s jurisdiction over U.S. nationals.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The official added that countries benefiting from U.S. assistance while refusing to reject the ICC&#8217;s authority could face increased scrutiny.<\/p> <h3>Long-standing opposition to the court<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The United States has never been a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when national authorities are unwilling or unable to do so.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although Washington is not a party to the court, the ICC maintains that it can prosecute nationals of non-member states if alleged crimes are committed on the territory of one of its member countries.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Opposition to the court has been a longstanding position for President Donald Trump. Reuters reported that the administration has supported sanctions against ICC officials in part to prevent any future attempts to hold Trump or members of his administration accountable for U.S. military actions overseas.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The administration&#8217;s stance intensified after the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/icc-issues-arrest-warrants-for-benjamin-netanyahu-and-yoav-gallant\/\"> ICC issued an arrest warran<\/a>t in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close Trump ally.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Last month, three ICC judges filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over sanctions imposed on them last year, arguing that the measures were unlawful.<\/p> <h3>Rubio cites concerns over future prosecutions<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In an opinion article published in <em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em>, Rubio argued that activists had called for the ICC to investigate U.S. personnel over issues including the administration&#8217;s migrant deportation policies and military operations targeting vessels suspected of carrying narcotics.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">&#8220;As we speak, the ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets and missiles, but with statutes, compacts, and the force of so-called international law,&#8221; Rubio said, warning that Border Patrol agents, Marines and terrorism prosecutors could become targets of future prosecutions.<\/p> <p>Reuters noted that the ICC has taken no recent steps to investigate U.S. personnel. While prosecutors opened an investigation into possible crimes committed in Afghanistan in 2020, the court shifted its focus in 2021 toward alleged crimes by the Taliban and the former Afghan government, deprioritizing the role of U.S. forces.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":22273,"name":"International Criminal Court (ICC)","slug":"international-criminal-court-icc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22273,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":42463,"name":"Trump Administration","slug":"trump-administration","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":42463,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":46,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-e1784009779436.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/shutterstock_2464224497-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526120,"date":"2026-07-14T18:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526120"},"modified":"2026-07-14T17:48:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:48:23","slug":"the-battle-for-hormuz-trump-shifts-into-dangerous-new-phase-in-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/the-battle-for-hormuz-trump-shifts-into-dangerous-new-phase-in-iran-war\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle for Hormuz: Trump Shifts Into Dangerous New Phase in Iran War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/search\/Hormuz\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> by resuming strikes and <a>reimposing the blockade<\/a> is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war.<\/p> <p>Trump has tried air and missile attacks, a naval quarantine and now the calibrated use of firepower to try to coerce Tehran to agree to his terms, in addition to diplomatic inducements.<\/p> <p>But Iran has exploited its proximity to a major oil export route to defy Washington and joust for influence across the Middle East.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say, as each side is calculating that it can win the long game in a test of wills that may haunt the rest of Trump’s presidency, including through the midterm elections in November.<\/p> <p>“We are now locked in a coercive war of attrition. Both sides are trying to push the other past some unknowable pain threshold,” said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analyst. “Coercive wars can go on and on.”<\/p> <p>As the fighting continues, the course of the war will be shaped by Iran’s attempts to reconstitute its missile force and air defenses and by the U.S. ability to continue to strike targets, making the most of its declining weapons inventories.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The Trump administration wasn’t bargaining for an open-ended conflict when it rolled the dice in late February and joined Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Iran’s leadership and cripple its arsenal of ballistic missiles and launchers.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Trump acclaimed the prospects for a decisive victory on the opening night of the operation when he touted the might of the American military and called on the Iranian security forces to lay down their arms or face “certain death.”<\/p> <p>Trump said the brunt of the fighting could be over in four to six weeks as Iranian forces found themselves outclassed by the more technologically advanced American military that was able to penetrate the country’s airspace at will. For analysts, it was Trump’s version of “shock and awe.”<\/p> <p>Even so, there were limits on the scope of the Pentagon’s actions. The use of ground forces was never an appealing option for a president who had decried the forever wars in which the U.S. military has spent long years in Afghanistan and Iraq. If Iran was to be defeated or driven to the negotiating table, the battles would need to be won in the air and at sea, U.S. officials have said.<\/p> <p>Following five weeks of intensive airstrikes, the White House declared a ceasefire with Iran to begin talks between Vice President JD Vance and top Iranian officials in Islamabad in April. But after those talks failed, Trump shifted to an economic siege: a maritime blockade.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in social-media post that month.<\/p> <p>That step was intended to pressure Iran to abandon its own efforts to interfere with oil traffic in the Persian Gulf and meet the American demands that Tehran curtail its nuclear program.<\/p> <p>But the White House soon discovered that its blockade could be a double-edged sword. Twenty percent of the world’s oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz. With the waterway closed, oil stockpiles around the world were declining as countries dipped into their reserves.<\/p> <p>That raised the possibility of <a>a perfect political storm i<\/a> n which oil prices would increase as the midterm elections approached in the U.S. and opinion polls indicated many Americans were unhappy about the Iran war.<\/p> <p>The memorandum of understanding that the U.S. concluded with Iran in June to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the stage for nuclear talks appeared at first to avert those political risks. One of the Trump administration’s goals in forging that agreement, Vance said in a television appearance was to “refill some stocks” before considering further foreign policy steps.<\/p> <p>But within days of signing the interim peace agreement, the U.S. and Iran were clashing over how to <a>interpret the memorandum. <\/a>While Trump officials saw the deal as unlocking oil traffic through the strait, Iran insisted that it gave it control over the waterway. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps repeatedly fired at commercial ships transiting the strait, triggering U.S. strikes in retaliation.<\/p> <p>By Monday, Trump proclaimed yet another strategy shift: stepped-up airstrikes and the reimposition of a U.S. military blockade that would block ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports. He also declared that the U.S. would be a “guardian” of the strait, imposing an extraordinary 20% fee for cargo passing through the waterway.<\/p> <p>Trump orders for open-ended strikes went beyond the tit-for-tat blows Tehran and Washington have exchanged in recent weeks, hitting Iranian radars, antiship missiles and drones that Tehran has used to try to control the strait. Those U.S. attacks also include the first American use of unmanned surface vessels to attack the port at Bandar Abbar and a strike against a rail bridge in northern Iran that is used for trade with Russia and China.<\/p> <p>So far, those blows are less intense than the opening weeks of the U.S. military campaign, marking a more calibrated use of American military power as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Iran to abandon its goal of controlling the strait. A half a dozen B-52s that had been deployed in Britain for use against Iran have flown back to the U.S.<\/p> <p>While the prospects for a nuclear accord have faded, Trump administration officials are keeping open the option to strike against at the supplies of enriched uranium that American B-2s bombers and cruise missiles hit a year ago.<\/p> <p>Iran has continued to strike oil tankers and Gulf states in the region, killing and wounding some sailors. But it has refrained from fresh attacks on Israeli or Saudi targets, as Tehran seems to calibrate its policy in the region.<\/p> <p>With this new phase of the war, the prospects for a quick win or an enduring peace have faded.<\/p> <p>“Both sides are escalating in a dangerous way in order to increase leverage and weaken the other, and eventually return to the negotiating table preferably with a stronger hand,” said Sanam Vakil, a Middle East director at London think tank Chatham House. But the showdown could backfire and spark a bigger conflict if they don’t find an off ramp, she said.<\/p> <p>Former military officials say the U.S. can weaken the regime if it is persistent but warn there is a long road ahead.<\/p> <p>“The U.S. will need to identify and pursue a longer term strategy that addresses Iran’s focus on controlling the Strait of Hormuz, threatening its neighbors with missiles and drones and the nuclear weapons program,” said Joseph Votel, the retired Army general who led Central Command from 2016 to 2019. “This is going to be a long-term effort.”<\/p> <p>Write to Michael R. Gordon at <a>michael.gordon@wsj.com<\/a><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The U.S. and Iranian calibrated use of force carries a risk of escalation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":526129,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[261,39043],"tags":[94867,65995,47],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>President Trump’s new plan to wrest control of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/search\/Hormuz\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> by resuming strikes and <a>reimposing the blockade<\/a> is his third major shift in military strategy as he searches for a way to turn the tables on Iran in the nearly five-month-old war.<\/p> <p>Trump has tried air and missile attacks, a naval quarantine and now the calibrated use of firepower to try to coerce Tehran to agree to his terms, in addition to diplomatic inducements.<\/p> <p>But Iran has exploited its proximity to a major oil export route to defy Washington and joust for influence across the Middle East.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>A stable peace appears elusive, some former officials say, as each side is calculating that it can win the long game in a test of wills that may haunt the rest of Trump’s presidency, including through the midterm elections in November.<\/p> <p>“We are now locked in a coercive war of attrition. Both sides are trying to push the other past some unknowable pain threshold,” said Kenneth Pollack, the vice president of the Middle East Institute and a former CIA analyst. “Coercive wars can go on and on.”<\/p> <p>As the fighting continues, the course of the war will be shaped by Iran’s attempts to reconstitute its missile force and air defenses and by the U.S. ability to continue to strike targets, making the most of its declining weapons inventories.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The Trump administration wasn’t bargaining for an open-ended conflict when it rolled the dice in late February and joined Israel’s military campaign to eliminate Iran’s leadership and cripple its arsenal of ballistic missiles and launchers.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Trump acclaimed the prospects for a decisive victory on the opening night of the operation when he touted the might of the American military and called on the Iranian security forces to lay down their arms or face “certain death.”<\/p> <p>Trump said the brunt of the fighting could be over in four to six weeks as Iranian forces found themselves outclassed by the more technologically advanced American military that was able to penetrate the country’s airspace at will. For analysts, it was Trump’s version of “shock and awe.”<\/p> <p>Even so, there were limits on the scope of the Pentagon’s actions. The use of ground forces was never an appealing option for a president who had decried the forever wars in which the U.S. military has spent long years in Afghanistan and Iraq. If Iran was to be defeated or driven to the negotiating table, the battles would need to be won in the air and at sea, U.S. officials have said.<\/p> <p>Following five weeks of intensive airstrikes, the White House declared a ceasefire with Iran to begin talks between Vice President JD Vance and top Iranian officials in Islamabad in April. But after those talks failed, Trump shifted to an economic siege: a maritime blockade.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>“Effective immediately, the United States Navy, the Finest in the World, will begin the process of BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in social-media post that month.<\/p> <p>That step was intended to pressure Iran to abandon its own efforts to interfere with oil traffic in the Persian Gulf and meet the American demands that Tehran curtail its nuclear program.<\/p> <p>But the White House soon discovered that its blockade could be a double-edged sword. Twenty percent of the world’s oil had passed through the Strait of Hormuz. With the waterway closed, oil stockpiles around the world were declining as countries dipped into their reserves.<\/p> <p>That raised the possibility of <a>a perfect political storm i<\/a> n which oil prices would increase as the midterm elections approached in the U.S. and opinion polls indicated many Americans were unhappy about the Iran war.<\/p> <p>The memorandum of understanding that the U.S. concluded with Iran in June to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and set the stage for nuclear talks appeared at first to avert those political risks. One of the Trump administration’s goals in forging that agreement, Vance said in a television appearance was to “refill some stocks” before considering further foreign policy steps.<\/p> <p>But within days of signing the interim peace agreement, the U.S. and Iran were clashing over how to <a>interpret the memorandum. <\/a>While Trump officials saw the deal as unlocking oil traffic through the strait, Iran insisted that it gave it control over the waterway. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps repeatedly fired at commercial ships transiting the strait, triggering U.S. strikes in retaliation.<\/p> <p>By Monday, Trump proclaimed yet another strategy shift: stepped-up airstrikes and the reimposition of a U.S. military blockade that would block ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports. He also declared that the U.S. would be a “guardian” of the strait, imposing an extraordinary 20% fee for cargo passing through the waterway.<\/p> <p>Trump orders for open-ended strikes went beyond the tit-for-tat blows Tehran and Washington have exchanged in recent weeks, hitting Iranian radars, antiship missiles and drones that Tehran has used to try to control the strait. Those U.S. attacks also include the first American use of unmanned surface vessels to attack the port at Bandar Abbar and a strike against a rail bridge in northern Iran that is used for trade with Russia and China.<\/p> <p>So far, those blows are less intense than the opening weeks of the U.S. military campaign, marking a more calibrated use of American military power as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Iran to abandon its goal of controlling the strait. A half a dozen B-52s that had been deployed in Britain for use against Iran have flown back to the U.S.<\/p> <p>While the prospects for a nuclear accord have faded, Trump administration officials are keeping open the option to strike against at the supplies of enriched uranium that American B-2s bombers and cruise missiles hit a year ago.<\/p> <p>Iran has continued to strike oil tankers and Gulf states in the region, killing and wounding some sailors. But it has refrained from fresh attacks on Israeli or Saudi targets, as Tehran seems to calibrate its policy in the region.<\/p> <p>With this new phase of the war, the prospects for a quick win or an enduring peace have faded.<\/p> <p>“Both sides are escalating in a dangerous way in order to increase leverage and weaken the other, and eventually return to the negotiating table preferably with a stronger hand,” said Sanam Vakil, a Middle East director at London think tank Chatham House. But the showdown could backfire and spark a bigger conflict if they don’t find an off ramp, she said.<\/p> <p>Former military officials say the U.S. can weaken the regime if it is persistent but warn there is a long road ahead.<\/p> <p>“The U.S. will need to identify and pursue a longer term strategy that addresses Iran’s focus on controlling the Strait of Hormuz, threatening its neighbors with missiles and drones and the nuclear weapons program,” said Joseph Votel, the retired Army general who led Central Command from 2016 to 2019. “This is going to be a long-term effort.”<\/p> <p>Write to Michael R. Gordon at <a>michael.gordon@wsj.com<\/a><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":261,"name":"The Wall Street Journal","slug":"wsj","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":261,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":2502,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":94867,"name":"Iran US","slug":"iran-us","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":94867,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":44,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65995,"name":"Strait of Hormuz","slug":"strait-of-hormuz","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65995,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":161,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":47,"name":"War","slug":"war","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":47,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":22,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz-300x170.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Hormuz-768x436.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525415,"date":"2026-07-14T07:45:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525415"},"modified":"2026-07-14T07:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:14:37","slug":"us-completes-new-iran-strikes-as-houthi-attacks-hit-saudi-arabia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/us-completes-new-iran-strikes-as-houthi-attacks-hit-saudi-arabia\/","title":{"rendered":"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The United States has completed its latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/us-launches-fresh-strikes-on-iran-after-tanker-attacks-trump-declares-truce-over\/\">wave of military strikes<\/a> against Iran, marking a third consecutive night of attacks as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/iran-targets-us-gulf-bases-as-hormuz-tensions-lift-oil-prices\/\">tensions across the Middle East<\/a> continue to escalate and the conflict expands beyond Iran&#8217;s borders.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces carried out a five-hour operation targeting military sites across Iran, including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas. The strikes were launched at the direction of President Donald Trump.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The latest operation comes as Washington intensifies pressure on Tehran following Iran&#8217;s announcement over the weekend that it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/525253\/\">closing the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a critical global shipping route. Trump has also said the United States is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/us-to-reinstate-iran-naval-blockade-trump-says\/\">reinstating a blockade<\/a> of Iranian shipping while proposing a 20% fee to safeguard maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_525421\" style=\"width: 582px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525421\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-572x1024.jpg\" alt=\"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia\" width=\"572\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-572x1024.jpg 572w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-168x300.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-768x1375.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-858x1536.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-1144x2048.jpg 1144w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES.jpg 1608w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 572px) 100vw, 572px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525421\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke rises from a port, near Strait of Hormuz, following a U.S. strike in Kuhestak, Hormozgan Province, Iran, July 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Social Media\/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. NEWS USE ONLY. Verification line: Reuters confirmed the location by matching the port layout visible in the video with satellite imagery. The coordinates are 26.801109802855272, 57.02121784040872. The date the video was filmed was verified through a report from Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency, which reported explosions early on July 8 at multiple locations along the Gulf coast, including Kuhestak. Aftermath photographs shared online on July 8 also showed damage at the same location. No earlier versions of the footage or photographs posted before July 8 were found.<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Iran&#8217;s top joint military command rejected the U.S. position, saying Washington had no authority to determine the future of the Strait of Hormuz and would not be allowed to intervene.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3>Trump threatens new strike on Pickaxe Mountain<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Hours before the latest military operation, Trump warned that another high-profile Iranian target could soon come under attack.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Speaking on the Hugh Hewitt Show, the U.S. president said Washington would &#8220;take out Pickaxe Mountain&#8221; and warned Iran to &#8220;be ready.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_525418\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525418\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525418\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-2048x1150.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525418\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A projectile approaches a target at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 12, 2026. U.S. Central Command\/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. OVERLAY AND MASKING AT SOURCE. VERIFICATION: &#8211; Reuters was not able to independently verify the location and the date when the video was filmed. &#8211; No earlier version of the video found posted online before July 12. REFILE &#8211; CORRECTING TIMELINE OF THE STRIKES<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Trump said the site was being closely monitored and suggested further military action was imminent.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran&#8217;s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, contains deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess are beyond the reach of even the most powerful U.S. bunker-buster bombs.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The president also vowed that the United States would continue striking Iran over the coming days, saying: &#8220;We&#8217;re going to hit them very hard tonight and we&#8217;re going to hit them hard tomorrow.&#8221;<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_525424\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525424\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525424\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A projectile is fired during what the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said was a third round of strikes this week against Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 11, 2026. U.S. Central Command\/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. VERIFICATION: &#8211; Location and date could not be verified. &#8211; No earlier version of the video found posted online before Saturday (July 11). TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY<\/p><\/div> <h3>Conflict spreads across the region<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">As fighting between Washington and Tehran intensified, the conflict appeared to spill further across the region after Yemen&#8217;s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched missiles at Saudi Arabia, ending years of relative calm between the two sides.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles fired toward its southern region, while Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted Abha International Airport in the kingdom&#8217;s southwest.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The attack marked the first missile strike claimed by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect in March 2022 following earlier attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Houthis said the strikes were retaliation for attacks earlier on Monday against Sanaa International Airport, which they blamed on Saudi Arabia. They described the operation as &#8220;blatant aggression&#8221; and declared that the period of de-escalation had ended.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">However, the strikes on Sanaa airport were claimed by Yemen&#8217;s internationally recognized government, which said the runway had been targeted to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in violation of Yemen&#8217;s sovereignty.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Yemen&#8217;s defense ministry said government forces would respond to any hostile aircraft entering the country&#8217;s airspace &#8220;by all available means&#8221; and held Iran responsible. An armed forces spokesperson later said the aircraft landed instead at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Houthis also warned airlines against using Saudi airspace until what they described as the &#8220;siege&#8221; on Sanaa airport was lifted.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The renewed exchanges raise the prospect of a broader conflict on Saudi Arabia&#8217;s southern border, potentially adding another front to a war that has already destabilized the Gulf, disrupted shipping and driven oil prices higher.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington carried out a third consecutive night of strikes on Iran as President Donald Trump vowed more military action, while renewed Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia signaled a widening regional conflict.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39043],"tags":[276,8424,357,46919],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The United States has completed its latest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/us-launches-fresh-strikes-on-iran-after-tanker-attacks-trump-declares-truce-over\/\">wave of military strikes<\/a> against Iran, marking a third consecutive night of attacks as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/iran-targets-us-gulf-bases-as-hormuz-tensions-lift-oil-prices\/\">tensions across the Middle East<\/a> continue to escalate and the conflict expands beyond Iran&#8217;s borders.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces carried out a five-hour operation targeting military sites across Iran, including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa and Bandar Abbas. The strikes were launched at the direction of President Donald Trump.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The latest operation comes as Washington intensifies pressure on Tehran following Iran&#8217;s announcement over the weekend that it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/525253\/\">closing the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, a critical global shipping route. Trump has also said the United States is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/us-to-reinstate-iran-naval-blockade-trump-says\/\">reinstating a blockade<\/a> of Iranian shipping while proposing a 20% fee to safeguard maritime traffic through the strategic waterway.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_525421\" style=\"width: 582px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525421\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525421\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-572x1024.jpg\" alt=\"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia\" width=\"572\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-572x1024.jpg 572w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-168x300.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-768x1375.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-858x1536.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES-1144x2048.jpg 1144w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-08T175151Z_96181374_RC2M9MA4ZYO9_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-STRIKES.jpg 1608w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 572px) 100vw, 572px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525421\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Smoke rises from a port, near Strait of Hormuz, following a U.S. strike in Kuhestak, Hormozgan Province, Iran, July 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Social Media\/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. NEWS USE ONLY. Verification line: Reuters confirmed the location by matching the port layout visible in the video with satellite imagery. The coordinates are 26.801109802855272, 57.02121784040872. The date the video was filmed was verified through a report from Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency, which reported explosions early on July 8 at multiple locations along the Gulf coast, including Kuhestak. Aftermath photographs shared online on July 8 also showed damage at the same location. No earlier versions of the footage or photographs posted before July 8 were found.<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Iran&#8217;s top joint military command rejected the U.S. position, saying Washington had no authority to determine the future of the Strait of Hormuz and would not be allowed to intervene.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3>Trump threatens new strike on Pickaxe Mountain<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Hours before the latest military operation, Trump warned that another high-profile Iranian target could soon come under attack.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Speaking on the Hugh Hewitt Show, the U.S. president said Washington would &#8220;take out Pickaxe Mountain&#8221; and warned Iran to &#8220;be ready.&#8221;<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_525418\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525418\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525418\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-1024x575.jpg\" alt=\"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia\" width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-1024x575.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-1536x863.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T044836Z_71393095_RC2RCMAV8OGQ_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-2048x1150.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525418\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A projectile approaches a target at an unknown location, during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 12, 2026. U.S. Central Command\/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. OVERLAY AND MASKING AT SOURCE. VERIFICATION: &#8211; Reuters was not able to independently verify the location and the date when the video was filmed. &#8211; No earlier version of the video found posted online before July 12. REFILE &#8211; CORRECTING TIMELINE OF THE STRIKES<\/p><\/div> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Trump said the site was being closely monitored and suggested further military action was imminent.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Pickaxe Mountain, located near Iran&#8217;s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, contains deeply buried tunnel complexes that experts assess are beyond the reach of even the most powerful U.S. bunker-buster bombs.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The president also vowed that the United States would continue striking Iran over the coming days, saying: &#8220;We&#8217;re going to hit them very hard tonight and we&#8217;re going to hit them hard tomorrow.&#8221;<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_525424\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-525424\" class=\"size-large wp-image-525424\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"US Completes New Iran Strikes as Houthi Attacks Hit Saudi Arabia\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-12T065638Z_1526201117_RC24CMAL4XTS_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-525424\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A projectile is fired during what the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said was a third round of strikes this week against Iran, in this screen grab taken from a handout video released on July 11, 2026. U.S. Central Command\/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. VERIFICATION: &#8211; Location and date could not be verified. &#8211; No earlier version of the video found posted online before Saturday (July 11). TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY<\/p><\/div> <h3>Conflict spreads across the region<\/h3> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">As fighting between Washington and Tehran intensified, the conflict appeared to spill further across the region after Yemen&#8217;s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched missiles at Saudi Arabia, ending years of relative calm between the two sides.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles fired toward its southern region, while Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted Abha International Airport in the kingdom&#8217;s southwest.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The attack marked the first missile strike claimed by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect in March 2022 following earlier attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Houthis said the strikes were retaliation for attacks earlier on Monday against Sanaa International Airport, which they blamed on Saudi Arabia. They described the operation as &#8220;blatant aggression&#8221; and declared that the period of de-escalation had ended.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">However, the strikes on Sanaa airport were claimed by Yemen&#8217;s internationally recognized government, which said the runway had been targeted to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in violation of Yemen&#8217;s sovereignty.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Yemen&#8217;s defense ministry said government forces would respond to any hostile aircraft entering the country&#8217;s airspace &#8220;by all available means&#8221; and held Iran responsible. An armed forces spokesperson later said the aircraft landed instead at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The Houthis also warned airlines against using Saudi airspace until what they described as the &#8220;siege&#8221; on Sanaa airport was lifted.<\/p> <p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The renewed exchanges raise the prospect of a broader conflict on Saudi Arabia&#8217;s southern border, potentially adding another front to a war that has already destabilized the Gulf, disrupted shipping and driven oil prices higher.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":276,"name":"Donald Trump","slug":"donald-trump","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":276,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":821,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":8424,"name":"Houthi","slug":"houthi","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8424,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":357,"name":"Iran","slug":"iran","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":357,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":638,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":46919,"name":"Saudi Arabia","slug":"saudi-arabia","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":46919,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":21,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T033559Z_83293237_RC2RCMAL8W4I_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T033559Z_83293237_RC2RCMAL8W4I_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T033559Z_83293237_RC2RCMAL8W4I_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-300x169.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/2026-07-13T033559Z_83293237_RC2RCMAL8W4I_RTRMADP_5_IRAN-CRISIS-USA-768x434.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525307,"date":"2026-07-14T00:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T21:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525307"},"modified":"2026-07-13T23:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:33:55","slug":"eu-tells-turkey-to-respect-cypruss-sovereign-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/eu-tells-turkey-to-respect-cypruss-sovereign-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"EU Tells Turkey to Respect Cyprus’s Sovereign Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The European Union sent a clear message to Ankara following the Foreign Affairs Council, with High Representative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/kaja-kallas\/\">Kaja Kallas<\/a> stressing that Turkey must respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all EU member states.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The remarks are directly tied to plans for a natural gas pipeline connecting Turkey to the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus, a project adding a new geopolitical dimension to developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">After the EU foreign ministers&#8217; meeting, Kallas said Cyprus had formally raised the issue of the planned pipeline. She made clear the EU expects Ankara to respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all member states, reiterating Brussels&#8217; longstanding position on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. The intervention carries particular weight coming just days after Turkey and the breakaway entity in northern Cyprus signed a memorandum of cooperation on the project.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to Turkish announcements, the pipeline would run about 101 kilometers in total, with 97 kilometers underwater and four on land, starting from Anamur on Turkey&#8217;s southern coast and ending in the Teknecik area of the occupied north. The project isn&#8217;t limited to the undersea pipeline itself; it also includes receiving terminals, onshore distribution networks and auxiliary energy facilities, aimed at fully developing gas infrastructure in the north. No official cost or completion timeline has been announced.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the system would consist of two 22-inch pipelines capable of bidirectional flow, meaning gas could move not only from Turkey to the north but also in the opposite direction, with the eventual goal of channeling gas toward European markets through Turkey&#8217;s network, a detail raising questions about future supply sources and the role Ankara is seeking to play in the region&#8217;s energy planning.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Turkey has presented the pipeline as a strategic investment to meet the north&#8217;s energy needs, particularly for gas-fired electricity generation, noting it has already installed mobile power generation units there and supplies it with liquid fuel through state companies. The new pipeline is expected to deepen the north&#8217;s energy dependence on Turkey, since control of supply and core energy infrastructure would remain exclusively in Ankara&#8217;s hands. Turkish officials have called it a &#8220;project of the century&#8221; for the region, describing it as a catalyst for the area&#8217;s economic and energy development.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kallas also addressed developments in the Middle East, saying the EU continues to prioritize protecting freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, noting the Houthi threat remains active and that the EU&#8217;s Aspides naval operation continues to play a critical role protecting international shipping. She said she would visit the Italian warship taking part in the mission this Thursday to be briefed on its progress, and reaffirmed the EU&#8217;s position that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon, along with Brussels&#8217; intent to deepen cooperation with Gulf states.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">At the same Council meeting, Kallas said all 27 member states agree that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. She said the European Commission presented options for tightening trade restrictions with the settlements, with one particular proposal drawing the most support among member states; EU ambassadors will now work out next steps, and an emergency session to finalize decisions has not been ruled out.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brussels raises concerns over a planned gas pipeline linking Turkey to occupied northern Cyprus, adding new friction to the region<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":525310,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39043],"tags":[1104,138,206,58382,267],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The European Union sent a clear message to Ankara following the Foreign Affairs Council, with High Representative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/kaja-kallas\/\">Kaja Kallas<\/a> stressing that Turkey must respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all EU member states.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The remarks are directly tied to plans for a natural gas pipeline connecting Turkey to the Turkish-occupied area of Cyprus, a project adding a new geopolitical dimension to developments in the Eastern Mediterranean.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">After the EU foreign ministers&#8217; meeting, Kallas said Cyprus had formally raised the issue of the planned pipeline. She made clear the EU expects Ankara to respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all member states, reiterating Brussels&#8217; longstanding position on developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. The intervention carries particular weight coming just days after Turkey and the breakaway entity in northern Cyprus signed a memorandum of cooperation on the project.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to Turkish announcements, the pipeline would run about 101 kilometers in total, with 97 kilometers underwater and four on land, starting from Anamur on Turkey&#8217;s southern coast and ending in the Teknecik area of the occupied north. The project isn&#8217;t limited to the undersea pipeline itself; it also includes receiving terminals, onshore distribution networks and auxiliary energy facilities, aimed at fully developing gas infrastructure in the north. No official cost or completion timeline has been announced.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said the system would consist of two 22-inch pipelines capable of bidirectional flow, meaning gas could move not only from Turkey to the north but also in the opposite direction, with the eventual goal of channeling gas toward European markets through Turkey&#8217;s network, a detail raising questions about future supply sources and the role Ankara is seeking to play in the region&#8217;s energy planning.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Turkey has presented the pipeline as a strategic investment to meet the north&#8217;s energy needs, particularly for gas-fired electricity generation, noting it has already installed mobile power generation units there and supplies it with liquid fuel through state companies. The new pipeline is expected to deepen the north&#8217;s energy dependence on Turkey, since control of supply and core energy infrastructure would remain exclusively in Ankara&#8217;s hands. Turkish officials have called it a &#8220;project of the century&#8221; for the region, describing it as a catalyst for the area&#8217;s economic and energy development.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Kallas also addressed developments in the Middle East, saying the EU continues to prioritize protecting freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, noting the Houthi threat remains active and that the EU&#8217;s Aspides naval operation continues to play a critical role protecting international shipping. She said she would visit the Italian warship taking part in the mission this Thursday to be briefed on its progress, and reaffirmed the EU&#8217;s position that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon, along with Brussels&#8217; intent to deepen cooperation with Gulf states.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">At the same Council meeting, Kallas said all 27 member states agree that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law. She said the European Commission presented options for tightening trade restrictions with the settlements, with one particular proposal drawing the most support among member states; EU ambassadors will now work out next steps, and an emergency session to finalize decisions has not been ruled out.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":1104,"name":"Cyprus","slug":"cyprus","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1104,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":195,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":138,"name":"Eastern Mediterranean","slug":"eastern-mediterranean","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":138,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":39,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":206,"name":"European Union","slug":"european-union","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":206,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":120,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":58382,"name":"Kaja Kallas","slug":"kaja-kallas","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":58382,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":267,"name":"Turkey","slug":"turkey","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":267,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":351,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/EU-and-Turkey.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/EU-and-Turkey.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/EU-and-Turkey.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/EU-and-Turkey.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525253,"date":"2026-07-13T23:30:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525253"},"modified":"2026-07-13T22:51:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T19:51:10","slug":"525253","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/world\/525253\/","title":{"rendered":"Dubai’s DP World to Build New Port to Bypass Hormuz"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">DP World,a Dubai logistics company, is planning to build a new port and container terminal on the UAE&#8217;s east coast in order to reduce Dubai&#8217;s dependence on its flagship Jebel Ali hub and bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Financial Times.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">People familiar with the matter said the Dubai-based port operator is in talks to develop a new multi-purpose port on the coast of Fujairah and a new terminal at that emirate&#8217;s existing port.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Over the past two decades DP World has grown into one of the UAE&#8217;s most active global players, building a worldwide network of ports and logistics operations, though Jebel Ali remains the company&#8217;s and Dubai&#8217;s centerpiece asset. Shifting some capacity outside Dubai marks a significant shift for an emirate that built its role as a global trade and financial hub largely on Jebel Ali&#8217;s growth.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The plan fits into a broader UAE government strategy to shield the economy from potential future tensions with Iran, aiming to cut reliance on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, where shipping has repeatedly been disrupted by Iranian drone and missile attacks following the US-Israeli strikes. The new project would strengthen the company&#8217;s presence on the Gulf of Oman, allowing containers to move without passing through the strait and instead travel overland to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Gulf states.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">FT Exclusive: DP World is planning to build a new port and a container terminal on the United Arab Emirates’ east coast that would reduce Dubai’s dependence on its flagship Jebel Ali hub and bypass the Strait of Hormuz. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lF2nUTqlUc\">https:\/\/t.co\/lF2nUTqlUc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/piVEq9N0BQ\">pic.twitter.com\/piVEq9N0BQ<\/a><\/p> <p>— Financial Times (@FT) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FT\/status\/2076663978642534770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Since the war began in late February, Iran has fired nearly 3,000 drones and missiles at the UAE, more than at any other country, according to the report. Early in the conflict a fire broke out at Jebel Ali, which authorities attributed to falling debris after a missile interception. The episode added to a difficult stretch for DP World, which shortly before had removed its longtime chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Activity at Jebel Ali, the region&#8217;s largest container port, fell by 90-95% after Iran closed the strait, pushing the company to look for alternative routes. DP World is reportedly negotiating with government officials over the final scope and financing of the new project, which could be completed within about a year and a half.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">While the company declined to confirm details of the east coast plans, a spokesperson said there are ongoing diversification plans to deal with current disruptions. Gulf government officials stressed the eastward shift does not mean replacing Jebel Ali, which retains its free trade zone, warehouses and industrial facilities.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">A senior company executive said Jebel Ali will remain Jebel Ali, with no scaling back, and that DP World plans to initially invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the new facilities, with room to increase that depending on need, describing the move as a defensive step in case things go wrong.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The plans reflect how the war with Iran has forced regional governments and businesses to rethink critical infrastructure and trade routes that depended on unimpeded passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, about 135 ships transited the waterway daily, a number that has fallen to fewer than 40 since the temporary US-Iran ceasefire. The fragile diplomatic process has worsened in recent days after new Iranian attacks on vessels, further reducing shipping traffic.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Jebel Ali, which handled 15.6 million containers last year, has been the foundation of Dubai&#8217;s rise as a global logistics and re-export hub, particularly between China and Africa, but its dependence on the strait makes the crisis&#8217;s impact significant and lasting, according to Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Moody&#8217;s estimates DP World&#8217;s total revenue will fall from $6.6 billion in 2025 to roughly $5.9 billion this year because of the conflict. Since the war began, the company has already shifted cargo from Jebel Ali to the ports of Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, which are now facing congestion from the increased traffic.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The new plans come as Sharjah-based Gulftainer pursues its own expansion at Khor Fakkan, announcing a $2 billion investment to increase capacity. Fujairah, one of the UAE&#8217;s seven emirates, already plays a strategic role in the country&#8217;s energy infrastructure, serving as a route through which Abu Dhabi exports part of its oil, with plans to increase volumes there to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Port operator plans east coast facility in Fujairah to cut Dubai&#8217;s reliance on Jebel Ali and reduce exposure to Strait of Hormuz disruptions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":525262,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39043],"tags":[1131,357,65995],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">DP World,a Dubai logistics company, is planning to build a new port and container terminal on the UAE&#8217;s east coast in order to reduce Dubai&#8217;s dependence on its flagship Jebel Ali hub and bypass the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Financial Times.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">People familiar with the matter said the Dubai-based port operator is in talks to develop a new multi-purpose port on the coast of Fujairah and a new terminal at that emirate&#8217;s existing port.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Over the past two decades DP World has grown into one of the UAE&#8217;s most active global players, building a worldwide network of ports and logistics operations, though Jebel Ali remains the company&#8217;s and Dubai&#8217;s centerpiece asset. Shifting some capacity outside Dubai marks a significant shift for an emirate that built its role as a global trade and financial hub largely on Jebel Ali&#8217;s growth.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The plan fits into a broader UAE government strategy to shield the economy from potential future tensions with Iran, aiming to cut reliance on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/strait-of-hormuz\/\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, where shipping has repeatedly been disrupted by Iranian drone and missile attacks following the US-Israeli strikes. The new project would strengthen the company&#8217;s presence on the Gulf of Oman, allowing containers to move without passing through the strait and instead travel overland to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and other Gulf states.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">FT Exclusive: DP World is planning to build a new port and a container terminal on the United Arab Emirates’ east coast that would reduce Dubai’s dependence on its flagship Jebel Ali hub and bypass the Strait of Hormuz. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lF2nUTqlUc\">https:\/\/t.co\/lF2nUTqlUc<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/piVEq9N0BQ\">pic.twitter.com\/piVEq9N0BQ<\/a><\/p> <p>— Financial Times (@FT) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FT\/status\/2076663978642534770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Since the war began in late February, Iran has fired nearly 3,000 drones and missiles at the UAE, more than at any other country, according to the report. Early in the conflict a fire broke out at Jebel Ali, which authorities attributed to falling debris after a missile interception. The episode added to a difficult stretch for DP World, which shortly before had removed its longtime chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Activity at Jebel Ali, the region&#8217;s largest container port, fell by 90-95% after Iran closed the strait, pushing the company to look for alternative routes. DP World is reportedly negotiating with government officials over the final scope and financing of the new project, which could be completed within about a year and a half.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">While the company declined to confirm details of the east coast plans, a spokesperson said there are ongoing diversification plans to deal with current disruptions. Gulf government officials stressed the eastward shift does not mean replacing Jebel Ali, which retains its free trade zone, warehouses and industrial facilities.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">A senior company executive said Jebel Ali will remain Jebel Ali, with no scaling back, and that DP World plans to initially invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the new facilities, with room to increase that depending on need, describing the move as a defensive step in case things go wrong.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The plans reflect how the war with Iran has forced regional governments and businesses to rethink critical infrastructure and trade routes that depended on unimpeded passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, about 135 ships transited the waterway daily, a number that has fallen to fewer than 40 since the temporary US-Iran ceasefire. The fragile diplomatic process has worsened in recent days after new Iranian attacks on vessels, further reducing shipping traffic.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Jebel Ali, which handled 15.6 million containers last year, has been the foundation of Dubai&#8217;s rise as a global logistics and re-export hub, particularly between China and Africa, but its dependence on the strait makes the crisis&#8217;s impact significant and lasting, according to Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Moody&#8217;s estimates DP World&#8217;s total revenue will fall from $6.6 billion in 2025 to roughly $5.9 billion this year because of the conflict. Since the war began, the company has already shifted cargo from Jebel Ali to the ports of Fujairah and Khor Fakkan, which are now facing congestion from the increased traffic.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The new plans come as Sharjah-based Gulftainer pursues its own expansion at Khor Fakkan, announcing a $2 billion investment to increase capacity. Fujairah, one of the UAE&#8217;s seven emirates, already plays a strategic role in the country&#8217;s energy infrastructure, serving as a route through which Abu Dhabi exports part of its oil, with plans to increase volumes there to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":39043,"name":"World","slug":"world","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39043,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Covering global news, politics, finance, conflicts, environmental issues, culture and stories from around the world. Provides updates on major developments and analyses of international relations.","parent":0,"count":3009,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":1131,"name":"Dubai","slug":"dubai","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1131,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":357,"name":"Iran","slug":"iran","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":357,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":638,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65995,"name":"Strait of Hormuz","slug":"strait-of-hormuz","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65995,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":161,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Strait-big-ship.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Strait-big-ship.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Strait-big-ship.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Strait-big-ship.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"science","header":"Science","ID":"5","posts":[{"id":522322,"date":"2026-07-09T20:00:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T17:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=522322"},"modified":"2026-07-09T15:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T12:23:34","slug":"greece-obesity-treatment-program-faces-funding-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/greece-obesity-treatment-program-faces-funding-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece Obesity Treatment Program Faces Funding Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"314\" data-end=\"495\">A free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/free-obesity-medication-and-new-health-initiatives-announced-in-greece\/\">obesity treatment program<\/a> in Greece is facing uncertainty, leaving around 46,000 beneficiaries waiting for a solution after its funding officially ended at the end of June.<\/p> <p data-start=\"497\" data-end=\"651\">The Ministry of Health is seeking emergency European funding to secure a two-month extension of the program, but no final decision has yet been reached.<\/p> <p data-start=\"653\" data-end=\"864\">If the request is rejected, participants may have to either cover the cost of their treatment themselves for at least two months or stop their therapy, potentially losing the benefits they have already achieved.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"866\" data-end=\"1053\">The government has committed to restarting the program in September using national funds, provided there are no further delays. However, the months of July and August remain unresolved.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1n3wxw9\" data-start=\"1055\" data-end=\"1094\">Funding gap linked to delayed launch<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1096\" data-end=\"1173\">The financial gap was reportedly caused by a delay in the programs launch.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1175\" data-end=\"1463\">The initiative was originally expected to begin in September but eventually received approval in December, despite the fact that funding from Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Fund — which supported the wider prevention programs known as “<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greece-extends-preventive-health-screening-program-to-2030\">Prolamvano<\/a>” — was scheduled to end in late June.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1465\" data-end=\"1558\">The timing issue has raised questions over the programs planning and long-term continuity.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1f9nqtw\" data-start=\"1560\" data-end=\"1620\">Doctors warn interruption could affect patients’ progress<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1622\" data-end=\"1752\">The medical community has expressed concern that a lengthy interruption could undermine the progress already made by participants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"1754\" data-end=\"1989\">Stavroula (Lina) Paschou, assistant professor of Endocrinology at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, said the program represented an important step toward prevention and improving public health.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1991\" data-end=\"2146\">She called for a solution that would allow continued funding for obesity medications and ensure that patients who need treatment can continue receiving it.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2148\" data-end=\"2330\">Experts have also raised questions over whether the programs current eight-month treatment period is sufficient for effectively managing obesity and maintaining long-term results.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"i9skgq\" data-start=\"2332\" data-end=\"2367\">Who qualified for the program?<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2369\" data-end=\"2479\">The program targeted citizens considered at higher risk due to severe obesity and related health conditions.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2481\" data-end=\"2542\">Participants included people with a body mass index (BMI) of:<\/p> <ul data-start=\"2544\" data-end=\"2660\"> <li data-section-id=\"1qlgbe6\" data-start=\"2544\" data-end=\"2562\">40 or higher; or<\/li> <li data-section-id=\"3sstza\" data-start=\"2563\" data-end=\"2660\">37 to 40 with obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea or hypertension.<\/li> <\/ul> <p data-start=\"2662\" data-end=\"2758\">Eligible citizens received text message invitations in December to participate in the program.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"hpn0z2\" data-start=\"2760\" data-end=\"2804\">Experts call for longer treatment periods<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2806\" data-end=\"2934\">The programs rules currently set a maximum of eight medical appointments and eight medication treatments, with no exceptions.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2936\" data-end=\"3084\">However, experts argue that this timeframe may not be enough for all patients, particularly those with severe obesity or related medical conditions.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3086\" data-end=\"3262\">Paschou said extending treatment beyond eight months is often clinically necessary to achieve and maintain weight loss, as well as the related improvements in metabolic health.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3264\" data-end=\"3419\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The future of the program now depends on whether additional funding can be secured to prevent a gap in treatment before its planned restart in September.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Around 46,000 participants in Greece’s free obesity treatment programme face a possible interruption as authorities seek emergency funding to extend care until a planned restart in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":522337,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13293],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"314\" data-end=\"495\">A free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/free-obesity-medication-and-new-health-initiatives-announced-in-greece\/\">obesity treatment program<\/a> in Greece is facing uncertainty, leaving around 46,000 beneficiaries waiting for a solution after its funding officially ended at the end of June.<\/p> <p data-start=\"497\" data-end=\"651\">The Ministry of Health is seeking emergency European funding to secure a two-month extension of the program, but no final decision has yet been reached.<\/p> <p data-start=\"653\" data-end=\"864\">If the request is rejected, participants may have to either cover the cost of their treatment themselves for at least two months or stop their therapy, potentially losing the benefits they have already achieved.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"866\" data-end=\"1053\">The government has committed to restarting the program in September using national funds, provided there are no further delays. However, the months of July and August remain unresolved.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1n3wxw9\" data-start=\"1055\" data-end=\"1094\">Funding gap linked to delayed launch<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1096\" data-end=\"1173\">The financial gap was reportedly caused by a delay in the programs launch.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1175\" data-end=\"1463\">The initiative was originally expected to begin in September but eventually received approval in December, despite the fact that funding from Greece’s Recovery and Resilience Fund — which supported the wider prevention programs known as “<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greece-extends-preventive-health-screening-program-to-2030\">Prolamvano<\/a>” — was scheduled to end in late June.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1465\" data-end=\"1558\">The timing issue has raised questions over the programs planning and long-term continuity.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1f9nqtw\" data-start=\"1560\" data-end=\"1620\">Doctors warn interruption could affect patients’ progress<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1622\" data-end=\"1752\">The medical community has expressed concern that a lengthy interruption could undermine the progress already made by participants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"1754\" data-end=\"1989\">Stavroula (Lina) Paschou, assistant professor of Endocrinology at the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, said the program represented an important step toward prevention and improving public health.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1991\" data-end=\"2146\">She called for a solution that would allow continued funding for obesity medications and ensure that patients who need treatment can continue receiving it.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2148\" data-end=\"2330\">Experts have also raised questions over whether the programs current eight-month treatment period is sufficient for effectively managing obesity and maintaining long-term results.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"i9skgq\" data-start=\"2332\" data-end=\"2367\">Who qualified for the program?<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2369\" data-end=\"2479\">The program targeted citizens considered at higher risk due to severe obesity and related health conditions.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2481\" data-end=\"2542\">Participants included people with a body mass index (BMI) of:<\/p> <ul data-start=\"2544\" data-end=\"2660\"> <li data-section-id=\"1qlgbe6\" data-start=\"2544\" data-end=\"2562\">40 or higher; or<\/li> <li data-section-id=\"3sstza\" data-start=\"2563\" data-end=\"2660\">37 to 40 with obesity-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes, sleep apnoea or hypertension.<\/li> <\/ul> <p data-start=\"2662\" data-end=\"2758\">Eligible citizens received text message invitations in December to participate in the program.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"hpn0z2\" data-start=\"2760\" data-end=\"2804\">Experts call for longer treatment periods<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2806\" data-end=\"2934\">The programs rules currently set a maximum of eight medical appointments and eight medication treatments, with no exceptions.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2936\" data-end=\"3084\">However, experts argue that this timeframe may not be enough for all patients, particularly those with severe obesity or related medical conditions.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3086\" data-end=\"3262\">Paschou said extending treatment beyond eight months is often clinically necessary to achieve and maintain weight loss, as well as the related improvements in metabolic health.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3264\" data-end=\"3419\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The future of the program now depends on whether additional funding can be secured to prevent a gap in treatment before its planned restart in September.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":6,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest science news and developments about new discoveries and inventions in Greece and worldwide, technology, space, biology, medicine and archaeology.","parent":0,"count":481,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":13293,"name":"Obesity","slug":"obesity","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":13293,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/shutterstock_2384634541-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/shutterstock_2384634541.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/shutterstock_2384634541-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/shutterstock_2384634541-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":521779,"date":"2026-07-09T11:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T08:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=521779"},"modified":"2026-07-09T08:38:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T05:38:23","slug":"fertility-challenges-set-to-affect-80-million-women-by-2036","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/fertility-challenges-set-to-affect-80-million-women-by-2036\/","title":{"rendered":"Fertility Challenges Set to Affect 80 Million Women by 2036"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A new international study published in <em>The Lancet<\/em> warns that nearly 80 million women worldwide are expected to experience infertility by 2036, up from an estimated 53.6 million in 2023. Researchers say the sharpest increase will occur among women aged 35 to 39, reflecting the natural decline in both the number and quality of eggs as women age. These biological changes reduce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/why-the-u-s-fertility-rate-has-hit-a-record-low\/\">fertility<\/a>, increase the risk of miscarriage and lower the success rates of assisted reproductive technologies.<\/p> <p>The study&#8217;s authors argue that population ageing and shifting socioeconomic trends are driving a growing number of women to face age-related infertility, making it an increasingly significant public health issue. The research, conducted by scientists in China, draws on data from the <em>Global Burden of Disease 2023<\/em> project, covering 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023. It found that infertility rates are rising most rapidly in higher-income nations.<\/p> <p>Researchers attribute the trend not only to biology but also to profound social and demographic changes. Across middle-income and fast-growing economies, people are marrying and starting families later in life, while more women are attempting to conceive after the age of 35 or even 40. At the same time, greater awareness of fertility issues has encouraged more couples to seek medical help. Yet in many countries, fertility testing and treatment remain expensive or difficult to access, leaving demand well above the capacity of available services.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Rocio Nunez Calonge, a biologist and fertility specialist who was not involved in the study, said tackling the rise in age-related infertility requires more than expanding access to assisted reproduction. She argued that governments must also address the social factors behind delayed parenthood, including work-life balance, economic security and stronger institutional support for women who choose to have children at a younger age.<\/p> <p>The researchers also stress that infertility is not solely a women&#8217;s issue. It is estimated to affect around one in six people at some point in their lives, while between 8% and 12% of couples of reproductive age worldwide experience difficulties conceiving.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly 80 million women could face infertility by 2036, with delayed motherhood and ageing driving a growing global public health challenge, a new study warns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":521788,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[35397,35395,50],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>A new international study published in <em>The Lancet<\/em> warns that nearly 80 million women worldwide are expected to experience infertility by 2036, up from an estimated 53.6 million in 2023. Researchers say the sharpest increase will occur among women aged 35 to 39, reflecting the natural decline in both the number and quality of eggs as women age. These biological changes reduce <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/why-the-u-s-fertility-rate-has-hit-a-record-low\/\">fertility<\/a>, increase the risk of miscarriage and lower the success rates of assisted reproductive technologies.<\/p> <p>The study&#8217;s authors argue that population ageing and shifting socioeconomic trends are driving a growing number of women to face age-related infertility, making it an increasingly significant public health issue. The research, conducted by scientists in China, draws on data from the <em>Global Burden of Disease 2023<\/em> project, covering 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023. It found that infertility rates are rising most rapidly in higher-income nations.<\/p> <p>Researchers attribute the trend not only to biology but also to profound social and demographic changes. Across middle-income and fast-growing economies, people are marrying and starting families later in life, while more women are attempting to conceive after the age of 35 or even 40. At the same time, greater awareness of fertility issues has encouraged more couples to seek medical help. Yet in many countries, fertility testing and treatment remain expensive or difficult to access, leaving demand well above the capacity of available services.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Rocio Nunez Calonge, a biologist and fertility specialist who was not involved in the study, said tackling the rise in age-related infertility requires more than expanding access to assisted reproduction. She argued that governments must also address the social factors behind delayed parenthood, including work-life balance, economic security and stronger institutional support for women who choose to have children at a younger age.<\/p> <p>The researchers also stress that infertility is not solely a women&#8217;s issue. It is estimated to affect around one in six people at some point in their lives, while between 8% and 12% of couples of reproductive age worldwide experience difficulties conceiving.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":6,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest science news and developments about new discoveries and inventions in Greece and worldwide, technology, space, biology, medicine and archaeology.","parent":0,"count":481,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":35397,"name":"birth rates","slug":"birth-rates","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":35397,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":35395,"name":"fertility crisis","slug":"fertility-crisis","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":35395,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":50,"name":"study","slug":"study","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":50,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/fertility-challenges-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/fertility-challenges.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/fertility-challenges-300x199.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/09\/fertility-challenges-768x509.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":521371,"date":"2026-07-08T20:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T17:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=521371"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:13:24","slug":"brain-study-reveals-how-sleep-controls-growth-hormone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/brain-study-reveals-how-sleep-controls-growth-hormone\/","title":{"rendered":"Brain Study Reveals How Sleep Controls Growth Hormone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"261\" data-end=\"452\">Scientists have uncovered the brain mechanism t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/what-happens-inside-your-brain-when-youre-sleep-deprived\/\">hat links sleep<\/a> to the release of growth hormone, shedding light on a process essential for physical development, metabolism and brain function.<\/p> <p data-start=\"454\" data-end=\"730\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cell.com\/cell\/fulltext\/S0092-8674(25)00626-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867425006269%3Fshowall%3Dtrue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The study,<\/a> conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and published in the journal <em data-start=\"561\" data-end=\"567\">Cell<\/em>, identifies the neural circuits that control growth hormone secretion during sleep and explains how the brain maintains the balance between sleep and wakefulness.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"4mn02u\" data-start=\"732\" data-end=\"761\">Why growth hormone matters<\/h3> <p data-start=\"763\" data-end=\"878\">Growth hormone plays a vital role in bone and muscle development, tissue repair, fat regulation and overall health.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"880\" data-end=\"1096\">Scientists have long known that growth hormone levels rise during sleep, particularly during deep non-REM sleep. However, until now, the brain mechanisms responsible for controlling this process had remained unclear.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1098\" data-end=\"1206\">The new findings explain how sleep actively regulates hormone release rather than simply coinciding with it.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1yvqa0e\" data-start=\"1208\" data-end=\"1258\">Brain circuits behind sleep and hormone release<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1260\" data-end=\"1436\">The research team, led by Professor Yang Dan, recorded the activity of neurons in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in regulating many essential bodily functions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1438\" data-end=\"1597\">The researchers identified neural circuits that control the release of growth hormone and discovered a feedback mechanism that helps maintain hormonal balance.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1599\" data-end=\"1735\">According to postdoctoral researcher Xinlu Ding, previous evidence linking sleep and growth hormone relied mainly on blood measurements.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1737\" data-end=\"1911\">By directly recording neural activity in mice, the team was able to observe how the brain controls hormone secretion, laying the groundwork for future therapeutic approaches.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1dsdvf\" data-start=\"1913\" data-end=\"1958\">Two hormones work differently during sleep<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1960\" data-end=\"2189\">Using advanced circuit-mapping techniques, the researchers found that two hormones involved in regulating growth hormone—growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin—behave differently depending on the stage of sleep.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2191\" data-end=\"2364\">During REM sleep, levels of both hormones increase, leading to greater growth hormone release. During non-REM sleep, somatostatin decreases while GHRH rises more moderately.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2366\" data-end=\"2473\">The findings reveal a complex regulatory system that adjusts hormone production throughout the sleep cycle.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1fcp23k\" data-start=\"2475\" data-end=\"2517\">A balance between sleep and wakefulness<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2519\" data-end=\"2663\">The study also identified a feedback mechanism involving the locus coeruleus, a region of the brainstem associated with attention and alertness.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2665\" data-end=\"2873\">As growth hormone accumulates during sleep, it stimulates this area, helping promote wakefulness. However, excessive activity in the same brain region may have the opposite effect, contributing to sleepiness.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"2875\" data-end=\"3119\">According to co-author Daniel Silverman, the findings suggest that sleep and growth hormone form a balanced system: insufficient sleep reduces growth hormone production, while excessive hormone activity helps shift the brain toward wakefulness.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"sm87gw\" data-start=\"3121\" data-end=\"3158\">Implications for future treatments<\/h3> <p data-start=\"3160\" data-end=\"3380\">Researchers say the discovery could lead to new treatments for sleep disorders linked to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson’s disease and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/blood-test-may-detect-alzheimers-before-symptoms-appear\/\">Alzheimer’s disease.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"3382\" data-end=\"3579\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The study also reinforces the importance of quality sleep, suggesting that growth hormone contributes not only to growth and muscle repair but also to cognitive function and alertness after waking.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researchers have identified the brain circuits that regulate growth hormone during sleep, offering new insights into metabolism, muscle recovery and potential treatments for sleep-related disorders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":521431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[60593,2709],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"261\" data-end=\"452\">Scientists have uncovered the brain mechanism t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/what-happens-inside-your-brain-when-youre-sleep-deprived\/\">hat links sleep<\/a> to the release of growth hormone, shedding light on a process essential for physical development, metabolism and brain function.<\/p> <p data-start=\"454\" data-end=\"730\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cell.com\/cell\/fulltext\/S0092-8674(25)00626-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0092867425006269%3Fshowall%3Dtrue\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The study,<\/a> conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and published in the journal <em data-start=\"561\" data-end=\"567\">Cell<\/em>, identifies the neural circuits that control growth hormone secretion during sleep and explains how the brain maintains the balance between sleep and wakefulness.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"4mn02u\" data-start=\"732\" data-end=\"761\">Why growth hormone matters<\/h3> <p data-start=\"763\" data-end=\"878\">Growth hormone plays a vital role in bone and muscle development, tissue repair, fat regulation and overall health.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"880\" data-end=\"1096\">Scientists have long known that growth hormone levels rise during sleep, particularly during deep non-REM sleep. However, until now, the brain mechanisms responsible for controlling this process had remained unclear.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1098\" data-end=\"1206\">The new findings explain how sleep actively regulates hormone release rather than simply coinciding with it.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1yvqa0e\" data-start=\"1208\" data-end=\"1258\">Brain circuits behind sleep and hormone release<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1260\" data-end=\"1436\">The research team, led by Professor Yang Dan, recorded the activity of neurons in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in regulating many essential bodily functions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1438\" data-end=\"1597\">The researchers identified neural circuits that control the release of growth hormone and discovered a feedback mechanism that helps maintain hormonal balance.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1599\" data-end=\"1735\">According to postdoctoral researcher Xinlu Ding, previous evidence linking sleep and growth hormone relied mainly on blood measurements.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1737\" data-end=\"1911\">By directly recording neural activity in mice, the team was able to observe how the brain controls hormone secretion, laying the groundwork for future therapeutic approaches.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1dsdvf\" data-start=\"1913\" data-end=\"1958\">Two hormones work differently during sleep<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1960\" data-end=\"2189\">Using advanced circuit-mapping techniques, the researchers found that two hormones involved in regulating growth hormone—growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin—behave differently depending on the stage of sleep.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2191\" data-end=\"2364\">During REM sleep, levels of both hormones increase, leading to greater growth hormone release. During non-REM sleep, somatostatin decreases while GHRH rises more moderately.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2366\" data-end=\"2473\">The findings reveal a complex regulatory system that adjusts hormone production throughout the sleep cycle.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1fcp23k\" data-start=\"2475\" data-end=\"2517\">A balance between sleep and wakefulness<\/h3> <p data-start=\"2519\" data-end=\"2663\">The study also identified a feedback mechanism involving the locus coeruleus, a region of the brainstem associated with attention and alertness.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2665\" data-end=\"2873\">As growth hormone accumulates during sleep, it stimulates this area, helping promote wakefulness. However, excessive activity in the same brain region may have the opposite effect, contributing to sleepiness.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"2875\" data-end=\"3119\">According to co-author Daniel Silverman, the findings suggest that sleep and growth hormone form a balanced system: insufficient sleep reduces growth hormone production, while excessive hormone activity helps shift the brain toward wakefulness.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"sm87gw\" data-start=\"3121\" data-end=\"3158\">Implications for future treatments<\/h3> <p data-start=\"3160\" data-end=\"3380\">Researchers say the discovery could lead to new treatments for sleep disorders linked to metabolic diseases such as diabetes, as well as neurodegenerative conditions including Parkinson’s disease and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/blood-test-may-detect-alzheimers-before-symptoms-appear\/\">Alzheimer’s disease.<\/a><\/p> <p data-start=\"3382\" data-end=\"3579\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">The study also reinforces the importance of quality sleep, suggesting that growth hormone contributes not only to growth and muscle repair but also to cognitive function and alertness after waking.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":6,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest science news and developments about new discoveries and inventions in Greece and worldwide, technology, space, biology, medicine and archaeology.","parent":0,"count":481,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":60593,"name":"brain","slug":"brain","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":60593,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2709,"name":"sleep","slug":"sleep","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2709,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":12,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/shutterstock_2229882481-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/shutterstock_2229882481.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/shutterstock_2229882481-300x169.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/shutterstock_2229882481-768x432.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":520354,"date":"2026-07-07T16:40:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T13:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=520354"},"modified":"2026-07-07T18:33:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T15:33:55","slug":"greece-launches-first-hyperion-microsatellite","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/greece-launches-first-hyperion-microsatellite\/","title":{"rendered":"Greece Launches First Hyperion Microsatellite"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Greece has taken a significant step toward developing a domestic space industry and strengthening its Earth observation capabilities on Tuesday with the successful launch of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/new-defense-systems-doctrine-in-spotlight-during-march-25-parade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hyperion GR-1<\/a>, the first of seven microsatellites that will form the country&#8217;s Hyperion GR satellite constellation.<\/p> <p>The satellite lifted off at 10:12 a.m. Greek time (0712 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/spacex-now-worth-2-1-trillion-pulls-off-goldilocks-debut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SpaceX<\/a>&#8216;s Transporter-17 rideshare mission.<\/p> <p>Hyperion GR-1 is part of Greece&#8217;s National Microsatellite Program, implemented by the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hellenic Space Center, with funding from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>A key feature of the project is that the 100-kilogram satellite was largely designed, assembled and tested at Open Cosmos Aegean&#8217;s facilities in Pallini, east of Athens, by a team of local engineers, reflecting the country&#8217;s growing ability to manufacture advanced space technology rather than relying solely on foreign-built systems.<\/p> <p>Open Cosmos Aegean is responsible for developing, launching and operating seven of the program&#8217;s 13 operational microsatellites, while also establishing a ground station in Greece. The company&#8217;s investment in its Pallini facilities has created an advanced satellite production center that also serves international customers.<\/p> <p>Hyperion GR-1 can capture panchromatic imagery with a ground resolution of 90 centimeters and is equipped with onboard artificial intelligence and inter-satellite communication links, enabling faster processing and transmission of Earth observation data. In some applications, critical information can be delivered within as little as 30 minutes.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The full Hyperion GR constellation will comprise seven satellites with complementary capabilities, including very high-resolution, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship tracking, Internet of Things (IoT) services and AI-assisted data processing.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-512500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <p>The data are expected to support a wide range of public-sector applications, including wildfire and flood monitoring, disaster response, rapid post-event damage assessment, environmental protection, precision agriculture and aquaculture, maritime surveillance, pollution detection and the monitoring of critical infrastructure.<\/p> <p>The satellites will also become part of Open Cosmos&#8217; international Open Constellation network, giving Greece access to more frequent Earth observation coverage and faster access to satellite data.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/greeces-space-posture-and-path-to-data-autonomy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Open Cosmos<\/a> founder and Chief Executive Officer Rafel Jordà Siquier described the launch as a major milestone for the company, saying the new generation of satellites would enable near real-time Earth observation services to help governments and organizations respond more effectively to natural disasters, security challenges and the protection of critical infrastructure.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Open Cosmos Aegean Managing Director Maria Kalama said the mission demonstrates that Greece is now capable not only of using space technologies but also of designing, manufacturing and exporting them while creating highly skilled jobs and valuable technical expertise.<\/p> <p>On his part, Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence Minister Dimitris Papastergiou described the launch as the beginning of a new era for Greece&#8217;s space sector, saying satellite-based Earth observation will strengthen environmental protection, precision agriculture, crisis management and public-sector decision-making. He added that the mission forms part of a broader national strategy to expand the country&#8217;s space capabilities, with the planned 350 million-euro HELLAS-SPACE 2.0 program representing the next major phase.<\/p> <p>The launch builds on a series of initiatives undertaken over the past six months to establish sovereign space capabilities. Greece has already deployed satellites dedicated to wildfire detection under the National Microsatellite Program and expanded partnerships with the European Space Agency and international aerospace companies to develop domestic satellite manufacturing, Earth observation services and secure space infrastructure. The broader strategy aims to provide the Greek state with independent access to critical geospatial data while fostering a high-value technology sector with export potential.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The launch of Greece’s first domestically built Earth observation microsatellite marked a milestone for the country’s emerging space industry on Tuesday, as the Hyperion GR-1 was successfully placed into orbit aboard a SpaceX mission from California<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":520360,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[66139,66136,87385],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Greece has taken a significant step toward developing a domestic space industry and strengthening its Earth observation capabilities on Tuesday with the successful launch of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/new-defense-systems-doctrine-in-spotlight-during-march-25-parade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hyperion GR-1<\/a>, the first of seven microsatellites that will form the country&#8217;s Hyperion GR satellite constellation.<\/p> <p>The satellite lifted off at 10:12 a.m. Greek time (0712 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wsj\/spacex-now-worth-2-1-trillion-pulls-off-goldilocks-debut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SpaceX<\/a>&#8216;s Transporter-17 rideshare mission.<\/p> <p>Hyperion GR-1 is part of Greece&#8217;s National Microsatellite Program, implemented by the Ministry of Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence in cooperation with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hellenic Space Center, with funding from the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>A key feature of the project is that the 100-kilogram satellite was largely designed, assembled and tested at Open Cosmos Aegean&#8217;s facilities in Pallini, east of Athens, by a team of local engineers, reflecting the country&#8217;s growing ability to manufacture advanced space technology rather than relying solely on foreign-built systems.<\/p> <p>Open Cosmos Aegean is responsible for developing, launching and operating seven of the program&#8217;s 13 operational microsatellites, while also establishing a ground station in Greece. The company&#8217;s investment in its Pallini facilities has created an advanced satellite production center that also serves international customers.<\/p> <p>Hyperion GR-1 can capture panchromatic imagery with a ground resolution of 90 centimeters and is equipped with onboard artificial intelligence and inter-satellite communication links, enabling faster processing and transmission of Earth observation data. In some applications, critical information can be delivered within as little as 30 minutes.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The full Hyperion GR constellation will comprise seven satellites with complementary capabilities, including very high-resolution, multispectral and hyperspectral imaging, Automatic Identification System (AIS) ship tracking, Internet of Things (IoT) services and AI-assisted data processing.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-512500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/28\/satellite-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <p>The data are expected to support a wide range of public-sector applications, including wildfire and flood monitoring, disaster response, rapid post-event damage assessment, environmental protection, precision agriculture and aquaculture, maritime surveillance, pollution detection and the monitoring of critical infrastructure.<\/p> <p>The satellites will also become part of Open Cosmos&#8217; international Open Constellation network, giving Greece access to more frequent Earth observation coverage and faster access to satellite data.<\/p> <p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/opinions\/greeces-space-posture-and-path-to-data-autonomy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Open Cosmos<\/a> founder and Chief Executive Officer Rafel Jordà Siquier described the launch as a major milestone for the company, saying the new generation of satellites would enable near real-time Earth observation services to help governments and organizations respond more effectively to natural disasters, security challenges and the protection of critical infrastructure.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>Open Cosmos Aegean Managing Director Maria Kalama said the mission demonstrates that Greece is now capable not only of using space technologies but also of designing, manufacturing and exporting them while creating highly skilled jobs and valuable technical expertise.<\/p> <p>On his part, Digital Governance and Artificial Intelligence Minister Dimitris Papastergiou described the launch as the beginning of a new era for Greece&#8217;s space sector, saying satellite-based Earth observation will strengthen environmental protection, precision agriculture, crisis management and public-sector decision-making. He added that the mission forms part of a broader national strategy to expand the country&#8217;s space capabilities, with the planned 350 million-euro HELLAS-SPACE 2.0 program representing the next major phase.<\/p> <p>The launch builds on a series of initiatives undertaken over the past six months to establish sovereign space capabilities. Greece has already deployed satellites dedicated to wildfire detection under the National Microsatellite Program and expanded partnerships with the European Space Agency and international aerospace companies to develop domestic satellite manufacturing, Earth observation services and secure space infrastructure. The broader strategy aims to provide the Greek state with independent access to critical geospatial data while fostering a high-value technology sector with export potential.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":6,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest science news and developments about new discoveries and inventions in Greece and worldwide, technology, space, biology, medicine and archaeology.","parent":0,"count":481,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":66139,"name":"first Greek satellite launch","slug":"first-greek-satellite-lauch","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":66139,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":66136,"name":"Greece space program","slug":"greece-space-program","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":66136,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":9,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":87385,"name":"SpaceX","slug":"spacex","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":87385,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":18,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/greek-satellite-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/greek-satellite.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/greek-satellite-300x149.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/greek-satellite-768x380.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":519508,"date":"2026-07-07T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T09:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=519508"},"modified":"2026-07-07T07:40:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:40:06","slug":"the-sunscreen-mistake-that-leaves-your-skin-unprotected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/science\/the-sunscreen-mistake-that-leaves-your-skin-unprotected\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sunscreen Mistake That Leaves Your Skin Unprotected"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a44c323-01f4-83eb-bf2b-a65117b3756f-51\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&:has([data-writing-block])>*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a44c323-01f4-83eb-bf2b-a65117b3756f-51\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a44c323-01f4-83eb-bf2b-a65117b3756f-51\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-90\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"e255f7c5-7ef1-4743-9f7a-3bd7d07496e9\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full dark markdown-new-styling\"> <p data-start=\"284\" data-end=\"525\">Sunscreen has become an essential part of every trip to the beach. However, according to experts, many people are not protecting their skin as well as they think—not because they choose the wrong product, but because they use it incorrectly.<\/p> <p data-start=\"527\" data-end=\"829\">Many people apply sunscreen only after arriving at the beach or just before getting into the water. In reality, sunscreen needs time to absorb into the skin and form its protective barrier. Dermatologists recommend applying it about 20 to 30 minutes before sun exposure to ensure maximum effectiveness.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1he9wfx\" data-start=\"831\" data-end=\"860\">Why Protection Is Reduced<\/h3> <p data-start=\"862\" data-end=\"1128\">If someone heads straight into the sun or jumps into the sea immediately after applying sunscreen, the product has not had enough time to set. Some of it is removed by sweat, while water further reduces its effectiveness, leaving the skin exposed to harmful UV rays.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1130\" data-end=\"1243\">As a result, the actual level of protection may be much lower than the SPF listed on the packaging, experts warn.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"q8yh24\" data-start=\"1245\" data-end=\"1291\">The Second Major Mistake: Using Too Little<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1293\" data-end=\"1540\">Another common mistake is applying far less sunscreen than is actually needed. Experts say an adult should use about one full shot glass of sunscreen to cover the entire body, along with an adequate amount for the face, ears, and back of the neck.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1542\" data-end=\"1687\">When only half the recommended amount is applied, the effective SPF drops significantly, leaving the skin much more vulnerable to the sun&#8217;s rays.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"116jfnp\" data-start=\"1689\" data-end=\"1718\">Why Reapplication Matters<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1720\" data-end=\"1902\">Even water-resistant sunscreens do not provide all-day protection. Experts recommend reapplying sunscreen every two hours, as well as after swimming, heavy sweating, or towel drying.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1904\" data-end=\"2153\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is associated with sunburn, premature skin aging, dark spots, wrinkles, and an increased risk of skin damage. For that reason, using sunscreen correctly is just as important as choosing the right SPF.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Applying sunscreen at the wrong time or using too little can significantly reduce its effectiveness, experts warn. Here are the most common mistakes that leave skin exposed to harmful UV rays<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":519511,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[38015,96070],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a44c323-01f4-83eb-bf2b-a65117b3756f-51\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6a44c323-01f4-83eb-bf2b-a65117b3756f-51\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6a44c323-01f4-83eb-bf2b-a65117b3756f-51\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-90\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"e255f7c5-7ef1-4743-9f7a-3bd7d07496e9\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full dark markdown-new-styling\"> <p data-start=\"284\" data-end=\"525\">Sunscreen has become an essential part of every trip to the beach. However, according to experts, many people are not protecting their skin as well as they think—not because they choose the wrong product, but because they use it incorrectly.<\/p> <p data-start=\"527\" data-end=\"829\">Many people apply sunscreen only after arriving at the beach or just before getting into the water. In reality, sunscreen needs time to absorb into the skin and form its protective barrier. Dermatologists recommend applying it about 20 to 30 minutes before sun exposure to ensure maximum effectiveness.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1he9wfx\" data-start=\"831\" data-end=\"860\">Why Protection Is Reduced<\/h3> <p data-start=\"862\" data-end=\"1128\">If someone heads straight into the sun or jumps into the sea immediately after applying sunscreen, the product has not had enough time to set. Some of it is removed by sweat, while water further reduces its effectiveness, leaving the skin exposed to harmful UV rays.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1130\" data-end=\"1243\">As a result, the actual level of protection may be much lower than the SPF listed on the packaging, experts warn.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"q8yh24\" data-start=\"1245\" data-end=\"1291\">The Second Major Mistake: Using Too Little<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1293\" data-end=\"1540\">Another common mistake is applying far less sunscreen than is actually needed. Experts say an adult should use about one full shot glass of sunscreen to cover the entire body, along with an adequate amount for the face, ears, and back of the neck.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1542\" data-end=\"1687\">When only half the recommended amount is applied, the effective SPF drops significantly, leaving the skin much more vulnerable to the sun&#8217;s rays.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"116jfnp\" data-start=\"1689\" data-end=\"1718\">Why Reapplication Matters<\/h3> <p data-start=\"1720\" data-end=\"1902\">Even water-resistant sunscreens do not provide all-day protection. Experts recommend reapplying sunscreen every two hours, as well as after swimming, heavy sweating, or towel drying.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1904\" data-end=\"2153\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is associated with sunburn, premature skin aging, dark spots, wrinkles, and an increased risk of skin damage. For that reason, using sunscreen correctly is just as important as choosing the right SPF.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":6,"name":"Science","slug":"science","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest science news and developments about new discoveries and inventions in Greece and worldwide, technology, space, biology, medicine and archaeology.","parent":0,"count":481,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":38015,"name":"summer","slug":"summer","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":38015,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":42,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":96070,"name":"sun safety","slug":"sun-safety","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":96070,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/paralia-antiliako-1024x683-1.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/paralia-antiliako-1024x683-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/paralia-antiliako-1024x683-1.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/paralia-antiliako-1024x683-1.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"sports","header":"Αθλητισμός","ID":"6","posts":[{"id":523885,"date":"2026-07-11T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=523885"},"modified":"2026-07-11T14:06:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:06:24","slug":"tentoglou-soars-to-world-leading-8-61m-to-win-monaco-diamond-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/tentoglou-soars-to-world-leading-8-61m-to-win-monaco-diamond-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Tentoglou Soars to World-Leading 8.61m to Win Monaco Diamond League"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Greek Olympic long jump champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/tentoglous-shock-exit-in-long-jump-world-championships-final\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Miltiadis (Miltos) Tentoglou<\/a> delivered another commanding display by winning the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Friday evening with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/tentoglou-flies-into-tokyo-2025-world-athletics-long-jump-final\/\">world-leading leap<\/a> of 8.61 meters, sealing victory with a spectacular effort on his sixth and final attempt.<\/p> <p>Tentoglou opened the competition with an impressive 8.48 meters, immediately signaling his strong form in one of the season&#8217;s deepest long jump fields. He remained among the leaders throughout before producing the meet&#8217;s defining moment with his final jump, improving the year&#8217;s best mark and reaffirming his status as the world&#8217;s leading long jumper.<\/p> <div style=\"width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/player.glomex.com\/integration\/1\/integration.html?integrationId=40599w1hlpi78e1y&playlistId=v-djv5srx4g98x\"><\/iframe><\/div> <p>The 8.61-meter effort surpassed his previous season-best and secured victory ahead of Jamaica&#8217;s Wayne Pinnock, who finished second with 8.39 meters, while Cuba&#8217;s Lester Lescay placed third with 8.38 meters.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The Monaco triumph comes at a crucial stage of the season, with Tentoglou continuing a series of consistent elite performances after entering the meeting with the world-leading mark of 8.49 meters. His latest victory further strengthens his credentials as the favorite for another global title at the upcoming World Athletics Championships.<\/p> <div style=\"width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/player.glomex.com\/integration\/1\/integration.html?integrationId=40599w1hlpi78e1y&playlistId=v-djv4z5fha3a9\"><\/iframe><\/div> <p>Tentoglou&#8217;s victory was one of several highlights at the Monaco meeting, where Kenya&#8217;s Emmanuel Wanyonyi set a world record in the men&#8217;s 1,000 meters and Saint Lucia&#8217;s Julien Alfred ran the third-fastest women&#8217;s 200 meters in history, underlining the exceptional standard of competition at the Diamond League event.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Greek double Olympic champion caps outstanding performance with dramatic final-round leap ahead of World Championships<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":523933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[12822,12828],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Greek Olympic long jump champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/tentoglous-shock-exit-in-long-jump-world-championships-final\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Miltiadis (Miltos) Tentoglou<\/a> delivered another commanding display by winning the Monaco Diamond League meeting on Friday evening with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/tentoglou-flies-into-tokyo-2025-world-athletics-long-jump-final\/\">world-leading leap<\/a> of 8.61 meters, sealing victory with a spectacular effort on his sixth and final attempt.<\/p> <p>Tentoglou opened the competition with an impressive 8.48 meters, immediately signaling his strong form in one of the season&#8217;s deepest long jump fields. He remained among the leaders throughout before producing the meet&#8217;s defining moment with his final jump, improving the year&#8217;s best mark and reaffirming his status as the world&#8217;s leading long jumper.<\/p> <div style=\"width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/player.glomex.com\/integration\/1\/integration.html?integrationId=40599w1hlpi78e1y&amp;playlistId=v-djv5srx4g98x\"><\/iframe><\/div> <p>The 8.61-meter effort surpassed his previous season-best and secured victory ahead of Jamaica&#8217;s Wayne Pinnock, who finished second with 8.39 meters, while Cuba&#8217;s Lester Lescay placed third with 8.38 meters.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The Monaco triumph comes at a crucial stage of the season, with Tentoglou continuing a series of consistent elite performances after entering the meeting with the world-leading mark of 8.49 meters. His latest victory further strengthens his credentials as the favorite for another global title at the upcoming World Athletics Championships.<\/p> <div style=\"width: 100%; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;\"><iframe style=\"width: 100%; height: 100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/player.glomex.com\/integration\/1\/integration.html?integrationId=40599w1hlpi78e1y&amp;playlistId=v-djv4z5fha3a9\"><\/iframe><\/div> <p>Tentoglou&#8217;s victory was one of several highlights at the Monaco meeting, where Kenya&#8217;s Emmanuel Wanyonyi set a world record in the men&#8217;s 1,000 meters and Saint Lucia&#8217;s Julien Alfred ran the third-fastest women&#8217;s 200 meters in history, underlining the exceptional standard of competition at the Diamond League event.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":9,"name":"Sports","slug":"sports","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news, features and analysis on Greek and international sports including Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Track, the Olympics and more.","parent":0,"count":678,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":12822,"name":"Miltos Tentoglou","slug":"miltos-tentoglou","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":12822,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":12828,"name":"World Athletics","slug":"world-athletics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":12828,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11\/tentoglou_monaco-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11\/tentoglou_monaco.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11\/tentoglou_monaco-300x206.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/11\/tentoglou_monaco-768x528.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":520825,"date":"2026-07-08T16:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=520825"},"modified":"2026-07-08T10:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:30:33","slug":"djokovic-reaches-historic-15th-wimbledon-semi-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/djokovic-reaches-historic-15th-wimbledon-semi-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic Reaches Historic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Novak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/djokovic-pushing-tsitsipas-around-in-shopping-cart-pic\/\">Djokovic<\/a> booked his place in a record-equalling 15th Wimbledon semi-final—and an eighth in a row—adding yet another remarkable chapter to his extraordinary legacy at the All England Club. But the milestone came only after one of the most demanding victories of his career.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Speechless. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Wimbledon<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UmFfVps6QZ\">pic.twitter.com\/UmFfVps6QZ<\/a><\/p> <p>— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Wimbledon\/status\/2074616724528283782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p>The 39-year-old Serbian star, seeded No. 8, drew on every ounce of his experience to overcome world No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is 14 years his junior, in a gripping contest that turned into an instant classic. The match went the full five sets and lasted five hours and 15 minutes, setting a new record as the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">My longest Wimbledon match ever. An unforgettable nightshift 💪 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q0D10PVwFw\">pic.twitter.com\/q0D10PVwFw<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DjokerNole\/status\/2074632531454865789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Djokovic, the men&#8217;s all-time record holder with 24 Grand Slam singles titles, prevailed 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(10-4) to secure his place in the last four. He will now face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner for a place in the final.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1-768x469.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <p>The statistics reflected just how finely balanced the encounter was. Djokovic edged Auger-Aliassime by the slimmest of margins, winning 188 points to the Canadian&#8217;s 185 and finishing with 29 games to his opponent&#8217;s 28.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2-1024x701.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2-768x526.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <p>Reflecting on the marathon victory, Djokovic said he had earned the historic win &#8220;with my racket and a lot of heart&#8221;—a fitting summary of a performance that once again underscored his resilience and enduring greatness.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520849\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3-1024x690.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3-768x517.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <p>As he left Centre Court, the Serbian champion also applauded his opponent, acknowledging the exceptional quality of a match that will be remembered as one of Wimbledon’s most dramatic quarter-finals.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520852\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4-1024x650.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4-768x487.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Djokovic survives a five-hour Wimbledon epic to reach a record-equalling 15th semi-final, setting up a blockbuster clash with Sinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":520837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[48830,95,68365],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Novak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/djokovic-pushing-tsitsipas-around-in-shopping-cart-pic\/\">Djokovic<\/a> booked his place in a record-equalling 15th Wimbledon semi-final—and an eighth in a row—adding yet another remarkable chapter to his extraordinary legacy at the All England Club. But the milestone came only after one of the most demanding victories of his career.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Speechless. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Wimbledon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Wimbledon<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UmFfVps6QZ\">pic.twitter.com\/UmFfVps6QZ<\/a><\/p> <p>— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Wimbledon\/status\/2074616724528283782?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p>The 39-year-old Serbian star, seeded No. 8, drew on every ounce of his experience to overcome world No. 4 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is 14 years his junior, in a gripping contest that turned into an instant classic. The match went the full five sets and lasted five hours and 15 minutes, setting a new record as the longest quarter-final in Wimbledon history.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">My longest Wimbledon match ever. An unforgettable nightshift 💪 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/q0D10PVwFw\">pic.twitter.com\/q0D10PVwFw<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DjokerNole\/status\/2074632531454865789?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Djokovic, the men&#8217;s all-time record holder with 24 Grand Slam singles titles, prevailed 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(10-4) to secure his place in the last four. He will now face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner for a place in the final.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"733\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-1-768x469.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <p>The statistics reflected just how finely balanced the encounter was. Djokovic edged Auger-Aliassime by the slimmest of margins, winning 188 points to the Canadian&#8217;s 185 and finishing with 29 games to his opponent&#8217;s 28.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520846\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"822\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2-1024x701.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-2-768x526.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <p>Reflecting on the marathon victory, Djokovic said he had earned the historic win &#8220;with my racket and a lot of heart&#8221;—a fitting summary of a performance that once again underscored his resilience and enduring greatness.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520849\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3-300x202.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3-1024x690.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-3-768x517.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <p>As he left Centre Court, the Serbian champion also applauded his opponent, acknowledging the exceptional quality of a match that will be remembered as one of Wimbledon’s most dramatic quarter-finals.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-520852\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4.jpg\" alt=\"Djokovic 15th Wimbledon Semi-final\" width=\"1201\" height=\"762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4.jpg 1201w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4-1024x650.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-4-768x487.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1201px) 100vw, 1201px\" \/><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":9,"name":"Sports","slug":"sports","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news, features and analysis on Greek and international sports including Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Track, the Olympics and more.","parent":0,"count":678,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":48830,"name":"Djokovic","slug":"djokovic","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48830,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":95,"name":"tennis","slug":"tennis","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":95,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":39,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":68365,"name":"Wimbledon","slug":"wimbledon","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":68365,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-300x194.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Djokovic-15th-Wimbledon-Semi-final-768x498.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":520747,"date":"2026-07-08T15:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T12:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=520747"},"modified":"2026-07-08T09:49:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T06:49:40","slug":"ioc-opens-door-to-russias-olympic-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/ioc-opens-door-to-russias-olympic-return\/","title":{"rendered":"IOC Opens Door to Russia’s Olympic Return"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The International <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/greek-medal-winners-the-cash-bonuses-for-greek-medal-winners-at-paris-olympics\/\">Olympic<\/a> Committee (IOC) announced what it described as a temporary lifting of the suspension imposed on the Russian Olympic Committee, on Tuesday, 7 July, following a decision by its Executive Board.<\/p> <p>The move marks the first formal easing of sanctions introduced in 2023, when the IOC suspended Russia in response to the country&#8217;s actions, forcing Russian athletes to compete only as neutrals and under strict eligibility criteria at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.<\/p> <p>Although the IOC stressed that the measure is provisional, the decision significantly reshapes the outlook for Russia&#8217;s return to the Olympic movement. Most notably, it paves the way for the Russian Olympic Committee to pursue participation in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, subject to future determinations on the conditions of reinstatement.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Key questions, however, remain unresolved. The IOC has yet to decide whether Russian athletes will be permitted to compete under the national flag, wear their country&#8217;s official colours, or have the Russian national anthem played during medal ceremonies. Those issues are expected to be addressed in subsequent deliberations as the governing body evaluates the broader framework for Russia&#8217;s reintegration into international sport.<\/p> <p>Reacting to the announcement, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev welcomed the decision, describing it as a major step toward restoring Russia&#8217;s place within the Olympic movement. &#8220;The return of our country to the Olympic family gives international federations the green light to reinstate all of our athletes,&#8221; he said.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IOC temporarily lifts the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, opening the door to Russia&#8217;s potential return for the 2028 Los Angeles Games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":520783,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[31683,582],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The International <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/greek-medal-winners-the-cash-bonuses-for-greek-medal-winners-at-paris-olympics\/\">Olympic<\/a> Committee (IOC) announced what it described as a temporary lifting of the suspension imposed on the Russian Olympic Committee, on Tuesday, 7 July, following a decision by its Executive Board.<\/p> <p>The move marks the first formal easing of sanctions introduced in 2023, when the IOC suspended Russia in response to the country&#8217;s actions, forcing Russian athletes to compete only as neutrals and under strict eligibility criteria at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.<\/p> <p>Although the IOC stressed that the measure is provisional, the decision significantly reshapes the outlook for Russia&#8217;s return to the Olympic movement. Most notably, it paves the way for the Russian Olympic Committee to pursue participation in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, subject to future determinations on the conditions of reinstatement.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Key questions, however, remain unresolved. The IOC has yet to decide whether Russian athletes will be permitted to compete under the national flag, wear their country&#8217;s official colours, or have the Russian national anthem played during medal ceremonies. Those issues are expected to be addressed in subsequent deliberations as the governing body evaluates the broader framework for Russia&#8217;s reintegration into international sport.<\/p> <p>Reacting to the announcement, Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev welcomed the decision, describing it as a major step toward restoring Russia&#8217;s place within the Olympic movement. &#8220;The return of our country to the Olympic family gives international federations the green light to reinstate all of our athletes,&#8221; he said.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":9,"name":"Sports","slug":"sports","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news, features and analysis on Greek and international sports including Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Track, the Olympics and more.","parent":0,"count":678,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":31683,"name":"International Olympic Committee (IOC)","slug":"international-olympic-committee-ioc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":31683,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":582,"name":"Russia","slug":"russia","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":582,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":203,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Russian-Olympic-Committee-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Russian-Olympic-Committee.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Russian-Olympic-Committee-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/08\/Russian-Olympic-Committee-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":519673,"date":"2026-07-07T15:00:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T12:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=519673"},"modified":"2026-07-07T15:01:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T12:01:05","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo-begins-a-new-era-in-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/giannis-antetokounmpo-begins-a-new-era-in-miami\/","title":{"rendered":"Giannis Antetokounmpo Begins a New Era in Miami"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Miami Heat and South Florida will mark the next chapter in the career and life of NBA star Giannis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/antetokounmpo-opens-up-on-wealth-discipline-and-kobe-bryants-lasting-influence\/\">Antetokounmpo<\/a>.<\/p> <p>After a legendary run with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Greek superstar has bid farewell to Wisconsin and is heading to the NBA&#8217;s southeastern outpost in pursuit of a second championship ring. For Miami, the move represents a bid for a fourth NBA title—and the franchise&#8217;s first since the LeBron James and Dwyane Wade era culminated in the 2013 championship.<\/p> <p>Antetokounmpo is also embracing a complete fresh start by making a symbolic change to one of the most recognizable aspects of his identity: his jersey number.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The iconic No. 34, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/antetokounmpo-acquires-stake-in-im8-co-co-founded-by-beckham\/\">Antetokounmpo<\/a>  wore throughout his time with the Bucks and with the Greece men&#8217;s national basketball team, appears set to become a thing of the past.<\/p> <p>In a video shared by the Heat on social media, the first glimpse of the Greek Freak in Miami suggests fans will soon have to get used to seeing him wear No. 7 instead.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Good thing we’re plugged into <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/N3onOnYT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@N3onOnYT<\/a>’s stream 👀 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nu10G0Logv\">pic.twitter.com\/Nu10G0Logv<\/a><\/p> <p>— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MiamiHEAT\/status\/2074285437393211414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p>The number is currently held by Ryan Conwell, but it is widely expected that he will relinquish it, allowing Antetokounmpo&#8217;s Miami era to begin with a new—and potentially iconic—number.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Giannis Antetokounmpo begins a new NBA chapter in Miami, leaving behind No. 34 for a fresh start in the Heat’s quest for another title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":519703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[33423,175],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The Miami Heat and South Florida will mark the next chapter in the career and life of NBA star Giannis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/antetokounmpo-opens-up-on-wealth-discipline-and-kobe-bryants-lasting-influence\/\">Antetokounmpo<\/a>.<\/p> <p>After a legendary run with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Greek superstar has bid farewell to Wisconsin and is heading to the NBA&#8217;s southeastern outpost in pursuit of a second championship ring. For Miami, the move represents a bid for a fourth NBA title—and the franchise&#8217;s first since the LeBron James and Dwyane Wade era culminated in the 2013 championship.<\/p> <p>Antetokounmpo is also embracing a complete fresh start by making a symbolic change to one of the most recognizable aspects of his identity: his jersey number.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The iconic No. 34, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/antetokounmpo-acquires-stake-in-im8-co-co-founded-by-beckham\/\">Antetokounmpo<\/a>  wore throughout his time with the Bucks and with the Greece men&#8217;s national basketball team, appears set to become a thing of the past.<\/p> <p>In a video shared by the Heat on social media, the first glimpse of the Greek Freak in Miami suggests fans will soon have to get used to seeing him wear No. 7 instead.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Good thing we’re plugged into <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/N3onOnYT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@N3onOnYT<\/a>’s stream 👀 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nu10G0Logv\">pic.twitter.com\/Nu10G0Logv<\/a><\/p> <p>— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MiamiHEAT\/status\/2074285437393211414?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p>The number is currently held by Ryan Conwell, but it is widely expected that he will relinquish it, allowing Antetokounmpo&#8217;s Miami era to begin with a new—and potentially iconic—number.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":9,"name":"Sports","slug":"sports","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news, features and analysis on Greek and international sports including Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Track, the Olympics and more.","parent":0,"count":678,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":33423,"name":"Giannis Antetokounmpo","slug":"giannis-antetokounmpo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":33423,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":61,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":175,"name":"NBA","slug":"nba","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":175,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":32,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Miami-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Miami.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Miami-300x204.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Giannis-Antetokounmpo-Miami-768x523.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":516325,"date":"2026-07-02T19:05:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=516325"},"modified":"2026-07-04T00:36:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T21:36:53","slug":"evangelos-marinakis-new-olympiacos-stadium-could-open-by-2028-vids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/sports\/evangelos-marinakis-new-olympiacos-stadium-could-open-by-2028-vids\/","title":{"rendered":"Evangelos Marinakis: New Olympiacos Stadium Could Open by 2029 (Vids)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Evangelos Marinakis on Thursday outlined his vision for Olympiacos&#8217; new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, telling reporters and stakeholders gathered in Piraeus that the privately funded project represents a transformative investment for both the club and the port city itself.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/webtools-0df53bbc22ae482295dbcf7370989099.msvdn.net\/embed\/5hd5nS5O2yiU?autoPlay=false\" width=\"100%\"><br \/> <\/iframe><\/p> <p>In beginning his presentation, he emphasized that today is &#8220;a historic day for Olympiacos and for the city where the Legend was born,&#8221; using a nickname for the team.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The presentation, held at the Piraeus Municipal Theatre, unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art stadium designed to accommodate more than 53,000 spectators, exceeding the previously announced capacity of 50,000.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaTARdIIgbx\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaTARdIIgbx\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by tovima.com (@tovimacom)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Officials with the hugely popular and historic Olympiacos stressed that the project has a price tag of more than 250 million euros and will be financed entirely by the club and its owner.<\/p> <h2><strong>When will the new stadium be completed?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>In reply to press questions, Marinakis said he hopes fans’ &#8220;next meeting&#8221; will take place inside the new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium within the next three years.<\/p> <p>He added that construction could have begun in May had the necessary legal framework already been in place, adding that the venue could be ready by August 2028 if the remaining regulatory issues are resolved.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wslPSwcgNG4?si=Adb3LX5vwR7xTsUx\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p> <h2><strong>What approvals are still required?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>According to Marinakis, the only legislative change sought from the government is permission to increase the stadium&#8217;s height to between 52 and 53 meters.<\/p> <p>He argued that comparable exemptions have been granted to taller buildings elsewhere and suggested that the government&#8217;s foot-dragging prevented construction from starting.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-WdpTdENpEg?si=kTeu4K76EWKIwIc-\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p> <h2><strong>Where will Olympiacos play during construction?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis said Olympiacos plans to play its home matches at the Athens Olympic Stadium (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/aktor-completes-restoration-of-landmark-oaka-calatrava-structures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OAKA<\/a>) for approximately two seasons while the new home for the club is built, arguing that no other venue can adequately accommodate the team’s supporters.<\/p> <h2><strong>Why does Olympiacos stress that a new stadium is needed?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis said consistently sold-out matches demonstrate growing demand and that a new venue will allow significantly more fans to attend games, while also enabling Greece to host major European sporting events.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said the project is intended to create what he described as &#8220;our own theater of dreams,&#8221; referencing one of world football&#8217;s most iconic stadiums.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516271 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <h2><strong>How large will the new stadium be?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis confirmed the planned capacity will exceed 53,000 seats, making it the largest football stadium in Greece.<\/p> <p>The project will feature modern technology, multi-purpose facilities, sustainability-focused design and expanded hospitality areas, according to plans presented during the event on Thursday.<\/p> <h2><strong>How will the project be financed?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis reiterated that the investment, valued at more than 250 million euros, will be funded exclusively by Olympiacos, without public financing.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-516337\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <h2><strong>What he said about the club&#8217;s ambitions?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>The Olympiacos president described the presentation as &#8220;a historic day&#8221; for Olympiacos, Piraeus and Greece, saying one of his long-term objectives has been to make the club financially self-sufficient and establish it among Europe&#8217;s elite.<\/p> <p>Highlighting the club&#8217;s recent achievements, he pointed to Olympiacos&#8217; UEFA Europa Conference League triumph and the UEFA Youth League title, as well as what he said were 300 trophies across all sports over the past 16 years.<\/p> <p>He also praised the club&#8217;s academy, citing football team captain Panagiotis Retsos as an example of a homegrown player who progressed to Bayer Leverkusen before returning to help Olympiacos win its first European trophy.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_516268\" style=\"width: 778px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-516268\" class=\"size-full wp-image-516268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_moralis.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_moralis.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_moralis-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-516268\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Piraeus Mayor Giannis Moralis.<\/p><\/div> <h2><strong>What he said about state support<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis and Piraeus Mayor Giannis Moralis stressed that Olympiacos is not seeking state funding for the project, only the legislative amendment needed to proceed with construction.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Olympiacos is one; no nephew or cousin can change that,” Marinakis emphasized, in response to a question on the possibility of anyone attempting to undermine the club’s unity.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_516358\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-516358\" class=\"wp-image-516358 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-516358\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Olympiacos Vice-President Kostas Karapapas.<\/p><\/div> <p>Olympiacos Vice-President Kostas Karapapas opened the event, noting that &#8220;&#8230;there are millions of souls, millions of Olympiacos supporters in Greece and around the world, who are waiting with bated breath to see what is about to happen become reality, to watch another dream come to life.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Karapapas praised the leadership of Marinakis, saying: &#8220;Since 2010, Vangelis Marinakis has been at the helm of the club. He continuously gives everything to make Olympiacos greater, to strengthen the Legend and to elevate Greece. I want you to know that today is a very special day. To be honest, I&#8217;ve already seen some of the images, and I want to prepare you for what&#8217;s coming.&#8221;<\/p> <h2>Piraeus Mayor: &#8216;Olympiacos is the city&#8217;s greatest ambassador&#8217;<\/h2> <p>On his part, Piraeus Mayor Moralis also addressed the event, highlighting the recent approval process that has cleared the way for the project.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Just a few days ago, the Piraeus municipal council unanimously approved Olympiacos&#8217; request for the urban planning adjustments needed to make the new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium possible,&#8221; Moralis said.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Now, roughly 22 years later, the time has come to proceed with a complete reconstruction of this stadium through what is, by Greek standards, an extraordinary investment of about 250 million euros. This proposal is asking nothing from the Greek state—not a single euro. It seeks only the necessary approval and legislation to allow this investment to move forward immediately. I believe, and I am confident, that this will happen quickly.&#8221;<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516367 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <h2>Stunning specifications<\/h2> <p>The proposed venue would become Greece&#8217;s largest football stadium, with a capacity, as previously mentioned, exceeding 53,000 spectators.<\/p> <p>The project also includes extensive transport and access improvements around the Piraeus waterfront, including thousands of parking spaces and traffic measures intended to ease arrivals and departures while reducing pressure on public transport serving the stadium.<\/p> <p>Plans call for a 2,000-square-meter media center with a 320-seat auditorium, a further 1,000 square meters of dedicated workspace and more than 5,000 square meters of premium hospitality areas. The stadium would feature more than 100 luxury suites, 5,000 square meters of restaurants, cafes and concession areas and a new 30,000-square-meter bioclimatic roof.<\/p> <p>The four-level stadium would rise to more than 52 meters and incorporate 32 escalators, 60 elevators, 20 double staircases and 70 access gates designed to improve spectator circulation.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516370 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <p>The project also envisages 10,000 square meters of LED displays, described by Olympiacos as Europe&#8217;s largest multi-faceted screen for sporting and cultural events, along with advanced broadcasting infrastructure, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, renewable energy installations and twin high-tech control rooms.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"und\">Οι πρώτες εικόνες του «Νέου Σταδίου Γ. Καραϊσκάκης»!<\/p> <p>The first images of the “New G. Karaiskakis Stadium”!<br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/OlympiacosFC?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OlympiacosFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Marinakis?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Marinakis<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Piraeus?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Piraeus<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Greece?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Greece<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4BQGNaeZfE\">pic.twitter.com\/4BQGNaeZfE<\/a><\/p> <p>— Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/olympiacosfc\/status\/2072707728972079552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p><\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Olympiacos FC president said the proposed 53,000-seat venue could be completed within three years if pending legislation is approved, with the club temporarily relocating to Athens&#8217; Olympic Stadium (OAKA) during construction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":516343,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[19015,19333,1722],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Evangelos Marinakis on Thursday outlined his vision for Olympiacos&#8217; new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, telling reporters and stakeholders gathered in Piraeus that the privately funded project represents a transformative investment for both the club and the port city itself.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/webtools-0df53bbc22ae482295dbcf7370989099.msvdn.net\/embed\/5hd5nS5O2yiU?autoPlay=false\" width=\"100%\"><br \/> <\/iframe><\/p> <p>In beginning his presentation, he emphasized that today is &#8220;a historic day for Olympiacos and for the city where the Legend was born,&#8221; using a nickname for the team.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>The presentation, held at the Piraeus Municipal Theatre, unveiled plans for a state-of-the-art stadium designed to accommodate more than 53,000 spectators, exceeding the previously announced capacity of 50,000.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaTARdIIgbx\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaTARdIIgbx\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by tovima.com (@tovimacom)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Officials with the hugely popular and historic Olympiacos stressed that the project has a price tag of more than 250 million euros and will be financed entirely by the club and its owner.<\/p> <h2><strong>When will the new stadium be completed?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>In reply to press questions, Marinakis said he hopes fans’ &#8220;next meeting&#8221; will take place inside the new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium within the next three years.<\/p> <p>He added that construction could have begun in May had the necessary legal framework already been in place, adding that the venue could be ready by August 2028 if the remaining regulatory issues are resolved.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wslPSwcgNG4?si=Adb3LX5vwR7xTsUx\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p> <h2><strong>What approvals are still required?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>According to Marinakis, the only legislative change sought from the government is permission to increase the stadium&#8217;s height to between 52 and 53 meters.<\/p> <p>He argued that comparable exemptions have been granted to taller buildings elsewhere and suggested that the government&#8217;s foot-dragging prevented construction from starting.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-WdpTdENpEg?si=kTeu4K76EWKIwIc-\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p> <h2><strong>Where will Olympiacos play during construction?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis said Olympiacos plans to play its home matches at the Athens Olympic Stadium (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/aktor-completes-restoration-of-landmark-oaka-calatrava-structures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">OAKA<\/a>) for approximately two seasons while the new home for the club is built, arguing that no other venue can adequately accommodate the team’s supporters.<\/p> <h2><strong>Why does Olympiacos stress that a new stadium is needed?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis said consistently sold-out matches demonstrate growing demand and that a new venue will allow significantly more fans to attend games, while also enabling Greece to host major European sporting events.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said the project is intended to create what he described as &#8220;our own theater of dreams,&#8221; referencing one of world football&#8217;s most iconic stadiums.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516271 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_marinakis-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <h2><strong>How large will the new stadium be?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis confirmed the planned capacity will exceed 53,000 seats, making it the largest football stadium in Greece.<\/p> <p>The project will feature modern technology, multi-purpose facilities, sustainability-focused design and expanded hospitality areas, according to plans presented during the event on Thursday.<\/p> <h2><strong>How will the project be financed?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis reiterated that the investment, valued at more than 250 million euros, will be funded exclusively by Olympiacos, without public financing.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-516337\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_aerial-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <h2><strong>What he said about the club&#8217;s ambitions?<\/strong><\/h2> <p>The Olympiacos president described the presentation as &#8220;a historic day&#8221; for Olympiacos, Piraeus and Greece, saying one of his long-term objectives has been to make the club financially self-sufficient and establish it among Europe&#8217;s elite.<\/p> <p>Highlighting the club&#8217;s recent achievements, he pointed to Olympiacos&#8217; UEFA Europa Conference League triumph and the UEFA Youth League title, as well as what he said were 300 trophies across all sports over the past 16 years.<\/p> <p>He also praised the club&#8217;s academy, citing football team captain Panagiotis Retsos as an example of a homegrown player who progressed to Bayer Leverkusen before returning to help Olympiacos win its first European trophy.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_516268\" style=\"width: 778px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-516268\" class=\"size-full wp-image-516268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_moralis.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_moralis.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/new-karaiskakis_moralis-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-516268\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Piraeus Mayor Giannis Moralis.<\/p><\/div> <h2><strong>What he said about state support<\/strong><\/h2> <p>Marinakis and Piraeus Mayor Giannis Moralis stressed that Olympiacos is not seeking state funding for the project, only the legislative amendment needed to proceed with construction.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Olympiacos is one; no nephew or cousin can change that,” Marinakis emphasized, in response to a question on the possibility of anyone attempting to undermine the club’s unity.<\/p> <div id=\"attachment_516358\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-516358\" class=\"wp-image-516358 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"684\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karapapas.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-516358\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Olympiacos Vice-President Kostas Karapapas.<\/p><\/div> <p>Olympiacos Vice-President Kostas Karapapas opened the event, noting that &#8220;&#8230;there are millions of souls, millions of Olympiacos supporters in Greece and around the world, who are waiting with bated breath to see what is about to happen become reality, to watch another dream come to life.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Karapapas praised the leadership of Marinakis, saying: &#8220;Since 2010, Vangelis Marinakis has been at the helm of the club. He continuously gives everything to make Olympiacos greater, to strengthen the Legend and to elevate Greece. I want you to know that today is a very special day. To be honest, I&#8217;ve already seen some of the images, and I want to prepare you for what&#8217;s coming.&#8221;<\/p> <h2>Piraeus Mayor: &#8216;Olympiacos is the city&#8217;s greatest ambassador&#8217;<\/h2> <p>On his part, Piraeus Mayor Moralis also addressed the event, highlighting the recent approval process that has cleared the way for the project.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Just a few days ago, the Piraeus municipal council unanimously approved Olympiacos&#8217; request for the urban planning adjustments needed to make the new Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium possible,&#8221; Moralis said.<\/p> <p>&#8220;Now, roughly 22 years later, the time has come to proceed with a complete reconstruction of this stadium through what is, by Greek standards, an extraordinary investment of about 250 million euros. This proposal is asking nothing from the Greek state—not a single euro. It seeks only the necessary approval and legislation to allow this investment to move forward immediately. I believe, and I am confident, that this will happen quickly.&#8221;<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516367 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <h2>Stunning specifications<\/h2> <p>The proposed venue would become Greece&#8217;s largest football stadium, with a capacity, as previously mentioned, exceeding 53,000 spectators.<\/p> <p>The project also includes extensive transport and access improvements around the Piraeus waterfront, including thousands of parking spaces and traffic measures intended to ease arrivals and departures while reducing pressure on public transport serving the stadium.<\/p> <p>Plans call for a 2,000-square-meter media center with a 320-seat auditorium, a further 1,000 square meters of dedicated workspace and more than 5,000 square meters of premium hospitality areas. The stadium would feature more than 100 luxury suites, 5,000 square meters of restaurants, cafes and concession areas and a new 30,000-square-meter bioclimatic roof.<\/p> <p>The four-level stadium would rise to more than 52 meters and incorporate 32 escalators, 60 elevators, 20 double staircases and 70 access gates designed to improve spectator circulation.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-516370 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"New Olympiacos Stadium\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis_exterior2.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p> <p>The project also envisages 10,000 square meters of LED displays, described by Olympiacos as Europe&#8217;s largest multi-faceted screen for sporting and cultural events, along with advanced broadcasting infrastructure, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, renewable energy installations and twin high-tech control rooms.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"und\">Οι πρώτες εικόνες του «Νέου Σταδίου Γ. Καραϊσκάκης»!<\/p> <p>The first images of the “New G. Karaiskakis Stadium”!<br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/OlympiacosFC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#OlympiacosFC<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Marinakis?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Marinakis<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Piraeus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Piraeus<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/Greece?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Greece<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4BQGNaeZfE\">pic.twitter.com\/4BQGNaeZfE<\/a><\/p> <p>— Olympiacos FC (@olympiacosfc) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/olympiacosfc\/status\/2072707728972079552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p><\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":9,"name":"Sports","slug":"sports","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"The latest news, features and analysis on Greek and international sports including Soccer, Basketball, Tennis, Track, the Olympics and more.","parent":0,"count":678,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":19015,"name":"Evangelos Marinakis","slug":"evangelos-marinakis","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19015,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":75,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19333,"name":"Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium","slug":"georgios-karaiskakis-stadium","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19333,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":1722,"name":"Olympiacos FC","slug":"olympiacos-fc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1722,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":100,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis-stadium_main-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis-stadium_main.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis-stadium_main-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/02\/karaiskakis-stadium_main-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"autohub","header":"AutoHub","ID":"7","posts":[]},{"type":"vimagazino","header":"BHMAgazino","ID":"8","posts":[]},{"type":"international","header":"International","ID":"11","posts":[]},{"type":"society","header":"Κοινωνία","ID":"12","posts":[{"id":526165,"date":"2026-07-14T21:00:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526165"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:54:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:54:02","slug":"zakynthos-shipwreck-rescue-plan-sparks-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/zakynthos-shipwreck-rescue-plan-sparks-backlash\/","title":{"rendered":"Zakynthos Shipwreck Rescue Plan Sparks Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">A Greek professor has raised objections to the intervention plan for the famous &#8220;Navagio&#8221; (Shipwreck) beach on Zakynthos, which remains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/travel\/iconic-zakynthos-navagio-beach-closed-this-summer\/\">closed to the public<\/a> again this year over landslide risk, in comments to the German newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to the paper, specialists from the National Technical University of Athens have developed a plan meant to slow the site&#8217;s deterioration. The beach would be widened by roughly 30 meters through the addition of 45,000 cubic meters of gravel and sand, aimed at blocking the winter storm waves that batter the wreck site directly and cause further damage.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The project&#8217;s budget comes to 3.9 million euros. Materials would be delivered to the cove by cargo ship and placed into the water using floating cranes. In a second phase, the Municipality of Zakynthos plans to rebuild the shipwreck itself for around 2.5 million euros and maintain it to prevent further deterioration.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The German outlet notes the project has stirred controversy. Manolis Vasilakis, a geology professor at the University of Athens, considers it a massive intervention in nature and questions whether it makes sense to spend several million euros transporting tens of thousands of tons of gravel that will very quickly be swept away by the sea.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Navagio plan was first presented in January, when the Ministry of National Economy assigned the Municipality of Zakynthos the &#8220;Restoration of Zakynthos Shipwreck&#8221; project. The beach-widening and maintenance plans are based on NTUA studies.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">In June, the government imposed a tourist access ban, via a Joint Ministerial Decision, covering both the &#8220;Prohibited Zone&#8221; and the &#8220;Controlled Access Zone&#8221; at Navagio beach. Access is only permitted from the existing observation platform.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Experts warn tens of thousands of cubic meters of sand and gravel will wash away fast at Navagio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[20086,95770,5418],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">A Greek professor has raised objections to the intervention plan for the famous &#8220;Navagio&#8221; (Shipwreck) beach on Zakynthos, which remains <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/travel\/iconic-zakynthos-navagio-beach-closed-this-summer\/\">closed to the public<\/a> again this year over landslide risk, in comments to the German newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to the paper, specialists from the National Technical University of Athens have developed a plan meant to slow the site&#8217;s deterioration. The beach would be widened by roughly 30 meters through the addition of 45,000 cubic meters of gravel and sand, aimed at blocking the winter storm waves that batter the wreck site directly and cause further damage.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The project&#8217;s budget comes to 3.9 million euros. Materials would be delivered to the cove by cargo ship and placed into the water using floating cranes. In a second phase, the Municipality of Zakynthos plans to rebuild the shipwreck itself for around 2.5 million euros and maintain it to prevent further deterioration.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The German outlet notes the project has stirred controversy. Manolis Vasilakis, a geology professor at the University of Athens, considers it a massive intervention in nature and questions whether it makes sense to spend several million euros transporting tens of thousands of tons of gravel that will very quickly be swept away by the sea.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The Navagio plan was first presented in January, when the Ministry of National Economy assigned the Municipality of Zakynthos the &#8220;Restoration of Zakynthos Shipwreck&#8221; project. The beach-widening and maintenance plans are based on NTUA studies.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">In June, the government imposed a tourist access ban, via a Joint Ministerial Decision, covering both the &#8220;Prohibited Zone&#8221; and the &#8220;Controlled Access Zone&#8221; at Navagio beach. Access is only permitted from the existing observation platform.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":20086,"name":"landslide","slug":"landslide","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20086,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":95770,"name":"shipwreck","slug":"shipwreck","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":95770,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":5418,"name":"Zakynthos","slug":"zakynthos","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5418,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":33,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Navagio-Beach.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526144,"date":"2026-07-14T20:30:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:30:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526144"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:00:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:00:48","slug":"foreign-worker-exodus-deepens-greeces-labor-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/foreign-worker-exodus-deepens-greeces-labor-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign Worker Exodus Deepens Greece’s Labor Shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greece&#8217;s labor market faces a growing contradiction that is turning into a serious drag on growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The economy keeps generating new jobs that businesses cannot fill, while the pool of available workers keeps shrinking, not just from an aging population but from the mass departure of foreign workers who for decades propped up critical sectors.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Vacancies rise as the workforce shrinks<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The latest study from the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) shows job vacancies topped 31,000 by the end of 2025, up roughly 2,700 in a single year, a sign the labor shortage may be resurfacing.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The worst gaps are in education, with an estimated 6,900 unfilled positions, followed by health and social care, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade, sectors that keep the economy&#8217;s daily operations running and are struggling more each year to meet their staffing needs.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The exodus of foreign workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The study&#8217;s most alarming finding is the sharp drop in the number of foreign nationals living and working in Greece. Their numbers fell by 140,500 in a single year, a decline of more than 51%, with women accounting for the steepest drop.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">As a result, Greece&#8217;s total population fell by 12,700, despite a small rise in the number of Greek citizens.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The trend looks even starker over the long run. In 2008, foreign nationals made up 6% of the total population and 8.2% of both the labor force and total employment. Today those shares have shrunk to roughly a third of their former levels, and the total foreign population in the country has fallen by more than 65%.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Employment growth now rests entirely on Greek workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Despite the shrinking pool of available labor, total employment kept growing in 2025, up by 73,700 positions, but that increase came entirely from Greek workers, whose numbers rose by 126,600. Legally employed foreign nationals, by contrast, fell by 53,000, or 37.1%.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The labor force tells the same story: its overall growth of 19,500 people came entirely from greater participation by Greek nationals, particularly women, who are entering the workforce at a growing pace. In short, Greece&#8217;s labor market is still drawing on domestic reserves, but those reserves are not unlimited.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Foreign workers work more but don&#8217;t stay<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">One of the study&#8217;s more striking findings is that foreign nationals who do remain in Greece show unusually high labor market participation. More than 88% of foreign men over 15 are in the labor force, compared with about 60% of Greek nationals, and nearly 84% are employed, almost 30 percentage points higher than the rate for Greeks.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Unemployment among foreign nationals stands at 7.6%, versus 8.3% for Greeks, and drops to just 4.9% among foreign men. Foreign workers who stay clearly find jobs relatively easily and participate actively in the economy, yet that alone isn&#8217;t enough to keep them in the country.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Low pay and working conditions push people out<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to KEPE, the decision to leave isn&#8217;t only about job availability. Pay levels, working conditions, the quality of available jobs, and sharp regional imbalances push many workers to look for better opportunities elsewhere in Europe, where wages are higher and career prospects better.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">This is happening even as the Greek economy keeps expanding: from 2014 through the end of 2025, more than 803,000 new jobs were created, mainly in trade, professional and scientific activities, and hospitality and food service.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The challenge is no longer unemployment<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">For years, the central goal was cutting unemployment. Increasingly, the key question is who will fill the jobs being created. Demographic decline, an aging population, and the departure of thousands of foreign workers are reshaping the labor market, with the shortage of workers becoming a core constraint on economic growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">If the trend continues, KEPE suggests Greece will need more than investment and new jobs, it will need a comprehensive strategy to retain and attract workers, so growth doesn&#8217;t stall for lack of people to sustain it.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foreign workers, once 8.2% of the workforce in 2008, now make up roughly a third of that share<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[996,39241,5220],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Greece&#8217;s labor market faces a growing contradiction that is turning into a serious drag on growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The economy keeps generating new jobs that businesses cannot fill, while the pool of available workers keeps shrinking, not just from an aging population but from the mass departure of foreign workers who for decades propped up critical sectors.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Vacancies rise as the workforce shrinks<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The latest study from the Centre of Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) shows job vacancies topped 31,000 by the end of 2025, up roughly 2,700 in a single year, a sign the labor shortage may be resurfacing.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The worst gaps are in education, with an estimated 6,900 unfilled positions, followed by health and social care, manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade, sectors that keep the economy&#8217;s daily operations running and are struggling more each year to meet their staffing needs.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The exodus of foreign workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The study&#8217;s most alarming finding is the sharp drop in the number of foreign nationals living and working in Greece. Their numbers fell by 140,500 in a single year, a decline of more than 51%, with women accounting for the steepest drop.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">As a result, Greece&#8217;s total population fell by 12,700, despite a small rise in the number of Greek citizens.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The trend looks even starker over the long run. In 2008, foreign nationals made up 6% of the total population and 8.2% of both the labor force and total employment. Today those shares have shrunk to roughly a third of their former levels, and the total foreign population in the country has fallen by more than 65%.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Employment growth now rests entirely on Greek workers<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Despite the shrinking pool of available labor, total employment kept growing in 2025, up by 73,700 positions, but that increase came entirely from Greek workers, whose numbers rose by 126,600. Legally employed foreign nationals, by contrast, fell by 53,000, or 37.1%.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The labor force tells the same story: its overall growth of 19,500 people came entirely from greater participation by Greek nationals, particularly women, who are entering the workforce at a growing pace. In short, Greece&#8217;s labor market is still drawing on domestic reserves, but those reserves are not unlimited.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Foreign workers work more but don&#8217;t stay<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">One of the study&#8217;s more striking findings is that foreign nationals who do remain in Greece show unusually high labor market participation. More than 88% of foreign men over 15 are in the labor force, compared with about 60% of Greek nationals, and nearly 84% are employed, almost 30 percentage points higher than the rate for Greeks.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Unemployment among foreign nationals stands at 7.6%, versus 8.3% for Greeks, and drops to just 4.9% among foreign men. Foreign workers who stay clearly find jobs relatively easily and participate actively in the economy, yet that alone isn&#8217;t enough to keep them in the country.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>Low pay and working conditions push people out<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to KEPE, the decision to leave isn&#8217;t only about job availability. Pay levels, working conditions, the quality of available jobs, and sharp regional imbalances push many workers to look for better opportunities elsewhere in Europe, where wages are higher and career prospects better.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">This is happening even as the Greek economy keeps expanding: from 2014 through the end of 2025, more than 803,000 new jobs were created, mainly in trade, professional and scientific activities, and hospitality and food service.<\/p> <h3 class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"><strong>The challenge is no longer unemployment<\/strong><\/h3> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">For years, the central goal was cutting unemployment. Increasingly, the key question is who will fill the jobs being created. Demographic decline, an aging population, and the departure of thousands of foreign workers are reshaping the labor market, with the shortage of workers becoming a core constraint on economic growth.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">If the trend continues, KEPE suggests Greece will need more than investment and new jobs, it will need a comprehensive strategy to retain and attract workers, so growth doesn&#8217;t stall for lack of people to sustain it.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":996,"name":"greek economy","slug":"greek-economy","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":996,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":241,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":39241,"name":"Greek wages","slug":"greek-wages","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":39241,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":5220,"name":"migration","slug":"migration","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5220,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":120,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work-300x176.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Work-768x450.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526186,"date":"2026-07-14T19:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526186"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:31:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:31:02","slug":"greek-americans-protest-astorias-omission-from-nyc-immigrant-enclaves-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-americans-protest-astorias-omission-from-nyc-immigrant-enclaves-map\/","title":{"rendered":"Greek-Americans Protest Astoria’s Omission from NYC Immigrant Enclaves Map"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The omission of Astoria&#8217;s historic Greektown from New York City&#8217;s official Immigrant Enclaves Map has sparked criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/stories\/from-crisis-to-catalyst-how-diaspora-greeks-are-sparking-change\/\">Greek-American<\/a> leaders, who say the exclusion overlooks generations of contributions by one of the city&#8217;s most prominent immigrant communities.<\/p> <p>The map, released by the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, identifies 30 immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Little Africa, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Yemen, Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Haiti, Little India, Little Palestine and Little Mexico.<\/p> <p>However, it does not include Astoria, long recognized as the cultural heart of Greek America, where generations of Greek immigrants established churches, schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/faros-athens-breaking-down-the-barriers-for-greeces-blind\/\">community organizations<\/a>, businesses, restaurants and charitable institutions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_526192\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-image-526192 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png\" alt=\"NYC Enclaves Map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-768x729.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York City Immigrant Enclaves map featuring 30 city neighborhoods.<\/p><\/div> <p>The map also drew criticism for omitting other historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Italy, as well as traditional Irish and Jewish communities.<\/p> <p>AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) Empire State District 6 Governor Konstantinos G. Prentzas said he was &#8220;deeply disappointed&#8221; by the exclusion of Astoria and its historic Hellenic-American community.<\/p> <p>&#8220;It is especially troubling because we have also witnessed similar treatment toward Little Italy and the Italian-American community,&#8221; Prentzas said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>&#8220;These historic neighborhoods are not simply locations on a map. They represent generations of sacrifice, faith, family, hard work, entrepreneurship and devotion to the American Dream.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said Greek Americans helped create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-diaspora-summer-student-programs-ignite-greek-american-heritage-a-path-to-revitalizing-the-u-s-diaspora\/\">support education<\/a> and contribute significantly to New York City&#8217;s civic, economic and cultural life.<\/p> <p>&#8220;We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot erase history,&#8221; Prentzas said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to preserve it, honor it, teach it and share it with future generations.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Calling the omission &#8220;more than a minor oversight,&#8221; he said it disregards the sacrifices, achievements and legacy of generations of Greek immigrants and their descendants, adding that the same recognition should be extended to every historic ethnic community that helped build New York City.<\/p> <p>Senate candidate, Greek-American Pamela Michos also criticized the omission, describing it as &#8220;outrageous, but unfortunately not unexpected&#8221;.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-526195 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png\" alt=\"Ahepa\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-696x1024.png 696w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09.png 894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p> <p>&#8220;The history and contributions of Greek Americans cannot be erased,&#8221; Michos said, adding that the community has preserved its language, faith and traditions through successive generations of immigrants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>She described Astoria&#8217;s absence from the map as &#8220;deeply offensive and unacceptable&#8221; and urged City Hall to correct what she called a significant historical omission.<\/p> <h3><strong>Mayor Says Map Will Be Updated<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Following widespread criticism, particularly from Italian-American organizations over the exclusion of Little Italy, Mayor Mamdani said changes would be made to the map.<\/p> <p>His office confirmed that Little Italy will be added, noting that the map was originally created in 2023. It remains unclear whether Astoria&#8217;s Greektown or other historic ethnic neighborhoods will also be included in the revised version.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would review the map&#8217;s omissions after facing backlash from leaders of several historic immigrant communities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":526189,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2871,2313,36457,78226],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The omission of Astoria&#8217;s historic Greektown from New York City&#8217;s official Immigrant Enclaves Map has sparked criticism from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/stories\/from-crisis-to-catalyst-how-diaspora-greeks-are-sparking-change\/\">Greek-American<\/a> leaders, who say the exclusion overlooks generations of contributions by one of the city&#8217;s most prominent immigrant communities.<\/p> <p>The map, released by the administration of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, identifies 30 immigrant neighborhoods across the five boroughs, including Little Africa, Koreatown, Little Bangladesh, Little Yemen, Little Egypt, Little Guyana, Little Haiti, Little India, Little Palestine and Little Mexico.<\/p> <p>However, it does not include Astoria, long recognized as the cultural heart of Greek America, where generations of Greek immigrants established churches, schools, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/faros-athens-breaking-down-the-barriers-for-greeces-blind\/\">community organizations<\/a>, businesses, restaurants and charitable institutions.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div id=\"attachment_526192\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-image-526192 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png\" alt=\"NYC Enclaves Map\" width=\"1024\" height=\"972\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-1024x972.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-300x285.png 300w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41-768x729.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.41.png 1368w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-526192\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The New York City Immigrant Enclaves map featuring 30 city neighborhoods.<\/p><\/div> <p>The map also drew criticism for omitting other historic ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Italy, as well as traditional Irish and Jewish communities.<\/p> <p>AHEPA (American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association) Empire State District 6 Governor Konstantinos G. Prentzas said he was &#8220;deeply disappointed&#8221; by the exclusion of Astoria and its historic Hellenic-American community.<\/p> <p>&#8220;It is especially troubling because we have also witnessed similar treatment toward Little Italy and the Italian-American community,&#8221; Prentzas said.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>&#8220;These historic neighborhoods are not simply locations on a map. They represent generations of sacrifice, faith, family, hard work, entrepreneurship and devotion to the American Dream.&#8221;<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>He said Greek Americans helped create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/greek-diaspora-summer-student-programs-ignite-greek-american-heritage-a-path-to-revitalizing-the-u-s-diaspora\/\">support education<\/a> and contribute significantly to New York City&#8217;s civic, economic and cultural life.<\/p> <p>&#8220;We cannot rewrite history, and we cannot erase history,&#8221; Prentzas said. &#8220;We have a responsibility to preserve it, honor it, teach it and share it with future generations.&#8221;<\/p> <p>Calling the omission &#8220;more than a minor oversight,&#8221; he said it disregards the sacrifices, achievements and legacy of generations of Greek immigrants and their descendants, adding that the same recognition should be extended to every historic ethnic community that helped build New York City.<\/p> <p>Senate candidate, Greek-American Pamela Michos also criticized the omission, describing it as &#8220;outrageous, but unfortunately not unexpected&#8221;.<\/p> <p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-526195 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png\" alt=\"Ahepa\" width=\"204\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-204x300.png 204w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-696x1024.png 696w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09-768x1131.png 768w, https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Screenshot-2026-07-14-at-17.53.09.png 894w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/p> <p>&#8220;The history and contributions of Greek Americans cannot be erased,&#8221; Michos said, adding that the community has preserved its language, faith and traditions through successive generations of immigrants.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p>She described Astoria&#8217;s absence from the map as &#8220;deeply offensive and unacceptable&#8221; and urged City Hall to correct what she called a significant historical omission.<\/p> <h3><strong>Mayor Says Map Will Be Updated<\/strong><\/h3> <p>Following widespread criticism, particularly from Italian-American organizations over the exclusion of Little Italy, Mayor Mamdani said changes would be made to the map.<\/p> <p>His office confirmed that Little Italy will be added, noting that the map was originally created in 2023. It remains unclear whether Astoria&#8217;s Greektown or other historic ethnic neighborhoods will also be included in the revised version.<\/p> <p><\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":2871,"name":"Greek Diaspora","slug":"greek-diaspora","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2871,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":51,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":2313,"name":"greek-american community","slug":"greek-american-community","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2313,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":8,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":36457,"name":"Greek-American Heritage","slug":"greek-american-heritage","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":36457,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":3,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":78226,"name":"New York City","slug":"new-york-city","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":78226,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/New-York-Greeks-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":526216,"date":"2026-07-14T19:27:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=526216"},"modified":"2026-07-14T19:27:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T16:27:18","slug":"two-42-year-olds-jailed-pending-trial-in-marfin-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/two-42-year-olds-jailed-pending-trial-in-marfin-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Two 42-Year-Olds Jailed Pending Trial in Marfin Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The two 42-year-old defendants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/marfin\/\">Marfin case<\/a> have been ordered held in pre-trial detention.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The men were arrested last Friday under warrants issued by Athens&#8217; 3rd investigating judge, based on evidence gathered by the Hellenic Police&#8217;s Homicide Division. A third warrant, tied to the same case, led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in London.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to reports, both defendants denied any connection to the unrest outside the Marfin bank when questioned by the investigating judge. One of the two, whom the police investigation identifies as the person who smashed the building&#8217;s window, reportedly said he took part in the May 5, 2010 march but left once the disturbances began. The other reportedly said he was also at the march, but in a different location.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Reports indicate the investigating judge and prosecutor concluded that the specific nature of the acts attributed to the two defendants raised concerns they could commit further offenses, and therefore ordered them held pending trial.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Dozens of friends and supporters of the two men gathered outside the courthouse from early on, chanting slogans in their support.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both deny involvement as investigators cite risk of further offenses in ordering detention<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":526222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8040,61205],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The two 42-year-old defendants in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/tag\/marfin\/\">Marfin case<\/a> have been ordered held in pre-trial detention.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The men were arrested last Friday under warrants issued by Athens&#8217; 3rd investigating judge, based on evidence gathered by the Hellenic Police&#8217;s Homicide Division. A third warrant, tied to the same case, led to the arrest of a 46-year-old woman in London.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">According to reports, both defendants denied any connection to the unrest outside the Marfin bank when questioned by the investigating judge. One of the two, whom the police investigation identifies as the person who smashed the building&#8217;s window, reportedly said he took part in the May 5, 2010 march but left once the disturbances began. The other reportedly said he was also at the march, but in a different location.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Reports indicate the investigating judge and prosecutor concluded that the specific nature of the acts attributed to the two defendants raised concerns they could commit further offenses, and therefore ordered them held pending trial.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Dozens of friends and supporters of the two men gathered outside the courthouse from early on, chanting slogans in their support.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":8040,"name":"arson","slug":"arson","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":8040,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":31,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":61205,"name":"Marfin","slug":"marfin","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":61205,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":14,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-150x150.webp","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case.webp","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-300x150.webp","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/Marfin-Case-768x384.webp","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":525811,"date":"2026-07-14T18:15:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T15:15:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525811"},"modified":"2026-07-14T17:48:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T14:48:40","slug":"why-the-wiretapping-scandal-isnt-closing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/society\/why-the-wiretapping-scandal-isnt-closing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is There no End to the Wiretapping Scandal?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&:has([data-writing-block])>*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-334\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"ff811fcf-b33f-4fcf-8a97-86dbdf7bd02e\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"101\" data-end=\"474\">Those who predicted that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">wiretapping scanda<\/a>l involving the illegal surveillance of politicians, businesspeople, journalists, judges, and others would not come to an end with the case being shelved two years ago, following the publication of the widely discussed findings by Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Achilleas Zisis, are now, in effect, being proven right.<\/p> <p data-start=\"476\" data-end=\"810\">Even after the second decision to shelve the case by Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas, who retired just two weeks ago, the wiretapping affair continues to be a subject of intense political confrontation, institutional friction, and judicial scrutiny, despite the two successive prosecutorial decisions to close the investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"812\" data-end=\"1055\">But what is it that keeps the wiretapping affair—an issue inherently serious from both an institutional and substantive standpoint—at the center of judicial and political developments, despite the decisions by the judiciary to shelve the case?<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"vm6yv7\" data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1083\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1083\">A Boiling Cauldron<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"1085\" data-end=\"1408\">Legal experts following developments in the case believe that the absence, both politically and judicially, of satisfactory answers as to what actually happened and who was responsible has turned the wiretapping affair into &#8220;a boiling cauldron,&#8221; as a legal source familiar with the developments emphatically told <em data-start=\"1398\" data-end=\"1407\">To Vima<\/em>.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1660\">&#8220;So long as convincing answers are not provided, so long as the tension generated by such a serious case is not defused,&#8221; the same source said, &#8220;the matter will not be closed. Quite the opposite—questions continue to multiply, as do new revelations.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1804\">But let us look at where things stand today, almost four years after the allegations of illegal wiretapping exploded like a bombshell in 2022.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1806\" data-end=\"2232\">Following a series of judicial proceedings, which initially began at the Court of First Instance Prosecutor&#8217;s Office before being elevated, because of the seriousness of the case, to the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office, as well as parliamentary procedures that failed to produce results due to the responsibility of the government majority, the case ultimately led to two prosecutorial decisions to shelve the investigation.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12rsyu7\" data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2283\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2238\" data-end=\"2283\">The Decisions to Shelve the Investigation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2285\" data-end=\"2631\">Those decisions were issued at the highest prosecutorial level—by the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office. The first came from Deputy<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/top-greek-prosecutor-ends-predator-spyware-probe-rejecting-new-inquiryq\/\"> Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis<\/a> in August 2024 (followed later by another), while more recently the case was once again placed in the archives through the findings of Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2633\" data-end=\"2954\">The decisions prompted reactions not only from opposition parties but also from victims of the wiretapping, among whom the most prominent participants in the judicial proceedings from the outset were PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, journalist Thanasis Koukakis, former minister Christos Spirtzis, and a handful of others.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1193phq\" data-start=\"2956\" data-end=\"2980\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2960\" data-end=\"2980\">Samaras&#8217; Request<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2982\" data-end=\"3464\">Since then—and after the conviction of four private individuals, who received prison sentences totaling 126 years after being found guilty for their role in the illegal surveillance (they had remained outside the scope of the earlier prosecutorial decision by Deputy Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis, which had excluded them from the archived part of the investigation as those responsible for the unlawful monitoring)—three requests remain pending before the Supreme Court.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"3466\" data-end=\"3917\">The most recent request, which reinforced the need for further judicial investigation of the wiretapping affair, came from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/former-pm-antonis-samaras-files-motion-over-predator-spyware-case\/\">former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras,<\/a> who called for &#8220;the full clarification of how he was entrapped,&#8221; thereby increasing the responsibility of the prosecutorial authorities to examine the case in its entirety. Before Samaras&#8217; request—which significantly added to the judicial backlog—other requests had already been submitted.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3919\" data-end=\"4222\">Despite the recent decision to shelve the investigation, Christos Spirtzis has requested further inquiry, as has lawyer Zacharias Kesses, who represents victims of the wiretapping scandal, relying on the contents of the conviction against the four defendants, among whom was Israeli national Tal Dilian.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4224\" data-end=\"4699\">Tal Dilian, who marketed the spyware known as Predator—which is illegal under Greek law—did not attend his trial, did not testify in his own defense, and also failed to appear before Parliament when summoned. However, following his heavy conviction and ahead of his appeal trial, scheduled for December, he has publicly stated that he had no involvement in the use of the software. According to his own claims, he marketed it not to private individuals but to state agencies.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4701\" data-end=\"4992\">The summons issued to him, as well as to former close associate of the Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, by Parliament&#8217;s Committee on Institutions and Transparency produced no result, as the government majority ruled that neither of the two held a public office requiring them to testify.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4994\" data-end=\"5104\">Objections from opposition parties were insufficient to reverse that decision or compel the two men to appear.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5106\" data-end=\"5255\">It should be noted, however, that Grigoris Dimitriadis has testified twice before similar parliamentary committees and once before the Supreme Court.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12z6jgt\" data-start=\"5257\" data-end=\"5295\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"5261\" data-end=\"5295\">Civil Lawsuits Seeking Damages<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"5297\" data-end=\"5537\">There is also another equally significant development beyond the criminal proceedings currently under judicial assessment, especially since the parliamentary process has, for the time being, failed to open the door to further investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5539\" data-end=\"5777\">Victims of the wiretapping—not political figures but private individuals—have filed civil lawsuits seeking compensation for the unlawful surveillance to which they were subjected, the violation of their personal data, and related damages.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5779\" data-end=\"6191\">According to legal sources, their decision to broaden the judicial process through civil claims against private individuals—including all four convicted defendants—who are entangled in the wiretapping affair increases the pressure to reopen the investigation. Beyond criminal penalties (that is, imprisonment), those involved now face the significant prospect of having to pay substantial financial compensation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"6193\" data-end=\"6675\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Given these developments, and with other aspects of the investigation still open and expected to produce important new findings, the observation by lawyer Zacharias Kesses that &#8220;the case cannot be considered closed unless the victims are examined and their mobile phones are examined&#8221; reflects the breadth of the judicial proceedings, which, by all indications, are likely to continue for some time. At this stage, no one can predict where this judicial journey will ultimately end.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legal experts following developments in the case believe that the absence, both politically and judicially, of satisfactory answers as to what actually happened and who was responsible has turned the wiretapping affair into &#8220;a boiling cauldron,&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":86,"featured_media":525817,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[51347,6942,65,6654,19192,63],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<div class=\"qMYqUG_convSearchResultHighlightRoot\"> <div class=\"\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-is-intersecting=\"true\"> <section class=\"text-token-text-primary w-full focus:outline-none has-data-writing-block:pointer-events-none [&amp;:has([data-writing-block])&gt;*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]\" dir=\"auto\" data-turn-id=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-turn-id-container=\"request-6978b5d2-4e58-8331-b0c1-8e043c2c3803-12\" data-testid=\"conversation-turn-334\" data-turn=\"assistant\"> <div class=\"text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-15 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)\"> <div class=\"[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg\/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group\/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn\" data-conversation-screenshot-content=\"\"> <div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"> <div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"ff811fcf-b33f-4fcf-8a97-86dbdf7bd02e\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-5\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"> <div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"> <div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert wrap-break-word w-full light markdown-new-styling\"> <p class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\" data-start=\"101\" data-end=\"474\">Those who predicted that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/predator-victims-lawyer-presses-prosecutor-to-call-on-dilian-to-testify\/\">wiretapping scanda<\/a>l involving the illegal surveillance of politicians, businesspeople, journalists, judges, and others would not come to an end with the case being shelved two years ago, following the publication of the widely discussed findings by Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Achilleas Zisis, are now, in effect, being proven right.<\/p> <p data-start=\"476\" data-end=\"810\">Even after the second decision to shelve the case by Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas, who retired just two weeks ago, the wiretapping affair continues to be a subject of intense political confrontation, institutional friction, and judicial scrutiny, despite the two successive prosecutorial decisions to close the investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"812\" data-end=\"1055\">But what is it that keeps the wiretapping affair—an issue inherently serious from both an institutional and substantive standpoint—at the center of judicial and political developments, despite the decisions by the judiciary to shelve the case?<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <h3 data-section-id=\"vm6yv7\" data-start=\"1057\" data-end=\"1083\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"1061\" data-end=\"1083\">A Boiling Cauldron<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"1085\" data-end=\"1408\">Legal experts following developments in the case believe that the absence, both politically and judicially, of satisfactory answers as to what actually happened and who was responsible has turned the wiretapping affair into &#8220;a boiling cauldron,&#8221; as a legal source familiar with the developments emphatically told <em data-start=\"1398\" data-end=\"1407\">To Vima<\/em>.<\/p> <p data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1660\">&#8220;So long as convincing answers are not provided, so long as the tension generated by such a serious case is not defused,&#8221; the same source said, &#8220;the matter will not be closed. Quite the opposite—questions continue to multiply, as do new revelations.&#8221;<\/p> <p data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1804\">But let us look at where things stand today, almost four years after the allegations of illegal wiretapping exploded like a bombshell in 2022.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p data-start=\"1806\" data-end=\"2232\">Following a series of judicial proceedings, which initially began at the Court of First Instance Prosecutor&#8217;s Office before being elevated, because of the seriousness of the case, to the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office, as well as parliamentary procedures that failed to produce results due to the responsibility of the government majority, the case ultimately led to two prosecutorial decisions to shelve the investigation.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12rsyu7\" data-start=\"2234\" data-end=\"2283\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2238\" data-end=\"2283\">The Decisions to Shelve the Investigation<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2285\" data-end=\"2631\">Those decisions were issued at the highest prosecutorial level—by the Supreme Court Prosecutor&#8217;s Office. The first came from Deputy<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/top-greek-prosecutor-ends-predator-spyware-probe-rejecting-new-inquiryq\/\"> Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis<\/a> in August 2024 (followed later by another), while more recently the case was once again placed in the archives through the findings of Supreme Court Prosecutor K. Tzavellas.<\/p> <p data-start=\"2633\" data-end=\"2954\">The decisions prompted reactions not only from opposition parties but also from victims of the wiretapping, among whom the most prominent participants in the judicial proceedings from the outset were PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, journalist Thanasis Koukakis, former minister Christos Spirtzis, and a handful of others.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"1193phq\" data-start=\"2956\" data-end=\"2980\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"2960\" data-end=\"2980\">Samaras&#8217; Request<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"2982\" data-end=\"3464\">Since then—and after the conviction of four private individuals, who received prison sentences totaling 126 years after being found guilty for their role in the illegal surveillance (they had remained outside the scope of the earlier prosecutorial decision by Deputy Supreme Court Prosecutor Achilleas Zisis, which had excluded them from the archived part of the investigation as those responsible for the unlawful monitoring)—three requests remain pending before the Supreme Court.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_3' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_3'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <p data-start=\"3466\" data-end=\"3917\">The most recent request, which reinforced the need for further judicial investigation of the wiretapping affair, came from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/former-pm-antonis-samaras-files-motion-over-predator-spyware-case\/\">former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras,<\/a> who called for &#8220;the full clarification of how he was entrapped,&#8221; thereby increasing the responsibility of the prosecutorial authorities to examine the case in its entirety. Before Samaras&#8217; request—which significantly added to the judicial backlog—other requests had already been submitted.<\/p> <p data-start=\"3919\" data-end=\"4222\">Despite the recent decision to shelve the investigation, Christos Spirtzis has requested further inquiry, as has lawyer Zacharias Kesses, who represents victims of the wiretapping scandal, relying on the contents of the conviction against the four defendants, among whom was Israeli national Tal Dilian.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4224\" data-end=\"4699\">Tal Dilian, who marketed the spyware known as Predator—which is illegal under Greek law—did not attend his trial, did not testify in his own defense, and also failed to appear before Parliament when summoned. However, following his heavy conviction and ahead of his appeal trial, scheduled for December, he has publicly stated that he had no involvement in the use of the software. According to his own claims, he marketed it not to private individuals but to state agencies.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4701\" data-end=\"4992\">The summons issued to him, as well as to former close associate of the Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/politics\/dimitriadis-and-the-spy-scandal-my-job-is-to-protect\/\">Grigoris Dimitriadis<\/a>, by Parliament&#8217;s Committee on Institutions and Transparency produced no result, as the government majority ruled that neither of the two held a public office requiring them to testify.<\/p> <p data-start=\"4994\" data-end=\"5104\">Objections from opposition parties were insufficient to reverse that decision or compel the two men to appear.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5106\" data-end=\"5255\">It should be noted, however, that Grigoris Dimitriadis has testified twice before similar parliamentary committees and once before the Supreme Court.<\/p> <h3 data-section-id=\"12z6jgt\" data-start=\"5257\" data-end=\"5295\"><span role=\"text\"><strong data-start=\"5261\" data-end=\"5295\">Civil Lawsuits Seeking Damages<\/strong><\/span><\/h3> <p data-start=\"5297\" data-end=\"5537\">There is also another equally significant development beyond the criminal proceedings currently under judicial assessment, especially since the parliamentary process has, for the time being, failed to open the door to further investigation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5539\" data-end=\"5777\">Victims of the wiretapping—not political figures but private individuals—have filed civil lawsuits seeking compensation for the unlawful surveillance to which they were subjected, the violation of their personal data, and related damages.<\/p> <p data-start=\"5779\" data-end=\"6191\">According to legal sources, their decision to broaden the judicial process through civil claims against private individuals—including all four convicted defendants—who are entangled in the wiretapping affair increases the pressure to reopen the investigation. Beyond criminal penalties (that is, imprisonment), those involved now face the significant prospect of having to pay substantial financial compensation.<\/p> <p data-start=\"6193\" data-end=\"6675\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Given these developments, and with other aspects of the investigation still open and expected to produce important new findings, the observation by lawyer Zacharias Kesses that &#8220;the case cannot be considered closed unless the victims are examined and their mobile phones are examined&#8221; reflects the breadth of the judicial proceedings, which, by all indications, are likely to continue for some time. At this stage, no one can predict where this judicial journey will ultimately end.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/section> <\/div> <\/div> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Society","slug":"society","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Breaking news, photos and videos from around Greece. Read our latest coverage on crime, education, the judicial system, health care and immigration.","parent":0,"count":8675,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":51347,"name":"Greek Justice","slug":"greek-justice","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":51347,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":26,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6942,"name":"Intellexa","slug":"intellexa","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6942,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65,"name":"Predator","slug":"predator","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":85,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6654,"name":"Spyware","slug":"spyware","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6654,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":43,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":19192,"name":"Surveillance scandal Greece","slug":"surveillance-scandal-greece","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19192,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":36,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":63,"name":"Wiretapping","slug":"wiretapping","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":63,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":35,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1-150x150.webp","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1.webp","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1-300x200.webp","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/14\/predator-1024x683-1-768x512.webp","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"culture","header":"Πολιτισμός","ID":"13","posts":[{"id":525172,"date":"2026-07-14T14:15:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=525172"},"modified":"2026-07-14T11:08:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T08:08:23","slug":"525172","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/culture\/525172\/","title":{"rendered":"3,000-Year-Old Tomb Uncovered Near Egypt’s Luxor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Archaeologists have uncovered a 3,000-year-old tomb near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, Egypt&#8217;s tourism and antiquities ministry announced on Sunday, the latest in a string of discoveries officials hope will help boost tourism in the country.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The tomb, identified as belonging to a man named Paser, was found by a Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University at the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on Luxor&#8217;s West Bank, according to the ministry. Specialists believe it dates to the Ramesside period, spanning Egypt&#8217;s 19th and 20th dynasties, based on the artistic style of its inscriptions, a dating that adds to the find&#8217;s significance for understanding funerary architecture of the era.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Archaeologists uncovered a 3,000-year-old tomb near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, Egypt&#8217;s tourism and antiquities ministry said on Sunday. Specialists believe the tomb dates to the Ramesside period, which spans Egypt&#8217;s 19th and 20th dynasties, based on the artistic style… <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MHhs6zhrod\">pic.twitter.com\/MHhs6zhrod<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>— CGTN Africa (@cgtnafrica) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cgtnafrica\/status\/2076369541945610270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The tomb sits east of an already-known burial site and follows the traditional layout of private funerary monuments from Thebes, the capital of the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BC) era. It consists of an open courtyard leading to a chapel cut into the rock in the shape of an inverted &#8220;T,&#8221; with burial chambers below ground level.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Well-preserved architectural features were found in the courtyard, including a brick bench designed to support a funerary stele, along with a staircase flanked by sloped ramps leading to the monument&#8217;s entrance.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Inside, inscriptions bear Paser&#8217;s name and depict him worshipping deities in shrines, as well as sitting with his wife in front of an offering table, imagery considered highly valuable for studying the religious beliefs of the period. The excavation team said documentation and study work will continue in order to determine exactly who was buried in the tomb and to clarify its historical and archaeological context.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The discovery comes as Egypt continues to promote its archaeological finds to strengthen tourism, a key source of foreign currency for the country. Luxor is home to some of the world&#8217;s most significant ancient monuments and archaeological sites, and continues to draw strong interest from the international scientific community and visitors alike.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dutch archaeologists find a Ramesside-era tomb belonging to a man named Paser, part of Egypt&#8217;s push to boost tourism with new finds<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":124,"featured_media":525181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[128,6441],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Archaeologists have uncovered a 3,000-year-old tomb near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, Egypt&#8217;s tourism and antiquities ministry announced on Sunday, the latest in a string of discoveries officials hope will help boost tourism in the country.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The tomb, identified as belonging to a man named Paser, was found by a Dutch archaeological mission from Leiden University at the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna necropolis on Luxor&#8217;s West Bank, according to the ministry. Specialists believe it dates to the Ramesside period, spanning Egypt&#8217;s 19th and 20th dynasties, based on the artistic style of its inscriptions, a dating that adds to the find&#8217;s significance for understanding funerary architecture of the era.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"> <p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Archaeologists uncovered a 3,000-year-old tomb near the southern Egyptian city of Luxor, Egypt&#8217;s tourism and antiquities ministry said on Sunday. Specialists believe the tomb dates to the Ramesside period, which spans Egypt&#8217;s 19th and 20th dynasties, based on the artistic style… <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MHhs6zhrod\">pic.twitter.com\/MHhs6zhrod<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>— CGTN Africa (@cgtnafrica) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/cgtnafrica\/status\/2076369541945610270?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 12, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The tomb sits east of an already-known burial site and follows the traditional layout of private funerary monuments from Thebes, the capital of the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BC) era. It consists of an open courtyard leading to a chapel cut into the rock in the shape of an inverted &#8220;T,&#8221; with burial chambers below ground level.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Well-preserved architectural features were found in the courtyard, including a brick bench designed to support a funerary stele, along with a staircase flanked by sloped ramps leading to the monument&#8217;s entrance.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">Inside, inscriptions bear Paser&#8217;s name and depict him worshipping deities in shrines, as well as sitting with his wife in front of an offering table, imagery considered highly valuable for studying the religious beliefs of the period. The excavation team said documentation and study work will continue in order to determine exactly who was buried in the tomb and to clarify its historical and archaeological context.<\/p> <p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\">The discovery comes as Egypt continues to promote its archaeological finds to strengthen tourism, a key source of foreign currency for the country. Luxor is home to some of the world&#8217;s most significant ancient monuments and archaeological sites, and continues to draw strong interest from the international scientific community and visitors alike.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"News, reviews and analysis from our critics and reporters about the Greek culture &amp; arts scene, including books, movies, art, food, music, history, television and theater.","parent":0,"count":1384,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":128,"name":"archaeology","slug":"archaeology","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":128,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":30,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6441,"name":"Egypt","slug":"egypt","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6441,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":45,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Tomb-Egypt.avif","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Tomb-Egypt.avif","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Tomb-Egypt.avif","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/Tomb-Egypt.avif","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":520450,"date":"2026-07-14T13:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T10:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=520450"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:34:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:34:50","slug":"eric-gales-to-headline-sweet-summer-sun-festival-in-athens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/culture\/eric-gales-to-headline-sweet-summer-sun-festival-in-athens\/","title":{"rendered":"Eric Gales to Headline Sweet Summer Sun Festival in Athens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Internationally acclaimed blues guitarist and singer Eric Gales will headline the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.more.com\/gr-el\/tickets\/music\/eric-gales-band-sweet-summer-sun-texnopoli-18\/07\/2026\/\">Sweet Summer Sun Festival<\/a> when it returns to Technopolis City of Athens on Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p> <p>The festival will bring together international and Greek blues artists for a night dedicated to the genre in one of Athens&#8217; best-known cultural venues.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ4uSZWjMnq\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ4uSZWjMnq\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Eric Gales (@ericgalesband)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Joining Gales on the lineup are three prominent acts from Greece&#8217;s blues scene: Tassos Skouras & Nukeleus, the Babis Tyropoulos Quartet, and the Sakis Dovolis Trio.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wGpFtHphn8k?si=jzfDfIigT40y_GQ8\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p> <p>The Sweet Summer Sun Festival celebrates the energy and spirit of the blues by showcasing both internationally recognized performers and leading local musicians in a single event in the heart of the Greek capital.<\/p> <p>Early Bird tickets are available for a limited number of admissions and for a limited time.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The internationally acclaimed blues guitarist and singer will lead the lineup at the Sweet Summer Sun Festival on July 18, 2026, alongside leading artists from Greece&#8217;s blues scene<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":520483,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[29940,65431,4380,40799],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Internationally acclaimed blues guitarist and singer Eric Gales will headline the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.more.com\/gr-el\/tickets\/music\/eric-gales-band-sweet-summer-sun-texnopoli-18\/07\/2026\/\">Sweet Summer Sun Festival<\/a> when it returns to Technopolis City of Athens on Saturday, July 18, 2026.<\/p> <p>The festival will bring together international and Greek blues artists for a night dedicated to the genre in one of Athens&#8217; best-known cultural venues.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ4uSZWjMnq\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ4uSZWjMnq\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη Eric Gales (@ericgalesband)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Joining Gales on the lineup are three prominent acts from Greece&#8217;s blues scene: Tassos Skouras &amp; Nukeleus, the Babis Tyropoulos Quartet, and the Sakis Dovolis Trio.<\/p> <p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wGpFtHphn8k?si=jzfDfIigT40y_GQ8\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p> <p>The Sweet Summer Sun Festival celebrates the energy and spirit of the blues by showcasing both internationally recognized performers and leading local musicians in a single event in the heart of the Greek capital.<\/p> <p>Early Bird tickets are available for a limited number of admissions and for a limited time.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"News, reviews and analysis from our critics and reporters about the Greek culture &amp; arts scene, including books, movies, art, food, music, history, television and theater.","parent":0,"count":1384,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":29940,"name":"Concert","slug":"concert","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":29940,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":96,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":65431,"name":"Greece summer festivals","slug":"greece-summer-festivals","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":65431,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":6,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":4380,"name":"music","slug":"music","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":4380,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":81,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":40799,"name":"Things to Do in Athens","slug":"things-to-do-in-athens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":40799,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":361,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Eric_Gales_in_2011-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Eric_Gales_in_2011.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Eric_Gales_in_2011-300x300.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/07\/Eric_Gales_in_2011.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":522763,"date":"2026-07-14T12:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T09:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=522763"},"modified":"2026-07-13T19:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T16:36:16","slug":"deste-explores-generation-x-through-new-art-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/culture\/deste-explores-generation-x-through-new-art-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"DESTE Explores Generation X Through New Art Exhibition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art has opened <em>Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation<\/em>, a new exhibition showcasing works from the Dakis Joannou Collection that explore the experiences and cultural identity of Generation X.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DVOErsiCAyh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DVOErsiCAyh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη DESTE Foundation (@destefoundation)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Curated by Massimiliano Gioni of New York&#8217;s New Museum, the exhibition features artists born between 1960 and 1980—a generation that came of age between the analog and digital eras while witnessing the rise of 24-hour news, MTV, and an increasingly commercialized global culture.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Drawing from one of the world&#8217;s leading contemporary art collections, the exhibition examines how artists responded to this period of rapid social and technological change through a visual language marked by sincerity, irony, and the detached sensibility often associated with Generation X.<\/p> <p>The works on display range from lowbrow-inspired imagery and deconstructed fashion references to unsettling, mutant-like figures reflecting the anxieties of the HIV\/AIDS epidemic and the early impact of emerging technologies. Other artists turned inward, creating deeply personal imaginary worlds, while some embraced collaborative practices to engage more directly with society.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DafFdJaCK32\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DafFdJaCK32\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη DESTE Foundation (@destefoundation)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Together, the exhibition highlights the diverse artistic responses of a generation whose work continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.<\/p> <p><em>Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation<\/em> runs from June 18 through November 26, 2026, at the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens. Admission is free.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation&#8217; brings together works by artists born between 1960 and 1980, examining a generation shaped by the transition from analog to digital life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":525193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[24480,72058,40799],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>The DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art has opened <em>Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation<\/em>, a new exhibition showcasing works from the Dakis Joannou Collection that explore the experiences and cultural identity of Generation X.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DVOErsiCAyh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DVOErsiCAyh\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη DESTE Foundation (@destefoundation)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Curated by Massimiliano Gioni of New York&#8217;s New Museum, the exhibition features artists born between 1960 and 1980—a generation that came of age between the analog and digital eras while witnessing the rise of 24-hour news, MTV, and an increasingly commercialized global culture.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Drawing from one of the world&#8217;s leading contemporary art collections, the exhibition examines how artists responded to this period of rapid social and technological change through a visual language marked by sincerity, irony, and the detached sensibility often associated with Generation X.<\/p> <p>The works on display range from lowbrow-inspired imagery and deconstructed fashion references to unsettling, mutant-like figures reflecting the anxieties of the HIV\/AIDS epidemic and the early impact of emerging technologies. Other artists turned inward, creating deeply personal imaginary worlds, while some embraced collaborative practices to engage more directly with society.<\/p><div class='is-hidden-desktop'><div style='min-height:475px;margin-bottom:30px' class='parent__div adrow'><div id='300x250_middle_2' class='adunit__sticky' style='display:none'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_middle_2'); });<\/script><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DafFdJaCK32\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">Δείτε αυτή τη δημοσίευση στο Instagram.<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DafFdJaCK32\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Η δημοσίευση κοινοποιήθηκε από το χρήστη DESTE Foundation (@destefoundation)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Together, the exhibition highlights the diverse artistic responses of a generation whose work continues to resonate with contemporary audiences.<\/p> <p><em>Gen X: Tales from the Forgotten Generation<\/em> runs from June 18 through November 26, 2026, at the DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art in Athens. Admission is free.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"News, reviews and analysis from our critics and reporters about the Greek culture &amp; arts scene, including books, movies, art, food, music, history, television and theater.","parent":0,"count":1384,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":24480,"name":"Art exhibitions","slug":"art-exhibitions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":24480,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":57,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":72058,"name":"Gen X","slug":"gen-x","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":72058,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":40799,"name":"Things to Do in Athens","slug":"things-to-do-in-athens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":40799,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":361,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/14358485924_ca38276e08_o-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/14358485924_ca38276e08_o.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/14358485924_ca38276e08_o-300x212.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/14358485924_ca38276e08_o-768x542.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":522772,"date":"2026-07-14T10:00:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=522772"},"modified":"2026-07-13T13:16:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:16:28","slug":"pool-your-cinema-returns-to-hotel-grande-bretagne-for-summer-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/culture\/pool-your-cinema-returns-to-hotel-grande-bretagne-for-summer-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Pool Your Cinema Returns to Hotel Grande Bretagne for Summer 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pool Your Cinema has returned to Athens for the 2026 summer season, offering open-air movie screenings on the rooftop of the Hotel Grande Bretagne through September 30.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Dasn1IrNrSM\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Dasn1IrNrSM\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens (@hotelgrandebretagne)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Held beside the hotel&#8217;s rooftop pool, the seasonal cinema presents a lineup of Hollywood blockbusters, classic films, and recent releases in an outdoor setting overlooking central Athens and Lycabettus Hill. Screenings take place every Thursday through Saturday, beginning at 9:15 p.m.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Instead of traditional movie theater concessions, guests are served a premium finger-food menu prepared by the hotel&#8217;s culinary team.<\/p> <p>The current program includes <em>A Big Bold Beautiful Journey<\/em> (July 16-18), directed by Kogonada; <em>Rental Family<\/em> (July 23-25), directed by Hikari; <em>Materialists<\/em> (July 30-August 1), directed by Celine Song; and <em>Now You See Me: Now You Don&#8217;t<\/em> (August 6-8), directed by Ruben Fleischer. The screening program will be updated periodically as tickets become available through the Grande Bretagne website.<\/p> <p>Included with each ticket purchase is a glass of wine or beer and the specially curated Pool Your Cinema menu. Seating is limited to the lounge chairs surrounding the pool, and advance reservations are recommended due to limited capacity.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The rooftop open-air cinema at the emblematic Athens hotel combines evening film screenings with poolside seating, city views, and a premium dining experience through September<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":524527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[10407,38015,40799],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Pool Your Cinema has returned to Athens for the 2026 summer season, offering open-air movie screenings on the rooftop of the Hotel Grande Bretagne through September 30.<\/p> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Dasn1IrNrSM\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Dasn1IrNrSM\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens (@hotelgrandebretagne)<\/a><\/p> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Held beside the hotel&#8217;s rooftop pool, the seasonal cinema presents a lineup of Hollywood blockbusters, classic films, and recent releases in an outdoor setting overlooking central Athens and Lycabettus Hill. Screenings take place every Thursday through Saturday, beginning at 9:15 p.m.<\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <p>Instead of traditional movie theater concessions, guests are served a premium finger-food menu prepared by the hotel&#8217;s culinary team.<\/p> <p>The current program includes <em>A Big Bold Beautiful Journey<\/em> (July 16-18), directed by Kogonada; <em>Rental Family<\/em> (July 23-25), directed by Hikari; <em>Materialists<\/em> (July 30-August 1), directed by Celine Song; and <em>Now You See Me: Now You Don&#8217;t<\/em> (August 6-8), directed by Ruben Fleischer. The screening program will be updated periodically as tickets become available through the Grande Bretagne website.<\/p> <p>Included with each ticket purchase is a glass of wine or beer and the specially curated Pool Your Cinema menu. Seating is limited to the lounge chairs surrounding the pool, and advance reservations are recommended due to limited capacity.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"News, reviews and analysis from our critics and reporters about the Greek culture &amp; arts scene, including books, movies, art, food, music, history, television and theater.","parent":0,"count":1384,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":10407,"name":"cinema ","slug":"cinema-2","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10407,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":42,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":38015,"name":"summer","slug":"summer","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":38015,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":42,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":40799,"name":"Things to Do in Athens","slug":"things-to-do-in-athens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":40799,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":361,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_1505947817-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_1505947817-e1783936492724.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_1505947817-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/13\/shutterstock_1505947817-768x513.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null},{"id":519439,"date":"2026-07-13T14:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.mgmt.tovima.com\/?p=519439"},"modified":"2026-07-13T13:53:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T10:53:41","slug":"balletto-di-milano-for-the-first-time-in-athens-with-carmen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/culture\/balletto-di-milano-for-the-first-time-in-athens-with-carmen\/","title":{"rendered":"Balletto di Milano For the First Time in Athens with ‘Carmen’"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Italy&#8217;s acclaimed Balletto di Milano will perform its original production of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.more.com\/gr-en\/tickets\/dance\/carmen-balletto-di-milano-beakeio-theatro\/\"><em>Carmen<\/em> in Athens for the first time<\/a> on July 15, 2026, bringing its celebrated interpretation of Prosper Mérimée&#8217;s classic story to the Veakeio Theater.<\/p> <p>Based on Mérimée&#8217;s novella, best known worldwide through Georges Bizet&#8217;s opera of the same name, <em>Carmen<\/em> tells the tragic story of a fiercely independent woman whose desire for freedom is ultimately destroyed by a man&#8217;s consuming jealousy. The ballet explores themes of love, passion and fate through expressive choreography and theatrical staging.<\/p> <p>Regarded as one of Italy&#8217;s leading ballet companies, Balletto di Milano is known for its neoclassical style, combining classical ballet technique with contemporary movement. The ensemble&#8217;s dancers are trained at the renowned La Scala Academy, and the company has performed extensively across Italy as well as on major stages in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Cyprus.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DXetlTkCLeB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DXetlTkCLeB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Teatro Municipale &#8220;Giuseppe Verdi&#8221; di Salerno (@teatroverdisalerno)<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Since 1998, the company has been led by choreographer Carlo Pesta, whose artistic direction has helped shape Balletto di Milano&#8217;s distinctive style and technical excellence.<\/p> <p>The production has been praised for its bold choreography, dramatic lighting and striking stage design, with performances consistently selling out. Its reinterpretation of <em>Carmen<\/em> offers a fresh perspective on one of literature&#8217;s most enduring stories while preserving the emotional intensity that has captivated audiences for generations.<\/p> <p>The ballet features music by Georges Bizet, choreography by Agnese Omodei Sale and Federico Veratti, stage design by Marco Pesta and artistic direction by Carlo Pesta.<\/p> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The acclaimed Italian ballet company will stage its original interpretation of the timeless story at Veakeio Theater on July 15, blending classical technique with contemporary choreography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":519451,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[35001,92194,40689,40799],"nea_authors":[],"super_title":null,"cwp_author":"TοΒΗΜΑ Team","thecontent":{"rendered":"<p>Italy&#8217;s acclaimed Balletto di Milano will perform its original production of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.more.com\/gr-en\/tickets\/dance\/carmen-balletto-di-milano-beakeio-theatro\/\"><em>Carmen<\/em> in Athens for the first time<\/a> on July 15, 2026, bringing its celebrated interpretation of Prosper Mérimée&#8217;s classic story to the Veakeio Theater.<\/p> <p>Based on Mérimée&#8217;s novella, best known worldwide through Georges Bizet&#8217;s opera of the same name, <em>Carmen<\/em> tells the tragic story of a fiercely independent woman whose desire for freedom is ultimately destroyed by a man&#8217;s consuming jealousy. The ballet explores themes of love, passion and fate through expressive choreography and theatrical staging.<\/p> <p>Regarded as one of Italy&#8217;s leading ballet companies, Balletto di Milano is known for its neoclassical style, combining classical ballet technique with contemporary movement. The ensemble&#8217;s dancers are trained at the renowned La Scala Academy, and the company has performed extensively across Italy as well as on major stages in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Spain, Germany and Cyprus.<\/p><div id='300x250_m1' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m1'); });<\/script><\/div> <blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DXetlTkCLeB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\"> <div style=\"padding: 16px;\"> <p><\/p> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\"> <div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"> <div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div> <\/div> <p><\/p> <p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DXetlTkCLeB\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A post shared by Teatro Municipale &#8220;Giuseppe Verdi&#8221; di Salerno (@teatroverdisalerno)<\/a><\/p><div id='300x250_m2' style='display:none;margin-bottom:30px'><script type='text\/javascript'>googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('300x250_m2'); });<\/script><\/div> <\/div> <\/blockquote> <p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p> <p>Since 1998, the company has been led by choreographer Carlo Pesta, whose artistic direction has helped shape Balletto di Milano&#8217;s distinctive style and technical excellence.<\/p> <p>The production has been praised for its bold choreography, dramatic lighting and striking stage design, with performances consistently selling out. Its reinterpretation of <em>Carmen<\/em> offers a fresh perspective on one of literature&#8217;s most enduring stories while preserving the emotional intensity that has captivated audiences for generations.<\/p> <p>The ballet features music by Georges Bizet, choreography by Agnese Omodei Sale and Federico Veratti, stage design by Marco Pesta and artistic direction by Carlo Pesta.<\/p> <\/p>"},"cwp_category":[{"term_id":5,"name":"Culture","slug":"culture","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"News, reviews and analysis from our critics and reporters about the Greek culture &amp; arts scene, including books, movies, art, food, music, history, television and theater.","parent":0,"count":1384,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_tags":[{"term_id":35001,"name":"ballet","slug":"ballet","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":35001,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":5,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":92194,"name":"dance","slug":"dance","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":92194,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":40689,"name":"theatrical performances","slug":"theatrical-performances","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":40689,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":17,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":40799,"name":"Things to Do in Athens","slug":"things-to-do-in-athens","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":40799,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":361,"filter":"raw"}],"cwp_featured_thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06\/shutterstock_599471885-150x150.jpg","cwp_featured_full":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06\/shutterstock_599471885-e1783357453976.jpg","cwp_featured_medium":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06\/shutterstock_599471885-300x200.jpg","cwp_featured_medium_large":"https:\/\/www.tovima.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/06\/shutterstock_599471885-768x512.jpg","locked_article":null,"youtube_player":null,"facebook_player":null,"extra_video_mobile_app":null,"extra_video":null}]},{"type":"books","header":"Βιβλία","ID":"14","posts":[]}]