Developments in the Middle East are closely monitored in Athens

By Constantine Capsaskis

Newsletter Editor

Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. The unfolding situation in the Middle East following the killings of Hamas pollical head Ismail Haniyah in Iran and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr is being closely monitored in Greece as the continued escalation in the region has many implications for Athens.

Primarily, the government is committed to its strategic relationship with Israel, with political consultations between the two countries being held in Athens this week with the political director at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aliza Bin-Noun, meeting with Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou.

However, Athens also has to consider the stance of other involved regional powers with which it deals, including Turkey and Egypt.

Other concerns of the Greek government include the possible increase of refugee and migrant flows as the region continues to face this destabilizing crisis, as well as energy uncertainty and potential disruptions to regional supply chains.

Additionally, Greek intelligence services have been placed on high alert following a warning from foreign security services that targets of Israeli interest in Greece could be attacked. However, according to sources available to Kathimerini, there is currently no clear information on a possible attack against a specific target or on a specific date.

Greece is also co-operating with Cyprus on evacuating their citizens and third-country nationals from the region. While the Foreign Ministry has reiterated that it recommends avoiding travelling to Israel, Palestinian territories, Iran, and Lebanon, it estimates that there are approximately 4,000 Greek passport-holders in the latter country. It has recommended that Greek passport-holders in Lebanon should leave the country.

Spotlight

• The 300-page report compiled by the Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Achilles Zisis, stated that no government agencies or officials were involved in the Predator wiretapping scandal and shelved the case against the National Intelligence Service (EYP). Zisis concluded that the fact that high profile individuals, including PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis, had been targeted by the Predator software system while also being under surveillance by EYP was a “coincidence”. The opposition parties slammed the decision, with Androulakis stating that “we will continue our fight against this dark state”. On Thursday, main opposition party SYRIZA, PASOK, New Left and Course for Freedom jointly demanded that the entire case file be sent to Parliament for scrutiny, while also demanding the summons of Supreme Court Prosecutor Georgia Adeilini. This was rejected on Friday by the government majority on the Committee of Institutions and Transparency.

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• Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis nominated the Governor of Central Macedonia Apostolos Tzitzikostas as Greece’s Commissioner for the 2024-2029 European Union institutional cycle. “Apostolos Tzitzikostas is a person with experience in institutional roles both in Greece and in Europe where he was elected president of the European Committee of the Regions in 2020,” noted government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis. Tzitzikostas is popular with the more conservative supporters of ruling New Democracy in a region where the party suffered most in the recent European elections. “I am committed to working hard to create a Europe that meets the expectations of our citizens,” said Tzitzikostas following the announcement.

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OPINION

Insisting on the expansionist “Blue Homeland”

By Tom Ellis

Editor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition

The positive climate that has been established in the last year between Greece and Turkey is on a collision course with the recurring rhetoric?from Ankara?about?the?expansionist doctrine of?the so called “Blue Homeland” which covers a?wide geographical area.

In?Greece, even moderate?politicians, diplomats, and?opinion makers?who genuinely believe in?an improved bilateral relationship with our neighbor to the East, find it difficult to argue in support of their vision when voices on the other side of the Aegean continue to promote grandiose schemes and?revisionist claims.

The recent?incident?near the Greek island of?Kasos in the southern Aegean, and the ideological?aggressiveness shown by the?Turkish government?in promoting?the “Blue Homeland”?doctrine which envisages Turkish influence over vast areas that extend from?the Black Sea, to?the Aegean, and?the Eastern Mediterranean, was a reminder of the difficulties ahead.

Turkey’s former defense minister and currently AKP deputy and chairman of the Turkish parliament’s National Security Committee, Hulusi Akar, recently stated that “the Blue Homeland is the continental shelf, the territorial waters, the EEZ, the maritime jurisdiction zones; it is all kinds of rights and interests above and below our seas. The Blue Home- land is our national issue. With 12,000 kilometres of coastline, with 462,000 square kilometres of sea fields, the Blue Homeland is a clear truth, not a fairy tale”.

The voices in support of the “Blue Homeland” – which will be taught in schools – are increasingly heard not only from Erdogan and his followers, but also from many in the opposition.

In fact, the latest statements on the issue emanating from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are also seen to a certain extent as a response to the criticism by the Kemalist CHP, that the government is backtracking on the country’s foreign policy.

Even if the statements are aimed at the?domestic audience and?are an effort to respond to the prevailing sentiment, this behaviour still acts as an impediment to any serious effort for a long-term improvement of bilateral relations, something which would benefit both countries.

This last point has to be understood, analysed and seriously taken into consideration by the decision makers in Ankara.

Greece is not only a force on its own right, but also a member of the European Union and in?a strategic alliance with the United States. It?is through this?prism that?the bilateral relationship must be assessed.

CHART OF THE WEEK

The rate of unemployment recorded in Greece in June was 9.6% according to the Hellenic Statistical Authority, down from 11.4% the year before. This marks the first return to a single-digit jobless rate since September 2009 (9.3%) and the beginning of the financial crisis. Specifically, in June 2024 there were a total of 456,663 unemployed people, a decrease from the 542,528 in June, 2023 (-15.8%) and the 487,292 in May, 2024 (-6.3%). There were also a record number of hirings in the first six months of the year (339,208 jobs), with new jobs outnumbering layoffs for five consecutive months. Overall, there were 23,961 new jobs created in this period.

ESCAPADE

The boundless generosity of Cretans

Author Diana Farr Louis recounts the overwhelming philoxenia (hospitality) she encountered while researching her cookbook ‘Feasting and Fasting in Crete’

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ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL

1. “The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1.430,90, down 2.64% from last week.”
2. “Several institutions and analysts, including the Bank of Greece, are warning that the Greek economy will grow at a slower pace than expected, with forecasts stating that it will likely not significantly exceed 2%.”
3. “The production of Greek olive oil is expected to be moderate to good in 2024, with forecasts of 250,000 to 280,000 tonnes. This will likely lead to lower prices for a good that has seen significant hikes in recent years.”

WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA

05/08/2024

Olympic Games: The Greek team at the Olympic Games (which has won one silver and four bronze medals so far) continues next week with several Greek athletes competing for more medals, including pole vaulters Katerina Stefanidi and Emmanouil Karalis, long jumper Miltos Tentoglou, and the men’s basketball and water polo team who have both advanced to their respective quarterfinals.

05/08/2024

Heat wave: The heatwave in Greece will continue until Monday, as temperatures are expected to reach above 40 degrees.

09/08/2024

Epidaurus: There will be two stagings of Aristophanes’ The Birds at the Ancient Theater of Epidaurus.

40 hours of crisis in the Aegean

Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s diplomatic and defense editor, joins Thanos Davelis to break down how the 40 hour crisis last week in the Aegean between Greece and Turkey evolved, and to look at the broader message this incident sends about stability in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Listen to the episode >