Greece-Netherlands Relations: Threatened Dutch journalist flees Greece after confrontation with Prime Minister

Shocking, is what editor-in-chief of De Groene Amsterdammer, Xandra Schutte, called what happened to the opinion weekly's correspondent Ingeborg Beugel in Greece. Beugel was in the news over the past days after the Greek prime minister reacted furiously when she asked him about alleged pushbacks, sending boats full of migrants back, during a press conference. Schutte confirms a report by NU.nl on Wednesday that Beugel is being threatened to such an extent that she will return to the Netherlands.

Read more at: Threatened Dutch journalist flees Greece after confrontation with Prime Minister | NL Times

Global warming: Greek island of Evia cut off in two by wildfire as #HelpTurkey lights up Twitter

ires of "biblical catastrophe" continue to burn through Greek forests, forcing the evacuations of thousands of people as a political storm brews in Turkey over the worst wildfires in recent history.

Three large wildfires churned across Greece on Saturday, with one threatening whole towns and cutting a line across Evia, the country's second-largest island, isolating its northern part.

Read more at: https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/08/08/greek-island-of-evia-cut-off-in-two-by-wildfire-as-helpturkey-lights-up-twitter

Turkey: Deadly 7.0 earthquake rocks western Turkey, Greece

A strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea on Friday and inflicted damage in both Greece and Turkey, where buildings collapsed killing at least four people with many others trapped in the rubble.

Read more at: Deadly earthquake rocks western Turkey, Greece | Greece | Al Jazeera

Middle East: Turkey Greece RelationsNATO signals Turkey-Greece breakthrough, Athens denies deal

 Hopes for a breakthrough in quelling the rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea dimmed on Thursday after Greek officials denied that they'd agreed to talks with regional rival Turkey.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced that the two sides had agreed to "technical talks" to avoid accidental military clashes in the region.

"I remain in close touch with all concerned Allies to find a solution to the tensions in the spirit of NATO solidarity," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Read more at:
NATO signals Turkey-Greece breakthrough, Athens denies deal | News | DW | 03.09.2020

Middle East: After S-400, Turkey Looks At Russian Su-35, Su-57 Jets; Is It The End Of NATO?

As reported earlier by Eurasian Times, since 2018, the two NATO allies have been at loggerheads as the US has been pressurizing the Turkish government to cancel the purchases of S-400 systems from Russia. However, Turkey has stood its ground and received its first delivery of the first S-400 batch in July last year and has placed a second order with Russia. 

Now, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been showing increasing interest in the Sukhoi Su-57 fighter jet. Su-57 fighter jet is designed to have supercruise, supermaneuverability, stealth, and advanced avionics to overcome the prior generation fighter aircraft as well as ground and naval defenses.

Read more at: 
After S-400, Turkey Looks At Russian Su-35, Su-57 Jets; Is It The End Of NATO?

EU-Turkey relations: Erdogan orders coast guard to stop migrants and refugees crossing Aegean

The Turkish president has ordered his coast guard to prevent migrants and refugees from crossing the Aegean Sea. Erdogan has triggered a migrant crisis at the Greek border by falsely informing people the border was open.

Read more at:
https://www.dw.com/en/erdogan-orders-coast-guard-to-stop-migrants-and-refugees-crossing-aegean/a-52675278

EU calls emergency meeting on deepening Turkey-Syria crisis

Brussels has called an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers as Turkey’s escalating conflict with the Syrian regime risks creating a new refugee crisis. Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said that the fighting around the province of Idlib, Syria’s last rebel-held enclave, represented “a serious threat to international peace and security” and that the EU had to “redouble efforts to address this terrible human crisis with all the means at its disposal”.

 Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s president, declared on Saturday that his country had “opened the gates” to the EU for the 4m refugees currently living in Turkey as he sought to pressure Europe into providing Ankara with greater support in Idlib.

Read more at: EU calls emergency meeting on deepening Turkey-Syria crisis | Financial Times

Greece: Migrants invasion - Greece blocks 10,000 migrants at Turkey border

The influx has come since Turkey vowed to open its doors for migrants to travel the EU.

Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51695468

EU - It was Leaked that EU Capitals seek to reform EU summits to cope with Trump era – by Jorge Valero

EU countries are working on a review of their leaders’ summits to improve their efficiency amid the challenges posed by Donald Trump, China and other foreign actors, according to official notes seen by EURACTIV.com.

The review is part of the debate launched under the EU’s rotating presidency, currently held by Finland, to increase the efficiency in delivering EU objectives, particularly those in the Strategic Agenda endorsed by leaders in June.

During the EU ambassadors meeting held on 15 July, France, Spain, Sweden, Slovakia, Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Malta stressed the need to bring the EU closer to its citizens.

Finland is hopeful that, given that there will be fewer legislative priorities during the opening months of the new term, there will be more time to hold these political discussions. 

As part of the review of the Council’s competences, member states including France, Belgium, Czech Republic, Sweden, Latvia, Greece, Croatia and Slovakia also want the institution to follow-up on decisions taken by ministers and EU leaders.

Meanwhile, Germany highlighted the importance of sending “positive” messages to EU citizens after every Council meeting.

Read more at: Leak: Capitals seek to reform EU summits to cope with Trump era – EURACTI

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Offshore drilling: Turkey slams the EU claim that drilling for oil in Cypus territorial waters is illegal

TURKEY. Turkey slams EU claim that drilling off Cyprus is illegal Turkey said on Wednesday it rejected Greek and European Union assertions that Turkish drilling for gas and oil off Cyprus was illegitimate, saying they showed the EU could not be an impartial mediator on the Cyprus problem.

Read more at;
https://www.france24.c  om/en/20190710-turkey-cyprus-offshore-drilling-european-union

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Greece: Conservatives win Greek election with promise to revive economy, unseating leftist Syriza

Conservatives are returning to power in Greece after defeating the leftist ruling party, which failed in its pledge to fight austerity. Now New Democracy offers more jobs and less taxes for austerity-weary Greeks.

The party of opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis has claimed 39.74 percent of the vote, with Syriza trailing on 31.5 percent, the Interior Ministry said, after counting nearly 45 percent of the vote in the snap election.

If nothing changes significantly, New Democracy would claim between 155 and 167 seats in the 300-member parliament, which would enable it to form a government without political complications.

The turnout in the election was estimated at around 55 percent, which was blamed on the hot weather, as temperatures reached over 40 degrees in some parts of the country.

Syriza, which had been in the driving seat since 2015, has acknowledged its defeat, with Alexis Tsipras calling Mitsotakis to congratulate him.

“Today, with our head held high we accept the people’s verdict. To bring Greece to where it is today, we had to take difficult decisions (with) a heavy political cost,” the outgoing PM told the journalists.

Read more at: Conservatives win Greek election with promise to revive economy, unseating leftist Syriza — RT World News

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Greece - West Nile Virus Spreading: Medical association calls for West Nile virus action plan

With the death toll from the spread of the West Nile virus in Greece rising this week to 17, the Athens Medical Association (ISA) is urging authorities to draft an emergency action plan to deal with what it describes as a growing threat to public health.

Expressing concern over the number of reported cases (133), the ISA called on the Health Ministry and the Attica Regional Authority to work with experts and local authorities to deal with the virus’s spread which, it said, is having a financial cost, as it is also impacting the tourism industry.

ISA said the country has been left “defenseless” and that health authorities must launch a campaign to raise public awareness and promote individual protection measures.

ISA chairman Giorgos Patoulis took a swipe at state authorities for being slow off the mark in tackling the problem.

“Unfortunately, once again, the competent authorities have not risen to the occasion and are now being urged to take belated measures to address the consequences of their inability to draft a credible national public health policy,” he said.

He added that Greece has “paid the the price of this incompetence with the loss of human lives.”

Read More: Medical association calls for West Nile virus action plan | News | ekathimerini.com

EU-China Relations: How to make China work for Europe

China’s bet to transform the world economy, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), involves strategic risks for Europe. But these are far from insurmountable. If the Continent’s policymakers can overcome their knee-jerk reaction to China’s ambitions, they can easily contain the threats to Europe’s core interests.

Despite widespread fears of Chinese competition and the security risks involved in their takeover of major infrastructure projects, China’s move to the West also offers plenty of opportunities that — if handled properly — can help Europe advance its own strategic priorities. To exploit them, the EU needs to develop a common approach that draws China closer, on European terms.

The EU must continue to work toward becoming a credible economic counterweight to Beijing, preferably together with other liberal market economies. If done right, this could draw Beijing into a mutually dependent economic relationship, help to promote sustainable development and contain threats to European unity.

To sidestep the risks involved, the EU needs to set out clear red lines to ensure governments do not support BRI projects unless they live up to recognized criteria on transparency, equal say of stakeholders and environmental and labor standards.

Read more: How to make China work for Europe – POLITICO

British Economy: UK records biggest July budget surplus since 2000 - as it happened

t’s been a good day for UK chancellor Philip Hammond as far as the country’s public finances go, with the best July budget surplus for 18 years.

But factory growth was less impressive in August, according to the CBI.

Meanwhile the dollar has weakened after President Trump took the Federal Reserve to task for continuing to raise interest rates.

And in Greece, prime minister Alexis Tsipras has said Greece is at the beginning of a new era following its exit from its longstanding bailout programme.

Read more: UK records biggest July budget surplus since 2000 - as it happened | Business | The Guardian

Greece wildfires: EU will help for 'as long as it takes'

The EU's pulling together to support Greece, as deadly wild fires continue to rage in the country. Planes, firefighters and medics among the resources promised as part of the bloc's civil protection system.

With Athens appealing for help, European Council President Donald Tusk tweeted: "Europe will stand by our Greek friends in these difficult times." He also confirmed that help was on its way.

EU Commission spokesperson, Alexander Winterstein, told reporters: "During these difficult times, we stand side by side with the Greek people and authorities and I commend the tireless and courageous efforts of the emergency responders.

"Everything possible will be done to provide support today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes."

The Commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management is helping to coordinate the EU's response in Athens - as Greece battles to contain the disaster.

Read more: Greece wildfires: EU will help for 'as long as it takes' | Euronews

Greece: Greek officials suspect arson being the cause of deadly fires

Greek officials suspect arson in deadly wildfire, emergency response questioned

Read more:at:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/greece-wildfires-red-tape-evacuation-1.4762603

Governments would get more done if they bullied people less on issues like anti-vaccination — Sara Gorman

In 2016, in the midst of a devastating measles outbreak, California decided to repeal the philosophical exemption to vaccines, which allows parents to opt out of required childhood vaccines because of “personal beliefs.”

Soon after that law went into effect, the number of exemptions for medical reasons suddenly soared. Some have argued that the philosophical exemption ban may have in some ways made matters worse, since school administrators are powerless against medical exemptions, but may have had more room to question philosophical exemptions.

Responding to complex social issues such as the anti-vaccine movement requires a full view of human behavior and a solid understanding of what it really takes to change minds. We need to let go of the idea that we can just strong-arm people into complying. Policymakers must understand that changing attitudes and behaviors requires a comprehensive approach that doesn’t rely exclusively on punitive measures alone.

These kinds of laws should be familiar to anyone who has followed the evolution of the response to anti-vaxxers in the US and elsewhere.

Last year, France, Italy, and Germany all announced new laws and fines that in each case made more vaccines mandatory and raised the stakes of not complying. In India, Kerala state instituted a new vaccine mandate for the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine after growing resistance led to serious declines in vaccination rates and constituted a major threat to India’s progress toward eliminating measles. Such policy responses to anti-vaccine sentiment are very common and often the first line of defense.

When faced with a viewpoint or behavior that seems completely irrational, it’s often very tempting to essentially “bully” people with facts, overwhelming them with all the reasons why their viewpoint is factually wrong. But recent research has found that not only does this approach often fail to change people’s minds and behaviors, it may even backfire. This is the basis for the “backfire effect,” a phenomenon in which people become more entrenched in their views after being bombarded with evidence against it.

A recent experiment from researchers at Dartmouth illustrates the principle well. Subjects were given fake newspaper articles that seemingly confirmed several very common misconceptions from recent history, such as that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. When they were then given a corrective article indicating that weapons were never found, liberals who opposed the war accepted the new article and rejected the old, whereas conservatives who supported the war did the opposite. In fact, those who did not change their view reported being even more convinced that there were weapons after being exposed to the correct information.

Another recent study showed what goes on in the brain when someone experiences the “backfire effect.” Participants were surveyed about their opinions on particular political issues and then were placed in an fMRI machine to measure brain activity. They were then presented with a large quantity of information that disproved their stated opinions. In a follow-up survey several weeks later, researchers found stronger inclination toward original views in the majority of participants. More importantly for this study, however, is what they found about brain activity during these informational challenges. Regions of the brain associated with strong emotion were heavily activated while parts of the brain associated with cognitive reasoning and comprehension were suppressed. In essence, the parts of the brain needed to absorb the new information were shut down by the parts of the brain associated with strong emotion.

As we can see, when people are faced with challenges to strongly-held beliefs, they may become emotional and dig their heels in. This can be a response to a barrage of new information that challenges what they believe, or a response to new laws that challenge the behavioral outcomes of strongly-held beliefs. Either way, we can see how punitive policies to address strongly-held beliefs might be limited, even if they are necessary.

Even when new laws are passed, lawmakers must take great care about how they communicate about them, especially if the law touches on “hot-button” issues like childhood vaccines or gun control. For example, recent research has suggested that presenting people with views they disagreed with on paper made them discount the intellect of the person presenting the views much more than when there was a video explanation provided instead. This is just one of many ways in which the medium and the precise content of a potentially controversial message can change the way it is received.

When faced with difficult viewpoints and behaviors of constituents, policymakers must think very carefully about how to respond. Often laws and regulations are needed, but what gets put in place with those regulations also needs to be carefully considered before new laws are implemented, not as an afterthought.

Read more: Governments would get more done if they bullied people less on issues like anti-vaccination — Quartz

The EU Refugee problem: The George W. Bush refugees - and the mess -- including populism - the U.S. played such a large part in creating

George W.Bush "the mission is over" - who was he kidding?

On September 18, 2015 Andrew Bacevich wrote in Politico something which not only the US Government, but also its European NATO partners have never openly admitted.

"As migrants have poured into Europe, Americans must bear the blame".

"if you break it you own it.” Colin Powell’s Pottery Barn Rule, warning George W. Bush of the consequences of invading Iraq.

Bush broke it — “it” being a swath of the greater Middle East. But the U.S. and their European NATO partners, the so-called "coalition of the willing" adamantly refused to accept anything like ownership of the consequences stemming from Bush’s recklessly misguided act.

Not least among those consequences is the crisis that finds refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Islamic world in search of asylum in the West. The European nations most directly affected have greeted this wave with more hostility than hospitality — Germany, for a time, at least offering a notable exception.

For its part, the U.S. has responded with pronounced indifference and silence. In a gesture of undisguised tokenism, the Obama administration announced it would admit a grand total of 10,000 Syrians — one-eightieth the number that Germany has agreed to accept in one year alone. Obviously the situation is now even more grim for refugees wanting to come to America, with Trump's "Make America Great Again" anti-immigration policies.

No doubt proximity plays a part in explaining the contrast between German and U.S. attitudes. Viewed from Wichita or Walla Walla, the plight of those who hand themselves over to human traffickers in hopes of crossing the Mediterranean plays out at a great distance.

Syria is what Neville Chamberlain would have described as a faraway country of which Americans know nothing (and care less). And Iraq and Afghanistan are faraway countries that most Americans have come to regret knowing.

However, To attribute the European  refugee crisis to any single cause would also be misleading. A laundry list has contributed: historical and sectarian divisions within the region; the legacy of European colonialism; the absence of anything even approximating enlightened local leadership able to satisfy the aspirations of people tired of corruption, economic stagnation, and authoritarian rule; the appeal — inexplicable to Westerners — of violent Islamic radicalism. All play a role.

Such attitudes may be understandable. They are also unconscionable.

Yet when it comes to why this fragile structure collapsed just now we can point to a single explanation — the cascading after-effects of a decision made by Bush during the spring of 2002 to embrace a doctrine of preventative war.

The previous autumn, U.S. forces toppled the government of Afghanistan, punishing the Taliban for giving sanctuary to those who plotted the 9/11 attacks. Bush effectively abandoned Afghanistan to its fate and set out to topple another regime, one that had no involvement whatsoever in 9/11.

For Bush, going after Saddam Hussein’s Iraq formed part of a larger strategy. He and his lieutenants fancied that destroying the old order in the greater Middle East would position the U.S. to create a more amenable new order. Back in 1991, after a previous Iraq encounter, Bush’s father had glimpsed a “new world order.” Now a decade later, the son set out to transform the father’s vision into reality.

The administration called this its Freedom Agenda, which would begin in Iraq but find further application throughout the greater Middle East. Coercion rather than persuasion held the key to its implementation, its plausibility resting on unstoppable military power. For Bush’s inner circle, including Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz (but not Powell), victory was foreordained.

They miscalculated. The unsettled (but largely ignored) condition of Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban already hinted at the extent of that miscalculation. The chaos that descended upon Iraq as a direct result of the U.S. invasion affirmed it. The Freedom Agenda made it as far as Baghdad and there it died.

That Saddam was a brutal tyrant is a given. We need not mourn his departure. Yet while he ruled he at least kept a lid on things. Bush blew off that lid, naively expecting liberal democracy or at least deference to American authority to emerge. Instead, “liberating” Iraq produced conditions conducive to the violent radicalism today threatening to envelop the region.

So rather than cluck over the reluctance of Greeks, Serbs, Hungarians and others to open their borders to those fleeing from the mess the U.S. played such a large part in creating, Americans would do better to engage in acts of contrition.

The US, even under the leadership of Donald Trump, should at least understand that it is never too late to say they are sorry for creating this total mess in the Middle East and Afghanistan, which saddled the EU and Turkey up with millions of refugees, and indirectly, as a result, also created ISIS.

As to the EU,  it is never too late to recognize, they finally must get off the lap of Uncle Sam, develop their own independent foreign policy, and stop being part of disastrous US military  adventures.

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Sharia Law - Islam: Greece limits Islamic Sharia law courts for Muslim minority

Greek lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly backed legislation to limit the purview of Islamic religious courts over the nearly 120,000-strong Muslim minority in the region of Western Thrace.

Islamic religious courts will only be able to rule in family law matters such as divorce, child custody and inheritance if all parties agree, under the new law supported by major parties.

Regular Greek law will apply in cases where all parties do not agree to a religious court settling a dispute.

Greece is the only EU country that has Islamic religious courts.

State-appointed clerics, known as muftis, have resolved family law matters among Muslims in Western Thrace under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne between Turkey and Greece following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Among other things, the treaty involved a population exchange of some 2 million people between Turkey and Greece, except for on some Aegean islands, the Greek Orthodox community in Istanbul and the largely Turkish-speaking Muslim community in Western Thrace.

The Greek Orthodox and Muslim minorities were given certain minority language, cultural and religious rights under the treaty.

But in a strange twist of history, the Muslims of Greece fell under Islamic law while Turkey moved to a secular legal system in the Turkish Republic.

The Muslims in the northeastern corner of Greece near the border with Turkey are mostly ethnic Turks, although there is also a Bulgarian-speaking Pomak community.

Turkey has long taken an interest in what it deems Turkish-ethnic brothers in Western Thrace, drawing accusations from Greece that Ankara is interfering in its affairs.

Greece has been reluctant to change the law around Muslim family matters, fearful that it could prompt Turkey to request changes to the Lausanne Treaty.

Note EU-Digest: To allow Sharia, or any other religious law to function on a parallel status with local and national laws in EU member States is ridiculous and creates more problems than it solves.   

Read  more: Greece limits Islamic Sharia law courts for Muslim minority | News | DW | 10.01.2018

Macedonia's Biggest Problem: It's Called Macedonia -by Edward P. Joseph

The “Interim Accord” was supposed to function as a stop-gap solution, halting the Greek blockade on its neighbor and opening diplomatic relations between the two countries, pending a permanent solution. Twenty-two years later and there is still no final agreement on the name—and the failure to close this chapter weighs heavily on the increasingly unstable Balkans. Thanks to rare political dynamics in both Athens and Skopje, there is a fleeting opportunity to resolve the name dispute. But doing so will once again take bold U.S. leadership.

Policymakers routinely scoff at the name dispute as a “ridiculous” Balkan squabble. In fact, it’s quite serious. Solely because of its complaint that Macedonia has stolen Greek heritage—the legacy of Alexander the Great—Athens continues to block Macedonia’s membership in NATO and its advancement towards the EU. The vacuum leaves the country—and the region—in limbo. Without a clear pathway to Brussels, Macedonia’s democratic development has stalled, perpetuating anxieties that the country could be divided.

The same syndrome exists in divided Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, each of which faces structural hurdles to joining NATO or the EU. Irresponsible nationalists in those countries have made strident calls for territorial division, a step that would reopen the conflicts of the 1990s. Exacerbating these trends, Russia and Turkey have begun to actively undermine Western strategy in the region. Once thought to be an inexorable process, the incorporation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and Macedonia into Euro-Atlantic institutions is now open to question

In other words, “plenty” is the answer to Shakespeare’s eternal question of “what’s in a name?” .

Read more: Macedonia's Biggest Problem: It's Called Macedonia | The National Interest