Christos Tarantilis

Greece could emerge as a "point of reference" and a "hub" for artificial intelligence (AI) in Southeast Europe in the coming years, Professor Christos Tarantilis, partner and head of the central government and public sector at EY (Ernst & Young) Greece, said last week.

A cold weather front has hit Greece, sending temperatures plunging from the low 20s Celsius (around 70 Fahrenheit) on Friday to well below freezing on Monday, and seeing snowfall in central Athens.

Authorities appealed to the public to restrict their movements outside to the essential only, while the main highway leading north out of the capital was shut due to snowfall.

Greek and Turkish diplomats have wrapped up exploratory talks in Istanbul.

The talks lasted more than three hours.

The Greek delegation is expected to leave Istanbul at 3 p.m. (Greek time).

More than 107,000 people in Greece have received at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the coronavirus, government spokesperson Christos Tarantilis said in a regular press briefing on Thursday, adding that the pace of vaccination depends on the number of available jabs.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis recently estimated that some 2 million people will be vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of March and expressed satisfaction with the current rate of 8,000 to 9,000 jabs a day.

Government spokesman Christos Tarantilis indicated the partial loosening of restrictions as of next week, telling a press briefing on Thursday that the cost to the economy of every month in lockdown is estimated at "around 3 billion euros, if not more."

Greece will enter the new round of exploratory talks with Turkey with a "a sincere and constructive attitude," government spokesman Christos Tarantilis said during a press briefing on Thursday.

Government spokesman Christos Tarantilis was optimistic on Monday that the Covid-19 vaccinations would go according to plan, noting that the government's goal is for 70% of the population to be inoculated against the disease by the summer "in order to achieve immunity."

New government spokesman Christos Tarantilis on Monday hailed the tabling of a new bill foreseeing the extension of the western limit of Greece's territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 nautical miles as a "historic decision."

As the lockdown was extended for another week Friday, government spokesman Christos Tarantilis announced that Parliament will next Friday serve as the stage where the government and main opposition SYRIZA will cross swords regarding the management of the coronavirus pandemic.