Giorgos Katrougalos

On Thursday and Friday, 22 and 23 November, the Fourth Ministerial Meeting between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was held in Thessaloniki. Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Economy and Development of the countries took part, reports European Western Balkans. 

Greece's public sector will grind to a halt on Wednesday as the union representing civil servants, ADEDY, has called a 24-hour strike and a protest rally to Parliament.

The recent court decisions vindicating pensioners over the cuts they sustained under the second bailout program, and the upcoming verdict of the Council of State over the Katrougalos law are causing serious turmoil in the political system, as they may not only upset this year's budget but also those of the years to come, along with sinking the country's social security system.

SHANGHAI - The ongoing China International Import Expo (CIIE) is a "historic" event that will help elevate Greece-China cooperation to a new level, a Greek official has said.

The government's recent announcement on the upcoming reduction of social security contributions constitutes a direct admission that the law introduced by former social security minister Giorgos Katrougalos has since 2016 served as a mechanism for confiscating up to 70 percent of the incomes of thousands of self-employed professional, mainly lawyers, engineers and doctors, say sector representat

Greece is expected to officially respond Wednesday to Russia's decision to expel two Greek Embassy staff and bar the director of Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias's political bureau, Giorgos Sakellariou, from entering the country, in a retaliatory move over a decision by Athens to expel two Russian envoys in July.

The government intends to submit a series of legislative amendments during the Parliament's summer sessions in a bid to cultivate its narrative that it will have more scope to ease the burden of austerity once Greece exits the bailout next month. 

The US State Department has expressed its support to Greece after its decision on Wednesday to expel two Russian diplomats who are accused of meddling in the country's domestic affairs and trying to whip up opposition to the name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia which will allow it to join NATO.

The large pension cuts imposed by the law drafted by former labor minister Giorgos Katrougalos, combined with the reduction in applications, have reduced the backlog of retirement lump sums, thereby bringing down the overdue arrears of the ETEAEP auxiliary fund by 35 percent.

Alternate Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos has hailed progress in talks between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the decades-old name dispute, noting that a solution appeared "close."

"We are very close to a settlement. I am optimistic because there is willingness on both sides," Katrougalos told a radio station Tuesday.