Troika

Athens is bracing itself for the return of the loathed Troika officials representing the country’s creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The Troika of Greece’s international creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund returned to the country to supervise the closure of the 2nd Greek bailout and move forth to the third.

If Grexit, troika and the like are Greek to you, then the humorous UK site – Poke – has printed out this indispensible guide into better understanding the debt default… and Greece!

Portugal's president said on Monday an agreement between Greece and the troika should be reached, "this week if possible."

President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who is head of state in Portugal, told reporters in Sofia: "The situation in Greece is of concern to all countries in the European Union."

 An assessment of the events that led up to the failed talks between the troika and the previous government, as well as SYRIZA?s rise to power

By Eleni Varvitsioti & Tasos Telloglou

The "Brussels Group", consisting of low-ranking officials of foreign institutions, are in Athens on Thursday to collect data on the Greek economy.

By Elena Becatoros

Greece's new government is "radically opposed" to the privatization of certain businesses, particularly in the energy and infrastructure sectors, a senior cabinet minister said Wednesday as reforms talks with creditors were due to begin.

Government Spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis told private SKAI TV on Monday that the Greek government has acted responsibly in representing the Greek people and in its dealings with Greece's EU partners.

In his statements during a meeting of the European Economic and Social Committee of the European Parliament, EC President Jean Claude Juncker stressed that the Troika insulted Greece’s dignity, while he described it as “undemocratic” and further noted that that “mistakes were made”.

NICOSIA ? Cyprus?s recession deepened in the fourth quarter of 2014 as gross domestic product shrank by 0.7 percent from the previous three-month period, official data showed on Friday.