There is continuous upgrade with common staff drills By Michalis Michael The Cyprus-Greece-Egypt Tripartite Summit will be held on October 8, hosted by Egypt, Cyprus Defense Minister Savvas Angelides announced today. Angelides attended the morning meeting of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, with the Egyptian Minister of Defense, Mohamed Ahmed Zaki, in the framework of Zaki's official visit to Cyprus. Nicosia-Cairo relations on defense and security issues are being upgraded, he said, while also referring to the two countries' co-operation in exchanging information on terrorism and energy security issues. The meeting "reaffirmed the existing co-operation and the upgrade of Cyprus-Egypt relations...

Former EU high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schwarz-Schilling considers as a shock to the European Union, which is focused on internal problems, the decision of the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to appoint Matthew Palmer as the Special Representative for the Western Balkans. Chilling says the US decision to appoint a special envoy should motivate the Western Balkan region to find a solution to all their problems, Gazeta Express reports. According to him the European Union needs to be more proactive in solving problems and integrating Western Balkan countries into the European Union, adding that the US initiative in 90s pushed the...

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is on an official visit in Sofia, today, 11 September, where he will have a series of contacts with the country's political and state leadership. At this time, Dendias has a meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister, Boyko Borissov. After that he will have a private meeting with his Bulgarian homologue Ekaterina Zaharieva, followed by an expanded meeting of the two delegations. The two minister will give a joint press conference after the end of the meeting. Ekaterina Zaharieva and Nikos Dendias will also attend a working lunch at the end of the joint statements. Bulgaria and Greece are strategic partners,...

The audacity of Turkey has now passed the limits of a transient transgression By Michalis Michael It is impossible to negotiate on the Cyprus issue, under the threat of gunships and the presence of Turkish drilling rigs in the Cypriot EEZ. This was noted by the President of the Republic, Nicos Anastasiades, in an interview with the Greek newspaper "TA NEA". At the same time, Anastasiades leaves open the possibility of appealing to the UN Security Council on the Famagusta issue and stresses that the initiative for a trilateral meeting on the Cyprus issue is now with the UN Secretary-General. Anastasiades stresses that the recent...

What appears to be a condescending disposition by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis towards SYRIZA and Alexis Tsipras causes internal vibrations within New Democracy. "My goal is a civilized political dialogue; and I think Mr. Tsipras also understands that things can be different. If he wants to move SYRIZA towards the center, it is in his own interest as well to ensure a civilized dialogue”: Kyriakos Mitsotakis proceeded to this statement last Tuesday in a Dutch newspaper, yet its recipients were actually Koumoundourou executives. Proving his intentions in action, Mr. Mitsotakis avoided to tagret Alexis Tsipras and his actions while in TIF, either as main opposition...

The Presidents of SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, Zoran Zaev and Hristijan Mickoski, have failed to agree on the Law on Public Prosecution and on the future status of the Special Public Prosecutor's Office. Talks between the leaders of the two largest parties began last night, ending with no epilogue during the early hours of the morning. Sources from the SDSM (Social Democratic League) negotiating team have told several media that the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party has insisted that the law on Special Public Prosecution cases that were opened after June 30, 2017 be canceled. SDSM has also offered to form a new Prosecutor for high corruption, headed...

Prime Minister Kyriacos Mitsotakis will visit the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday to chair a meeting of the government’s economic policy council, ahead of Friday’s Eurogroup meeting. According to information, the council is expected to discuss the government’s next moves in the privatization program, as well as an official request by Athens for the early repayment of a part of the country’s expensive debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will also be on the Eurogroup meeting agenda. Speaking in Thessaloniki last week, Prime Minister Kyriacos Mitsotakis told reporters that the sale of a 30 percent stake in the Athens International Airport will be...

With one statement behind the other, Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatens to flood Europe with a new refugee wave, in the event that Ankara is not supported by Western countries. The striking element of this attitude by the Turkish President is that large portions of the public support it. "Up until today, I did not endorse such an extortion. I believed that refugees should not become tools of coercion or blackmail. But the West's unethical and indifferent attitude is starting to annoy me. And I have come to believe that this is the only language they understand, and Erdogan's statement is one that will make them...

The Greek government is expected to proceed in September with the partial repayment of Greece's debt to IMF (all preparations had been carried out by the previous government). The request will be formally raised by Finance Minister Christos Staikouras during the Eurogroup meeting next Friday. It is worth noting that the SYRIZA government not only had announced the goal of repaying the expensive IMF loans, but had also completed the essential steps to achieve that goal. Specifically, former Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, during the IMF Spring Summit last April, had informed then head of IMF Christine Lagarde of the government's intention to repay the loan...

A delegation of members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PSBiH), gathered at the Club for European Integration and Security Issues, visited the BiH Foreign Affairs Office today to discuss priorities in managing migration in BiH. The director of the Foreign Affairs Office, Slobodan Ujić, pointed out after the meeting that all aspects of the migrant crisis were discussed, especially security issues, the number of migrants and their accommodation, and the situation in the Una-Sana Canton (USK), as well as the institutional response to the current situation. Among other things, opinions were exchanged regarding human, material and financial resources, which need to be...