Protesters took over the Finance Ministry building in Athens on Friday, hanging a giant banner from the roof calling for a general strike, as Greece wrapped up tough negotiations with international officials and succeeded in being granted the next multi-billion-euro installment from its bailout package.
About 200 protesters blockaded the entrance to the ministry from dawn, preventing employees from entering, the Associated Press reported. They hung a banner draping five floors in front of the building and took down the European Union flag from the top of the ministry.
The protest came as experts from the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, or IMF, were wrapping up a review of Greece's implementation of economic reforms in return for 110 billion euros ($159.06 billion) in rescue loans from the EU and IMF.
The three bodies, known as the troika, decided in favor of granting Greece its fifth tranche, worth 12 billion euros, of bailout loans agreed last year.
The nearly month-long inspection of Greek finances by the troika concluded "positively" on Friday, the country's Finance Ministry said, according to the Associated Press.
Greece has removed obstacles on foreigners willing to purchase real estate in border regions, according to Milliyet newspaper. The newspaper said Friday that those who are not a citizen of an EU country will also be able to buy property in the border regions of Greece, without receiving pre-authorization from the Defense Ministry. The approval for such sales will be given by local committees, Milliyet said.
Islands across Turkey’s Aegean shores are defined as within the “border region” of Greece, according to laws that regulate the purchase and sale of properties. Turkish citizens can now buy property in the islands, Milliyet reported.
Greece has so far received 53 billion euros from its rescue deal since it first started tapping into the international bailout package in May last year.
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