Tag: Greek

Bulgaria, Greece Must Unite against Macedonia, Turkey in Agriculture

Bulgarian Minister of Agriculture and Foods Miroslav Naydenov. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria and Greece should team up to offer strong competition in the area of agriculture against non-EU neighbors Macedonia and Turkey, argued Bulgarian Agriculture Minister Miroslav Naydenov.

Saturday Naydenov visited Greek livestock breeding exhibition Zootechnia in Thessaloniki.

“There is a competition pressure in agriculture on the part of Turkey and Macedonia, who are not part of the EU and their agriculture sectors can enjoy privileges not available to agriculture producers in the EU,” said the Bulgarian minister in an interview for ANA-MPA.

“We are neighbors with Greece and our ambition is to be able to increase mutual exchange,” stressed Naydenov.

The Bulgarian Agriculture Minister noted that Greek agriculture companies already have the established practice of using Bulgarian raw products, and suggested that this can be boosted.

He also called for an increased trade exchange of produce, with more Bulgarian grain products to be imported in Greece, and more Greek fruit and vegetables to be imported in Bulgaria.

In particular, Naydenov stressed that Bulgaria has still work to do in the absorption of EU subsidies in agriculture to achieve the full potential of the sector.

Tags: greece, Greek, Thessaloniki, Miroslav Naydenov, agriculture, greece, turkey, EU, subsidies

via Bulgaria: Bulgaria, Greece Must Unite against Macedonia, Turkey in Agriculture – Bulgarian Min – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency.

February 15, 2013
Historic Greek Newspaper in Istanbul Faces Closure

The Greek language newspaper “Apoyevmatini” is one of the oldest newspapers in Turkey. After 86 years in circulation, the Greek paper is now facing closure due to the financial problems which were aggravated by the economic crisis in Greece. Mr. Mihalis Vasiliadis, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, mentions some of the problems the Greek press faces in Istanbul.

“Apoyevmatini” was published for the first time on July 12, 1925. It is a four-page Greek language daily newspaper with news concerning Greece, Turkey and the world. Mr. Vasiliadis took charge in 2002 and continues to publish it by himself, with the help of his son, Minas, working 18 hours per day.

During his career he has faced lawsuits in Turkey, since he was accused of Greek propaganda. After 1975, when he went to Greece, he published the newspaper “Eptalofos” and was accused of not being “aggressive” enough against the Turks. In the end, however, he was found innocent on all accounts.

Unfortunately, the problems of the Greek community in Istanbul and the economic crisis have a negative effect on the newspaper. The Greek population is continuously diminishing, because of the non favorable conditions in Turkey. In 1964, the Greek community numbered 90,000 people. However, after the strict economic measures and the persecutions by the Turks, the number was dramatically decreased and today there are only 610 Greek families, in other words, 2000 people. The number is too small to support a newspaper.

“Due to the crisis Greek companies and foundations cannot support the newspaper financially by advertising and the funds for cultural issues have been reduced and are not used to support the newspapers” explains Mr. Vasiliadis. The other Greek language newspaper which is in circulation in Turkey, “IHO”, faces similar problems.

The Greek state is indifferent. A progressive group of Turks showed their interest about the situation and wanting to help, they became subscribers.

Mr. Vasiliadis emphasizes the importance of the newspaper for the Greek community of Istanbul as it is closely linked with the hardship that people have faced over the years. In fact, the newspaper archives have been studied by scholars.

It would be terrible for readers if the paper gets shut down, as they would lose all hopes for the future of their community, which is gradually disappearing.

via Historic Greek Newspaper in Istanbul Faces Closure | Greek Reporter Europe.

July 8, 2011
Turkey seeks response to Greek Cyprus hooliganism

FULYA ÖZERKAN

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey is readying to use legal and political channels to respond to attacks against Turkish basketball players during a match in Greek Cyprus. ‘Our first priority was to ensure the players’ safe return after the attack. That was done and the next step will be to bring the issue onto the international agenda,’ a diplomatic source says

Turkey is poised to take strong legal and political measures in pressing for an international response to an assault Tuesday night on a Turkish basketball squad by home-team fans during a match in Greek Cyprus.

“Our first priority was to ensure the players’ safe return after the attack. That was done and the next step will be to bring the issue onto the international agenda,” a diplomatic source told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday.

Turkey will pursue legal channels by sending a letter of complaint to the world basketball governing body, while the government presses the United Nations and the European Union to take action. Ankara holds the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus responsible for not taking sufficient security measures.

“We will, of course, complain to the United Nations both in Nicosia and New York because while our team’s initiative to play the match in Greek Cyprus was a [friendly] gesture, our players’ safety was not ensured,” the diplomatic source said. “Because Greek Cyprus is a member of the European Union we will also take initiative at the EU level.”

During a FIBA Eurochallenge game against Apoel in Nicosia on Tuesday night, players on Turkey’s Pınar Karşıyaka were severely attacked by hundreds of Apoel fans who threw objects at the team and charged the court after the match’s final buzzer. The game had no particular importance since both teams’ places in Group G were already certain.

The Turkish basketball players returned home to the Aegean province of İzmir through Greece because Greek Cypriot officials rejected Pınar Karşıyaka’s request to spend the night with security in northern Cyprus. They argued that such a step would be tantamount to recognizing Turkish Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey. Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been divided since 1974, when Turkey sent troops into the north after a rebellion by Greek Cypriots who wanted to unify with Greece.

“The Greek Cypriot squad played in a previous match in İzmir, where they were warmly welcomed without encountering any incident. Turkish authorities did not even feel the need to take any extra security measures,” one source familiar with the developments told the Daily News.

“Our players thought they would be treated the same and in return decided to play the match in Greek Cyprus but what was expected did not happen,” the source added.

Immediately following the incident, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu held a telephone conversation with Kaya Türkmen, the country’s ambassador to northern Cyprus. Embassy officials contacted by the Daily News said Türkmen would be unable to comment due to his busy schedule.

Turkey will track the issue, says FM

In Istanbul, Davutoğlu said Thursday that necessary security measures were not taken. “This is not an excusable situation, and we will keep track of the issue,” he told a group of journalists in Istanbul’s Çırağan Palace, where he was attending the 11th summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization.

The Turkish foreign minister also said statements of apology made by Greek Cypriot authorities immediately after the attack were not sufficient, and emphasized that brotherhood and peace must prevail in sports events.

In initial remarks, Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias slammed those involved in the assault as “brainless,” saying their actions harmed the interests of the Greek Cypriot side.

“This has caused big problems for the Republic of Cyprus because this gives great fuel to Turkish propaganda,” he was quoted as saying.

* Daily News reporter Erisa Dautaj Şenerdem contributed to this report from Istanbul.

Hürriyet Daily News

December 24, 2010
Greek sues over photo on ‘Turkish’ yoghurt in Sweden

A Greek man is suing a dairy in Sweden for 50 million kronor ($6.9m; £4.5m) for using his image on pots of Turkish-style yoghurt, Swedish media report.

The man only found out his moustachioed face featured on the containers of Turkisk Yoghurt made by Lindahls when a friend living in Stockholm told him.

Athanasios Varzanakos told Swedish Radio his friend “was annoyed and asked how it was possible” when informed.

The dairy said it bought the photograph in good faith from an image library.

Chief executive Anders Lindahl said it had come as a shock when the Greek man lodged a 40-page legal complaint saying that the company had used a misleading image because he had no links with Turkey.

“We bought it from a photo agency so we assumed that everything was in order,” Mr Lindahl told the AFP news agency.

The image remains on the Lindahls website despite the legal action.

Relations between Greece and Turkey have long been strained and at times have turned into outright hostility.

BBC

April 14, 2010
Turkey and Greece hope better ties lower defense costs

By SELCAN HACAOGLU

ANKARA, Turkey

Turkey and Greece on Thursday announced a series of measures to build confidence between the rival neighbors, including joint military training designed in part to ease years of tension over airspace and sea boundaries and a local arms race.

Turkey’s Foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the new moves ultimately could help limit arms spending.

As well, 10 key ministers, including those in charge of foreign and European Union affairs as well as energy and economy would meet at least twice a year, Davutoglu and Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas announced.

The ministers said their armies would increase cooperation through joint training and conferences. The move is designed to encourage Turkish and Greek officers, who have for decades regarded each other as potential enemies, to work with each other.

The countries have been at odds for years over flight procedures over the Aegean Sea border. For decades, their warplanes have often engaged in mock dogfights.

“The measures will boost confidence between the two peoples and armies,” Droutsas told a joint news conference with Davutoglu.

Greece is suffering from a severe economic crisis and plans to cut defense spending in 2011 and 2012. Responding to a question over whether Turkey would follow Greece’s lead, Davutoglu said that there would be no need for arms spending if the neighbors could build a “common future.”

“We have a vision and it is not based on mutual threat but on mutual interests,” Davutoglu said. “If we manage to build a common future, there will be no need for defense spending.”

Davutoglu pointed out that his government has already reduced military spending, saying the government has spent more on education than arms in recent years.

EU-member Greece supports Turkey’s membership bid in the European Union, hoping that it will help solve territorial issues. The largest snag is the divided island of Cyprus where Turkey keeps about 40,000 troops.

Turkey began EU membership talks in 2005, but negotiations on some policy have been frozen over Turkey’s refusal to allow ships and planes from Cyprus to enter its ports and airspace, and the EU says Ankara must open its airspace to the EU member if it wants to get closer to membership itself.

In return, Turkey insists on the lifting of what it says is the unofficial trade embargo on the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north of the island, which was divided into a Greek Cypriot south and a Turkish Cypriot north following Turkey’s 1974 invasion.

Businessweek

April 9, 2010
Turkish Cypriots complain about Greek harassment

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

REETA PAAKKINEN

KYRENIA – Hürriyet Daily News

The Turkish Cypriot tourism sector is considering starting legal proceedings against Greek Cyprus for what they see as harassment of their business partners abroad. The issue reached the Italian parliament in June, when a local MP called the letters from Greek Cypriot representation an ‘intimidation campaign.’

For harassment of their overseas business partners, the Turkish Cypriot Tourism and Travel Agencies Association, or KITSAB, and the Turkish Cypriot Hoteliers’ Association, or KITOB, are considering starting legal proceedings against the Greek Cypriot government.

Presenting several letters from Greek Cypriot embassies in European Union countries and Lebanon to local travel companies marketing holidays in northern Cyprus, KITSAB and KITOB presidents said the Greek Cypriot approach contradicts the U.N.-mediated peace talks.

In late June, the issue reached the Italian parliament. Marco Perduca of the Radical Party said the letter the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Rome sent to Italian tour operators amounted to an “intimidation campaign” in which the Italian government should support Italian entrepreneurs who bring tourists to northern Cyprus.

Undermining tourism

“This time we have had enough of the Greek Cypriot campaign to stop tourism to Turkish Cyprus. Germany, the U.K., Lebanon, Romania, Sweden. … Wherever we go, the Greek Cypriot government follows and calls for our business partners not to cooperate with us,” Özbek Dedekorkut, president of KITSAB, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

A letter from the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Rome to Italian tour operators, seen by the Daily News, conveyed the image that a holiday from Italy to northern Cyprus could lead one into legal trouble by stating, in Italian: “We remind that Tymbou [Ercan] Airport is in the occupied area. In addition, it is operating outside the IATA authority in a way that is outside the law. Arriving in Cyprus through that entry point can lead to fines according to the laws of Republic of Cyprus.”

Another letter seen by the Daily News was from the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Beirut to a local tour operator in Jounieh, Lebanon, dated June 5. The letter presented the local travel agency the possibility of legal charges in case his company brings tourists to northern Cyprus.

“It has come to the attention of this Embassy that your travel agency … is currently in the process of establishing a tourist holiday package involving destinations in the Turkish-occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus. As a consequence we hereby wish to inform you that some of your actions are violating both the legislation of the Republic of Cyprus – a member state of the European Union – and international law in such a way that it may be cause for taking legal action against you and your company. … We also advise you to refrain from launching a sea line with a destination in the occupied areas of the Republic of Cyprus.”

The letter had an official reference number and was signed by Charge d’Affaires Kyriacos P. Kouros, who could not be reached when the Daily News contacted him about the authenticity of the letter.

Harming Turkish business

Although there is no legal basis for stopping people from traveling to northern Cyprus, travel companies abroad become unnecessarily concerned, he said. “Greek Cypriot representatives are trying to scare local businesses abroad, and this harms us. They do not have the right to threaten our business partners like this,” Dedekorkut said.

“The Greek Cypriot campaign is affecting our marketing, especially in Europe,” said Mehmet Dolmacı, president of KITOB. “Greek Cypriots are making it clear they don’t want to cooperate or share tourism income here. Cyprus is not solely a Greek island – Turkish Cypriots also have the right to live here. Whatever we try to do, they try to stop it. This seems to be their biggest job – not to find a solution but to try to pressure us to leave Cyprus for better income elsewhere.”

Contradictory

Maintaining isolation is contradictory to peace talks, according to Maurizio Turco, a member of the Italian Parliament and a colleague of Marco Perduca in the Italian Radical Party. Turco said attempts to hamper the growth of tourism in northern Cyprus are in dire contrast with the ongoing talks. “The Greek Cypriot side is talking with Turkish Cypriots about a comprehensive settlement, yet at the same time their representations are trying to stop tourism to northern Cyprus. This is just not right,” Turco told the Daily News in late July in Kyrenia.

“We should bring the issue to the world’s attention. [Turkish Cypriot president] Mehmet Ali Talat should also point this out to [Greek Cypriot president] Dimitris Christofias and make it clear this is not right,” Turco added.

According to Turco, the letters the Greek Cypriot Embassy in Rome sent have been noted in the Italian parliament. “This issue should really be discussed on the EU level,” he said. “Member states should come together to discuss the isolation of northern Cyprus. But because of the veto Greek Cyprus has, this is difficult.”

It was a mistake to accept Greek Cyprus in the EU after it turned down the Kofi Annan Peace proposal, said Turco, who earlier served in the European Parliament. “There should have been first a peace deal, and only then entry for the whole island into the EU.”

Hürriyet

August 8, 2009