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Geopolitics & Worlds

Greece boosts Air Force with advanced French jets (Derek Gatopoulos, AP, Defense News)

French-built fighter jets roared Wednesday over the Acropolis as Greece races to modernize its military and flaunts new security alliances aimed at checking neighboring Turkey. Six advanced Rafale jets, purchased from the French Air Force, flew in low formation over Athens before their official handover to the Greek armed forces at a nearby air base. Greece […]

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Cuban asylum seekers in Greece ‘forcibly expelled’ to Turkey (Melissa Pawson, Al Jazeera)

At least 30 Cubans, hoping to claim asylum in Europe, were forcibly expelled from Greece to Turkey towards the end of last year, according to interviews conducted by Al Jazeera and rights organisations. Al Jazeera spoke to two Cubans who also said that, during their expulsion from Greece, police officers and border guards subjected those […]

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State Department approves potential frigate sale to Greece, despite agreement with France (Megan Eckstein, Defense News)

The U.S. State Department on Friday approved a pair of potential deals for frigate construction and modernization with Greece, as the Hellenic Navy navigates a complex effort to upgrade its surface fleet. Greece has an ongoing competition for a three-part plan: upgrade its four Hydra-class MEKO 200 frigates; obtain an interim capability it can operate […]

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Climate change and human error shrivel Greek agriculture (John Psaropoulos, Al Jazeera)

The farmers of Ampelonas in central Greece are headed for financial ruin. Last July, as a series of heatwaves struck the country, their electricity was cut off so they couldn’t irrigate their fields. Entire crops were lost. “From an acre of pear trees, I didn’t collect a single fruit,” said Yiorgos Sakorrafas, president of the […]

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Egypt-Greece-Cyprus summit prioritizes energy cooperation (Al Monitor)

Egypt, Greece and Cyprus held a tripartite meeting in Athens Tuesday as the alliance between the Eastern Mediterranean states continues to strengthen. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi participated in the ninth annual summit along with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. The trio discussed electricity cooperation, energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean […]

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Greece pledges to link Egypt to European Union’s energy market (Al Jazeera)

Greece pledged Tuesday to link Egypt to the European Union’s energy market with an undersea cable that would carry electricity across the Mediterranean. “[Egypt’s] link to Europe will be Greece,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after talks in Athens with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. “We are seeking diversification of energy sources, and Egypt can […]

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Frontex testa in Grecia i palloni aerostatici per la sorveglianza marittima (Analisi Difesa)

L’Agenzia europea delle frontiere (FRONTEX) è attualmente nella fase finale del test dei sistemi aerostatici per la sorveglianza marittima in Grecia insieme alle autorità elleniche.  “Durante la prova, gli aerostati hanno pattugliato 24 ore su 24 e 7 giorni su 7 nelle vicinanze di Alexandroupoli e sull’isola di Limnos, a varie altitudini e in diverse […]

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Greece to boost guards on Turkey border (Euractiv)

Greece’s police minister on Sunday (10 October) said 250 additional guards would be deployed on the country’s land border with Turkey, where thousands of asylum-seekers tried to enter last year. Greece to boost guards on Turkey border – EURACTIV.com

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Greece and France give European strategic autonomy a shot (Katerina Sokou, Atlantic Council)

Decades from now, historians may agree with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s description of the strategic defense agreement signed last week between France and Greece as “the first step towards a European strategic autonomy.” The deal supports the European defense industry because Greece agreed to buy three warships from the French builder Naval Group—the same firm that […]

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Greece Activists Face Intimidation, Threats, Attacks (Eva Cossé, HRW)

A hearing held last week between the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, and human rights defenders in Greece revealed the scale of the hostile environment civil society groups face working on migration in the country. The nineteen testimonies from the hearing, made public on October 6, show a concerted effort by Greek authorities to delegitimize civil society […]

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Croatia, Greece, Romania illegally pushing refugees back: Report (David Child, Al Jazeera)

Croatia, Greece and Romania have carried out hundreds of illegal refugee pushback operations at the European Union’s external borders since early 2020 as part of a “violent campaign” to deny access to asylum, a new report alleges. The findings, published on Wednesday by the Amsterdam-based investigative news organisation Lighthouse Reports, reveal that masked security forces […]

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Territorial spats reheat ahead of Turkey-Greece talks (Diego Cupolo, Al-Monitor)

The eastern Mediterranean was once more the site of maritime spats this week as overlapping territorial claims between Turkey, Greece and the Republic of Cyprus fostered renewed tensions in the region. Territorial spats reheat ahead of Turkey-Greece talks – Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East