Greece
This month
In this issue:
• Yannis Mouzalas on the refugee crisis • Yannis Stournaras talking to FT’ s editor M. Wolf • Euclid Tsakalotos on European Trip Over debt Talks • Nobel Peace Prize petition for Greek islands • 2016 Aristotle Anniversary Year • Greek Educator Nominated for Best Teacher in the World • The 150th Anniversary of National Archaeological Museum in Athens • Concert: Vadim Repin & Greta Garbo in Love (1927)
‘We want to be part of the solution’ Yiannis Mouzalas on the refugee crisis (BBC Newsnight, 26.1.2016)
“We want to be part of the solution,” stated the Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas, speaking to the BBC Newsnight’s Evan Davis, discussing what will happen next to the Schengen Agreement - and what the European Union can do to help resolve the migrant crisis. Mr Mouzalas underlined the Interior Minister of Belgium told Greece to ‘push migrants back in the sea’, with Mr Mouzalas replying that ‘that is illegal’. When Evan Davis asked Mr Mouzalas if he agrees with the idea of building ‘camps’ for the refugees in Greece, he referred to the period of Nazi as the only period in history where such kind of concentration camps existed, 1
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underlying that ‘Refugees are not criminals, they have rights’. He also stated that he did not want to be part of ‘the blame game’ with anyone in Europe on whose fault the current situation is. ‘We want Greece to be part of the solution’, he mentioned, adding that ‘to act in Europe in a unilateral way, it is something that it’s not Europe. You cannot be an EU member a la carte’.
‘Greek economy shows signs of recovery’ Yannis Stournaras talking to FT’ s editor M. Wolf Financial Times published on January 28, an interview of Greece’s central bank chief, Yannis Stournaras, to its veteran political and economic editor, Martin Wolf on the refugee crisis and Greek economy, the importance of a debt deal and the possibility of a Grexit. According to Mr Stournaras, this year, the direct cost of the refugee crisis in Greece amounts to 0.3-0.4% of GDP, while the indirect cost is even higher. He underlined that he does not think that the other EU members are abandoning Greece on this issue and that “they are going to provide help”. Mr. Stournaras also noted that according to the latest figures, there are signs of recovery in the Greek economy, the positive rates of which may be continued in the last two quarters, provided that the IMF’s review closes successfully. Concerning the banking crisis in Greece, he stressed that he would like to see “less austerity and more investments and privatizations. That would be the ideal combination”. Asked about the importance of a debt deal, he stated that “at the end of the day, sooner or later we will have an agreement,” and there is a commitment of the Eurogroup that they will move to the debt restructuring as early as November 2012 and this commitment remains now to be fulfilled. It is worth mentioning that asked about the possibility of a Grexit, he argued strongly that that ‘this is a closed chapter”.
‘Greek debt could be considered sustainable, under conditions’, Prof. Louka Katseli at LSE (28.1.2016) The Chair of the National Bank of Greece and the Hellenic Banking Association, Professor Louka Katseli was the keynote speaker in a public lecture discussing the ‘Lessons from the Greek crisis’, organized by the Hellenic Bankers Association-UK, in collaboration with the Hellenic Observatory of London School of Economics (LSE), chaired by 2
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Professor Kevin Featherstone. The welcome address was given by the Chairman of the Hellenic Bankers Association-UK, Antonis Ntatzopoulos and the event was attended by the Greek Ambassador to the UK, HE Mr. Konstantinos Bikas and the Cyprus High Commissioner, HE Mr. Euripides Evriviades. Mrs Katseli referred to the period when she was appointed as a Minister of Finance and afterwards Minister of Labour, in an effort to ‘look back’ and draw some vital lessons from what went wrong at that time and led us to the bailout package, focusing on the way the European authorities reactedand responded to the crisis, while pointing out the interplay between growth, sustainable public finances and social protection systems. She began her lecture by providing the audience with a brief chronicle of the Greek crisis, divided into three phases: 2008-2010 first bailout deal, 2011-2014 second bailout package and bank recapitalization, 2015 - today, third bailout deal, third bank recapitalization. Was the cure of the Greek Crisis more toxic than the disease itself? Prof. Katseli wondered, referring to the five lessons that can be learnt from the Greek crisis. The first lesson, according to Prof. Katseli, is that in a small open economy, growing twin deficits enhance vulnerability and generate debt unsustainability. The second lesson has to do with the way that both the EU institutions and the Greek government responded to this, systemic, debt crisis. Very aggressive, front-loaded restrictive policies, fiscal and monetary, can undermine the goal which they are trying to achieve since they can erode the sustainability of the public finances. Regarding the so-called ‘structural reforms’, there are many who say that in the Greek case, they were not implemented the way they should be, whilst some others say that the structural reforms were badly designed. In Prof. Katseli’s view, the choice and the sequencing had a lot of problems, and it is evident now. ‘When Troika proposed these re-
forms had at its mind the business model that one meets in northern countries. However, the Greek model consisted of small and medium businesses lacking the ability to adjust to these reforms. On the contrary the businesses reacted by keeping their prices high before they closed down, thus resulting in high prices that did not respond to the decrease of the households’ income.’ The ensuing recession and adverse profitability expectations, as the result of the reforms implemented, have offset - the potentially beneficiary – impact of ‘internal devaluation’ on employment, private investment and competitiveness’ she stated.
One other important lesson is that ‘when you do an adjustment program, such as the one in Greece, it is not sufficient to think about fiscal consolidation or debt 3
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restructuring without putting social policy at the core of the agenda’. The basic point of the Agenda 2020 is that one really needs to combine social policy with fiscal adjustment. The Agenda is based on the sustainable economic and social transformation, driven by new investments in tradable sectors and resulting in rebranding Greece as a country of opportunities. Prof. Katseli concluded her lecture on a more positive note, stating that the third MOU is more ‘manageable’ with reduced recessionary impact and ‘the Greek debt could be considered sustainable, under specific conditions’, although ‘debt restructuring is essential’. The third MOU gives priority to product-market reforms, combating tax evasion, pension reform and the expansion of the tax base, while including provisions for the initiation of debt renegotiations talks, after the successful completion of its first evaluation by the IMF. Prof. Katseli left her audience with inviting everyone to support National Bank of Greece’s initiative ‘’www.Act4Greece.gr’’, a crowdfunding platform that will allow people with innovative and unique ideas to meet financiers. The core sectors of this initiative include shipping, tourism, energy, ICT, agriculture and pharmaceuticals aiming at launching innovative ideas and supporting their exports to new and international markets. The platform was launched on February 1, 2016.
Euclid Tsakalotos on European Trip Over debt Talks Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos completed a round of meetings with six of his European counterparts in an effort to promote Greece’s positions regarding the tough debt talks. The first meeting was held in Rome among Mr Tsakalotos and the Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan. The meeting was conducted in a good climate. At the same time, the talks focused on Greece’s debt issue, as well as on immigration and its fiscal repercussions. On January 9, Mr Tsakalotos met his Portuguese counterpart Mario Centeno, in Lisbon, where they discussed the positive prospects of the Greek economy following the review of the new economic Greek 4
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bail-out program, as well as issues of common concern, which could be jointly put forward to the EU, such as the banking union, unemployment and investments. On January 10, the Greek Finance Minister visited Paris where he held discussions with the French Finance Minister Michel Sapin. At a joint press conference, the Greek Minister underlined that trust has been built concerning the reform agenda that our country is following. While, he underlined the necessity of balancing obligations and viability, which would result in the creation of a ‘virtuous economic cycle’. The meetings with his European counterparts resumed in Finland, where Mr Tsakalotos met the Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb in Helsinski. According to Mr Tsakalotos, the discussion focused on the Greek road map for exiting the crisis which started with the successful recapitalization of the banks and now continues with the successful completion of the first review of the new economic program. Amsterdam was the next stop at the Finance Minister’s European trip where he met his counterpart, and president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem. The meeting lasted for over two hours and focused on the challenges that Greece currently faces. Mr Tsakalotos concluded his European meetings in Berlin, where a meeting between Mr Tsakalotos and the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was held in a ‘constructive atmosphere’. http://www.ekathimerini.com/204846/article/ekathimerini/news/tsakalotos-on-european-charm-offensive-over-debt-talks The President of the Hellenic Republic meets V.Putin and D. Medvedev. At the same time, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr Prokopis Pavlopoulos visited Moscow where he met with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. Mr Pavlopoulos’ visit to the Russian capital inaugurated the Greece-Russia 2016 year, during which thirty-seven events will be held in both countries. During his meeting with the Russian President, Mr Pavlopoulos stated that Greece considers Russia’s contribution of high importance, in dealing with the huge challenges worldwide. He underlined that the international challenges we face nowadays are not only of economic nature but they also have to do with the people and the democracy. 5
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“From migration crisis to refugee crisis in Europe: Securitization priorities vs Integration Policies?’’ (Event, LSE, Hellenic Observatory, 18.1.2016)
In a seminar hosted by the Hellenic Observatory, Apostolos G. Papadopoulos, Professor of Human Geography at Harokopio University of Athens presented his views on the topic ‘’From migration crisis to refugee crisis in Europe: Securitization priorities vs Integration Policies?’’. Professor Papadopoulos started his lecture by commenting on how the dominant approach of securitization of migration nowadays is based on a perspective that accentuates the security of the more prosperous northern states and their populations, while ignoring the reality that the migrant and refugee flows are, quite often, the result of the instability and the lack of human security in less prosperous countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He also underlined that international migration is based upon, and affected by, several ‘drivers’, namely social and economic inequalities, state security and human security, politics, labour demand etc. During the lecture, he highlighted that the term ‘migration’ could be substituted by that of ‘mobility’, which illustrates in a better way the complexity of human movement. Additionally, the use of the term ‘mobility’ offers flexibility when discussing movement across various scales, temporal contexts and through different practices and experiences. In such a way, people are divided to ‘movers’ and ‘non-movers’. The professor also discussed the recent European migrant crisis or European refugee crisis of 2015. He highlighted the media’s use of terms such as ‘migrants’ and ‘refugees’ and the fact that the western media outlets adopted the term ‘migrant crisis’ while media such as Al Jazeera opted for the term ‘refugee crisis’, and the meaning of this differentiation. He made clear that the use of the words ‘economic migrant’ and ‘refugee’ cannot be used interchangeably, i.e. as identifying the same individuals, but as complementary notions that need to be better defined. The use of the term ‘refugee’ can be used under specific circumstances as determined by the Geneva Convention. He also noted that some commentators have expressed their belief that the use of the term ‘migrant’ is reductive and can help create an environment where ‘’hate speech and thinly veiled racism can fester’, while the vast majority of the people that are trying to reach the European shores are refugees. The EU has responded to the crisis by creating the European Agenda on Migration, which it is based on four pillars. Firstly, the Agenda seeks to reduce the incentives for irregular migration by addressing its root causes. 6
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Secondly, it implements a more efficient border management by reinforcing FRONTEX’s role and operations along the European borders. Thirdly, it promotes Europe’s duty to protect those in need through a strong and efficient common asylum policy. And finally, by promoting a new policy on legal migration achieved through the improvement of the management of regular migration and visa policy. Prof. Papadopoulos distinguishes among three basic groups of mixed migratory flows that reach Europe. Firstly, people whose protection claims are likely to be recognized by European authorities, such as the Syrians and Eritreans. Secondly, individuals fleeing from instability or violence in their home countries but may not qualify for refugee status, such as Somalis. Thirdly, migrants who are compelled to leave their home countries due to economic reasons, namely people from western Balkan countries and sub-Saharan nationals. The increased migratory flows and the inability of the states to distinguish between migrants and refugees has created a domino effect, with many EU member states erecting fences to divert the flows from their borders. At the same time, many EU member states reinstated border controls within the Schengen zone. Moreover, a notable mention was made regarding Turkey and its role in handling the crisis. According to Prof. Papadopoulos the politicization of migration has made it a key issue in national and international politics. It has resulted in new security conceptualizations that use the individual as the reference point of security and they are increasingly operationalized on behalf of state security and at the expense of migrant and refugee security. Moreover, the politicization of migration can be further underlined by the rise of anti-migrant sentiments that are used by extreme right-wing parties across Europe to promote their political agenda. The Greek Professor concluded his lecture by stating that the migrant flows will not cease in the near future. EU will have to surpass the challenges that currently faces while maintaining the refugee protection regime, as well as, cope with the challenges that will arise over the new European architecture of surveillance at the EU border.
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Vote that the Greek islands receive the Nobel Prize for their contribution on the Refugee Crisis
Since April 2015 thousands of refugees and migrants passed through the Greek islands of the Eastern Aegean Sea on their way to Europe for a better future. For European politicians the so called “refugee crisis” was raised. A major political issue which brought many problems and controversies to the light and explicit signs of xenophobia as well. On the other hand, the people of the most affected islands like Lesvos, Chios and Kos, spontaneously did everything possible to cater for, provide comfort and make all these men, women and children feel welcome and secure, following their survival from the sea. The moving images of Greek solidarity to refugees caused ‘online’ movements to start a petition in Avaaz.org, a noteworthy campaign under the title: “Vote that the Greek islands receive the Nobel Prize for their contributions Aiding the Refugee Crisis”. According to the campaigners: “The native populations of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea (…) have done and are doing everything possible to help the displaced Syrian refugees and make them as comfortable as possible, although they themselves have very little to offer, despite being subjected to a severe economic crisis for many years’’. The voting procedure ended on Febrary 1st. Around 640.000 voters and 230 academics from 111 universities participated in the aforementioned petition for of Avaaz. The Greek islanders who are nominated for the Nobel are: Emilia Kamvisi, the 85-year-old grandmother from Lesvos, who was photographed bottle feeding a Syrian baby last autumn, the 40 years old fisherman Stratis Valiamos, who has rescued scores of refugees from drowning, and the well-known American actress Susan Sarandon, who spent her Christmas helping refugees in Greece. 8
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2016 Aristotle Anniversary Year UNESCO General Conference declared the year 2016 as “Aristotle Anniversary Year”. The decision was taken during the 38th session of the Conference, which was held in Paris in November 2015. The original idea for the celebration of his great anniversary came to life back in 2013, when the “Interdisciplinary Centre for Aristotle Studies,” of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki announced the World Congress “Aristotle 2400 Years”, which would be held in May 2016. The Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO officially submitted the proposal to UNESCO in January 2015. Aristotle is one of the most famous philosophers of Ancient Greece, whose work which marked the Classical, Hellenistic and Graeco-Roman period, the Byzantine era, the Arab World and the Medieval Europe and still continues to influence the intellectual life of Western civilization. His work spreads over the broadest range of topics, from philosophy and mathematics to physics and biology, as well as politics and ethics. In his lifetime, Aristotle wrote as many as 200 treatises, of which only 31 survive. The Aristotle World Congress, which is under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic, will be the high spot of all events to be organized in 2016 for the celebration of the “Aristotle Anniversary Year”, with the support of the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie (FISP), of the Academy of Athens, of the Research Centre for Greek Philosophy, of the Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO and of many other educational institutions. Over 400 scholars and academics from 40 different countries have submitted their papers for presentation. The Congress will open with an official ceremony on May 23, 2016 followed by congress sessions what will be held until May 28, 2016 in Aristotle University of Thessaloniki as well as in ancient Stagira and in ancient Mieza.
Nobel Teacher Prize: Greek Educator Nominated for Best Teacher in the World
The teacher, Aggeliki Papa, who specializes in teaching English as a foreign language to Greek learners with dyslexia and special educational needs, is one of the 50 nominees for the Global Teacher Prize, best known as the ‘Nobel Prize’ for teachers. The Prize was launched in 2014 by the Varkley Foundation ‘to celebrate the best teachers — those who inspire their students and community around them [as they believe that the status of teachers in our cultures is key to our global future’.
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The passion for teaching, as well as her specialization in teaching students with special educational needs (SEN) and dyslexia in a foreign language are considered to be indisputable when it comes to Aggeliki. Her private school “I love dyslexia” is one of the few, aiming to develop foreign language skills through holistic teaching but also to help develop the students’ life skills, to make them effectively handle not only a second language but life itself. She has taught around 800 students with special educational needs and trained about 1.500 teachers at seminars run in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. The 50 candidates are teachers from countries with modern educational systems such as Britain, the United States and the Netherlands, but also countries with difficulties and risks in the process of education such as Palestine, Pakistan and India. The Kenyan candidate, Mr. Ayub Mohamud, for example, was chosen by the Committee Varkey Foundation as “ he inspired young people from rural areas to attend school, and equipped students with the knowledge and skills to become self reliant even after finishing school” in country where poverty and unemployment have a huge impact on youngsters. The names of the finalists will be announced in February 2016 and the Global Teacher Prize will be awarded in March 2016. We wish Aggeliki Papa, good luck! Join the #TeachersMatter movement by sharing Aggeliki Pappa’s update!
The 150th Anniversary of National Archaeological Museum in Athens The National Archaeological Museum was founded at the end of the 19th century by presidential decree on August 9, 1893. Its aim was to protect antiquities from all over Greece, thus displaying their historical, cultural and artistic value. The Museum building, a protected monument itself, was founded in 1866 on a plot donated by Eleni Tositsa. Its construction was based on designs by the architects Ludwig Lange and Panagi Kalkos. The final form of its façade was the work of Ernst Ziller. 10
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The Museum currently houses five large permanent collections, including more than 11,000 exhibits, providing a panorama of the Greek civilization throughout the centuries, from the beginnings of Prehistory to Late Antiquity. To celebrate its anniversary, the Museum currently houses the new temporary exhibition ‘’A dream among splendid ruins…Strolling through the Athens of travelers, 17th-19th century’’, designed to provide an imaginary stroll through monumental Athens between the 17th and 19th centuries. Twenty-two illustrated travel publications and twenty-four original works of art – oil paintings, watercolors, and engravings from the Library collections of the Hellenic Parliament – offer landscapes, images, monuments, and specific moments from the Athens of travelers. Thirty-five marble sculptures from the National Archaeological Museum, many of them presented for the first time, will complement this imaginary trip back in time.
Concert: Vadim Repin & Greta Garbo in Love (1927) Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, 25.2.2016
Greek composer Aphrodite Raickopoulou and legendary virtuoso violinist Vadim Repin launch the opening ceremony of the UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature February 25th 2016. A unique cinematic concert will take place at the London Southbank with a live Philharmonia Orchestra concert screening of the 1927 silent film ‘LOVE’, featuring the world premiere of a new score, with Greta Garbo as Anna Karenina. LOVE the concert with Vadim Repin and Greta Garbo has been created and produced by Carmen Zgouras who also staged Faust introduced by Hugh Grant in 2012. It is worth noting that the legendary film, LOVE, has never been screened in London. New, original symphonic scores are very rarely commissioned and performed and, exclusively for the screening of LOVE, Carmen Zgouras made the decision to commission a brand new score from fast rising Greek-British composer, Aphrodite Raickopoulou. The composer wrote the score inspired by the great violinist who Yehudi Menuhin said was the greatest violinist he had ever heard. The unique score includes a violin concerto. Set in St Petersburg, the film, originally named Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (1877), was re-titled LOVE when it reached the screen in November of 1927. The film was released at at a time when the stars, John Gilbert and Greta Garbo, were rumoured to be married in real life. 11
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According to The New York Times “Greta Garbo, the Swedish actress, outshines any other performance she has given on the screen”. Mordaunt Hall pronounced her “a blonde Mona Lisa.” Excitement for the film and new work is gathering apace. The British Council and Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has chosen this concept created by Carmen Zgouras as the silent film starring Greta Garbo is based on Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and stars the greatest living violinist. Mrs Raickopoulou has spoken to the team of ‘Greece this Month’ about her childhood, her passion for composition and the emotions that led her to create the new soundtrack of the classical masterpiece ‘Love’: “I was born in Athens and raised in a beautiful loving family, alongside my two brothers. Since I was a child, I was fascinated by the sound world of music. My attraction was so passionate that I would spend hours of listening to the symphonic works of Vivaldi, Korsakoff and Rachmaninov. The thought of an individual putting together countless notes in harmony in order to create a music work, intrigued and amazed me. I started taking piano lessons at the age of nine, by the wonderful music pedagogue, Max Hallecker. He had a unique way to inspire me and I would find myself sitting on the piano for hours on end, trying to create my own little sound world and develop my own musical voice.I was searching for beauty and this very search is a never ending challenge, one that grows bigger every day. It is the desire of wanting to communicate the feeling of longing for beauty. I studied at the Royal Academy of Music, in London, a city I love and lived for many years. 12
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I had the unique chance of meeting so many interesting people from all across the globe. The new, fascinated me with childlike enthusiasm. Composition became my great passion, it is love that triggers the creative progress.You feel it and it bursts to come out. This was the emotion I felt while scoring the new soundtrack for classic masterpiece “ Love “, starring screen legend, Greta Garbo. Based on Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina“, my new soundtrack especially written for it will be performed live by the Philharmonia Orchestra. I am honoured that Vadim Repin, a true poet of the violin, will be performing the solos that are inspired by his heart rending playing. I am eagerly awaiting the Premiere of “Love“ in London. It is a true labour of Love for gifted producer Carmen Zgouras, the great teamwork we share and our strong vision that believes in beauty’’. For any further information: www.garbo-in-love.com A few words about Aphrodite Raickopoulou Aphrodite Raickopoulou, is a composer and performer, born in Athens, Greece. Her compositional skills have been hailed by both critics and audiences at the triumphant staging of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau’s classic silent masterpiece “ FAUST “ at London’s Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall. The world premiere of her critically acclaimed symphonic soundtrack was performed live by the Philharmonia Orchestra and was received with enormous success. Under the Artistic Patronage of Sir Jeremy Isaacs,” FAUST “ was introduced from the stage by celebrated British actor, Hugh Grant and benefited from the advice of Oscar winning filmmaker Kevin Brownlow . The Sunday Times’ Annual Critical list ‘ included “ FAUST “ as one of the 7 best concerts of the season with an additional article, published in the Sunday Times Style Magazine featuring the composer. Amongst her recent and past commissions, Aphrodite has been invited by the British Red Cross to compose a symphonic suite in honour of the late great tenor Luciano Pavarotti and has performed as a soloist with the legendary tenor Jose Carreras.
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