With New Democracy set to cement its political dominance in the upcoming European elections, the battle for second place is heating up as SYRIZA and PASOK’s leaders turn up the heat to see who will take on the leading role on Greece’s center-left after the elections. The fight for second place is also viewed by many as a battle of survival for SYRIZA’s Stefanos Kasselakis and PASOK’s Nikos Androulakis, as a poor showing in June could raise questions about their leadership. Nick Malkoutzis, the c...
May 25, 2024•14 min•Ep. 1001
After decades of negotiations and acrimony, Athens and Skopje signed the Prespa Agreement in 2018 that effectively put an end to the Macedonia name dispute and opened the way for North Macedonia to join NATO and start the process toward EU membership. Since the election win of the VMRO-DPMNE in early May, however, its leadership has taken a nationalist turn that could put this deal at risk. Tom Ellis, the editor in chief of Kathimerini’s English edition, joins Thanos Davelis to look into what he...
May 24, 2024•12 min•Ep. 1000
Since an economic overhaul in June last year, Turkey’s central bank has increased its main interest rate to 50 per cent from 8.5 per cent in an effort to tame rampant inflation. Despite this, and other steps, Turks continue to face nearly 70 per cent inflation rates, high borrowing costs and cuts in measures that in recent years helped soften the impact of rising prices. Almost a year since these economic overhauls, Ayla Jean Yackley, an Istanbul-based journalist covering Turkey with stories in ...
May 23, 2024•11 min•Ep. 999
Earlier this year Turkey completed the maiden test flight of its prototype Kaan fighter, a development celebrated in Ankara. Is this the groundbreaking achievement Turkish media is claiming, and what does it mean for Turkey’s defense industry? Rebecca Lucas, a senior analyst in defense and security with RAND Europe, and Stuart Dee, a research leader in the defense and security research group at RAND Europe, join Thanos Davelis to look into the Kaan fighter jet, break down whether the hype around...
May 22, 2024•12 min•Ep. 998
Last week the EU gave the final green light to a landmark overhaul of its migration and asylum policies, ending more than eight years of efforts to rewrite the rulebook. This was followed up by 15 EU states - including frontline states like Greece, Italy, and Cyprus - demanding further measures to tighten the bloc’s asylum policy, including sending asylum seekers to third countries. These moves come with European elections less than a month away. Angeliki Dimitriadi, a Senior Research Fellow and...
May 20, 2024•11 min•Ep. 997
This week kicked off with Turkish President Erdogan stating that 1000 Hamas members were being treated in Turkey, a comment that Turkish officials tried to walk back, saw The Times report that Hamas may have been planning to establish a base in Turkey, and culminated with the Turkish leader suggesting that Israel would “set its sights” on Turkey if it defeated Hamas in Gaza. Expert Sinan Ciddi joins Thanos Davelis to look into Erdogan’s latest comments on Hamas, the recent report in The Times, a...
May 18, 2024•13 min•Ep. 996
Over 70 members of Congress sent a letter to the Biden administration this week, urging it to hold Turkey accountable for the 2017 attack by Erdogan’s security guards against American protesters at Sheridan Circle. Members of Congress are calling on the State Department to press President Erdogan and Turkish authorities on this issue as an essential element for relations between Washington and Ankara. Andreas Akaras, an attorney with the law firm Bregman, Berbert, Schwartz & Gilday who is pa...
May 17, 2024•10 min•Ep. 995
With European elections on the horizon, Greek political leaders are not only hitting the road to campaign across the country, but are also increasingly leaning into social media platforms in their search for voters. While New Democracy will likely maintain its dominant position in Greek politics, attention is turning to SYRIZA and PASOK, and their battle for second place. International developments are also a factor in these elections, as issues between Greece and Albania have come to the forefr...
May 16, 2024•13 min•Ep. 994
This July, Turkey’s illegal occupation of the northern part of Cyprus will hit the 50-year mark. 2024 also marks another Cypriot “anniversary”, the 2004 rejection of the Annan Plan for the reunification of Cyprus. Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, joins Thanos Davelis to break down why the rejection of the Annan plan needs to be revisited and its historic significance reconsidered. We also look into other regional developments - from Prime Minist...
May 15, 2024•13 min•Ep. 993
North Macedonia’s new president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, has sparked a diplomatic crisis with Greece following her decision during her swearing in ceremony to refer to her country simply as “Macedonia” rather than the constitutional name “North Macedonia.” Prime Minister Mitsotakis slammed her decision, warning that further violations of the Prespes Agreement could jeopardize Skopje’s ambitions for EU membership. John Psaropoulos, an independent journalist based in Athens and Al Jazeera’s S...
May 13, 2024•14 min•Ep. 992
Europe’s political landscape is changing dramatically, with the latest polls predicting that far right parties will gain across the EU in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Amid concerns over the rise of the far-right, radical-right forces are already influencing EU policies. Giorgia Meloni is the prime example, with the Italian prime minister proving pivotal in shaping Europe’s agenda, from the frequent visits European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen makes to Italy to Europe’...
May 11, 2024•12 min•Ep. 991
Having been dealt a devastating blow in the municipal elections earlier this year, Turkish President Erdogan - who campaigned tirelessly everywhere and made this election about his rule - is now looking to bounce back. This will undoubtedly have consequences on both domestic and foreign policy. Henri Barkey, the Cohen professor of international relations at Lehigh University and an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council of Foreign Relations, joins Thanos Davelis to look at ...
May 10, 2024•14 min•Ep. 990
Earlier this week Turkey formally opened the monastery of Chora, a former Byzantine church and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Istanbul, as a mosque. The move follows the conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque in 2020, and has drawn international criticism. It also comes as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom once again recommended that Turkey be put on the special watch list for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. Expert Tugba Tanyieri Erdemir ...
May 09, 2024•10 min•Ep. 989
Over the past two years an area south of Greece’s Peloponnese had become a major location to circumvent sanctions against Russian oil exports. It looks like Greece has now found a way to disrupt these operations - taking place in international waters - after the Greek navy blocked off the area for naval exercises. A factor in this story is the fact that Greece has not extended its territorial waters in the area to 12 nautical miles, a move that Turkey says is a cause for war. Professor Kostas If...
May 08, 2024•8 min•Ep. 988
Last fall Greece joined the Three Seas Initiative, which brings together 13 EU countries located between the Baltic, Black, Adriatic, and now the Aegean Seas. The Three Seas Initiative was initially founded with the economy in mind, to foster regional dialogue and boost investment, and with Greece’s addition, its diplomatic and economic pull now extends to the Mediterranean. Ian Brzezinski, who has been following this initiative since it was founded, joins Thanos Davelis to break down why the Th...
May 07, 2024•13 min•Ep. 987
Anyone who has visited the United States or is familiar with shows like Seinfeld will have come across a diner, a uniquely American type of restaurant. Few may know, however, that from the 1960s onward Greek-Americans came to dominate the diner restaurant scene, especially in the Northeast and the Midwest. Professor Alexander Kitroeff, one of the leading historians of the Greek-American experience, joins Thanos Davelis to talk about the American diner, its strong links to Greek immigrants, and w...
May 04, 2024•18 min•Ep. 986
The Financial Times recently reported that Greece and some other EU countries have been under pressure to send more aid to Ukraine, specifically air defense systems. Prime Minister Mitsotakis has ruled this out, citing Greece’s defense needs. Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs and a professor of international relations at the American College of Greece, joins Thanos Davelis to break down this story, which comes at a critical juncture in the war in Ukraine, and lo...
May 02, 2024•11 min•Ep. 985
This summer will mark 50 years since Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus, and for the last five decades tens of thousands of Turkish occupation troops have been present in the northern part of the island. 50 years later, the US still refuses to officially recognize Turkey’s illegal occupation as an occupation. Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and director of policy analysis at the Middle East Forum, joins Thanos Davelis to argue that recognizing Turkey’s presence in Cy...
May 01, 2024•12 min•Ep. 984
Politicians, scientists and organizations from all over the world were in Athens this April as Greece hosted the 9th International Our Ocean Conference. Greece, the US, and all stakeholders made some 450 commitments totalling billions of dollars for the protection of the oceans and seas, including two new marine parks in the Aegean and the Ionian seas. The State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Ocean, Fisheries and Polar Affairs Dr. Mahlet Mesfin joins Thanos Davelis to look back at t...
May 01, 2024•14 min•Ep. 983
After originally leaking that a White House visit was in play in the lead up to municipal elections at the end of March, President Erdogan is now postponing his May meeting with President Biden in Washington, DC. No reason was cited, but, as some analysts note, the move will likely upend efforts to mend ties between the two NATO allies. Wolfango Piccoli, the co-founder of the risk analysis company Teneo, joins Thanos Davelis to look into why this visit was postponed and what message it sends abo...
Apr 30, 2024•11 min•Ep. 982
Voters in North Macedonia went to the polls on Wednesday for the first round of presidential elections in a vote widely seen as a litmus test for upcoming parliamentary elections. There are some concerns the election outcome could affect North Macedonia’s relations with Greece and Bulgaria - given references to the Prespa Agreement and constitutional changes Sofia is calling for - and further complicate its EU accession process. Nektaria Stamouli, the deputy editor in chief of Kathimerini’s Engl...
Apr 26, 2024•10 min•Ep. 981
Claims that Turkish President Erdogan has canceled an upcoming meeting at the White House have been circulating in Turkish media. With neither Washington nor Ankara formally denying the rumors, it is raising more questions about whether they are true or not. In the meantime, it seems Ankara is once again putting up hurdles with regard to NATO, this time over the approval of former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as the new secretary-general. Amberin Zaman, Al-Monitor’s chief correspondent coveri...
Apr 26, 2024•11 min•Ep. 980
Today marks 109 years since the Armenian genocide began. With commemorations taking place across the world, there is a renewed fear that the lessons of “Never Again” have been forgotten following Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno Karabakh and the subsequent mass exodus of over 100,000 Armenians from the region in what has been described as ethnic cleansing. Aram Hamparian, the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America, joins Thanos Davelis to talk about the very real threats ...
Apr 24, 2024•13 min•Ep. 979
Changes to Greece’s Golden Visa scheme are set to kick in at the end of the summer. This will see increases in the minimum amount needed to invest in order to secure a residence permit in an effort to tackle the country’s housing crisis. This move comes as golden visa programs are being phased out or shut down around Europe, and as housing has become a hot political issue. Nikos Roussanoglou, a journalist with 23 years of experience at Kathimerini covering the economy, joins Thanos Davelis to lo...
Apr 24, 2024•10 min•Ep. 978
Investments in Greece have shot up over the past years, with the country outperforming its Eurozone partners when it comes to the pace with which it is attracting and increasing investments. Despite this positive picture, there are a number of myths around investments in Greece, especially when it comes to real estate and the Golden Visa scheme. Michael Arghyrou, the head of the Council of Economic Advisors for Greece’s Finance Ministry and a professor in Economics at the University of Piraeus, ...
Apr 23, 2024•15 min•Ep. 977
Since emerging from its international bailouts and a decade-long economic crisis, the Greek economy is now surging, outperforming its eurozone partners with its economy expected to grow nearly 3% this year. Despite this positive outlook, there are key challenges ahead, as some economies in the eurozone have slowed down, and many Greeks hurt by the crisis are still struggling. Nikos Vettas, the General Director of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research and Professor of Economics at t...
Apr 19, 2024•12 min•Ep. 976
Following Iran’s latest attack on Israel over the weekend Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said that Greece plans to develop a defense system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome aimed at safeguarding the country against airborne threats. Meanwhile, while Iran was also the focus of a summit in Brussels, EU leaders also highlighted relations with Turkey, linking them to progress on the Cyprus issue. Vassilis Nedos, Kathimerini’s defense and diplomatic editor, joins Thanos Davelis to explore this plan for ...
Apr 19, 2024•12 min•Ep. 975
Back in February, the readout from the 5th US-Greece strategic dialogue saw the US and Greece stress the importance of integrating youth in climate change mitigation and resilience, including through a youth corps exchange program that links the California Conservation Corps with Ecogenia in Greece. Thanos Davelis caught up with Larry Notheis, the Chief Deputy Director at the California Conservation Corps, on the sidelines of the “Our Ocean” conference in Athens to look at how the California Con...
Apr 17, 2024•10 min•Ep. 974
The memoirs of former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble were recently released in Germany. As expected, Greece features heavily. All the key moments of the crisis and its main actors are sketched in his memoirs, from the times Grexit was genuinely on the table, to his dealings with prime ministers Papandreou, Samaras, and Tsipras, and finance ministers Papaconstantinou, Venizelos, and Varoufakis. Xenia Kounalaki, a journalist and weekly columnist at Kathimerini, which acquired exclusive ...
Apr 17, 2024•12 min•Ep. 973
Last week thought leaders, politicians, experts and the business community gathered in Delphi in Greece for the 9th Delphi Economic Forum. The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) had an important presence there as well, leading discussions on the role of the diaspora, the importance of Cyprus, the Middle East post October 7th, and the future direction of American foreign policy given US elections in November. Endy Zemenides, HALC’s Executive Director, joins Thanos Davelis to recap the ma...
Apr 16, 2024•13 min•Ep. 972
