Vassilis Kostoulas

Robert Kaplan, the distinguished international relations expert, outlines, in an interview to Kathimerini, the geopolitical developments that will dominate the new year.

Half of the population of Greece lives in just 4.3% of the territory, which corresponds to 5,241,300 people, according to 2021 census data processed by the Demographic and Social Analysis Laboratory at the University of Thessaly.

Marriage equality was a matter of debate as early as 1960 in the Netherlands. It became law in 2001. At the time, the country was the first in the world to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. “Some people had predicted that society would fall apart and family values would suffer. None of that has happened,” the Dutch ambassador to Greece, Susanna Terstal, tells Kathimerini.

The steps toward upgrading the European defense structure are outlined in a Kathimerini interview with the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. Specifically, she proposes integrating the existing European Peace Facility (EPF) into the European framework and advocates for the appointment of a commissioner for defense. She also indirectly but clearly references the mutual defense clause provided for in the Lisbon Treaty, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

Has the Metapolitefsi period concluded? What lessons does it impart? Is its overall legacy positive? These are they key questions that guided the discussions on the inaugural day of the conference titled “50 Years of the Metapolitefsi.”

Fabrizia Lapecorella, deputy secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, has indirectly identified three main weaknesses in Greece's fiscal policy: the need to reduce the tax wedge in the labor market – that is the gap between the salary employers pay and the actual amount workers take home – and increase taxation on capital; to broaden the tax base and reduce tax rates; and to change the direction of government spending toward investments and education.

He may study the past but does not hesitate to comment on the present or make predictions about the future. Scottish historian Niall Ferguson, author of “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe,” among many others, is clear about one thing: if the United States does not restore support to Kyiv, Ukraine will no longer be able […]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's first defeat in local elections on Sunday will not have an impact on Turkey's foreign policy, according to the regional director of the Turkish branch of the think tank The German Marshall Fund of the United States.

New EU fiscal rules are set to bring about greater relief for Greece but will also demand increased efforts, according to Hungarian economist Zsolt Darvas.

The inexperience of the SYRIZA government (2015-2019) forced Greece to undergo another five tough years, noted Charles Dallara.