Greece one step away from investment grade: PM

STORY: Greece one step away from investment grade: PM DATELINE: April 5, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:39 LOCATION: Athens CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis during his speech 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek Prime Minister 3. various of Athens residents in Athens downtown 4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): PASCHAL DONOHOE, Eurogroup President and Ireland's Finance Minister 5. various of Athens residents in Athens downtown 6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Greek): CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS, Greek Finance Minister 7. various of Athens residents in Athens downtown STORYLINE: Greece is close to regaining an investment grade credit rating after 12 years in junk status, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in Athens during an event titled "Greek Economy: Resilience - Progress - Perspective" on Tuesday. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek Prime Minister "The national economy in four years has been upgraded 12 times. It is now one step away from investment grade. Our country is

European investment tool worth 26.2 bln euros adopted in Greece

STORY: European investment tool worth 26.2 bln euros adopted in Greece DATELINE: Nov. 26, 2022 LENGTH: 00:02:32 LOCATION: Athens CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Greek government and European Commission and the EIB Group signing the agreement for the InvestEU program 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): MARGARITIS SCHINAS, Vice President of the European Commission 3. various of research laboratory of the University of Athens 4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Greek): CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS, Greek Finance Minister 5. SOUNDBITE 3 (Greek): CHRISTIAN KETTEL THOMSEN, EIB Vice-President 6. various of the research laboratory of the University of Athens STORYLINE: A 26.2 billion euro (27.26 billion dollars) investment tool has been adopted by the European Commission (EC), the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF) this week. The InvestEU program was signed in Athens on Thursday. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): MARGARITIS SCHINAS, Vice President of the European Commission "InvestEU is one of the main tools we have

BELGIUM-BRUSSELS-EUROGROUP-MEETING

BELGIUM-BRUSSELS-EUROGROUP-MEETING

(221108) -- BRUSSELS, Nov. 8, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras (L) talks with Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti before the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 7, 2022. The finance ministers, representing the 19-country euro area, met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the eurozone's economic development, as well as budgetary measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

BELGIUM-BRUSSELS-EUROGROUP-MEETING

BELGIUM-BRUSSELS-EUROGROUP-MEETING

(221108) -- BRUSSELS, Nov. 8, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras arrives for the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 7, 2022. The finance ministers, representing the 19-country euro area, met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the eurozone's economic development, as well as budgetary measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong)

Greek economy emerges from strict EU monitoring after 12 years

STORY: Greek economy emerges from strict EU monitoring after 12 years DATELINE: Aug. 21, 2022 LENGTH: 00:03:51 LOCATION: Athens CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various shots of Athens from above 2. various exterior shots of the Bank of Greece 3. various exterior shots of the European Commission Headquarter 4. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek Prime Minister 5. various exterior shots of the Greek Finance Ministry 6. various shots of the Christos Staikouras, Greek Finance Minister 7. various shots of the Acropolis hill among buildings downtown Athens 8. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DIMITRIS KENOURGIOS, University of Athens Professor of Finance 9. various shots of the Athens fish market 13. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): DIMITRIS KENOURGIOS, University of Athens Professor of Finance 14. various shots of the people make transactions at banks ATM 16. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): DIMITRIS KENOURGIOS, University of Athens Professor of Finance 17. various shots of the Greek Parliament 18. SOUNDBITE 5 (English): DIMITRIS KE

Visiting German finance minister commends Greece's economic progress

STORY: Visiting German finance minister commends Greece's economic progress DATELINE: June 16, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:52 LOCATION: Athens CATEGORY: POLITICS/ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the meeting 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CHRISTIAN LINDNER, German Finance Minister 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Greek): CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS, Greek Finance Minister 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek Prime Minister 5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): CHRISTIAN LINDNER, German Finance Minister STORYLINE: German Finance Minister Christian Lindner called for closer cooperation among the member states of the European Union (EU) to enable them to cope with the ongoing energy crisis and commended the Greek economy's progress in the post-bailout era during his visit here on Tuesday. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CHRISTIAN LINDNER, German Finance Minister [00:09:21 - 00:26:02] "I'm very much in favor of more cooperation amongst member states, an integrated energy market, further efforts for climate change, mitigation, and green transition." SO

Greece's bad debt ratio drops 82.8 pct in 6 years

STORY: Greece's bad debt ratio drops 82.8 pct in 6 years DATELINE: May 18, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:48 LOCATION: Athens CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the Bank of Greece 2. various of the economic forum about Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Greece's banking system held in Athens on Tuesday 3. various of the National Bank of Greece 4. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): CHRISTINA PAPACONSTANTINOU, Bank of Greece (BoG) Deputy Governor 5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Greek): CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS, Greece Finance Minister STORYLINE: Non-performing loans (NPLs) in Greece's banking system had been reduced by 82.8 pct in the period 2016-2021, but the outlook for the future is cloudy due to the new challenges, local officials told an online economic forum in Athens on Tuesday. NPLs at the end of December 2021 amounted to 18.4 billion euros (19.4 billion U.S. dollars), down by 90.3 billion euros compared to March 2016, when they had peaked during the acute debt crisis Greece went through (2010-2018), said Christina Papaconstantinou, Bank o

Russia-Ukraine conflict big blow to Greek economy: analysts

STORY: Russia-Ukraine conflict big blow to Greek economy: analysts DATELINE: March 30, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:41 LOCATION: Athens CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Greece 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS, Greek Finance Minister 3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Greek): MARIA ZAGKA, President of Attica's gas station owners' association 4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): PANAGIOTIS LIARGOVAS, Chairman of the board of directors and scientific director of the Center of Planning and Economic Research 5. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): PANAGIOTIS LIARGOVAS, Chairman of the board of directors and scientific director of the Center of Planning and Economic Research STORYLINE: Analysts in Athens say the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict has dealt a big blow to the Greek economy, calling for concerted efforts at the European level to address the challenges. SOUNDBITE 1 (Greek): CHRISTOS STAIKOURAS, Greek Finance Minister "The situation is difficult. There are a lot of uncertainties and we are faced with greater difficulties that lie ahead.