Yesterday’s News Wrap-up includes the following:
The Greek government is reportedly considering the prospect of increasing the property tax rate (ENFIA), even doubling it, for unexploited properties held in bank and servicers’ NPL portfolios. The move, if implemented, aims to add thousands of residences to the housing market, especially in the greater Athens-Piraeus area, where a shortage in available and reasonably priced residences is deemed as acute.
The Greek government will reportedly freeze some 9,000 asylum requests filed in the country by Syrian nationals, a development that would follow similar decisions by the German and Austrian governments. According to migration and asylum ministry sources quoted by “To Vima” on Monday, those individuals “are not considered refugees after the developments”.
Alexis Patelis, the chief economic adviser to Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, announced his resignation from his position via a social media post on Monday evening. In the post on his Facebook page, Alexis Patelis did not disclose the reasons that led him to step down.
Ruling New Democracy (ND) party continued an unbroken streak, dating back to 2016, of first-place opinion poll showings, with the latest results unveiled on Monday showing it with 24% of respondents’ preferences – without an extrapolation of the result. The Alco firm poll, presented on an Athens-based television channel’s prime-time newscast, has socialist/social democrat PASOK party firmly in second place with 15.9%, far ahead of third-place right-wing Elliniki Lysi (Greek Solution) with 8.8%.
The latest instance of gangland violence attributed to Turkey-based crime syndicates came on Monday in the southeast Ano Glyfada district, with the victims – two in this instance – Turkish nationals. The deadly incident marked the fourth time in the last 14 months that shootings, all in broad daylight, claimed the lives of Turkish nationals, most identified as ethnic Kurds. One man was seriously injured in the latest incident, when a gunman opened fire against the trio at a betting parlor and after they fled to a nearby toy store and supermarket.
Always stay up to date with To Vima’ English Edition’s News Wrap-up.
